Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
Does enjoying entertainment considered breaking precept?
This quote is from the Dalai Lama's book "Senseless gossip...It is frivolousness without any purpose, and it can be motivated by any of the three poisons. One’s intention is simply to chat without any reason,...This would also include reading unimportant books out of attachment."
So, does it mean we'd break the "speech" precept if we're to enjoy entertainment such as movie, music, comedy, etc...?
http://www.tibetanbuddhistaltar.org/2012/03/what-is-non-virtuous-speech/
So, does it mean we'd break the "speech" precept if we're to enjoy entertainment such as movie, music, comedy, etc...?
http://www.tibetanbuddhistaltar.org/2012/03/what-is-non-virtuous-speech/
The following description of the 4 types of non-virtuous speech are from “The Way To Freedom” by the Dalai Lama:
“ The next four negative actions are deeds of speech.
The firs is telling lies. This includes speaking contrary to what one has seen, heard, or knows to be fact. Lying can be motivated by attachment, hatred, or ignorance. The intention is to confuse the other person, and it can be carried out either by speaking or nodding the head and gesturing with a hand. Any action done out of the intention to confuse someone constitutes the negative action of lying. If the other person hears it, that constitutes completion of this act.
Next is divisive talk. The intention is to cause dissension between friends or people in the spiritual community for one’s own sake or for he sake of others. Whether one succeeds in causing dissension or not, the moment the other person hears the divisive talk, that constitutes the completion of this act.
Next is verbal abuse. The intention is to speak harshly, and the deed is complete when the abusive words are heard by the person to whom they are directed. Abuse includes insulting others, speaking about their faults, whether true or untrue; if one does it to hurt the other person, it is abuse.
Next is senseless gossip. It is frivolousness without any purpose, and it can be motivated by any of the three poisons. One’s intention is simply to chat without any reason, to just gossip without any purpose.The execution of this act does not require a second person. You do not need a partner; you can do this by talking to yourself. Idle gossip would include talking about wars, the faults of others, or arguing just for the sake of argument. This would also include reading unimportant books out of attachment.”
0
Comments
Otherwise, in your normal life you could look at these things otherwise. I wouldn't consider them to be breaking any precept. However, the tendency for useless talk and entertainment can surely decrease through the practice of the path. So I see the precepts as a developing thing.
Afterall, how many books has HHDL written?
However, having little time for television, over the years, I have noticed how opting to see "sensible" (informative) films, like documentaries, has crowded out the more alluring fictional films, to the point that I have l now lost interest in most of that kind of entertainment. There are still films, purely fictional, that I do like to see, though. Mostly, these are period films. It's not just the story that one might find interesting. It's also interesting to see how folk of a bygone age spoke, dressed and conducted themselves. Something can be learned from them. And what's wrong with a hearty laugh at some insane comedy? It can do a power of good, physically and emotionally.
I remember reading about someone asking George Fox, the Quaker, whether he ought to keep on wearing a sword, or whether he should discard it. Fox said to him: Wear it for as long as you can — his point being, surely, that one has naturally to grow out of a way of life (or an interest) and not merely suppress one's manners. I suppose this principle has to be fine-tuned. Sometimes, a huge upheaval has to occur. The slave-trader must leave h is business, and start to sell whelks. However, many things are not so insistent on immediate change.
Gosh, how I can ramble! It's time to shut up, or this will go on all day.
In other words, this tells you more about the world the boy was forced to live in than how you should put the precepts into practice.
Reminds me of some Christian preachers from my own childhood. If they had their way, only pictures of Christ were allowed on the wall, only Christian radio stations were allowed to play, only the Bible and Christian books were allowed in the house, and so on. The whole world would be turned into a church.
Just having fun... reading a good mystery... playing baseball (badly).. having a hobby, having a good belly laugh at the absurdity of life... is wonderful. It won't drag you down to some lower state or block practice...
The 5 precepts only include:
1.I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking life.
2.I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking what is not given.
3.I undertake the training rule to abstain from sexual misconduct.
4.I undertake the training rule to abstain from false speech.
5.I undertake the training rule to abstain from fermented drink that causes heedlessness.
The 10 negative actions are:
3 of body:
Killing, stealing, sexual misconduct
4 of speech:
Lying, divisive speech, harmful speech, and idle gossip
And 3 of mind:
Covetousness, evil intent, and wrong views
The 10 negative actions are actions that lead to suffering in the long run even if they may bring pleasure in the moment. There are 10 positive actions which are refraining from doing these acts.
Then there are also 8 precepts that a lay person can undertake which are usually only done when on retreat or for a day at a time like during holy days.
1.I undertake to abstain from causing harm and taking life (both human and non-human).
2.I undertake to abstain from taking what is not given (for example stealing, displacements that may cause misunderstandings).
3.I undertake to abstain from sexual activity.
4.I undertake to abstain from wrong speech: telling lies, deceiving others, manipulating others, using hurtful words.
5.I undertake to abstain from using intoxicating drinks and drugs, which lead to carelessness.
6.I undertake to abstain from eating at the wrong time (the right time is after sunrise, before noon).
7.I undertake to abstain from singing, dancing, playing music, attending entertainment performances, wearing perfume, and using cosmetics and garlands (decorative accessories).
8.I undertake to abstain from luxurious places for sitting or sleeping, and overindulging in sleep.
number 3 is different and the last three are added.
By not coming close to them a man stays pure.
Yet the man who can approach and not be affected
is the purest of all.
Those who are clever, artful, and full of guile—
By not knowing them a man stays high-minded.
Yet the man who can know and still not use them
is the most high-minded of all.”
- Hung Ying-ming, “Master of the Three Ways: Reflections of a Chinese Sage on Living a Satisfying Life”
Everything we encounter is a matter of choice.
I see young people who are obsessed with music stars, in particular, and think that that culture is "real life". That is where, in my view, it gets dangerous.