The Fifth Grave Precept

With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,

The Fifth Grave Precept: Do Not Deal in Intoxicants.

The Fifth Grave Precept is our vow not to cloud our minds with intoxicants. Hmmm. Does this mean no wine with dinner? Not really, the point of this precept is that we vow to live with a clear mind. The problem comes in the fact that wine and other drugs have effects on our perceptions. But its not just drugs. We can intoxicate our minds with video games, television, news stories, books, magazines, foods, sex, etc. Too much of anything leads to a distorted version of reality. Its a cloudy mind that is the issue.
Drugs and alcohol we understand in terms of their intoxicating power. Yet, the power of electronic media, print media, and the entertainment industry has similar effects. When wee are inundated with images, messages, and invitations to meet every pleasure need, we seem to crave more. People can become what are now called "News Junkies", pornography is a multi-billion dollar business, violent or sexually explicit video games are at the fingertips of children and adults everywhere. Our brains are being transformed in the process. A result of this transformation is a need for more, on the one hand, and a distorted view of reality, on the other hand.
We must practice with this. As we sit, we should notice the thoughts and images that come up. Are these in any way connected to the "real" world? Are they a result of our desire to see in a certain way?

When we see a news story on violence somewhere in the world, like those this morning of Israeli counter attacks against rocketing Hamas, do we feel good or ill as a result?

The fact is violence is violence and yields a physical, emotional and psychological response. We must commit to a practice that enables us to see these effects clearly, sort them out and set ourselves free from them. A disciplined spiritual practice would have us reduce or eliminate our exposure to such images while working on replacing such images with healthy, wholesome ones.

Some might say this approach does not meet the litmus test of reality. I say reality is what we make it. It is true the world is a place with danger in it, but it is also a place with tremendous love and compassion. I believe it is time we give much fuller attention to the latter and far less to the former.

May you practice to develop a clear mind.

Be well.