Buddhism: The Five Moral Precepts & Six Perfections (AQA GCSE Religious Studies A (8062))

The Five Moral Precepts

What are the Five Moral Precepts?

• Buddha taught the Five Moral Precepts as an ethical code for Buddhists

• They are part of the Eightfold Path

• They are five principles that all Buddhists voluntarily practise to live ethically and morally

The Five Moral Precepts

Following the Five Moral Precepts

• The most important precept is the first one - not to cause harm

  • The other precepts are all ways to follow this one precept

• Buddhists need to be sensitive in applying these precepts, and will sometimes need to balance one precept against another

  • For example, if being truthful might lead to harm, it could be more ethical to lie, as long as the action is motivated by genuine kindness

• These are guidelines for good living, not strict rules

  • Buddhists do not believe in a god who will punish them if they don’t follow the precepts

• The Buddhist belief in Kamma means that a person’s intentions are the most important thing: it is important to act out of compassion (karuna) and metta (loving-kindness)

  • This will lead to skilful actions that will have positive consequences in this life and (according to tradition) future lives

  • Ultimately it will lead to achieving Enlightenment

• Buddhists can practise the five precepts on ever-deepening levels, especially at the level of the mind

  • For example, wanting to hurt someone is still unskilful even if you don't actually hurt them

• Practising the Five Moral Precepts will help Buddhists overcome the Three Poisons

The Six Perfections

What are the Six Perfections?

• In Mahayana Buddhism, the ideal aim is to become a Bodhisattvas and after that, to help all beings achieve enlightenment

• A Mahayana Buddhist must achieve all of the Six Perfections in their own life to become a Bodhisattva

• They are guidelines for how to live a good life and behave in a morally good way

• The Six Perfections are:

  • Generosity or giving

  • Morality

  • Patience

  • Energy

  • Meditation

  • Wisdom

Generosity or giving

• This means giving without expecting anything in return

• There are 3 main types of giving. These are giving:

  • Material goods like food or money

  • Protection from fear – helping others who are in trouble

  • The Dhamma (teaching it to people). This has the longest-lasting impact because it helps people to help themselves and offers solutions to their problems

Morality

• Buddhists must follow the The Five Moral Precepts

• There are 5 extra precepts in Mahayana Buddhism. These are don’t:

  • Talk about other people’s faults

  • Praise oneself and speak badly of others

  • Be stingy

  • Be angry

  • Speak badly of The Three Refuges (the Buddha, the Dhamma & the Sangha {Error #829843: Missing popover qw8XhrHhovQ5R5v7L4e})

Patience

• A Boddhisattva embodies patience

• All Mahayana Buddhists should aim to have patience and tolerance

• They will try to show patience to those who treat them with anger or behave unskilfully towards them

  • Accepting the First Noble Truth, dukkha, helps them to develop this quality

Energy

• This is about mental energy

• It takes a lot of energy and mental strength to strive for enlightenment through meditation, studying and practising the Dhamma over a long time

Meditation

• Meditation is important for the development of wisdom and all virtues

• By meditating on qualities like generosity, Buddhists try to achieve the Six Perfections in their lives

Wisdom

• Buddhists aim to gain wisdom through practising the other five perfections

How to develop the Six Perfections

• Buddhists work throughout their lives to develop the Six Perfections and use these methods to help them:

  • Meditation

  • Studying the Buddha’s teachings

  • Living morally and ethically to develop a full understanding ot the nature of reality