Michael's latest post happened onto the subject of Buddhism, which is obviously a subject of great interest to me. One of the many things that fascinates me is its depth and multitudes of levels. At it's most basic, it is simple rules of ethical conduct for lay people. Like the 10 commandments, only fewer...
Normal people need only worry about the first five sila:
1. Refrain from taking life (don't kill)
2. Refrain from taking that which is not given (don't steal)
3. Refrain from improper sexual conduct (don't use sex to manipulate people, cheat, etc.)
4. Refrain from incorrect speech (don't lie)
5. Refrain from intoxicants that lead to carelessness
During periods of intense meditation or during special observance days, the precept regarding sexual misconduct is extended to any sexual relations at all and adds on 3 more:
6. Refrain from eating after noon.
7. Refrain from singing, dancing, watching entertainments, wearing garlands, perfume or cosmetics
8. Refrain from sleeping on a raised or luxurious bed
In Burma, over a million people live as monks or nuns and the Buddha felt that life within the Sangha, or community of monks, was the best way of achieving the ultimate state of nirvana. Nirvana, or true awakening, requires a devotion to to the teachings of the Buddha and faith that their practise will lead to enlightenment. Novices must observe the same practises as above, but precept 7 is split into two and an additional prohibition on the handling of money is added. Anyone can become a novice by taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha and by agreeing to the ten precepts. This is not a lifelong committment, but rather one that can be entered into or left at will.
Should the novice wish to be ordained, the rules become rather more specific with 227 rules for Bhikkhus (monks) and 311 for Bhikkhunis (nuns). These rules are very specific and rather amusing, covering such things as how, when and from whom robes and other neccessary items can be obtained, how and where to bathe, how to relate to fellow monks and nuns and are phrased in such a way as to make skirting the rules pretty difficult.
I should also point out that the Burmese practise Theravada Buddhism, also called the "Doctrine of the Elders," which draws its scriptural inspiration from the texts of the Pali Canon, or Tipitaka. The dominant form of Buddhism in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Myanmar/Burma, Cambodia, and Laos) and Sri Lanka, it is differentiated from the Mahayana Buddhism of China, Tibet, Japan and Korea in its emphasis on individual development through monastic practise.
Mahayana's goal is to become a Bodhisattva - one, who out of an infinite compassion, deliberately pauses on the edge of attaining Nirvana so to help others to achieve enlightenment. It tends to use more ritual and chanting while an adaptation of it, the Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism of Tibet, makes use of difficult and complicated rituals as a sort of "fast-track" to Bodhisattvahood.
