The precepts support us to: “live and be lived for the benefit of all beings.”

Blanche Hartman

Precepts Practice Group

What are the Precepts …

Hui Neng, the sixth Zen ancestor, said “It is precisely Buddhist conduct that is the Buddha.” This means, as Peter Hershock notes, that the real Buddhist is seen “in terms of conduct—that is, his or her lived relations with others—and not according to any individually possessed marks or states of consciousness.” Buddhism rests on a deeply ethical foundation. The Buddha taught the principles of ethical living throughout his forty-five years of teaching. Although this ethical foundation parallels the ethical teachings of every major world religion in some ways, Buddhism is unique in the way the precepts are presented. Rather than reflecting moral judgments or declarations of “what is good” and “what is bad or evil,” the Buddha taught an active process of inquiry into that which is wholesome and that which is unwholesome.

https://appamada.org/precepts-study

Flint’s Teacher Blanche Hartman, in the ‘The Hidden Lamp’ p.102, says…

I understand the precepts not as rules to follow, but more as, “Be very careful in this area of human life because there’s a lot of suffering there, so pay attention to what you are doing,” Like a sign on a frozen pond that says, “Danger, thin ice,” rather than, “Shame on you!” Our vow is to help people end suffering, not to add to their suffering”.

Precepts are often written in a prohibitive form e.g. Do not steal…… So they can feel like a law or commandment which results in unhelpful judgement and criticism when we fail to live to.

We work with the Precepts as a vow or aspiration to inspire us to live our lives in a more helpful way. The precepts offer us support to live our lives by vow, the Bodhisattva Vow – this is not a promise but a positive intention, an aspiration.

Diane Rizzetto expresses the precepts in this way in ‘Waking Up To What You Do’.

She distils the usual ten precepts into 8 statements, written as vows:

  1. I take up the way of speaking truthfully.
  2. I take up the way of speaking of others with openness and possibility.
  3. I take up the way of meeting others on equal ground.
  4. I take up the way of cultivating a clear mind.
  5. I take up the way of taking only what is freely given and giving freely of all that I can.
  6. I take up the way of engaging in sexual intimacy respectfully and with an open heart.
  7. I take up the way of letting go of anger.
  8. I take up the way of supporting life.

 

Process

To ‘study’ is to put in front of yourself, to see it. It is our self that we are studying: this is not an intellectual process but an opportunity to be with our self, our practice and reflect on how we relate to the precepts. We notice what arises within, sensations, thoughts, emotions. We notice what catches or triggers us.

The group offers a safe compassionate space in which to mindfully notice our patterns of reactivity and conditioning, We then begin to realise what lies beneath – our beliefs and assumptions. Experiential (often body-centred) exercises are used to help us notice and observe our habitual patterns of relating to ourselves and to others.

Materials

We use the following books, in order of usage:

  1. Waking Up to What we Do – Diane Rizzetto
    This is the core material we will use, so a copy of this is essential.
  2. Good Life – Cheri Huber
    This is a supplementary book which offers a different way of looking at the precepts and offers different written forms e.g. Prohibitive
  3. Being Upright – Reb Anderson
    This is a more traditional exploration of the precepts.
  4. Wholehearted – Koshin Paley Ellison
    This is a simple and accessible explanation of the precepts.


It may be useful to have your own copies of 1 and 2.

Meetings

Typically the group meets once a  month.

At the end of the process there is an invitation to take the precepts formally at a service led by our teacher. There is no requirement to do this.

Commitment

We request a commitment in principle to:

  • Attend meetings when possible and study with other participants to keep the process alive in your life.
  • Read the material suggested from the study books in between the sessions but we realise that this is not always possible with other life commitments.
  • Attend sangha meetings regularly, sit with the community and support each other’s practise.

Format

The group session follows a basic framework:

  • Short meditation.
  • Input relating to the particular precept we are working with.
  • Small group work.
  • Group feedback and discussion.