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Q-19: Bhante, can we take  the five precepts at home in front of a Buddha statue? My friend said it is not necessary to go to temple just to take precepts. Please share your kind advice.

Regards,

Williams Chiens

A-19: Five precepts are basic moral practice that should be  adhered by each and every Buddhist  at all time and place. In  the Buddhist countries, taking precepts from someone means  observing the eight precepts or nine precepts  and not five precepts. Commentator explained that five precepts are like normal attires which should be worn by everyone all the time to cover parts of body which should not be exposed. Eight or nine precepts are like ceremonial attires which should be worn on special occasions like Full Moon Days and New Moon Days.

For your question, there are three ways of keeping precepts or practicing the rules of precepts:

1. Practicing the rules of precepts after taking five or eight or nine precepts from a monk or a virtuous one (samadana-virati);

2. Practicing the rules without taking precepts, but after thinking: ‘I should not kill’ etc. (sampatta-virati);

3. Noble ones (ariyas) are naturally practicing the rules; in others words they never break the rules  as they have eliminated their mental defilements (samuccheda-virati).

Therefore, you could  keep the five precepts at home in front of the Buddha statue. And you could decide the way to keep precepts.  However, I  am incline to think that people  go to the temples  not just to take precepts from monks. They  do so to accumulate other meritorious deeds.  A serene and peaceful place like the temple is instrumental to fulfilling our spiritual practices.

With Metta,

U Cittara

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Dhamma Questions are answered by Bhante U Cittara, resident monk of Mangala Vihara, and his assistant monks. Questions and comments on given answers are welcome. Send your questions and comments to resident_monk@mangalavihara.org.sg.