This is a blog from my myspact that I thought I would reprint to kick things off.  Enjoy!

Are you ready to rock? I am! "The Five Postmodern Precepts"
Category: Religion and Philosophy

Well, as promised, here's some more dharma for ya.  I'm no zenji, okay, but I've done a lot of thinking and meditating on this stuff.  For a long time I've wanted to do a full ceremony of 'Taking the Precepts,' which if you don't know are:

1. Thou shalt not kill.

2. Thou shalt not steal.

3. Thou shalt not lie.

4. Thou shalt not fuck around.

5. Thou shalt not drink liquor.

Good stuff, right?  Come on!  That's basic, and it doesn't really cover much more subtlety than, oh, I don't know... THE BIBLE?  We Buddhists, at least the iconoclastic Zen Buddhists I tend to align with, are nothing if we are not up for trying to get down to the meat of the issue.  Besides, for those of us who aren't monks, who want to sing songs by Loverboy at the local tavern's karaoke night and eat a hamburger, the precepts present a problem. 

We're (not just Buddhists, everybody) good people for the most part.  Bland platitudes or Draconian covenants just don't prepare you for real life.  What most people deserve is a chance to shine on their own, and failing that, a chance to fuck up royally and learn from it without some numbnuts in a robe telling you you're going to burn in penal fire and adamantine chains FOR FUCKING EVER. 

Whoops.

So what do I have to offer?  The five precepts for postmodern Buddhists.  They are a result of the challenges I have faced in my life both before and after my decision to walk the Middle Way.  Which is not easy street, by the way. 

These precepts are not intended as absolute rules.  They are guides to practice and understanding, and I have combined some of the later monastic precepts in to make a more thorough spread.  I must give credit where credit is due- Thich Nat Hanh reformulated the precepts brilliantly, and they are well worth a read.  A trifle New Agey for me, more suited to someone at a yoga class than the dude going out to see a High On Fire show or something.  So, I took the episkopos route and made my own.  I'd also like to the patriarch Bodhidarma (whoever you were!), who said that "Life and death are important.  Don't suffer them in vain."

So, without further ado, here they are.  I hope you take something from them for your practice and your life.

1.  Though I certainly may kick ass in a figurative sense, I will strive not to do so literally.  I will be mindful of the physical suffering of others, and strive to alleviate it when I can or gain insight from it when I can not.

2.  I will strive not to take anything that is not given to me freely, recognizing that the world is a complex place and the issue of property hard to fully fathom.  I will do my best to share with others when it will help them.

3.  I pledge to refrain from using lies and hurtful speech.  My relations with others will be respectful unless otherwise required.  I will strive my utmost to promote a foundation of 'kusala' in modern communication and understanding.

4.  I take the precept of not commiting sexual misconduct, and in so doing I will strive to understand the nature of interdependence.  I will strive to never harm someone sexually.  In relationships I will hold on when necessary and let go when it is time.

5.  The world of samsara is illusion, part and parcel- a beautiful trap.  Every glimmer in the bejewlled net can ensnare, just as anything in life can intoxicate- alcohol, drugs, food, sex, TV, music, sports, even activity or torpor itself.  As one who aspires to the Middle Way of the Buddhas, I swear to seek enlightenment, not through abstinence or indulgence, but through wisdom, equanimity, and compassion.  If some weekend I still choose to get buck wild, then I will strive to follow my choices, behavior, and their consequences with appropriate mindfulness.

So that's it, buoys and gulls.  They're not there to limit us, but to spur us on to further understanding.  Who knows, once we're not quite such basket cases, we can go out and help others?  What do you think?

Thanks for letting me yak at you.  Comments and suggestions are appreciated, as I hope these precepts will be dynamic rather than static.  Peace out!