Bhante, I've heard that it is a good idea for a layperson to keep more than the five precepts.
once a week, such as not sleeping in a high place or luxurious bed.
Do you agree?
What additional precepts should a lay person keep?
As this was actually a practice in the time of the Buddha, people would ask the Buddha what to do on the holy days because in India at the time there were the full moons and I believe there were also the half moons.
It's not clear in my mind anyway.
You have these holy days that they had
recognized in Hinduism, in the religion that we now know as Hinduism, Brahmanism or whatever.
And so people would ask the Buddha, what do we do on these holidays?
How should we Buddhists behave?
And so the Buddha said there are many ways of keeping the uposatha, keeping the holidays.
But taking the eight precepts was how the Buddha recommended it.
If that translates in the West to every Sunday, that I think is a fine thing to do.
Monks can't do that.
We are still traditionally bound to the moons, so every full moon and every empty moon we have our holidays.
But for lay people, I would say, in a world where Saturday and Sunday are the holidays,
Take one day or the other and every week keep the eight precepts.
It's a great way to keep up your practice and to intensify your practice, to intensify your commitment and your dedication to Buddhism.
Talking about what's going to make us closer to the Dhamma.
Keeping the eight precepts once a week is an excellent way to bring you closer to the Dhamma.
So it's the eight precepts, you have the five precepts, and then instead of just the third one being wrong sexual activity, you engage in no sexual or romantic activity.
And then you add three more, which are not to eat outside of the morning hours, not to engage in entertainment or beautification, and not to sleep on a high bed, so to try to sleep on the floor, on simple bedding.
So keeping those, those are the meditator's precepts and they push you into a meditative state so they're quite useful and beneficial for a meditator and a great way to intensify your commitment.
Just as a Christian or a Jew or Muslim would every week go to their holy place in order to reaffirm their commitment, remind themselves about the teachings and so on.
Something you can do even at home.
Buddhism, just practice meditation for that day.
Like here in Stoney Creek, actually, we're going to take Saturdays, I think.
So every Saturday, once I get back from Florida, we're going to try to do a meditation course every Saturday.
So that'll be all day, nine to four.
Everyone can come and they'll know that every Saturday they have that.
Of course, if you don't have a place near you, you just do it at home.
Keep the eight precepts and try to practice as much as you can.