1. Moral perfection is something we can only aspire towards. It is not something we can hope to achieve totally or immediately.

2. Morality should not be used as a stick to beat others with. The urge to judge usually stems from projection of our own dark side.

3. The moderately wise person attends to his or her own faults, attempting to rectify them, rather than being preoccupied with the faults of others.

4. Most immorality is ego-serving and operates directly at the expense of others and the Universe in general.

5. Morality is a primary curb on the ego and a first step towards liberation. 

BUDDHIST PRECEPTS

1. The Buddhist Precepts are not commandments - they are in the nature of ideals or guidelines to be used with flexibility and good sense.

2. If we fail to live up to them, we should not punish ourselves with visions of hellish punishments.

3. Rather we should learn from our failure and resolve to do better in future.

4. The Precepts have been formulated for the welfare of everyone and their observance means peace and happiness not only for the individual, but also to all others with whom he or she has contact.

5. The basic code that Buddhism offers is Pancha Sila or Five Precepts.

1: KILLING

To refrain from taking the life of living beings.
The purpose of practicing this precept is for developing the virtues of loving kindness and compassion which are to be extended towards all kinds of beings.
All human beings want to preserve their own bodies and lives as long as possible, and are afraid of any dangers which threaten their lives and try to keep clear of them, this is no less true of animals.
We should always bear in mind the fact that as we desire happiness and loathe death, torture or pain in any form, so do all other human beings and animals, whatever our feelings and reactions are, they are also those of other human beings as well as animals. What right or reason could anyone therefore give to justifiably indulge their own pleasures at the expense of the security and lives of others?
To be true to this principle and not collude in murder after the event, many Buddhists become vegetarians, though this is not obligatory.

2: STEALING

To refrain from taking that which is not given.
The essential purpose of this precept is to abstain from taking away with thieving intent anything which is not freely given. The objects covered by this precept include every kind of property, both living and non living, that is still rightfully owned by someone, and those things, although without an individual owner, which are for general public use, such as fixtures that belong to a society.
This precept prohibits an offence against other people's property, thereby encouraging a right means of livelihood.

3: SEX

To refrain from wrong conduct in sexual pleasures
The underlying purpose of this precept is to prevent disunity and promote mutual trust.
A relationship can make two people, both strangers to each other, become one in body and mind. But with the intervention of a third person, the unity between the two is severed. This immoral practice on the part of a third person cuts the ground from beneath the foundations of human society in that it breeds jealous suspicion and unrest.
If animals such as birds can build a home together, enjoy an innocent life together and help each other happily in tending their young, why then should men or women humiliate themselves in the guilt of such deeds?

4: SPEECH

To refrain from false speech.
This precept encompasses all degrees and types of falsehoods, physical as well as verbal. It is natural for everyone to expect truthfulness from everyone else in whatever matter is being communicated. Obviously, lying, slander, malicious or idle gossip, misrepresentation, blackmail and so forth create pain to others and disharmony.
If we are serious about living the spiritual life, we must keep a firm grip on truth and be clear about our own motivation.
Sadly, in our culture we have politicians who lie, phenomena such as 'creative accountancy' and have elevated the manipulation of facts and figures into a high art.

5: DRINK AND DRUGS

To refrain from ingesting substances that befuddle consciousness.
This includes alcohol and the whole range of drugs. Not only are many crimes, including crimes of violence, committed under their influence, but they also impede awareness and, as part of Buddhist practice (meditation), the development of awareness or clear seeing is essential.
Many people turn to drink and drugs to escape from the dark and difficult things in life, yet problems cannot be resolved whilst a person is addicted to them.
To lay people in the West, things differ from the patterns established in the East. Ale has traditionally been a staple beverage and spirits a comforter. Many Western Buddhists are not averse to a moderate amount of social drinking, though many others prefer to abstain completely.

Implicit in all five precepts is the Indian principle of Ahimsa - not harming, either others or oneself.
This can be extended to the environment and even to outer space - nothing falls outside the sphere of our moral responsibility.
The grave problems we now face on Planet Earth stem directly from our ignorance of this fact. Yet even as we begin to see what we are doing and the suffering it will bring down on ourselves and our descendants, we find it very difficult to change our ways. We are all aware that it would be  a good thing if there were fewer cars, but none of us wants to give up our own.

PRACTICAL WORK

Continue the practice of Anapanasati - you have now established a (reasonably) regular routine...........

You may have been struck by the fact that Buddhist practice does not exhort you to do a good deed every day, or to give to charity, visit the sick, and generally 'love thy neighbour as thyself'. The value of these actions is not underestimated and people should perform them as the need arises. What is suggested however, is that the reason for wanting to do good deeds should be subject to closer examination. This may reveal something hitherto unsuspected - your real motives.

How is it that instruction in what is claimed to be a religion of peace, gentleness and compassion does not set exercises training people to be all of these things? The answer is that we cannot safely make ourselves be anything. You may act compassionately, but if the act does not spring from genuine feeling for the person or persons concerned, no real good can result. To subdue the real feelings and pretend that they are other than what they are is foolish and dangerous. They will eventually explode and the pretend compassion will fly out of the window. The Buddha's Middle Way does not suggest to people that they ignore their feelings, nor that they lop off the heads of these feelings as they arise. What it does say is that the only way to peace is to know who and what 'I' am. Only then can we hope to be at peace, to be gentle, to be compassionate.

A frequent cause of unwise action is that we face each situation with an attitude, a point of view, a preconceived 'ready to shoot' reaction.. before we realise what has happened, we find ourselves deeply involved. It is as though the situation has reached out and drawn us in. Is this skillful? When this happens are we really heedful? We should stop and ask ourselves, 'shall I do anything useful by allowing myself to become involved?'. The advice in a poem by Zen Master Sosan is, 'Only cease to cherish opinions'. Can we achieve this balance, this refusal to become attached to any situation unless we so decide?

Try the following exercise. When you are in a bus or train or room full of people, look at the people one at a time without forming or even feeling any opinion or desire concerning them - neither a good opinion nor a bad opinion, nor with the least desire to alter them from what they appear to be. When you have tried this for a while with people, try it with things, and even with events concerning things, and finally with situations, large and small. Notice whether you tend immediately to label these situations as pleasant or unpleasant. Remain uninvolved unless and until you feel the need for appropriate action.