What should I do if I violated one of the precepts, especially the precept about not harming any being?

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rodolfosancheznusa36
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What should I do if I violated one of the precepts, especially the precept about not harming any being?

Post by rodolfosancheznusa36 »

I have temper issues, and sometimes I say or do something that I regret later.

I know this can lead to the accumulation of negative karma. What should I do in case I violated right speech and right action?
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Ayu
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Re: What should I do if I violated one of the precepts, especially the precept about not harming any being?

Post by Ayu »

You can try a method after it happened:
Sit in breathing meditation, calm really down and analyse the situation without judging. Visualize what happened factually, like watching TV.
Then you can experiment and explore on this in different ways:
- Try to visualize an alternative behavior. What could you have done or said instead of losing temper?
- Why were you angry at all = there's no reason for anger, if one looks at it factually.
- When did the anger start? Go back & back & back. It's important to judge nothing during this exploration, because the thought of guilt serves dellusion and minimizes proper, angerless understanding.
- You might find other questions that fit for you. Circle around the situation, your behavior, your thoughts & feelings, your expectations... How valid are they?

After this breathing-analytical meditation, if you like, you can record or write down what you've found out. You can read it next time and work on it deeper.
Changing the behavior of becoming angry (it's only a behavior due to a certain way of thinking) is a long process. You need a series of insights and training. Therfore, people who annoy you will be your coaches and best teachers. That's hard, but it's a fact. :smile:

If you have the fortune to find a good therapist, it's worth a trial to work with someone who can have a look at it from the outside. But they have to have a kind of friendly stance on you as person.
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Hazel
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Re: What should I do if I violated one of the precepts, especially the precept about not harming any being?

Post by Hazel »

A good starting place that will help you both in life and later when you do purification practices is to learn what teachers mean by regret. My understanding is that it is a determination not to repeat the action (and take the steps to not do so) and not guilt that you did it. Self torture or worrying about hells is cultural baggage for a lot of us (especially me), but doesn't serve anyone. Think of it as instead as a precious opportunity to deepen your practice. You're very lucky you have anger, because it is something to take onto the path.
Happy Pride month to my queer dharma siblings!

What do you see when you turn out the lights?
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: What should I do if I violated one of the precepts, especially the precept about not harming any being?

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

The eightfold path are not precepts.
Not following them (right speech, action, etc)
isn’t a violation of precepts.

In the future, be more mindful and patient.
EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: What should I do if I violated one of the precepts, especially the precept about not harming any being?

Post by Kim O'Hara »

PadmaVonSamba wrote: Fri Sep 30, 2022 3:17 pm The eightfold path are not precepts.
Not following them (right speech, action, etc)
isn’t a violation of precepts.

In the future, be more mindful and patient.
:good:

Also, the precepts are not Commandments like the ten the Christians are brought up with. They are "Training Rules" (in some translations) or guidelines. We follow them as best we can, and the better we follow them the better our life might be, but there's no wrathful deity waiting around to punish us if we slip up. Rather, if we slip up we will have created some negative karma which will come back at us in some way, some time.

And we will probably never know how or when. :juggling:

:namaste:
Kim
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