As I am writing this article the world is ageing. All of us are ageing. What is important is how we live- making the most of our lives and living a blameless life.

What makes a life blameless? It’s basically not harming oneself or another- by thought, word or action.

The Buddha has mapped out five precepts for lay people for this purpose. These are:

 

 

The First Precept- When one speaks of not taking the life of another one invariably thinks of human lives. However, this applies to other forms of lives as well. If one observes an ant, going along its day, and if one were to take one’s finger and block the ant’s path, the ant will pause for a split second. It shows fear. It becomes agitated and tries to find another exit. Even an ant feels fear.

 

The Second Precept- This implies not taking what does not belong to one. I remember I was just five at the time. I had entered grade 1 in school. There was an assembly. I still remember bits of the speech the then Principal made. She said not to even take a pencil that was lying somewhere in the classroom, if it didn’t belong to you. She influenced me throughout my years in school. (Thank you Dear Madam Principal).

 

The Third Precept- This refers to not indulging in sexual misconduct. Sexual misconduct can be having extra marital affairs or while being committed to one person, having an affair with another person. Sexual misconduct happens all the time in society. It’s never Ok to cheat on a spouse. If the couple is unhappy, or want another partner, then there should be an understanding- preferably a divorce. With  an open and receptive mind, anything is workable.

 

Most people think that having an affair which is not of a heterosexual nature is sexual misconduct. This is not so. In today’s world, people are more open about their gender and sexual orientations. This is a good thing.

Most often, the parents and elders of LGBTQIA children cause tremendous amounts of trauma on their children’s lives. This is really very sad. As intelligent adults, parents should accept their children for who they are- no matter what their sexual / gender orientation. Ideally, parents should openly discuss these issues with their children once they enter puberty or even before.

 

The Fourth Precept- This precept deals in controlling one’s speech. In today’s world, few live in the world with real integrity. This is a very sad situation. Lying has become so common. In order to get things done, people lie left, right and centre. Gossiping is something the Buddha advised as detrimental to happiness.

The Fifth Precept- This precept refers to avoiding alcohol. Alcohol clouds the mind. Among the livelihoods some people choose to have in life, dealing in alcohol has been listed by the Buddha as a no-no. People resort to alcohol, smoking and drugs as a way to avoid pain in life. This is the Dukkha the Buddha spoke about. Pain can be that intense.

 

Alcohol is not a very wise way of dealing with one’s problems. Alcohol can also destroy one’s health. All in all, we can see how important it is to maintain the five precepts to lead a happy and blameless life.

Also for a blameless life, controlling anger is important. In most marriages, there is discord and disharmony between spouses because they haven’t cultivated qualities like patience, tolerance and even love.

As a Buddhist, there’s a lot of hope for humanity. Buddhism teaches how to live a blameless life by not harming anyone, helping everyone and spreading love and metta to all. What could be more beautiful?

 

A life lived with ethics is important. Not resorting to practices which dull the mind and are harmful to oneself should be discarded. As a Buddhist, it’s not just important to go to temple and offer flowers to the Buddha and the devas, it is equally important to meditate and cultivate the mind. Meditation cleanses the mind and gives rise to wisdom about the way things are.  

 

It’s important to cultivate hobbies and interests apart from the daily job one does in life. 

Exercising every day for even half an hour is very important; either cycling, or doing a brisk walk or jogging.

If one is a good person, then life becomes swimmable. One wouldn’t drown in its turbulent waters. It’s up to each of us  to cultivate goodness  and shared brotherhood and sisterhood and live the blameless life - one which enriches not just our lives, but the whole of society and the entire world.

Wishing each of you a Peaceful Poya. With Metta!