From the most basic filial piety to the ten good deeds. Until a single thought arises, that is good. The standard of goodness has different understanding and interpretation according to the understanding and realization of spiritual practice.
The Ten Good Deeds of Buddhism:
1. Do not kill living beings but be compassionate and kind - killing is killing, life is life. Not killing the lives of living beings is called ahimsa. That is to say, all sentient beings should be treated equally and should not be killed or harmed. Because Buddhism advocates the equality of Buddha nature and advocates compassion to save the world, the Buddha used the teaching of equality and compassion to call for help for the killed sentient beings and instructed that all living beings have Buddha nature, so they cannot be killed. And Mencius once said: "Hearing its voice, one cannot bear to eat its flesh." ’ He didn’t talk about Buddha nature, but he was out of benevolence and showed pity for the killed sentient beings. From this point of view, if one can be compassionate and benevolent without killing any living being, then the world of life can be as natural as possible, and things like fighting and hatred can be eliminated. Wouldn't the world be peaceful?
2. Don’t steal but be just and economical—stealing is defrauding and stealing, and stealing is robbery. Not stealing and taking other people's property is called not stealing. Because all things, the transfer of sovereignty must be based on justice, taking without giving, taking without dividing, and taking without merit are all acts of theft. To be able to live a life and fulfill desires is called "profit", and to achieve what is appropriate is called "righteousness". Knowing that it is beneficial to oneself, one must benefit others, that is, benefiting others and benefiting oneself is called "righteousness and benefit". If everyone practices justice, is frugal in daily necessities, supports parents, maintains family life, is happy with his family, and is cautious in dealing with money with friends, then no theft will occur, society will be peaceful, and individuals and families will be happy.
3. Do not engage in sexual immorality but be chaste and observant of propriety - that is, except for couples who are formally united, they must not engage in sexual immorality. If it is not one's own wife, it is called sexual immorality. Being able to correct the sexual desires between men and women is called abstaining from sexual immorality, that is, being chaste and upright. That is to say, after forming a family, the couple must respect each other as guests and refrain from other promiscuous behaviors, so that they can live in harmony and become a happy family.
4. Do not lie but be honest and non-deceptive - fool people with tricks, deceive others with words, like to tell lies, saying no, not yes, this is called lying. To refrain from lying means to speak truthfully and not to speak false or deceitful words. If you can stay away from lying and be honest and not deceive, then your parents, brothers, relatives, friends, and other human contacts will all be able to trust each other. This is actually the path to happiness.
5. Don’t be divisive without arguing about right and wrong - Not being divisive means not telling right from wrong and not alienating others’ feelings. People in the world who do not cultivate their oral karma often suffer from the problem of two tongues: it is said that diseases enter from the mouth, and disasters come out from the mouth. The disasters of two tongues can lead to troubles, right and wrong, disturb the body and mind, and even use force to hurt people. In fact, they are killing without seeing. The culprit of blood. If you can stay away from two tongues and speak the truth, will there be any disputes between right and wrong?
6. Don’t speak harshly but speak kindly. Not speaking harshly means not saying harsh words that insult others, and not using malicious words to curse others. Ordinary people often use harsh words to curse others, and hurting their parents and ancestors for three generations is considered a serious form of harsh words. The sutra says: 'Those who speak evil words shall suffer the retribution of animals. ’ Therefore, if you speak kind words without being harsh, you can accumulate virtue, become good, and be respected and loved by others.
7. Speak politely without idle talk - the so-called idle talk means sweet words, frivolous and rude words, improper words that lead to all kinds of evil thoughts in life, teasing, random words for fun, all of which are called idle words. language. Those who speak such idle words not only do no good to themselves, but can also harm others. Their karmic retribution will be death and falling into an evil path, and they will be despised forever as a human being. Therefore, if you say something that is in line with etiquette and does not violate the truth, it is called not to talk nonsense. If you can stay away from idle talk, you will be honest, polite, dignified and majestic, and you will be respected by others.
8. Don’t be greedy but give charity with kindness - not willing to give away your own property to others is called "fringe", but wanting to own other people's property is called "greed". Greedy people pursue the five desires of money, sex, fame, food, and sleep without knowing where to stop, and they will create all kinds of sins. Therefore, they must stay away from greed, do not be stingy with their own property, and do not covet other people's property. The money you have to earn a living can be used to support your parents, educate your children, and family expenses. If you can give sympathy to Tzu Chi or donate to social welfare projects for the poor, sick and orphans, you are compassionate and giving. The scripture says: "Being able to give charity" If you do, you can gain wealth. ’ But there should be no greed. The Buddha said, ‘If you have a lot of greed, you will have a lot of karma; ’ People suffer from greed in life, and Buddhism encourages people to be compassionate and give alms to combat greed.
9. Don’t be angry but be kind and tolerant to accumulate blessings - Anger means when things don’t go your way, hatred is buried in the heart and anger is expressed outwardly. Even outbursts of temper can lead to murder and disaster. Ordinary people say: "Fire burns the forest of merit." This means that no matter how many good deeds a person has done, when the fire of anger breaks out, he will be angry with others, even use force to fight, and all kinds of misfortunes will happen. Therefore, the good deeds he has done will be destroyed by it. Burn until clean. Therefore, anger must be treated with compassion and tolerance, that is to say, "There is a knife above the word "forbearance". A person cannot bear to bring disaster upon himself. If you can endure the knife for a while, you will realize that tolerance is the best. ’ In China’s Shandong Province, there once lived a man named Zhang Gong, whose forbearance turned into gold, and his endurance brought blessings. Therefore, we must diligently cultivate the virtue of compassion and tolerance to stay away from the faults of anger. This is called not being angry, and we can achieve great causes of self-interest and altruism.
10. Not to be stupid but to learn more and gain wisdom - Stupidity is ignorance, confusion, no wisdom, no understanding of things, inability to distinguish right from wrong, no belief in the law of cause and effect, stubbornness in wrong views, and no right views and beliefs. , acting randomly. If you can learn more about the right principles (Buddha Dharma) and increase your wisdom, you can lead to right views and become a good person who understands things. Buddhist scriptures say that cultivating Prajna Wisdom can cure ignorance and delusion and keep people away from wrong views. This is called not being stupid and delusional.
The above are not killing, not stealing, and not committing sexual misconduct, which are the three good deeds for the body. No lying, no double-talk, no harsh words, and no idle talk are the four good deeds of speech. Not to be greedy, not to be angry, not to be ignorant, these are the three good deeds.
The mind is the mind, so the mind has the existence of ignorance and troubles, so it is called the mind.