Ethical conduct (Sīla):
Right
Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood:
Right
Speech
When
one’s mind is endowed with right vision and right aspiration, it does not
produce a mentality which leads to the wrong speech, which is comprised of (1)
lying (musāvādā),
(2) slandering (pisunāvācā),
(3) harsh words (pharusā vācā),
and (4) idle talk (samphappalāpā).
These forms of wrong or bad speech are harmful to both the speaker and the
listener for they are responsible respectively, for cheating and dishonesty,
disunity and disharmony, hatred and anger, and empty gossip, which wastes
valuable time. Contrary to the bad speech, right speech respectively brings
about truth and trust, friendly and benevolent talks, pleasant and polite talk,
and meaningful and useful talk.
Right
Action
Our
speech and action are respectively verbal and bodily expressions of what is
first rooted in our mind. When our mind is endowed with right vision and right
thought, it does not generate greed (lobha),
hatred (dosa) and ignorance (moha), which find expression through
wrong verbal speech and wrong bodily actions. Instead, it produces non-greed (alobha), non-hatred (adosa) and non-ignorance (amoha), which find expression through
right speech and actions.
Right
action is abstinent from wrong bodily behaviors namely, killing or hurting
others (pānaghāta),
stealing (paraddabba) and wrong
sexual conduct (paradāra).
These forms of right action of the middle path clearly lead one to protect
human rights, particularly, the right of living peacefully and right of having
properties.
Right
Livelihood
Buddhism
prescribes a way of livelihood which does not bring harm or suffering to the
lives of others. It is a livelihood, which should be earned through righteous,
honest, blameless and rightful professions. All kinds of wrong means of living,
such as trickery and cheating in trade, and harmful selling in weapons or arms,
living beings, meat, intoxicating drinks, and poison, have to be given up in
the right livelihood.
Right
speech and right action together with right livelihood constitute the ethical
perfection in the path based respectively, on the conviction of the nature of
the existence through the right vision, and loving kindness through the right
aspiration.
Reference
From
: Prof. Kapila Abhayawansa
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