Five Precepts
五戒：
Lay Buddhist morality is embodies in the Five Precepts, which may be considered at two levels. First, it enables men to live together in civilized communities with mutual trust and respect. Second, it is the starting point for the spiritual journey towards Liberation. Unlike commandments, which are supposedly pine commands imposed on men, precepts are accepted voluntarily by the person himself, especially when he realizes the usefulness of adopting some training rules for disciplining his body, speech and mind. Understanding, rather than fear of punishment, is the reason for following the precepts. A good Buddhist should remind himself to follow the Five Precepts daily. They are as follows:
佛教徒都受持五戒。受持五戒能帶來兩重利益。第一，令一個人合群，與群衆溝通、互相信任和互相尊重。第二，這是心靈發展的起點，從而獲得解脫。持戒並不是在服從任何「命令」，而是真的了解自己的身、語、意所造成的種種不善後果，而産生的一種「自發」的行爲。他明白畏懼和處罰無補于事，因此自願的持守五戒。五戒須要每天受持。
五戒是：
no killing living creatures
no taking what is not given
no sexual misconduct
no false speech
no use of intoxicating drugs and liquor,
一、不殺生。
二、不偷盜。
叁、不邪淫。
四、不妄語。
五、不飲酒。
Besides understanding the Five Precepts merely as a set of rules of abstention, a Buddhist should remind himself that through the precepts he practices the Five Ennoblers as well. While the Five Precepts tells him what not to do, the Five Ennoblers tells him which qualities to cultivate, namely, loving kindness, renunciation, contentment, truthfulness, and mindfulness. When a person observes the First precept of not killing, he controls his hatred and cultivates loving kindness. In the Second Precept, he controls his greed and cultivates his renunciation or non-attachment. He controls sensual lust and cultivates his contentment in the Third Precept. In the Fourth Precept, he abstains from false speech and cultivates truthfulness, while he abstains from unwholesome mental excitement and develop mindfulness through the Fifth Precept. Therefore, when a person understands the ennoblers, he will realize that the observance of the Five Precepts does not cause him to be withdrawn, self-critical and negative, but to be a positive personality filled with love and care as well as other qualities accruing to one who leads a moral life.
在持守五戒的同時，能獲得五種崇高的德行。當五戒在指示你不應該做什麼的同時，他也同時在實踐五種崇高的德行：慈悲、自製、滿足、信任與正念。當一個人持守不殺生戒時，他就會生起慈悲心，持守不偷盜戒時，自製心由然生起，持守不邪淫，將滿足于正常的家庭生活，持守不妄語戒，他的誠實將獲得大家的信任。持守不飲酒戒時，他不會在麻醉品的刺激下胡作非爲，從而培養了正念，正念生起了慈悲與關懷，從而引導他過正直和道德的生活。
The precepts are the basic practice in Buddhism. The purpose is to eliminate crude passions that are expressed through thought, word and deed. The precepts are also an indispensable basis for people who wish to cultivate their minds. Without some basic moral code, the power of meditation can often be applied for some wrong and selfish motive.
持戒是佛教徒最基本的修行，持戒的宗旨在于引導正確的身、語、意的行爲。持戒能讓心識獲得發展。如果缺乏道德的基礎，一切修行將是錯誤和自私的。