To better enable one to practice the three parts of the Noble Eightfold Path called sila or the morality group, i.e., realistic, skillful or right speech, action, and livelihood, a person seeing the practicality of using Buddhism’s dharma in one’s life, and desirous of putting it to use, can take a vow (to oneself). This vow is known as the Five Precepts. In taking the vow, one is not joining any order or religion; he/she is merely stating an intention on how he/she intends to live life in a way that happiness is encouraged, where dukkha is eliminated or at least minimized, and where metta and karuna are practiced. These five precepts (in the form of a vow) are:
- I vow to train to abstain from killing anything that breathes, and I vow to encourage life.
- I vow to train to abstain from taking what is not given, and I vow to encourage giving and sharing.
- I vow to train to abstain from sexual misconduct, and I vow to encourage proper and respectful conduct.
- I vow to train to abstain from speaking falsehood, and I vow to encourage truthfulness.
- I vow to train to abstain from liquor and drugs that cause intoxication and heedlessness, and I vow to encourage the use of healthful food and liquids.
In taking into consideration these five precepts, I have created the following vow for participants in wedding ceremonies. The vow encompasses all five of the precepts.
