U4 - Lesson 09 - Ajiva Ashtamaka Sila PDF

09. Eight Precepts with Right Livelihood/ The Eight Lifetime Precepts. (Ajiva Ashtamaka Sila) There are many types of beings in the world. Some can be seen, while some cannot be seen with the naked eye. People are a part of the beings that exist on Earth. In some aspects they show simila...

09. Eight Precepts with Right Livelihood/ The Eight Lifetime Precepts. (Ajiva Ashtamaka Sila) There are many types of beings in the world. Some can be seen, while some cannot be seen with the naked eye. People are a part of the beings that exist on Earth. In some aspects they show similarity to other animals. People eat food to exist, to get rid of tiredness they take a rest, they sleep, they expect safety. Among animals too we observe all these aspects. People and animals both fear death and punishment. Animals and humans both contribute to the spread of their generation. In what respects do they differ: People have a religion, they educate themselves, observe good habits, help their parents. Animals do not have these qualities. They do not have any virtuous conduct. We should understand the value of virtuous conduct which differentiates people from animals. Religion contributes a lot to maintain a virtuous society. Sri Lankan society is nourished by Buddhism. The Buddha and the Dhamma has contributed mainly to our culture, Values, Customs and Uniqueness. There are accepted values and rules for proper living and continuity of government and private institutions. There are values and rules for all teachers, engineers, doctors, traders, farmers. These differ according to their activities, but there are accepted values and rules common to all. The Lord Buddha had laid down precepts separately for the Bhikkus and laymen. As laymen we can observe daily the five precepts and Eight precepts with Right Livelihood (Ajiva Ashtamaka Sila). Eight precepts with Right Livelihood / Eight Lifetime Precepts (Ajiva Ashtamaka Sila) 1. පාණා පාතා ෙ රම ඛාපදං සමා යා. Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samaghiyami. I observe the precept of abstaining from killing beings. (One observes Sila on a personal level. But it serves the society at large. Abstaining from killing safeguards the life of all beings. It ensures life without fear of death. In present days people talk about human rights. Buddhism ensures rights of not only humans but all living beings.) 2. අදින්නාදානා වෙ◌්රම ඛාපදං සමා යා. Adinnadana veramani sikkapadam samadiyami. I observe the precept of abstaining from stealing. (We steal from someone else. Abstaining from stealing means assuring the safety of other’s properties. This helps them to live without any fear of losing their belongings.) 3. කාෙ ඡාචාරා ෙ රම ඛාපදං සමා යා. Kamesu micchacara veramani sikkapadam samadiyami. I observe the precept of abstaining from sexual misconduct. (This helps to lead a happy family life. No one likes her husband or his wife indulging in any immoral behaviour. This helps to promote trust in the society and prevents harmful Diseases.) 4. සාවා ෙ රම ඛාපදං සමා යා. Musavada veramani sikkapadam samadiyami. I observe the precept of abstaining from telling lies. (This prevents deceiving others and promoting trust in society.) 5. ණාවාචා ෙ රම ඛාපදං සමා යා. Pisunavaca veramani sikkapadam samadiyami. I observe the precept of abstaining from Slandering. (This is abstaining from carrying tales to others. During the Lord Buddha’s time Ahinsaka became a fierce man named Angulimala due to tale bearing of others through jealousy. Tale bearing causes disunity among people.) 6. ඵරැසාවාචා ෙ රම ඛාපදං සමා යා. Pharusavaca veramani sikkapadam samadiyami. I observe the precept of abstaining from harsh/ abusive speech (It means using harsh words or dirty words not acceptable by the society. Uttering those words hurt others. Such people will be unpleasant to associate.) 7. ස ඵ පලාපා ෙ රම ඛාපදං සමා යා. Samphappalapa veramani sikkapadam samadiyami. I observe the precept of abstaining from useless / Meaningless conversation.  (This means idle talk which is not beneficial to this world or to the next. It wastes time and does not fulfil any purpose. The Lord Buddha advised his followers to engage in virtuous talk or else to stay silent without any idle talk. As students you should always engage in useful conversation.) 8. ඡා ආ වා ෙ රම ඛාපදං සමා යා. Micchaajiva veramani sikkapadam samadiyami. I observe the precept of abstaining from wrong Livelihood. (This means following a righteous way of life. Whatever work you do for your living must be done in a fair way. Should not do things to deceive others for your gain.) Eight Precepts / Eight Uposatha Precepts On full poya days layman can observe the Uposatha Ashtanga Sila (උෙප සථ අ ටාංග ලය). In schools and temples we often see on fullmoon poya days school children, laymen and women observing this Sila. It consists of eight precepts. 1. පාණා පාතා ෙ රම ඛාපදං සමා යා. Panathipatha veramani sikkapadam samadiyami. I observe the precept of abstaining from killing living beings. 2. අ නා නා ෙ රම ඛාපදං සමා යා. Adinnadana veramani sikkapadam samadiyami.  I observe the precept of abstaining from stealing. 3. අබ මච යා ෙ රම ඛාපදං සමා යා. Abrahmachariya veramani sikkapadam samadiyami. I observe the precept of abstaining from sexual conduct. 4. සාවා ෙ රම ඛාපදං සමා යා. Musavada veramani sikkapadam samadiyami. I observe the precept of abstaining from telling lies. 5. රාෙ රය ම ජපමා ද ඨානා ෙ රම ඛාපදං සමා යා. Surameraya majjapama dattana veramani sikkapadam samadiyami. I observe the precept of abstaining from taking intoxicating drinks and drugs. 6. කාල ෙභ ජනා ෙ රම ඛාපදං සමා යා. Vikala bhojana veramani sikkapadam samadiyami. I observe the precepts of abstaining from eating at improper times. 7. න ච ත වා ත ක ද සන මාලා ග ධ ෙ පන ධාරණ ම ඩන සන ඨානා ෙ රම ඛාපදං සමා යා.  Nacca Geetha vaditha visuka dassana mala gandha vilepana dharana mandana vibhusanattha veramani sikkapadam samadiyami. I observe the precept of abstaining from dancing, singing, wearing garlands and beautifying with cosmetics. 8. උ චාසයනා මහාසයනා ෙ රම ඛාපදං සමා යා. Uccasayana mahasayana veramani sikkapadam samadiyami. I observe the precept of abstaining from luxurious and comfortable seats and beds. Questions: 1. What are the two Sila that can be observed by laymen? 2. What are the precepts in ‘Eight precepts with Right Livelihood’ are not found in five precepts? 3. What are the precepts in ‘Eight Uposatha precepts’ are not found in five precepts? 4. Mention ‘Eight precepts with Right Livelihood’ and ‘Eight Uposatha precepts’ in order. (Precept and Meaning in English).