..续本文上一页and announce the rewards of observing the precepts:

　　Imani attha sikkhapadani accekam rattin-pam uposathasila-vasena sadhukam rakkhitabbani

　　(These eight training rules are to be well maintained for the entire day & night of the Uposatha period.)

　　(you say, Ama bhante (Yes, sir.)) The monk will continue:

　　Silena sugatim yanti silena bhoga-sampada silena nibbutim yanti tasma silam visodhaye

　　Through virtue they go to heaven.

　　Through virtue wealth is attained.

　　Through virtue they go to liberation Thus we should all purify our virtue.

　　This ends the taking of the precepts.

　　* * *

　　The precepts translated are as follows:

　　1. I undertake the training rule to refrain from taking life.

　　2. To refrain from stealing.

　　3. To refrain from illicit sex. (This is for those who are taking the five precepts. The precept, Abrahma-cariya..., for those taking the eight precepts, forbids all forms of sexual intercourse.)

　　4. To refrain from speaking falsehood.

　　5. To refrain from taking intoxicants.

　　6. To refrain from eating food during the period from noon until the following dawn.

　　7. To refrain from watching shows (e.g., dancing, singing, instrumental music) and from ornamenting the body with flowers, scents, cosmetics, or jewelry.

　　8. To refrain from using high and luxurious beds and seats. "Luxurious" means having a stuffed cushion or mattress. "High" means more than ten inches high. Armchairs and couches with arms, however, even if they are more than ten inches high, are not prohibited by this precept.

　　* * *

　　The precepts, whether five or eight, have two foundations. In other words, for them to be broken, they must be transgressed by either (1) the body in conjunction with the mind, or (2) speech in conjunction with the mind. A precept transgressed unintentionally with a bodily action is nevertheless still intact. Say, for instance, you cut a tree or gather flowers to place on an altar, and it so happens that the insects living in the tree or flower stem die. You had no idea they were there in the first place. In this case, your precepts are still intact because you had no intention in mind for them to die. As for verbal acts, suppose that you speak hurriedly, and what you end up saying is different from what you had meant to say, out of either carelessness or inattention. For example, you meant to say three words, but ended up saying four; you meant to tell the truth, but what you actually said was false. Since it was simply a verbal act, and you didn”t have it in mind to speak misleadingly, your precepts are still intact.

　　A breach of the ten guidelines can be effected with one of as many as three factors: the body in conjunction with the mind, speech in conjunction with the mind, or the mind acting alone. In other words, a transgression of any sort in thought, word, or deed has to be intentional for there to be a breach in one”s virtue, because the intention — the will to abstain (cetana-virati) — forms the essence of virtue. This can be checked against any of the various precepts. Intention is the essence of virtue; aspects of virtue apart from that intention are simply its expressions and applications.

　　The intention that qualifies as virtue is the will to abstain in line with the five or eight precepts. As for the precepts, they give expression to the intention, while the rules that detail exactly what actions are forbidden by the various precepts indicate the scope of its application. Virtue is normalcy. Normalcy and right equilibrium in word and deed is expressed by the five precepts and eight uposatha precepts. Normalcy and right equilibrium in thought, word, and deed is expressed by the ten guidelines.

　　The statement that intention is the essence of virtue is supported by the passage in the Canon where the Buddha says,

　　c…

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