Not to kill, but to cherish all life. 

The First Precept

The first precept of Buddhism is to refrain from violence and protect all life. All things have a living spirit: rocks, trees, water, animals, and people. All are sacred and deserving of protection, Violence cannot live in a heart of compassion, and that is the goal of the First Precept; to transform the suffering of violence into compassion, within our hearts and within the world.

To open our hearts, we must face the hurt within. The pain we feel - from our actions those of others – is real. This is the seed of harmful thoughts, speech, and behavior. Until we forgive ourselves and others, we will continue to create more suffering. With forgiveness, we can stop the pain of the world, and live as we were meant to: precious and free from fear.

When we go forth into the world with anger, our views are distorted, and our actions – harming others in word and deed – have far reaching consequences. The harm will return to us. This is the law of karma. When we go forth with compassion, we can look at every situation and ask, “Does this increase suffering, or relieve it?” There are no absolutes. There are no easy answers.

With practice, we can learn to see, and cultivate wisdom.  Wisdom comes, not from figuring things out in our mind, but from spiritual practice: day after day, year after year.  The emphasis in Zen is not study - though study is important to a certain extent – it is practice: prayer, meditation, and ethical conduct. Buddha did not retire to a cave after his enlightenment; he continued his practice, amongst practitioners and laity, until he died. With humility and a quiet mind, we learn to understand the deep meaning of the actions of others. We develop insight.  

The hardship we face always offers a choice; to harden our heart or soften it. With a soft heart we empathize with all living beings. Compassion is born of hardship, and is the path to peace. It is our true nature to be loving and compassionate. It is our true nature to cherish others. In order to realize this within, we start with the First Precept.

Upholding this precept does not mean being passive. We can protect others, protest war, and speak truth to power. We can do all of this, not from anger, but from compassion. We can condemn actions, without feeling hatred for people.

There are many reasons to go to war. The harder path is to resolve conflict peacefully. If we listen deeply to our enemies, we will find that they want what we want: security, dignity, opportunity. It takes courage to listen, and empathize. Are we ready to try? Are we ready to say to violence, “Enough!” The message of this precept is hope for all humanity. The truth of this precept is for all religions. The time for this precept is now.