..續本文上一頁ual misconduct. You can see how, if these guidelines are sincerely cultivated within a society, such a society will be a better place to live in.

　　The third step of the Noble Eightfold Path included in the way of good conduct is Right Livelihood. Right Livelihood is an extension of the rules of Right Action to one”s role as a breadwinner in a society. We have seen that with regard to Right Speech and Right Action the underlying principles behind the rules are respect for truth, life, property and personal relationships. Right Livelihood means that one ought not to earn a living in such a way as to violate these principles which are underlying principles of good conduct. Specifically, there are five kinds of livelihood that are discouraged for Buddhists. These are trading in animals for slaughter, dealing in slaves, dealing in weapons, dealing in poisons, and dealing in intoxicants, those are drugs and alcoholic drinks. These five kinds of livelihood are discouraged because they contribute to the ills of society and because they violate the principles of respect for life and so forth. Dealing in the slaughter of animals violates respect for life. Dealing in slaves violates respect for life and personal relationships. Dealing in deadly weapons violates the principle of respect for life. Dealing in poisons violates the principle of respect for life. Dealing in intoxicants violates the principle of respect for the welfare of others. All these trades contribute to the insecurity, to the suffering and discord in society.

　　How does good conduct function

　　 We have said that, in regard to society, following the rules of good conduct creates a society characterized by harmony and peace. All social goals can be achieved through the principles and rules of good conduct based upon the fundamental recognition of equality and reciprocity. In addition, the inpidual also benefits through the practice of good conduct. In one Sutra, the Buddha said, "he who has practised respect for life and so forth, he feels as a king duly crowned and his enemies subdued. He feels at peace, at ease." The practice of good conduct creates within the inpidual an inner sense of peace, of stability, of security and of strength. Once he has created that inner peace, he can then fruitfully and successfully practise the other steps of the path. He can cultivate and develop meditation. He can achieve wisdom only when he has created both inwardly and outwardly in his relationships with others and in himself the necessary foundation of good conduct.

　　Very briefly, these are the origin, contents and goal of good conduct

　　 I would like to touch on one point before I stop today, and that is when people look at the rules of good conduct, they often say how can they possibly follow the rules of good conduct. It is terribly difficult to observe the precepts. For instance, even the precept against taking life can sometimes seem awfully difficult to follow. When you clean up your kitchen, you quite likely may kill some ants. Again, it may seem difficult to always observe the precept of Right Speech. How are we to deal with this problem which is a genuine one

　　 It is not the point whether we can observe all the rules of good conduct all the time. The point is, if the rules of good conduct are well founded, if we can accept that equality and reciprocity are principles we believe in, if we acknowledge that the rules are appropriate to implementing those principles, then it is our duty to practise, to follow the rules of good conduct as much as we can. That is not to say that we will be able to follow the rules absolutely all the time. But it is to say that if we accept that in order to live at peace with ourselves and others, we ought to respect the life of other living beings, respect their property and so forth. And if a situation arises in which we find ourselves unable to apply a particular rule in a particular situation, then that is not the fault of the rule. That simply is the gap between our own practice and the ideal.

　　When a navigator steers his ship across the ocean by the stars, he is not able to follow precisely the course indicated by the stars. Yet the stars are his guide and by following the stars however inaccurately or approximately, he reaches his destination. In the same way, when we follow the rules of good conduct we do not pretend that we can observe them all the time. This is why for instance the five precepts are called the training precepts and that is why we take them again and again. What we have in the rules of good conduct is a framework through which we can try to live in accord with the fundamental principles that illuminate the Buddhist teachings, the principle of the equality of all living beings and the principle of respect for others.

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