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Stopping Insight to Transcend Wrong Views
Precepts are like “the ocean without shore” – a boundless ocean, not merely simple prohibitions but containing within them concentration (Samadhi) and insight (Prajna). When we observe the precepts (the five precepts, the ten precepts, or the fourteen precepts) without concentration and insight, that is not truly keeping the precepts. Right view of interdependent co-arising and interbeing – “this is, because that is” – helps us to see that in a single flower, the entire universe is present. From that understanding, we cannot harm living beings or the environment, because to kill another person or destroy the environment is to kill ourselves.
The revision and re-expression of the precepts to suit the times requires the active participation of each monk, nun, and lay practitioner through Dharma discussion groups and editorial committees. The precepts must be “in accord with the Dharma” (in harmony with the spirit of the teachings) and “in accord with the circumstances” (adapted to the situation). The view in Buddhism is always open, not attached to any ideology, always ready to let go of personal views to receive new insight.
Three kinds of views need to be fully presented in the content of the new precepts:
- The religious view
- The scientific view of the universe and all phenomena
- The Buddhist (or spiritual) view of mind and karma
Part of the following collection
Returning to Our Own True Nature