We are beginning a series on Tuesday nights on Buddhism’s Ten Grave Precepts. It’s important to approach them, not as absolutes that you do or do not uphold, but as guides for action in our complicated everyday lives. As guides, precepts point to the spirit of wisdom and compassion that reaches beyond a simplistic this or that frame of reference in how we think about things. Difficult situations often present many more choices than just one or the other. Yet we can tend to think in dualistic terms that don’t take into account the subtleties and more far-reaching consequences of our choice.
Consider the first of the Ten Grave Precepts, Do not kill. Cherish all life as it applies to the recent Supreme Court decision prohibiting abortion. This is a prime example of how an opinion, even one claiming care for another, can lead to consequences that wreak havoc in many lives, bringing harm in its wake. So as we study and affirm the precepts let’s all remember to be open and supple, flexible and sensitive to the larger context within which we are taking action, so as not to bring harm where good is intended. This requires a careful and steady practice of staying open even as we hold to a point of view. There’s always more to be seen.
