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XIII
TE BASES OF MERITORIOUS ACTIO

PART TWO: THE SILA GROUP

COTETS

1. Definition of Morality (Sila)

2. Characteristic, Function, Manifestation & Proximate Cause
of Morality
3. Morality for the Lay Disciple
4. Five Precepts and Precepts of the Noble Eightfold Path
5. Eight Precepts
6. Ten Precepts
7. Grades and Types of Morality
8. Benefits of Morality
9. Reverence (Apacayana)
10. Humble or Dutiful Service (Veyyavacca)
11. References
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1. Definition of Morality (Sila)

Morality or Sila is the foundation of all meritorious actions

without which there can be no act of merit. This is because volitions
without morality lack the wholesome mental factors of non-greed,
non-hate and non-delusion, the root causes of merit. Even in the act
of giving, if both donor and recipient are immoral, the resultant
effect will be poor and lacking. Morality is defined as the following:

(a) Morality of Volition, Abstention and Performance

According to the Noble Eightfold Path, the 3 path factors

constituting morality are:
• Right Action, which is abstention from the wrong actions of
killing living beings, stealing and sexual misconduct.

• Right Speech, which is abstention from the wrong speech of

lying, slander, abusive words and frivolous talk.

• Right Livelihood, which is abstention from the wrong

livelihood of trading in weapons, living beings, flesh,
intoxicants, poisons, as well as any livelihood involving wrong
actions and wrong speech.

The three mental factors of Right Action, Right Speech and Right
Livelihood are known as the Morality of Abstention. The volitions
that accompany them are known as Morality of Volition. The
volition that causes one to fulfill duties towards one's elders or
teachers such as Reverence and Service is known as Morality of
Performance.

(b) Morality of on-Greed, on-Hate, on-Delusion

• Greed prompts one to covet other's property giving rise to the

wrong thought of covetousness. When one dispels such thought
 Ten Bases of Meritorious Action: Sila Group • 197

with right effort, there arise in one the dispelling volition and
non-greed. These mental factors are called Morality.

• Hate prompts one to wish to harm others giving rise to the

wrong thought of ill-will. When one dispels such thought with
right effort, there arise in one the dispelling volition and non-
hate. These mental factors are called Morality.

• Delusion prompts one to believe in a permanent soul or

disbelieve in the Law of Kamma giving rise to the wrong
thought or wrong view. When one dispels such beliefs, there
arise in one the dispelling volition and non-delusion or right
view. These mental factors are called Morality.

The kinds of Morality described in (a) and (b) apply equally to

monks and lay disciples. In addition, monks have to observe
Morality of Restraint in order to prevent the arising of defilements
and avoid the transgression of precepts.

(c) Morality of Restraint (Applicable to Monks Only)

There are 5 types of restraint observed by monks, namely:

i) Restraint through the Patimokkha or the 227 Fundamental

Precepts for Monks.
ii) Restraint through Mindfulness, which is guarding of the six
sense doors.
iii) Restraint through Wisdom, which is guarding the mind by
Insight Knowledge and using the four requisites by proper
reflection of their functions.
iv) Restraint through Patience when faced with heat, cold,
insects, or unpleasant conditions.
v) Restraint through Energy in avoiding wrong livelihood
prohibited by the Code of Discipline.
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2. Characteristic, Function, Manifestation and Proximate

Cause of Morality

• Morality has the characteristic of composing (silana) one's

physical & verbal actions by orientating them in the right
direction. A person who observes the precepts watches closely
over his physical and verbal actions so that they take place in an
orderly manner under his control. In an immoral person, his
physical and verbal actions take place in a haphazard manner
without any control or direction. Morality also has the
characteristic of upholding by serving as a basis or foundation
for all acts of merit because no act of merit can be accomplished
without it.

• The function of morality is twofold, namely: (i) prevents one

from misconduct through body and speech, (ii) helps one to
achieve the quality of blamelessness in virtuous persons.

• Morality is manifested as purity in bodily action, purity in

verbal action and purity in mental action.

• The proximate cause of morality is moral shame (hiri) and

moral dread (ottappa) of doing an immoral act. Although
listening to the Dhamma promotes the arising of morality, it
serves only as a remote cause. It is only through shame & dread
that the precepts are observed. Without them, morality neither
arises nor persists.

• Shame arises from within and dread arises from without.

Suppose, for instance, there is an iron rod, one end of which is
red-hot and the other end smeared with filth. The filthy end one
would not touch owing to disgust, and the hot end out of fear.
Shame is compared with the former and dread with the latter.
 Ten Bases of Meritorious Action: Sila Group • 199

3. Morality for the Lay Disciple

For lay people, the basic morality one has to observe is the Five
Precepts. The Five Precepts are mandatory because killing,
stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech and taking intoxicants are
immoral and invariably lead to rebirth in the lower planes of
existence. The morality group comprising Right Speech, Right
Action and Right Livelihood form a set of Precepts of the oble
Eightfold Path called Ajivatthamaka Sila, which is abstaining
from: killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, slandering,
abusing, frivolous talk and wrong livelihood. These are the precepts
to be fulfilled at the initial stage of the Noble Eightfold Path.

When the Buddha first appeared in the world, it was still enveloped
in the darkness of greed, hate and delusion and the people were
bereft of morality. In order to inculcate morality, He initially taught
abstentions from wrong speech, wrong actions and wrong livelihood
to best suit their coarse minds. Later on, when the grosser forms of
evil had been removed from their habits, the Buddha no longer made
use of it. Instead He taught the Five Precepts and Eight Precepts to
further purify their minds.

4. Five Precepts and Precepts of the oble Eightfold Path

At first sight, the Five Precepts appear to be inferior to the Precepts

of the Noble Eightfold Path, which have four verbal restraints
compared to only one restraint (from lying) in the Five Precepts.
However, of the 4 types of wrong speech, lying is the most serious
as it forms the basis of breach of all the verbal restraints. The
Buddha taught that for one who commits falsehood, there is no
misdeed which he is not liable to perpetuate while one who abstains
from lying, can easily observe Right Speech. How could one who
does not tell lies indulge in slandering, abusing and frivolous talks,
especially since the Buddha had warned that habitual indulgence in
them would lead to rebirth in the lower worlds.
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What about the absence of Right Livelihood in the Five Precepts?

The answer to this lies in the fact that for one who observes the Five
Precepts, no special effort is required to refrain from wrong
livelihood which means earning one's living by the wrong means of
killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, etc. By observing the Five
Precepts meticulously, one automatically avoids these misdeeds,
let alone makes a living from them! Therefore no question arises
that the Five Precepts are inferior to the Precepts of the Noble
Eightfold Path.

In other words, observance of the Precepts of the Noble Eightfold

Path is necessary for those who are still poor in morality in order to
rid them of their debased habits. For the virtuous lay disciple who is
well established in the Three Refuges and Five Precepts there is no
special need for them to observe the Precepts of the Noble Eightfold
Path. The analogy is similar to the case of a fierce animal, which
has to be tied up or put in a cage to prevent it from causing harm
while a tame animal is allowed to roam freely.

5. Eight Precepts

The Eight Precepts are called Atthanga Uposatha Sila (Atthanga

means eight) because they are usually observed by the laity on
special days called Uposatha, translated simply as "Day of Fasting
or Abstinence."

Nowadays, the lay people observe 4 Uposatha days in each month,

namely: new moon, 8th waxing, full moon, and 8th waning days. In
Buddhist countries, virtuous lay disciples take the opportunity where
possible, to observe Eight Precepts, visit the monastery to perform
dana, listen to Dhamma talks and engage in meditation on an
Uposatha Day. The Eight Precepts are:
 Ten Bases of Meritorious Action: Sila Group • 201

• Abstention from 1killing; 2stealing; 3telling lies; and 4taking

intoxicants. These four precepts are mandatory abstentions
called Varitta Sila.

• Abstention from 5all sexual activity; 6taking food after mid-day;

7
dancing, singing, music, unseemly shows & the use of garlands,
perfumes, cosmetics and jewelry that aim to beautify and adorn
the person; 8high and luxurious seats and beds.

The first category is called Varitta Sila or Morality of Abstention

because their actions invariably lead to rebirth in the lower worlds.
However the second category of actions may, or may not, lead to
rebirth in the lower worlds depending whether they are done with
mind accompanied or unaccompanied by wrong view. Lay Noble
disciples (Ariyas) such as Visakha and Anathapindika, who have not
eradicated sensual craving, enjoy lawful sexual relations with their
spouses, eat after mid-day, dance, sing, enjoy music, beautify
themselves and sleep in luxurious beds. But since they do so with
mind unaccompanied by wrong views, their actions will not result
in rebirth in the lower worlds.

The Ariya's attitude towards sensual pleasures differs from that of

the ordinary worldling. The Scriptures compare it to that of a clean
Brahmin who, pursued by a mad elephant, seeks refuge with
loathing and reluctance in a pile of excreta. When oppressed by
sensual craving, the lay Ariya who has not eradicated this
defilement, deals with the sense object with mind free from wrong
view. On the contrary, the ordinary worldling indulges in sensual
pleasures generally with mind accompanied by wrong view.

When a person who has taken refuge in the Triple Gem observes the
Five Precepts, he would be a virtuous lay disciple of the Buddha. If
he makes further effort to observe the Eight Precepts, it is for the
purpose of practising the holy life at a higher level. In this sense, the
second category of four additional precepts, are voluntary and are
considered as Caritta Sila or Morality of Performance. For monks
and novices, the Buddha had strictly forbidden them to indulge in
such acts and their mandatory avoidance constitutes Varitta Sila.
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6. Ten Precepts

The Ten Precepts is an extension of the Eight Precepts whereby the

single precept of abstaining from dancing, singing, music, unseemly
shows & the use of garlands, perfumes, cosmetics and jewelry is
split into two precepts, namely:

• Abstaining from dancing, singing, music, unseemly shows

• Abstaining from the use of garlands, perfumes, cosmetics,
jewelry

These make nine precepts and another precept of abstaining from

receiving gold and silver (Jatarupa rajata patiggahana) makes it
ten. According to the Khuddakapatha Commentary: "Silver is a
kahapana (coin), or it can be a metal masaka (penny), or a wooden
masaka, or a clay masaka, and so on, of any kind as employed in
commerce anywhere". In modern context, this includes money. The
Ten Precepts are mandatory for monks and novices but not for lay
disciples where their observance constitutes Caritta Sila, Morality
of Performance.

7. Grades and Types of Morality

Like all meritorious actions, the grade of morality is determined by

the intensities of the four factors of Potency (Iddhipadas), namely:
desire, effort, mind or will and investigative knowledge. When
these elements are weak, medium or strong, the corresponding
morality is Inferior, Medium or Superior respectively. Morality
practised out of a desire for fame is of Inferior grade. That practised
out of a desire for the fruits of merit is of Medium grade. That
undertaken for the noble state, through understanding that one
should cultivate these practices with pure wholesome volition solely
for their nobleness, is Superior morality.
 Ten Bases of Meritorious Action: Sila Group • 203

Between the two types of morality, Morality of Performance

(Caritta Sila) can be accomplished only when one is endowed with
faith and effort. Faith is the belief in the Law of Kamma i.e. good
results will follow the good actions of practising morality. Effort
means the relentless energy one applies to the practice of morality in
keeping with the faith, namely: Right Effort. For Morality of
Avoidance (Varitta Sila), faith alone is adequate to refrain from
doing the demeritorious actions prohibited by the Buddha.

The morality observed by the laity is called Gahattha Sila or the

Householder's Morality. With regard to this, the Visuddhi Magga
or Path of Purification says:

‘The Five Precepts as a permanent undertaking, the Ten Precepts

where possible and the Eight Precepts on an Uposatha Day, are
the morality to be observed by the lay disciple’.

8. Benefits of Morality

By abstaining from immoral speech, actions and livelihood, one

achieves the quality of blamelessness with non-remorse as the
benefit. One who observes the precepts is dear and loved by his
companions in the life of purity who hold him in high esteem. Non-
remorse leads to joy (piti) and bliss (sukha), followed by tranquillity
(passadhi), the proximate cause of concentration (samadhi). With
concentrated mind, one is able to penetrate into the true nature of
things (yathabhuta-nana) through Insight (vipassana) and attain the
Path & Fruition Knowledge (magga-phala nana). Thus morality has
many benefits, beginning with non-remorse and ending with the
realization of 'ibbana.

The Buddha also mentioned the following 5 benefits gained by one

who observes the precepts and is established in morality.
i) Acquires a large fortune as a result of diligence.
ii) Acquires a good reputation and fame.
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iii) Able to approach and enter any assembly of nobles, brahmins,

householders or recluses with complete self-assurance, without
fear or hesitation.
iv) Lives the full life-span and dies unconfused without fear or
remorse.
v) After death, one is reborn in the happy realms of the human or
celestial worlds.

9. Reverence (Apacayana)

According to the definition of Sila, reverence (apacayana) falls

under the Morality of Performance. The Atthasalini defines
reverence or respect thus:

‘Respect as a basis of meritorious action should be known in such

acts as going to meet an elderly person, taking his bowl and robe for
him, saluting him, showing him the way’.

This explanation implies a humble attitude of mind that is free of

conceit, accompanied by intimation through act and speech of
respect for elders. This means that one should hold them in
veneration in our thoughts, address them reverentially, use polite
speech, bow to them, rise in their presence and offer one's seat, serve
them first and generally treat them with the greatest respect.

In Samyutta I, 177, the Buddha elaborated further on this virtue

when He subdued the pride of a brahmin named Pridestiff in
Savatthi. This young man showed neither respect to his mother, nor
to his father, nor to his teacher, nor to his eldest brother, which was
probably the reason why he got this name. Once when the Buddha
was preaching to a large congregation, Pridestiff was entertaining
conceited thoughts about himself. At that moment, the Buddha read
his thoughts and addressed him in verse, showing Pridestiff that his
mind was like an open book.
 Ten Bases of Meritorious Action: Sila Group • 205

Thereupon Pridestiff was humbled, and to the astonishment of the

crowd, prostrated himself before the Buddha. After the Buddha had
asked him to return to his seat, Pridestiff asked these questions:

“To whom should one show humility? Whom treat with reverence?
Whom should one offer honour and respect? To worship whom is
well?”

To which the Buddha replied:

“To mother and to father one should show humility; to eldest

brother and fourthly to your teacher. These, one should show
reverence. These, one should show honour and respect. To worship
them is well. The Arahants, stainless, cool, having done what is to
be done, Those peerless ones who are docile, immune and sane.
Subdue your pride and hold them in veneration.”

a) Reverence among Lay People

Among the laity, parents come first because they bring their
children into the world and raise them with care and affection,
always desiring their welfare and success. In Anguttara i, 62, the
Buddha said that even if one should carry his mother on one
shoulder and his father on the other shoulder for a hundred years
serving them dutifully, one could never repay them. But if one could
incite one's parents to practise generosity and morality and
establish them in faith in the Triple Gem and wisdom, one does
repay what is due to one's parents. Among the Ten Subjects of Right
View, understanding that there are results of one's actions (kamma)
towards one's mother and father constitutes Right View. Therefore,
one should always hold them in veneration in one's thoughts, speech
and action.

Older brothers, sisters and relatives deserve our respect because

they were the ones who protected and helped us when our parents
were busy. Our teachers also deserve our respect because they
taught us how to read & write and educated us in the arts & sciences
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so that we are not illiterate. In the East, respect for an older person is
considered a sign of proper upbringing. By being respectful to
elders, one gains much benefit because they will provide the best
advice based on their experiences, which they will not share with a
disrespectful person. For one behaving dutifully and respecting the
elders, four things increase: lifespan, beauty, comfort and
strength.

For Buddhists, the highest veneration goes to the Triple Gem, that
supreme resort consisting of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha
because they are the most worthy objects of veneration (see Going
for Refuge). For this reason, members of the Sangha are held in
veneration by virtuous lay disciples, who reverentially salute and
prostrate themselves when they meet a monk, serving him with care
and respect. Through such acts of reverence, the lay disciple benefits
by casting away pride and conceit. The monk is also happy to preach
the Dhamma to such people who are considered as proper resort
(gocara).

b) Reverence among Members of the Sangha

When someone becomes a monk, he leaves the home life and

becomes a homeless one. His preceptor, who now ‘raises’ him in
the Dhamma and Vinaya (Teaching and Discipline) is considered as
the father while the pupil is considered as the son. The pupil has to
observe a strict, mandatory code of conduct towards the preceptor,
performing acts of reverence and service as stipulated in the
Vinaya, failure of which can constitute dukkata or minor offences.

There is also a code of conduct regulating the behavior of a junior

monk towards his seniors e.g. a junior monk must address a senior
monk as ‘Bhante or Venerable Sir’ but the senior addresses the
junior as ‘Avuso or Friend’. Thus a monk is required to remember
the date and time of his ordination so that he would know his status
when meeting another monk and behave accordingly.
 Ten Bases of Meritorious Action: Sila Group • 207

Similarly, novices are required to act reverentially to any monk

they meet even though the latter is newly ordained. In this way, the
harmony of the Sangha is preserved. Incidentally, no monk is
allowed to ordain new monks i.e. act as preceptor unless he has
undergone 10 years rains-retreat (vassa) and is well-versed in the
Dhamma and Vinaya. In Myanmar, a monk of 10 years standing or
above is addressed as ‘Sayadaw’.

10. Humble or Dutiful Service (Veyyavacca)

Childers' Pali Dictionary translates ‘veyyacacca’ as service or duty

performed by an inferior to a superior. This implies a humble
attitude of mind free from conceit, when performing an act of
service to another party. The Atthasalini defines it thus:

“Dutifulness as basis of meritorious action should be known in those

acts by which we carry out duties great and small towards our
elders, when, for instance, we take the bowl from a bhikkhu who has
been seen to enter the village for alms and fill it with food in the
village, and present it to him, or go quickly and take the bowl, etc.,
on hearing the summons, ‘Go and bring the bhikkhu's bowl’.”

a) Humble Service among Lay People

For lay people, service means serving one's parents and elders
dutifully and carrying out the job to their satisfaction. Other types of
humble service include ministering to the sick and unfortunate in old
folks and welfare homes, by attending patiently to their needs.
Humble service of nursing the sick is highly praised by the Buddha.
All types of humble deeds to the community, temples, such as
performing humble services of helping to keep the monastery clean,
cooking, serving food and drinks, washing dishes, etc., also
constitute veyyavacca in addition to those defined above. The fruits
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of humble service are obtaining help in time of need,

accomplishment of one's wishes and having a retinue.

b) Dutifulness among Monks

For monks, there are certain duties to be performed towards one's

preceptor or teacher, such as: attend to his needs, wash his alms-
bowl, take care of his robes, offer him a drink during a meal, prepare
his bath, keep his room clean, etc. In return, the preceptor is required
to train the disciple in the Teaching and Discipline and provide him
with the necessaries such as an alms-bowl, robes and other articles,
which the pupil does not possess. If the pupil is sick, the preceptor is
required to nurse him until he recovers. Such duties are mandatory
for monks, unless exemption is granted by the preceptor e.g. as in
the case of a pupil who wishes to practise intensive meditation.

11. References

1. The Expositor (Atthasalini) translated by Pe Maung Tin, The

Pali Text Society, London.

2. The Great Chronicles of Buddhas, Vol. 1, Part 1, Anudipani by

the Most Venerable Mingun Sayadaw Bhaddanta
Vicittasarabhivamsa.

3. A Dictionary of the Pali Language by R. C. Childers.

4. The Mahavagga, Vinaya Texts translated by T.W. Rhys Davids

and Hermann Oldenberg, Part 1. Sacred Books of the East,
Vol.13.