Paul Trafford on the Fifth Precept

Buddhist ethical conduct including the Five Precepts (Pañcasikkhāpada), and Eightfold Ethical Conduct (Aṭṭhasīla).
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Dhammanando
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Paul Trafford on the Fifth Precept

Post by Dhammanando »

From one of Dhamma Wheel's members.

Avoiding pamāda: An analysis of the Fifth Precept as Social Protection in Contemporary Contexts with reference to the early Buddhist teachings


1. Introduction

In many schools of Buddhism today practitioners undertake basic rules of moral training. Whilst these rules are not commandments, they express a commitment to ethical steps along a spiritual path taught by the Buddha, a path leading ultimately to nibbāna, the Enlightenment he realized.

In this dissertation attention will be focused on lay practitioners (or synonymously householders). Although according to the early canonical sources the Buddha taught primarily the homeless life, he also gave instruction on the basic moral framework that lay people could follow for their social well-being. For such householders one of the most popular formulations is pañca sīla (five moral virtues), more commonly referred to as the Five Precepts. At first sight the precepts appear quite obvious in their meaning, but when subject to application in varying contexts, particularly in contemporary society, the interpretation may not be a straightforward matter and the process of determining the meaning may reveal subtleties in the original formula that merit more attention. This can be shown for the Fifth Precept, which is commonly translated as 'refraining from taking intoxicants (alcohol and drugs).' A more literal translation from the Pāli does not mention drugs, but only kinds of alcohol, but it adds 'which are causes of pamāda'. The term 'pamāda' means 'heedlessness' or 'carelessness'. Is this a reference just to the aforementioned strong drinks or does it become a catch-all for 'intoxicants'? Then what should we understand by 'intoxicants'? How should the precept be observed and what are the conditions for breaking it? What are the impacts in observing or not observing the precept, especially with regard to social care and protection? Are there variations in interpretation? These are some of the questions we shall seek to address here.

https://www.academia.edu/34976455/Avoid ... _teachings
Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.


In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
SarathW
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Re: Paul Trafford on the Fifth Precept

Post by SarathW »

Very interesting article.
It is interesting to know-how the fifth precepts have linked to gambling also linked to Buddhas' last word heedfulness.
Another interesting factor is how this relates to Satipathana.
By the way, who is the member of this forum wrote this article?
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
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Dhammanando
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Re: Paul Trafford on the Fifth Precept

Post by Dhammanando »

SarathW wrote: Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:37 am By the way, who is the member of this forum wrote this article?
It's paultraf. An Englishman with a Thai mother. I've never met him myself, but I knew his mother quite well as she was one of the regulars at the Burmese vihara I used to attend in the early 80's.

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Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.


In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
TRobinson465
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Re: Paul Trafford on the Fifth Precept

Post by TRobinson465 »

For some reason i actually thought Paul Trafford was full Thai and just lived in the UK. Although i guess that was a pretty terrible assumption given his last name.
"Do not have blind faith, but also no blind criticism" - the 14th Dalai Lama

"The Blessed One has set in motion the unexcelled Wheel of Dhamma that cannot be stopped by brahmins, devas, Maras, Brahmas or anyone in the cosmos." -Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
paultraf
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Re: Paul Trafford on the Fifth Precept

Post by paultraf »

Dear all,

I'm glad that the dissertation is worthwhile reading.

The work comprised textual study and a survey of the-then current (2009) interpretations and practices across different traditions. For details of the survey, please see a separate report:
https://www.academia.edu/41482790/Obser ... y_Findings

There wasn’t much time available, but thanks to the ‘multi-denominational’ E-Sangha forum I was able to quickly elicit responses from a reasonable spread, though the sample size was only about 60.

I’m glad to hear that Bhante Dhammanando met my mother, the late Fuengsin Trafford (1936-1995), at the Birmingham Buddhist Vihara in the early '80s. That would have been around the time that Children’s Dhamma was being produced. Fuengsin contributed a few articles, including one about Kruba Srivichai:
https://paultrafford.blogspot.com/2011/ ... ichai.html

I’ve written a biography of Fuengsin, called 'Thursday's Lotus', which is free to download from:
https://fuengsin.org/lotus/

Ethnically, I’m half-Thai with some English and a bit of Irish. As I have received most of my Dhamma from my mother, TRobinson465’s assumption seems quite reasonable and ‘in spirit’ to me. :)
Bundokji
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Re: Paul Trafford on the Fifth Precept

Post by Bundokji »

I did not read the full paper because the website is asking for access to either my google account or FB, which i am reluctant to do. I will rely on what is been quoted by Ven Dhammanando to share few reflections.

The householder life is stressful and difficult. Part of this difficulty can be explained by too much caring, whether caring for securing livelihood, or caring for children and spouse, or caring for the body being dependent in nature and subject to aging, illness and death. The intention of using intoxicants is therefore explained by altering consciousness, where intoxicants being an option that is more accessible to householders than monastics. The aim in both cases is to strike the right balance between indifference and too much care.

The danger of developing dependence exists in both cases. Both periodic meditation or periodic use of drugs can be potentially addictive, or a temporary solution to the problem of existing. Neither being an end in itself, psychedelics have been promoted to generate quick insights in comparison with decades of meditation.

Empirically, the harms associated with using intoxicants on oneself and others seem to be much more than relying on meditation to alter consciousness. However, in our modern age (which the paper focuses on), monasticism is perceived as a loss of productivity and it affects the relationship between the practitioner, his family and the rest of society. From that perspective, the harms associated with being committed to the spiritual life are less likely to be reported than the use of intoxicants. The suspicion of escapism did not spare religion either. Describing religion as "the opium of people" is not uncommon in our modern age.

This is why, the nature of the path as taught by the lord Buddha does not differentiate between householders and monastics. Sila cannot be separated from samadhi and panna except theoretically.
And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying: "Behold now, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness!"

This was the last word of the Tathagata.
Bundokji
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Re: Paul Trafford on the Fifth Precept

Post by Bundokji »

I just noticed that the article is accessible by simply scrolling down. :tongue: I enjoyed reading it. Thank you to the author :anjali:
And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying: "Behold now, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness!"

This was the last word of the Tathagata.
sphairos
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Re: Paul Trafford on the Fifth Precept

Post by sphairos »

A very actual in the context of modern England paper. Nowhere else have I seen so much drinking and getting high, as among young Britons.
How good and wonderful are your days,
How true are your ways?
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