Sila practice is not only about not killing, not stealing, not committing sexual misconduct, not lying, and not consuming alcohol and other addictive substances, but it is also about not harming or exploiting other living beings.
One may be just a living being in the vast universe and still fraught with flaws. But one can count oneself most fortunate to be a follower of the Lord Buddha, the Perfect Man, for no living beings can be compared to the Lord Buddha.
One may wonder how it is possible for an ordinary person to observe the Precepts immaculately amidst temptations or scarcity or when no one else is watching.
The fruits of Sila practice are too numerous to enumerate. Likewise, the ill consequences wrought by Sila transgression are also too numerous to enumerate.
t is because human beings live together as a community that they must have an agreement with each other in order to live together in peace and harmony. This agreement is called human virtues or Sila-5.
There are three types of Sila as follows.
1. Sila-5 or the Five Precepts These are the basic precepts that preserves one's human quality and guides a person to be civilized and righteous. Therefore, every human being must observe at least these five precepts.
