2. Not take that which is not given. 

  3. Not to speak that which may harm others.

  4. Not to commit adultery.

  5. Not to become intoxicated.  

  6. Not to eat at improper times.

  7. Not to engage in sensual entertainments.

  8. Not to indulge in adornments  

(wearing garlands, using perfumes & beautifying the body with cosmetics)  

  9. Not to sleep or sit in a high bed.  

10. Not to accept/handle gold and silver (money) 

Do the above Precepts look familiar?  The first five are simply the foundational Five Lay Precepts, which are retaken/reaffirmed with each additional ordination -- they are that important.  The novice monk then takes (or, essentially, retakes) the additional three of the Anagarika's Eight Precepts.  It is not necessary for a novice to have taken Anagarika Ordination (and an Anagarika does not necessarily become a novice monk), but those last three Precepts taken by an Anagarika are basic monastic rules -- vital to learning to become no one -- and are important for the novice. Two of the Anagarika Precepts are identical in the Novice Precepts:  # 6 stays the same, and # 8 is renumbered to become Novice Precept # 9.  Anagarika Precept # 7, which deals with avoiding sensual entertainments and adornments, is split into two Precepts for the novice (# 7 and # 8).  This split emphasizes the teaching of the Precept (our attachment and craving for sensation and sense elements) and forces the novice to examine the two aspects individually.  The last Precept, # 10, deals with not handling money, which reinforces the decision to step away from householder life.  

Again, these last five Precepts are interpreted and applied differently throughout the  Buddhist world.  How a monk understands and acts within these precepts is often dependent upon culture and circumstance.   

Precept # 10: Not to accept/handle gold and silver (money)  

In prior newsletters, we've covered at least a surface level of those precepts that become the first nine of the Novice Precepts. In practice, the novice finds layers and a deepening understanding.  Novice Precept # 10 is a good example of the way a novice begins to walk this Path, finding a way between-and-through intention, practice and nuance.   

This Precept is/was a sharp, demonstrable distinction between laypeople and monks: monks don't handle gold and silver.  It's very clear, even as we keep in mind that Precepts are not commandments but, rather, guides to skillful action, to Right Action, to good karma (action).   

What does the action of not handling gold and silver mean?  At a primary level, as mentioned above, this is just leaving home.  The Novice commits to abandoning concerns of wealth, status, and all things worldly.  Buddha's monks were itinerants, carrying with them their few possessions (three robes, a bowl for begging food, a razor, a water-straining cloth).  Over time, however, and despite such strict limitations, a variety of rules had to be created to help fully ordained monks avoid attachment to even these few, ephemeral "possessions."   

It seems to be human nature to confuse what we "have" to what we "own." As an essential Zen teaching: we, none of us, own anything; nothing to own and no one to own it.  Yet, how we cling, confusing what we may have further into "who we are."     

A little deeper, this Precept is a prohibition and warning against hoarding, against becoming enmeshed in lay affairs of wealth, power and material goods.  Furthermore, it is a reminder not to cultivate attachments to outcomes (including plans for the future),  Precept # 10 is a protection for monks: being prudent -- as virtuous as that may be -- is also a slippery slope to wanting things to be a certain way, to forgetting the essential Buddhist teaching of impermanence. 

And this Precept, as written, works very well in countries where temples and monks are supported by the lay sangha or even by the government.  In some cultures, devout layperson(s) take(s) care of buying groceries, medicine and gasoline, of paying the property taxes and insurance, of determining the cost and soliciting funds for repairs, improvements and special projects.  However, it becomes problematic where lay support is absent or lacking.  It is extremely difficult in much of the world today.   

As with all the precepts, various traditions and cultures interpret # 10 in different ways.  Some are hard-line and hold to prohibition, despite extreme hardship and privation.  

Monks don't handle gold and silver: no way, no how.  But even within those who hold to strict application, there are variations.  

In my experience, this Precept is a prime example of how easy it is to look critically at one another's practice through the lens of our own school, circumstance or ability.  What a trap! For when it comes to right here, right now -- however these Novice Precepts are phrased, interpreted and applied -- they are the foundation for the life of the Sangha, the Buddhist community of monks and nuns. Subsequent Precepts of Full Ordination, as well as practice come from and build upon these, from becoming and being no one.      

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*Novice Monk or Novice Nun?  At DZC, we tend to simply call men and women "monks," which isn't terribly controversial at the novice level of ordination.  However, because Full Ordination in most of the Buddhist world involves different sets of Precepts and cultural expectations which distinguish between genders, a distinction is traditional. Sometimes, we confuse others and sometimes we are confused.  (But, that's a whole different conversation!)   - Su Co