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The 8 precepts.
Cory
Tennessee Veteran
I follow all of the eight precepts, but I can't go without deodorant. If I go 10 minutes without deodorant my pits smell like onions... I know it's against the 8 precepts to use any perfumes, what should I do?
1
Comments
I am sure that there must be some other guiding rule somewhere that says one should be clean and take care of one's body. To me, using deodorant would follow along with this. Maybe using deodorant does not follow in the "don't wear perfume" precept...just an idea.
Sitting in a room full of meditators if you stink from body odor is no good for the same reasons.
Why else would there be a rule about it? It is not vain to not want to stink.
But the intention of that rule is to discourage people using perfumes as an adornment, as a thing to make one beautiful, desirable, to excite the senses.
So if you go by the intention, the spirit of the rule, deodorant is ok.
I sometimes wear gifted Islamic sandalwood perfume/deodorant and sometimes flavour my clothes with perfumed washing powders and use perfumed soap and hand washes where provided by more fragrant family members, otherwise I would smell of old trout . . .
Don't have a cow man
bodhi Bart Simpson
Sheesh.
sheesh
I suppose the precept is against all aspects of a “frivolous” lifestyle and of having fun altogether. Instead one should behave in a dignified manner and be serious at all times.
Strange that they didn’t include a prohibition on laughing and listening to jokes in the precept. Laughing is frivolous; so it must be against the spirit of Dharma!
(Sorry for my sarcasm. But I will add this “problem” to my list of Buddhist absurdities.)
I said to my dhamma-buddy, "if I ever get like that, kill me immediately and hope I'm less humourless in my next life."
Keep your underarms trimmed... you don't have to shave them - just keep them not so whispy.
When you wash, use shampoo to really get in there like it's your head - shower at least once a day.
Drink lots of water - dehydration will make your excretions more pungent.
Some foods like garlic and onion are good for you but they will make you smell of them for a few days.
As for the eight precepts, those move into another area of training for the mind. Again, Ajaan Suwat: "The eight precepts add the element of restraint of the senses." Each of the added precepts places restraints on the types of pleasures we might try to get through the sense doors. The precept against illicit sex turns into a precept against sex, period. That covers all of the sense doors right there. Then there's the precept against eating after noon or before dawn. That covers pleasures of taste. The precept against watching shows, listening to music, using perfumes and scents covers pleasures of sight, hearing, and smell. And then the precept against high and luxurious beds and seats covers the sense of touch. As you go down the list, you can see that each of the five senses is covered. This adds a higher level of restraint and places some barriers on our typical ways of indulging our desire for pleasure: evening munchies; the desire for a nice, thick mattress to lie on; wanting to smell nice; liking to listen to music. By taking on these precepts, you learn to put some barriers around your self-indulgence.
Do you or anyone else derive pleasure from smelling deodorant? I sure don't! Does wearing deodorant cause more self indulgence?
Observing some is better than observing none, in my opinion. Buddhism is an extremely pragmatic path, and the eight precepts are more like rules of training for people who want to engage in a more strenuous practice — particularly a more contemplative one, such as on meditation retreats — than hard and fast rules requiring absolute obedience (it's the five precepts that should all be observed to the best of your ability).
That said, this particular rule mainly applies to scents and heavily scented products used for the sole purpose of smelling good (to attract others, incite sensuality, etc.), not deodorants. In fact, the monastic rules states that a monk "should be clean, neat, and unostentatious in his appearance, as a reflection of the qualities he is trying to develop in his mind," and a monk [or any person observing this particular precept] "whose body smells bad (in the words of the Commentary, 'with a body odor like that of a horse') may use scented fragrant powders."
Since deodorants are essentially preventative and meant to keep one from smelling bad, I don't think it'd constitute a breach of the precept as long as the deodorant itself wasn't used for its scent.
As far as the precepts, whatever floats your boat. I believe that @Cory is still a teenager, and it probably is difficult to get all the calories and nutrition a teenage male (I assume by the name) needs in just breakfast and school lunch. So, I hope if you are following the precept about eating after noon that you are making sure you are getting enough to eat. My 16 year old eats around 5000 calories a day. Be pretty darn hard to get that in 2 meals. Though, all schools are different with their lunches. My son's grade eats lunch at 11:30. Anyhow, it is not worth it to endanger your health or well being just to keep precepts.
Someone probably already said this, but beyond the basic 5 precepts, only those preparing for the monastic life usually observe the other 3. That's pretty good if you've been able to observe all 8 so far. But you don't have to. In fact, in some (most?) Buddhist countries, lay people don't observe any at all, except on special occasions. I think the basic 5 are a good discipline to observe, though.
Another helpful point; in the Mahayana tradition, there's a "greater good" principle that guides people as to when to lighten up on the precepts. For example, it's ok to lie if it saves someone's life, saving a life being the greater good. So if not wearing deodorant would cause everyone around you to suffer from your body odor, the wiser course would be to use deodorant. You wouldn't be getting attached to the perfume, anyway. The precepts are about avoiding attachment and avoiding making poor decisions due to attachment.
and wrap them in a small cloth eg hankerchief
and keep it in your pocket.
you will smell fresh.
The only downsides are that if you are a profuse sweater, you have to re-apply fairly frequently. Also, it's quite fragile - if you drop it, you're left with a sharp piece of salt that is definitely not fun to apply. I've tried...
The only downsides are that if you are a profuse sweater, you have to re-apply fairly frequently. Also, it's quite fragile - if you drop it, you're left with a sharp piece of salt that is definitely not fun to apply. I've tried...
I love garlic, but if I know I'm going to be mixing with non-garlic-eaters, I'll tone it down a bit; out of compassion for 'em. Old Tosh would've thought, "Stuff 'em, I love garlic and don't care what other people think".