I sleep on a high bed

Buddhist ethical conduct including the Five Precepts (Pañcasikkhāpada), and Eightfold Ethical Conduct (Aṭṭhasīla).
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bpallister
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I sleep on a high bed

Post by bpallister »

am i going to a hell realm?
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zerotime
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Re: I sleep on a high bed

Post by zerotime »

to the Hospital if you fall
bpallister
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Re: I sleep on a high bed

Post by bpallister »

It's not THAT high. Just high enough so i can look down on people. :)
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DNS
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Re: I sleep on a high bed

Post by DNS »

I assume you're not a monk, so then it doesn't matter. I think the rule is mostly about maintaining humility, so in more modern terms, it could be any bed that is not luxurious. A simple bed, even if a little raised, is no big deal, imo, even if trying to keep the 8 precepts as a lay person.
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Sabbe_Dhamma_Anatta
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Re: I sleep on a high bed

Post by Sabbe_Dhamma_Anatta »

Luxurious-ness is more important than high-ness. In turn, refraining from luxuriously enjoying "perceived luxurious-ness" is even more important, imo.

For monks, if would possibly be a different story, if there are explicit vinaya rules for bed-height.



I generally agree with the following post https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/ei ... us/14114/2, especially the quoted piece:
  • Charlotteannun wrote:
    I’ve seen different Theravada communities set various expectations as to how their 8 Preceptors should follow Precept No 8. From Thai nuns & devout ladies I learned to sleep only on a mat on the floor, not in a regular bed. (When I kept 8 Precepts at home all those months, I diligently dragged my heavy comfy futon off its frame each night to floor sleep.) Yet at a temple in Thailand, all us meditating 8 Preceptors were given wooden beds raised well off the ground without any bedding - so it seemed that height was ok so long as it hurt!

    Later, having joined my home monastery, I was told that Rule No. 8 simply referred to avoiding luxury seats & beds such as found in, say, a honeymoon suite, that is, furnishings conducive to sensual desires. (The beds provided to us there were simple rustic handmade wooden twin beds perched on legs far above the floor, with a comfy foam mattress.)

    Sometimes a community’s take on it is found in how they translate or describe the rule. See for example Sati Saraniya’s 8 Precept instructions for new guests, where they give No 8 as “Alertness: not indulging in sleep or laziness.” So they don’t even make reference to seats, beds or bedding - just forbidding indulgence in sleepiness & laziness!

    (The Vinaya bed height rule for monks limits the number of inches the legs can have if monks are making the bed for themselves. And yet I once saw a bunk bed - very high - for monks at Amaravati. I don’t know their reasoning, but mention it as another example that suggests you’re fine not sleeping on the ground.)

    You may feel most comfortable that you are doing the right thing if you consult a knowledge person at whatever community has inspired you to keep these 8 Precepts, and just follow this rule in whatever way they advise. And not sweat it. This isn’t about perfection.
For example, if not prohibited explicitly by vinaya, I think even a bunk bed - very high - for monks at Amaravati (as mentioned in the quoted passage) is ok.


:heart:
𝓑𝓾𝓭𝓭𝓱𝓪 𝓗𝓪𝓭 𝓤𝓷𝓮𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓿𝓸𝓬𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂 𝓓𝓮𝓬𝓵𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓽
  • Iᴅᴇᴀ ᴏꜰ Sᴏᴜʟ ɪs Oᴜᴛᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴀɴ Uᴛᴛᴇʀʟʏ Fᴏᴏʟɪsʜ Vɪᴇᴡ
    V. Nanananda

𝓐𝓷𝓪𝓽𝓽ā 𝓜𝓮𝓪𝓷𝓼 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓣𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓘𝓼
  • Nᴏ sᴜᴄʜ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴀs ᴀ Sᴇʟғ, Sᴏᴜʟ, Eɢᴏ, Sᴘɪʀɪᴛ, ᴏʀ Āᴛᴍᴀɴ
    V. Buddhādasa
bpallister
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Re: I sleep on a high bed

Post by bpallister »

It's certainly not luxurious. I paid $1000 for it and it's not that comfortable. Admittedly, I don't rotate it as much as I should.
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Sabbe_Dhamma_Anatta
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Re: I sleep on a high bed

Post by Sabbe_Dhamma_Anatta »

I seriously think this $ 1.6 million "floating" magnetic bed is ok (except the price tag) even for monks. It doesn't seem too high, nor luxurious (unless "perceived floating" is considered luxurious). imo, it wouldn't float perceivably for a person, because a prototype photo showed even a car mounted stably on it.
  • Image

  • 88D5BDA9-864E-42C0-9C51-5716E09A23B2.jpeg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq0hJG08ENg
𝓑𝓾𝓭𝓭𝓱𝓪 𝓗𝓪𝓭 𝓤𝓷𝓮𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓿𝓸𝓬𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂 𝓓𝓮𝓬𝓵𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓽
  • Iᴅᴇᴀ ᴏꜰ Sᴏᴜʟ ɪs Oᴜᴛᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴀɴ Uᴛᴛᴇʀʟʏ Fᴏᴏʟɪsʜ Vɪᴇᴡ
    V. Nanananda

𝓐𝓷𝓪𝓽𝓽ā 𝓜𝓮𝓪𝓷𝓼 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓣𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓘𝓼
  • Nᴏ sᴜᴄʜ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴀs ᴀ Sᴇʟғ, Sᴏᴜʟ, Eɢᴏ, Sᴘɪʀɪᴛ, ᴏʀ Āᴛᴍᴀɴ
    V. Buddhādasa
SarathW
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Re: I sleep on a high bed

Post by SarathW »

I think you have to look at the underlying meaning of luxurious beds.
The objective is to eliminate the superiority mental conditions.
You can sleep on the floor but you may have a superiority complex so your Sila does not have much help for you.
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
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Rambutan
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Re: I sleep on a high bed

Post by Rambutan »

What is your motivation for sleeping on a high bed? If you are doing it for some self-grasping reason, for example, wanting some luxurious bed so that it makes you feel important, as in some concept of royalty or whatever, then it’s really just another means of perpetuating self-grasping. But that doesn’t t automatically lead to rebirth in a lower realm.

If you have taken a temporary vow not to sleep on a high or luxurious bed and then do so in the duration of the vow, that’s breaking a vow. But it’s not likely to land you in a lower realm.
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Dhamma Chameleon
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Re: I sleep on a high bed

Post by Dhamma Chameleon »

Sabbe_Dhamma_Anatta wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 2:18 am
  • Charlotteannun wrote: Later, having joined my home monastery, I was told that Rule No. 8 simply referred to avoiding luxury seats & beds such as found in, say, a honeymoon suite, that is, furnishings conducive to sensual desires. (The beds provided to us there were simple rustic handmade wooden twin beds perched on legs far above the floor, with a comfy foam mattress.)

    Sometimes a community’s take on it is found in how they translate or describe the rule. See for example Sati Saraniya’s 8 Precept instructions for new guests, where they give No 8 as “Alertness: not indulging in sleep or laziness.” So they don’t even make reference to seats, beds or bedding - just forbidding indulgence in sleepiness & laziness!
This is how I understand the rule too. It's not about the height but about comfort; a luxurious bed invites lounging in it beyond your body's need for rest. It's meant to discourage lying in bed for anything other than the minimum amount of sleep needed.
may.all.bliss
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Re: I sleep on a high bed

Post by may.all.bliss »

I always thought it was not sleeping in high places, referring to the times of living outside in times of the buddha
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