Question: There are so many works to be done. How do I practice Buddhism side-by-side my worldly living?
by Khenpo Tashi
When King Songtsen Gampo was tasked to rule the country of Tibet, in the 7th Century AD, he is said to have used two codes of ethics.
- the Ten Godly Rules (or Ten Divine Virtues)
- the Sixteen Pure Rules for Humans (or 16 Pure Humanitarian Doctrines)
In here, there is the good and the positive. They are rules on how to spend an ethical and dignified life. The sixteen doctrines cover all the activities from sleeping, eating, treating the elders, and so on.
They are to be practiced whatever time of the day, through the three doors of body, speech and mind. This list does not talk about Buddhism or rules only for Buddhists. This is for lay people.
The, the Ten Divine Virtues are ‘highly regarded’, and considered ‘stainless’ and ‘towards perfection’. That is why they are called “godly” or “divine”, because, in the human realm, to keep a godly or divine conduct is a very rare occurrence. Observing these ten virtues is rare, because they are difficult to follow.
They said that King Songtsen Gampo formulated both codes of conduct for his kingdom. The Sixteen Doctrines are more for ordinary people. But, in general, no ordinary human can formulate the Ten Divine Virtues.
So, it is safer to say that the Ten Divine Virtues came from the Buddha’s tradition, not made by King Songtsen Gampo. After all, King Songtsen Gampo also invited the Buddhadharma from India with much perseverance and hardwork. So, the Ten Divine Virtues must have come alongside that. (READ: King Trisong Deutsen about bringing the Dharma to Tibet)
We will talk about the Ten Virtues now. (For the List, click here)
Good Leads to Good, Bad Leads to Bad
Whether the Buddha advised against killing or not, naturally, killing is wrong. Avoiding killing and extending lives will lead to right. This is very close to the natural circumstance or natural phenomenon.
This is the same for stealing and sexual misconduct. As for the speech, lying. We can readily say that it is not natural to lie. It makes us feel anxious and worried.
Then we continue with the second point of the speech – divisive speech. Divisive speech separates people and destroys harmony. Then, the third, harsh speech, and the last, meaningless talk. Going against these four rules of speech are almost naturally, wrong and negative. We can generalize them as such.
We then go to the mind. There are three violations of the rules of the mind. First, covetousness, or the strong desire to own something that is not ours. If we cannot get something, our desires for that thing increase.
The second, harming mind. That is easily considered as negative.
Finally, wrong view. Wrong view is a belief that there is no such thing as Karma, or cause and effect. Wrong view is the most serious. What is the reason? If we do not believe in some form of cause and result, if we do not have such confidence, we will just live by our own rules.
Gradual Change is Possible
Their opposites, the Ten Virtues, are not fully understood. Many lay people have not even understood these ten properly. So this is what the Buddha advised. The situation for what to do and what not to do – summarized in the Ten Virtues – the Buddha introduced to the lay people.
For example, through our body, whatever effort we can muster, we lessen the act of killing. And extending life.
Then there is also a big form of stealing and small form of stealing. In one day, however much we can, we lessen our acts of stealing. This is called ‘restraint’. It will lead and result to the virtuous side.
Towards Effortless Action
Then, day by day, going to the virtuous side. It becomes a habit. Some day in the future, it will automatically or naturally be what we will do. We will be inclined to do it effortlessly.
This also applies to wrong view. Wrong view can lead to its opposite – right view. We think that “discomfort will cause or lead to suffering. Goodness will lead to happiness”. Habituating on this thought can develop wrong view into right view. (READ: What is Meditation in Buddhism?)
Slowly, it can happen. This is the “good direction”. How much the wrong will turn into good, that much our daily living will become meaningful.
Our life, our mind, our speech and our body – all these four will be happy and healthy observing the ten virtues.