Double Tongue At the top of the crimes committed by the tongue, this sin of “double tongue” is also the cause of misunderstandings, quarrels, and provocations, thus resulting in hatred. People’s righteousness is trivialized and their wrongs exaggerated; therefore, the tongue sows division, quarrel, and the destruction of friendship between people. It is also the source of much discord and discontent. To get rid of these wickedness, we should see to it that our words be truthful and decent. Then there will be less trouble between communities and no disputes in society. Thus, we will no longer have to suffer hate and disdain from others.

Abuse of Power This crime is about masters who abuse their power to put blame on their servants, about officials who abuse their power to insult the people, the rich relies on their wealth to disdain the poor, the smart ones depend on their cleverness to tell lies, and the learned use their knowledge to dishonor the illiterate. Let us avoid such oppression. Our subordinates do have a brain to think, but are tied by misfortune to a humble condition. If they make mistakes, let us use dignified and kind words to teach them.

Defamation (Vicious Tongue) Coarse swearing and vulgar insults are the reason for this crime that involves also children vilifying their parents, paying no heed to the moral principles and filial piety. They threaten people, oppress their neighbors and open their mouth only to swear without even sparing the Buddha and God. Day and night, they swear using Buddha’s and God’s names – such acts will only pile up their sins. Falsehood Falsehood has been the source of injustice to the people. We usually find excuses for our wrongdoings; we exaggerate our righteousness and would invent tales to downgrade other people’s merits.

By their boastful, vain and endless chatters, liars only stir up other people’s disdain. To avoid moral degeneration, a person must make it a habit to use decent words and refrain from impertinence. He should respect the truth and not tell lies. Greed This is the cause of many disasters – war, robbery, murder… The desire for fame and profit, for power and social status – all these have pushed men into many internecine fights and caused many disasters. Robbery, murder, corruption, and the struggle for power have caused people much misery.

Greed makes people sorrowful, causing them to weep in silence. They commit suicide when they become desperate. People kill themselves for power, for love, or as a result of some failure. Wars, killings, massacres, and wicked deeds are all the results of greed. When humankind can wipe out greed, then sorrow will be diminished. However, life is full of ups and downs, so we live according to our means. Why should we devise strategies to steal from others? We must, therefore, think of others just as we do of ourselves. Let us put aside our selfishness and greed in order to cultivate virtue. Let us give alms to the poor, and confess our sins in order to find peace in paradise and to evade the deceptive illusions of this world. Anger A quick temper usually induces man into committing evil deeds, even murder.

The winner becomes more arrogant and the loser feels shame, and hatred spreads wider. We lose our mind when we’re angry, thus anger makes us lose our self-control, causing us to become wicked and cruel, having no consideration for justice, for right and wrong. When we keep our temper in check, we feel free and our mind is more relax. Let us be generous and forgive the sinner. Let us be patient and not quarrel or strive for supremacy so as to avoid hatred. Ignorance This crime is the result of poor judgment and thinking. A person can rarely distinguish between what is right and what is wrong.

He persists in keeping his prejudices and refuses to recognize the truth. He is ignorant his entire life, being fond of useless thinking, stubborn, and behaves wickedly without trying to find the path to liberation. Let us erase superstition, agree on moral principles, avoid the path of error, awaken from illusions to break the veil of darkness which shields our mind, and walk on the path of virtue to gradually reach immortality. On The Noble Eightfold Paths After the eradication of the Three Karmas (Retributions), let us act according to the Eightfold Paths. After the sins have been suppressed, the Ten Happy Ways will appear.

We are just taking another step on the path of virtue. Such progress does not mean we have reached our goal; therefore, we must subsequently practice the Eightfold Paths as this is the daily “book of prayers” for anyone who wants to escape the path of error and get on the road to salvation. The Eightfold Paths consists of right understanding, right thinking, right action, right effort, right livelihood, right speech, right mindfulness, and right concentration. Right Understanding This means to be able to see and analyze the situation according to the truth. A person is usually carried away by his ego and his mind is veiled so that the truth is somewhat distorted.

Whether it is because of the lack of clearsightedness or a result of personal grudge or selfishness, a person does not see the right path. Therefore, he cannot have the right judgment, thus, resulting in people being victims of injustice, which is why “right understanding” teaches us to use our mind to analyze every situation, to examine it carefully in order to avoid error in judgment – be it ours or theirs. A thorough and careful examination and clear judgment will prevent us from forming erroneous opinion so that we can put ego aside to avoid confusing our mind. It would thus help us understand things clearly and thoroughly and have right judgment. Furthermore, it would help us understand the worldly ties and the miracles of religion, so that we can drive away evil, get rid of all intemperances, and return to virtue.

As a result, we escape from the suffering of the world. It will prevent us from falsehood and thus we can avoid committing errors in our self cultivation. Right Thoughts In this world, a person is tempted by desires such as fame, profit, power, attachment... and his mind gets confused with such desires, which he cannot fight. This is a vicious aspect of life. “Right consideration” tells us to keep our heart serene, our nature peaceful, our mind noble, that Truth is our duty towards humankind, towards God and Buddha, towards ourselves. We must, therefore, use our mind to try to help living beings in the cycle of misfortune.

Let us believe in Buddha and God, and pray to the Almighty for His blessings. Let us find liberation for ourselves by happily practicing in accordance to our religion, regardless of whether we are rich or poor. Right Action The activities of Buddhist monks can cause no evil because they are confined to meditation, prayers, reading and writing books, and maintaining their temples. In contrast, those who practice spiritually at home have to earn their living – some engage in small businesses while others are involved in various trades.

However, although their lives are dependent upon their livelihood, such dependency is quite different from that of the dishonest people and thieves, and they do not engage themselves in deceptive and malicious undertakings. In earning their living, they also pledge to reject professions that do harm to humankind: prostitution, commerce of narcotics and alcohols, usury, speculations. Although those who are engaging in these harmful professions do not force their customers to buy their services or products, the fact remains that their businesses are the very cause of ruining, degrading, and debauching the people.

They are accomplices, and the criminals are those inveterate addicts and drunkards. That is why “right action” prohibits the practice of the above mentioned professions. Those who practice spiritually at home do not kill living beings nor do they strike or harm anyone, which may result in committing evil actions. Right Effort “Right effort” advises us to keep our beliefs firm.

We must remember that the work of the Almighty is to save human beings from suffering. We must keep in mind that sentient beings are engulfed in an ocean of suffering, that as long as some living being have to suffer, we will suffer with them, and that it is our duty: to awaken those in this world so that they can free themselves from the bad karma (retribution) of their previous existence.

For that purpose, one must return to reason and keep our focus on Nirvana (the highest paradise), with the determination to improve ourselves and become enlightened in order to help others We must get rid of all sorrows, all evil, by quelling the six sensory organs and persevering to keep a clear mind – serenity, happiness, gravity – in our determination to reach Nirvana (the highest paradise) and to help others on the path to liberation. Right Livelihood A person is used to regarding his body as the center of the universe and considers it as something precious and thus takes care of it. That is the result of the six sensory organs: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind.

The eyes like to see beautiful things, the ears like to hear sweet sounds, the nose likes to smell sweet scents, the tongue likes to taste delicious food, the body likes to be well treated and the mind likes temporal power. A person looks for every means possible to strengthen his body. Such concerns tarnish the mind and make it so blind that he no longer thinks of suppressing the bad karmas (retributions). Let us, therefore, avoid anything that darken our mind, and rid ourselves of pompous and frivolous things, and be in control of our physical body in order to find the path to immortality. Let us practice meditation and inner contemplation to achieve Nirvana (the highest paradise).

Right Speech The six sensory organs cause people to be caught by the six worldly sins. As a result of our wish to nourish our body, we have desires which are the source of sins. Among the sins, four of them are caused by the tongue: the “double tongue” (people in disagreement), the abuse of power (consists of insulting subordinates), the vicious tongue (wicked, vulgar words, offending divinities), and falsehood (telling lies). Let us train our tongue so that our speech will be decent and truthful.

Let us get rid of lies and cunnings, and vulgar and coarse words. Whenever we have to discuss something, we must make it clear and straightforward. To our superiors, our speech must be virtuous, and the advices which we give others to guide them in the right way must be the same. Such behavior is beneficial to others and is in compliance with the moral principles. Right Mindfulness This consists in recalling righteous things. We remember what remains and what is lost, successes and failures, likes and dislikes. The seven passions and the six desires have forced humankind to waste a lot of our mental power for their sake.

Fame and wealth, affection, power and honor are recalled daily, which is why humankind struggles forever in the six paths in the law of reincarnation with no hope of ever escaping the cycle of life and death. To be freed from transmigration and to put an end to this miserable life, let us think of a way to propagate our religious beliefs, rid ourselves of excessiveness, and engrave in our heart the Buddha’s meritorious services towards sentient beings. We must remember that the body is created from earth, water, fire and gas, and that sooner or later it will return to the earth. Only through “right mindfulness” would we be able to eradicate the sources of the troubled emotions and vicious desires with all their evil consequences.

Right Concentration Human beings yearn to live longer, to get richer, and be happier. They do not understand that life is transient, that wealth and cultural heritage are just like drifting foams or clouds, pushed by the wind. Birth, illness, old age, death – such are the conditions which are laid upon one person after another... upon all of humankind without exception. However, human beings lose their head in their quest for fame and profit, riches and honor – all those shabby and vile things. They do not try to understand that, aside from the ephemeral nature of life, there is nothing that is unchanging – nothing is permanent.

If we use concentration to break through the veil of darkness, we will see that there will be no sadness, no misery, no transmigration. And when we use “right concentration” to get rid of all grief and sorrow, to drive away all desires that tempt us into evil ways, our mind will not be confused any longer, and our mind will be as clear as the full moon, the color of which is bright and is not tainted by external forces. We will feel free from worldly ties and gradually reach the Realm of Liberation.