สำนักราชบัณฑิตยสภา

The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume III - 2011 Somseen Chanawangsa 5 1. Abstinence from killing; 2. Abstinence from stealing; 3. Abstinence from sexual misconduct; 4. Abstinence from telling lies; 5. Abstinence from drinking alcohol. On the whole, these precepts are meant to prevent people from violating othersû rights, e.g. to life and property. Although drinking alcohol in itself is not a violation, getting drunk can easily lead to such violations. Abstinence from drinking is understandably included as a foolproof safeguard against potential violations under the influence of alcohol. The Buddhaûs teaching on how to ùworship the six directionsû, on the other hand, is concerned with interpersonal relationships between a householder and the people to whom he is related in one way or another, i.e. the people around him in the ùsix directionsû: 1. parents as ùthe eastû: how children should treat their parents and how parents should treat their children; 2. teachers as ùthe southû: how students should treat their teachers and how teachers should treat their students; 3. wife and children as ùthe westû: how a husband should treat his wife and how a wife should treat her husband; 4. friends and companions as ùthe northû: how friends should treat their friends and how their friends should reciprocate; 5. servants and workmen as ùthe nadirû: how employers should treat their employees and how employees should treat their employers; 6. monks as ùthe zenithû: how laypeople should treat monks and how monks should treat laypeople. The practical advice on how family and community members ought to treat one another can be seen as a constructive ethic complementary to the proscriptive ethic of the Five Precepts, both of which are crucial to the wellbeing and prosperity of society. The Buddhist stance on freedom of religion and belief Regarding the more specific issue of freedom of religion and belief from a Buddhist perspective, the following is a quote from part of a conversational exchange in Karandiya Jataka ( Jataka No. 356): 6 6 The translation is based on the Thai version translated from the Pali by Ven. P. A. Payutto in his Immortal Words: A Selection of Buddhist Proverbs [in Thai]. 1-15_mac9 4/26/12, 8:09 PM 5