https://buddhistresources.com/core-teachings/buddhist-ethics/Recent content in Buddhist Ethics & the Precepts on Buddhist ResourcesHugoen-usFri, 18 Sep 2026 00:35:57 +0200https://buddhistresources.com/core-teachings/buddhist-ethics/five-precepts/Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:34:56 +0200https://buddhistresources.com/core-teachings/buddhist-ethics/five-precepts/<p>The five precepts (<em>panca-sila</em>) are the basic ethical commitment of a lay Buddhist. They are recited in Pali at ceremonies across the Theravada world, taken formally after <a href="https://buddhistresources.com/practices-rituals/everyday-practice/taking-refuge/">going for refuge</a>, and repeated at the start of most gatherings.</p>https://buddhistresources.com/core-teachings/buddhist-ethics/right-speech-practice/Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:35:57 +0200https://buddhistresources.com/core-teachings/buddhist-ethics/right-speech-practice/<p>Right speech (<em>samma-vaca</em>) is the third factor of the <a href="https://buddhistresources.com/core-teachings/eightfold-path/">Noble Eightfold Path</a> and, for most people, the hardest to keep. It is also the most frequently exercised: a person may go months without an opportunity to break the first precept and will have several opportunities before breakfast to break the fourth.</p>