The Ten Good Deeds
If one wishes to stay away from suffering, one must cultivate the Ten Good Deeds, which are the source of all good karma and blessings. Master Chin Kung has explained that the first seven deeds of body and speech are for gaining temporal good fortune and blessings, while the three mental good deeds are to perfect one’s wisdom and Samadhi.
The Ten Virtues consist of the three karmas of the body, four karmas of speech and three karmas of the mind. They are as follows:
1)No Killing — To harm any sentient being is to kill. The Buddha has said that all sentient beings are our past life parents and future Buddhas, so if we harm them, we incur karmic retributions. It is only because of their past evil karma that they are animals today, and if we harm them, they may take revenge once they receive a better rebirth.
2) No Stealing — To take the valuables or possessions of others without permission is to steal. As for the property or reputation that justly belongs to others, no matter how much or how valuable, one commits theft if one appropriates it without permission, be it through power, intrigue, force or deceit.
3) No Lust — All relations outside of a proper marriage are considered a violation of the virtue of chastity. Note: The earliest Buddhist standard on proper sexual conduct prohibited relations with a partner married/engaged to someone else, and or a partner under the protection of their family, religion (e.g. nuns), law (e.g. prisoners) or the state (e.g. unable to give consent).
4) No Lying — To utter false and unsubstantiated words is to lie.
5) No Idle Speech — This refers to words that harm public decency and advocate moral laxity. Upasaka Huang Nien Tsu further elaborates: Frivolous (idle) Speech are words that accord with people’s passions and desires, as opposed to the joy that comes from the Dharma. It is speech that satisfies the defilements of the heart. Thus, if we were to expand this offense to its broadest meaning，even examples of classic eloquence, such as song and poetry, can be considered「Frivolous Speech」. In a narrower sense，it refers to words, articles, and media that are suggestive, lustful, obscene and or indecent. (Page 30 Treasury of Dharma Gems Edition II)
6) No Divisive Speech — To provoke conflict between two parties and undermine other’s mutual relationships constitute divisive speech.
7) No Abrasive Speech — Profane, violent and insulting words constitute abrasive speech. Upasaka Huang Nien Tsu’s elaboration: Harsh Speech refers to abusive and insulting words that afflict other people. Words that provoke anger and undermine dignity are Harsh Speech.(Page 30 Treasury of Dharma Gems Edition II)
8) No Avarice — To be obsessively materialistic, to seek more despite already having much, is to be avaricious.
9) No Wrath — To meet misfortune with hatred and outbursts of anger is to be wrathful.
10) No Ignorance — To be without good sense, reject the Dharma of the Buddha, neglectful of the teachings of the Sages, and doubtful of the laws of karma is to be ignorant.
The Buddha stresses that all who observe the Five Precepts and Ten Virtues will be reborn as humans or celestial devas in their next life. However, those who have failed to do so are guilty of the Ten Vices, and are therefore slated for the hells, ghost and animal realms. How frightening! Thus, we must hold fast to the Buddha’s teachings in order to be saved.
For a further elaboration on the Ten Good Deeds, please read Master Yin Guang’s letter on this subject:
Translation of Master Yin Guang’s Teachings of Good and Evil:
Whenever a person accrues merit or creates karma, the outlets are inevitably the six strands and three karmas. The six strands are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. The first five are of the body, and the last one belongs to the heart — karma committed mentally. Of the three karmas, the first refers to bodily actions of killing, stealing and lust. These three offenses are of grave consequence. Buddhists should not kill, and therefore should be vegetarian, and love all creatures. All animals feel pain ; they adore life and abhor death. Thus, they must never be harmed. If they are harmed, the karma of killing is committed, and in a future life, they will take revenge. Moreover, no one should take what is not freely given. Petty theft corrodes our virtue, and the effects of grand theft can be life threatening. If we steal from others, we may appear to have profited, but the actual result is that our stock of merit and lifespans have already been doubly reduced — costing us the original good fortune we would have gained. Whether the methods are through underhanded tactics, coercion, or embezzlement, all are considered to be stealing.
Lastly, the offense of lust encompasses all extramarital relations, and this applies even to courtesans. To commit lust is to degrade proper human relationships, and to imitate the behavior of beasts with the human body. If one acts like an animal in this life, one will surely be reborn as one in the future. Those who indulge in lust will have children who do likewise. Though all parents fear that their own children may become promiscuous, if they themselves cannot control their own behavior, it is inevitable that they will set a bad example. Thus, not only is adultery prohibited, even the passion between husband and wife must be kept to a minimum. The people of this world believe that passion and lust are sources of enjoyment, yet they do not understand that the bliss is momentary and the suffering lifelong, affecting even later generations. If we refrain from the above three offenses, we have achieved bodily virtue. If we cannot, then we have accrued bodily evil karma.
The second karma refers to the four types of evil speech: Lying, gossip, harsh and divisive speech. To lie is to utter false statements, to have a heart that contradicts the tongue. Gossip refers to seductive and perverse communications that elicit people’s passions, and lead youth astray, tempting them to indulge in promiscuity or self pleasure. Such offenders, even if they themselves are chaste, will nevertheless suffer infernal punishment, and rebirth as sows or female canines. When they are reborn as humans, they become courtesans, and though they may prosper during the flower of their youth, they will soon suffer immensely from venereal disease. Moreover, insults are so unnecessary, why accrue hatred with our tongues when we could be accruing merit instead? Harsh speech is to be mean in demeanor, and to have a tongue that cuts. Finally, divisive speech refers to talk that stirs up conflict and division. If slight, it confounds persons, and if serious, entire nations are mislead. If we can abstain from these four forms of speech, we are virtuous in tongue, if not, then we are evil in speech.
The third karma refers to mental states of avarice, wrath and ignorance. We are avaricious if we want all the wealth and profit for ourselves, with an attitude of the more the better. Wrath is to be angry and hateful without first carefully examining our own right and wrong, without giving any consideration to honest counsel. Lastly, ignorance does not refer to a lack of intellect, and even eloquent scholars who do not believe in the principles of karma and the Samsara, who think that all live only once, are guilty of ignorance. To abstain from these three mental states is to be virtuous in mind, and vice versa. The virtuous in body, tongue and mind who recite the Sutras or the Buddha’s name reap merit hundreds of thousands of times greater than evil people who do the same.
— Page 46, Treasury of Dharma Gems Edition II
The Part on the Ten Good Deeds is excerpted from my translations of Master Li Bing Nan’s works:
