Editing Five precepts (section)

== History ==
The five precepts were part of [[Pre-sectarian Buddhism|Early Buddhism]] and are common to nearly all schools of Buddhism.{{sfn|Keown |2003 |page=210 }} In Early Buddhism, the five precepts were regarded as an ethic of restraint, to restrain unwholesome tendencies and thereby purify one's being to attain enlightenment.{{sfn |Terwiel |2012 |page=178}}{{sfn|Cozort |Shields |2018 |loc=Precepts in Early and Theravāda Buddhism}} The five precepts were based on the ''pañcaśīla'', prohibitions for pre-Buddhist [[Brahmanic]] priests, which were adopted in many Indic religions around 6th century BCE.{{sfn |Gombrich |2006 |page=78 }}{{sfn |Kohn |1994 |pages=171, 173}} The first four Buddhist precepts were nearly identical to these ''pañcaśīla'', but the fifth precept, the prohibition on intoxication, was new in Buddhism:{{sfn |Kohn |1994 |page=173}}{{Refn|group=note |The 6th century CE [[Chandogya Upanishad|Chāndogya Upaniśad]] contains four principles identical to the Buddhist precepts, but lying is not mentioned.{{sfn |Tachibana |1992 |p=58}} In contemporary [[Jainism]], the fifth principle became "appropriation of any sort".{{sfn |Kohn |1994 |page=173}}}} the Buddha's emphasis on [[appamada|awareness]] ({{langx|pi|appamāda|italic=yes |links=no}}) was unique.{{sfn |Gombrich |2006 |page=78 }}

In some schools of ancient Indic Buddhism, Buddhist devotees could choose to adhere to only a number of precepts, instead of the complete five. The schools that would survive in later periods, however, that is Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism, were both ambiguous about this practice. Some early Mahāyāna texts allow it, but some do not; [[Pāli Canon|Theravāda texts]] do not discuss such selective practice at all.{{sfn |Harvey |2000 |p=83}}

The prohibition on killing had motivated [[Pre-sectarian Buddhism|early Buddhists]] to form a stance against animal sacrifice, a common religious ritual practice in ancient India.<ref name="World Religions" />{{sfn|Mcdermott|1989|page=273}} According to the Pāli Canon, however, early Buddhists did not adopt a vegetarian lifestyle.{{sfn |Cozort |2015}}{{sfn|Mcdermott|1989|page=273}}

In [[Early Buddhist Texts]], the role of the five precepts gradually develops. First of all, the precepts are combined with a [[Refuge in Buddhism|declaration of faith in the Triple Gem]] (the Buddha, [[dhamma|his teaching]] and [[sangha|the monastic community]]).<!--173--> Next, the precepts develop to become the foundation of lay practice.<!--173-4-->{{sfn |Kohn |1994 |pp=173–74}} The precepts are seen as a preliminary condition for the higher development of the mind.{{sfn |Terwiel |2012 |p=178}} At a third stage in the texts, the precepts are actually mentioned together with the triple gem, as though they are part of it. Lastly, the precepts, together with the triple gem, become a required condition for the practice of Buddhism, as laypeople have to undergo a formal initiation to become a member of the Buddhist religion.{{sfn |Kohn |1994 |p=173}} When Buddhism spread to different places and people, the role of the precepts began to vary. In countries in which Buddhism was adopted as the main religion without much competition from other religious disciplines, such as Thailand, the relation between the initiation of a layperson and the five precepts has been virtually non-existent. In such countries, the taking of the precepts has become a sort of ritual cleansing ceremony. People are presumed Buddhist from birth without much of an initiation. The precepts are often committed to by new followers as part of their installment, yet this is not very pronounced. However, in some countries like China, where Buddhism was not the only religion, the precepts became an ordination ceremony to initiate laypeople into the Buddhist religion.{{sfn |Terwiel |2012 |pp=178–79, 205}}
In China, the five precepts were introduced in the first centuries CE,<!--171, 176--> both in their ''śrāvakayāna'' and ''bodhisattva'' formats.<!--175-->{{sfn |Kohn |1994 |pages=171, 175–76}} During this time, it was particularly Buddhist teachers who promoted abstinence from alcohol (the fifth precept), since [[Daoism]] and other thought systems emphasized moderation rather than full abstinence. Chinese Buddhists interpreted the fifth precept strictly,<!--p=223--> even more so than in Indic Buddhism.<!--p=226--> For example, the monk [[Daoshi (Buddhist monk)|Daoshi]] ({{circa}} 600–683) dedicated large sections of [[Fayuan Zhulin|his encyclopedic writings]] to abstinence from alcohol.<!--p=224--> However, in some parts of China, such as [[Dunhuang]], considerable evidence has been found of alcohol consumption among both lay people and monastics.<!--p=230--> Later, from the 8th century onward, strict attitudes of abstinence led to a development of a distinct [[Chinese tea culture|tea culture]] among Chinese monastics and lay intellectuals, in which tea gatherings replaced gatherings with alcoholic beverages, and were advocated as such.<!--214, 231-->{{sfn |Benn |2005 |pages=214, 223–24, 226, 230–31}}{{sfn |Harvey |2000 |p=79}} These strict attitudes were formed partly because of the religious writings, but may also have been affected by the bloody [[An Lushan Rebellion]] of 775, which had a sobering effect on [[Tang dynasty|8th-century Chinese society]].{{sfn |Benn |2005 |page=231}} When the five precepts were integrated in Chinese society, they were associated and connected with karma,<!--178--> [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|Chinese cosmology]]<!--176-7--> and [[Chinese medicine|medicine]],<!--184--> a Daoist worldview,<!--178--> and [[Confucianism#Social morality and ethics|Confucian virtue ethics]].<!--185-->{{sfn |Kohn |1994 |pages=176–78, 184–85}}