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 divine 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。受持五戒能带来两重利益。第一，令一个人合群，与群众沟通、互相信任和互相尊重。第二，这是心灵发展的起点，从而获得解脱。持戒并不是在服从任何「命令」，而是真的了解自己的身、语、意所造成的种种不善后果，而产生的一种「自发」的行为。他明白畏惧和处罚无补于事，因此自愿的持守五戒。五戒须要每天受持。

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、不杀生。

二、不偷盗。

三、不邪淫。

四、不妄语。

五、不饮酒。

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a person understands the ennoblers, he will realize that the observance of the Five Precepts does not cause him to be withdrawn, self-critical and negative, but to be a positive personality filled with love and care as well as other qualities accruing to one who leads a moral life.

在持守五戒的同时，能获得五种崇高的德行。当五戒在指示你不应该做什么的同时，他也同时在实践五种崇高的德行：慈悲、自制、满足、信任与正念。当一个人持守不杀生戒时，他就会生起慈悲心，持守不偷盗戒时，自制心由然生起，持守不邪淫，将满足于正常的家庭生活，持守不妄语戒，他的诚实将获得大家的信任。持守不饮酒戒时，他不会在麻醉品的刺激下胡作非为，从而培养了正念，正念生起了慈悲与关怀，从而引导他过正直和道德的生活。

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，持戒的宗旨在于引导正确的身、语、意的行为。持戒能让心识获得发展。如果缺乏道德的基础，一切修行将是错误和自私的。