THE VIRTUOUS PERSON

One with the moral virtue or manussa-dhamma [qualities that make one human], who can be rightfully called civilized, conducts himself as follows:

A. He has the threefold sucarita, the three kinds of good or proper conduct:

1. Kaya-sucarita: righteous bodily conduct; he does things that are virtuous and proper; he has good bodily conduct.
2. Vaci-sucarita: righteous speech; he says things that are virtuous and proper; he has good verbal conduct.
3. Mano-sucarita: righteous mentality; he thinks things that are virtuous and proper; he has good mental conduct.

B. He abides by the noble qualities (ariya-dhamma) by practicing properly according to the ten courses of wholesome action (kusala-kamma):

Three of the body:

1. Abstaining from killing or taking life, oppression and harassment; possessing kindness, compassion and helpfulness.
2. Abstaining from filching, theft and exploitation; respecting the property rights of others.
3. Abstaining from misconduct and violation of others' loved or cherished ones; not abusing them, disgracing or dishonoring their families.

Four of speech:

4. Abstaining from false speech, lying and deception; speaking only the truth, not intentionally saying thing that stay from the truth out of a desire for personal gain.
5. Abstaining from malicious speech inciting one person against another; speaking only words that are conciliatory and conducive to harmony.
6. Abstaining from coarse, vulgar or damaging speech; speaking only words that are polite and pleasant to the ear.
7. Abstaining from worthless or frivolous speech; speaking only words that are true, reasonable, useful and appropriate to the occasion.

Three of the mind:

8. Not being greedy; not focusing only on taking; thinking of giving, of sacrifice; making the mind munificent.
9. Not thinking hateful and destructive thoughts or having a destructive attitude toward others; bearing good intentions toward others, spreading goodwill and aiming for the common good.
10. Cultivating Right View (sammaditthi); understanding the law of kamma, that good actions bring good results and bad actions bring bad results; having a thorough grasp of the truth of life and the world; seeing the faring of things according to causes and conditions.
These ten qualities are variously known as kusala-kammapatha (wholesome courses of action), dhamma-cariya [principles for virtuous living] and ariya-dhamma [noble qualities]. They are a more detailed description of the threefold sucarita mentioned above: namely, points 1-3 cover righteous bodily conduct, 4-7 cover righteous verbal conduct, and 8-10 cover righteous mental conduct.
 

C. At the very least he observes the five precepts: the ten basic principles of conduct given above are a comprehensive description of the moral conduct or noble qualities through which personal development of body, speech and mind can be made. For those who are not yet firm in these noble qualities, however, it is recommended that at least moral restraint through body and speech should first be developed by observing the five precepts, which are among the first factors of the ten principles for virtuous living (dhamma-cariya). The five precepts are:

1. Abstaining from killing: not taking life or doing bodily harm.
2. Abstaining from taking what is not given: not stealing, pilfering or filching; not violating [others'] properties.
3. Abstaining from sexual misconduct; not violating the loved or cherished ones of others, thereby destroying their honor and dignity and confusing their family lines.
4. Abstaining from lying: not telling lies or using deceptive speech; not violating other people or their interests through speech.
5. Abstaining from alcohol and intoxicants: not taking wines, liquor, intoxicants or addictives, which are causes for heedlessness and drunkenness, and lead to damage and blunders such as accidents due to lack of mindfulness. An intoxicated person at least threatens the sense of security and well-being of fellow community members.