I don't see anything terribly at odds with the Buddha Dhamma here. Christian morality and Buddhist morality do attack the same problem from different angles, and for different reasons. But I think the tone of your post here runs the risk of marginalizing something that is very fundamental for progress in this Dhamma. If we were to employ the shelter metaphor - Building your shelter from the storm of death - Nibbana being the shelter in it's complete form, then Sila is the foundations, the cornerstone.Jhana4 wrote:PeterB wrote:I think that there might be more to the whole concept of Sila than that.[/quote
Not much. Sila is about "practical" considerations, holding the community/sangha together, making your life conducive to meditation, reducing bad kamma/increasing good kamma and reducing suffering. It isn't about morality in the western religious sense where there is some god who is going to smack you down if you don't follow commandments. Sila is there, as strong advice, for your benefit and the benefit of your community.
Practical? Yes. Important? Very.