tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965076219235086304.post8193901074825031076..comments2024-02-24T00:41:37.836-08:00Comments on The Buddha Diaries: The Pesky FifthPeter Clothierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525159413387378704noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965076219235086304.post-33950546528093016052010-05-08T16:45:34.203-07:002010-05-08T16:45:34.203-07:00I'll drink to that! except I don't drink.....I'll drink to that! except I don't drink....mandthttp://adgitadiaries.blog-city.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965076219235086304.post-79935770135922972142010-05-08T13:37:30.936-07:002010-05-08T13:37:30.936-07:00An eloquently expressed view, Paul. I'd expec...An eloquently expressed view, Paul. I'd expect no less, from an elegant thinker! I like the conciseness of that last para...<br /><br />And Tara... yup. That second martini!Peter Clothierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11525159413387378704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965076219235086304.post-67721902036414516832010-05-08T12:10:57.784-07:002010-05-08T12:10:57.784-07:00I've got a couple of friends who are Buddhist....I've got a couple of friends who are Buddhist. ordained, practicing teachers at a zen center, and they enjoy their Sunday roast beef every week. This one act gave me immense understanding.<br /><br />your description of the lulling effects of alcohol are spot on...a little goes a long way, too much makes one regret the first drink!Taradharmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17665801586196931603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965076219235086304.post-18210228019220657752010-05-08T09:56:47.058-07:002010-05-08T09:56:47.058-07:00A few months ago there was a heated discussion abo...A few months ago there was a heated discussion about the the Fifth Precept. Blogger A wrote a thoughtful piece on the importance of Number 5. Blogger B seemed to see it as a personal attack on his behavior (it wasn't) by the "Dharma Police." Blah, blah, blah as Blogger C jumps in with "Who do you think you are telling me I can't have a beer or smoke a joint now and then and not be a Buddhist?"<br /><br />Buddhism is a way of life, not a set of dogmas and rules that must be followed or else. There is no external agent who will judge a person as a "good" or "bad" Buddhist. <br /><br />Instead, there is the law of cause and effect. The precepts - if one chooses to follow them (and it's always a choice) - protects not only the person following them, but everyone else.<br /><br />By not drinking, for example, you ensure that you will not do anything that will cause harm to yourself or others through inadvertent heedlessness caused by the effects of alcohol. In other words it would be <i>impossible</i> to cause harm to oneself or others through an alcohol-induced heedless act if one <i>didn't</i> ingest alcohol. No cause, no effect. That's what all the precepts are about.<br /><br />Come to think of it, that's what all of Buddhist practice is about: ending the causes that produce effects.Paulhttp://paulgerhards.com/blog_thisisthatis/noreply@blogger.com