Orange County Buddhist Church
Orange County Buddhist Church
A WAY OF SEEING
Akemashite omedetoo-gozaimasu. Sakunen-chuu wa iro-iro to osewa ni narimashita. Kotoshi mo mata yoroshiku onegai mooshi-agemasu. Happy New Year, everyone! Thank you very much for all that you did for me and my family last year, especially during the time of my mother’s passing. Please continue to help us this year as well.
New Year’s is often a time that is given over to making resolutions, but I cannot remember whether I have ever made any; besides, it seems that making resolutions has become a joke. They are made only to be broken, at least for the most part.
In contrast to resolutions, at least those meant to be broken, we Buddhists have five rules, or vows, of self-discipline for the layperson that we might want to keep in mind to begin the new year: 1. I will not kill; 2. I will not steal; 3. I will not commit adultery; 4. I will not lie; and 5. I will not indulge in intoxicants. Each of these can be expanded, but there is enough here to keep us on the straight and narrow. You may not have noticed, but these are not commandments. They are vows that you make to yourself. If you violate any of them, to that extent, you are violating yourself.
However, if we are serious about these rules, we find they are as easy to break as New Year’s resolutions, especially when we take into account the fact of karma. There are a number of ways to define karma, but the most general is probably to know that we are talking about actions of the body, the mouth, and the mind, i.e., physical acts, verbal acts, and thoughts. While we may not actually kill someone, we might wish him or her dead, either saying it or thinking it, and so on with the other four rules.
These five rules are not spoken of very often in Jodo Shinshu, but if you are in need of moral rules, these should more than suffice. Though meant for the layperson, they are very difficult to follow, at least for me. On the other hand, if they were easy to follow, I doubt that they would be necessary. Keep in mind that the rules apply to all three types of karma, even thoughts. In any case, I hope that you will give them more than passing thought, especially since you are a serious Buddhist if you are reading this.
Gassho,
Donkon Jaan, Rev. John Doami
