DRINKING

It is a must-not.  However, when holding  a party with outsiders, not alling on fasting days, it is flexible for the host to drink a little, very light, alcoholic beverage to show that you always appreciate your friendship. However, being drunk would lead to sinfulness.

ILLICIT DRUGS

One must renounce all of these. Those to take refuge must quit these drugs before admission to the Congregation. Exceptionally, if someone is sick and advised by a medic, they may mix it compatible with other medical ingredients.

GAMBLING

Strictly renounce it; the gamblers interested to join the Faith in must vow not to  gamble before admission. In this, no such entertainment is exemptible.

TREATING MONASTICS

All fellow adherents should respect the rightfully practicing monastic. If they taught the right thing, you ought to listen. But, toward those who you know do not rightfully practice e.g. ritual performant, try to find ways to persuade them back to the right path of Buddhism. If they continue the wrong path, you must absolutely ban them and explain for the mass and Buddhist adherents to keep away from them.

TOWARD PAGODAS 

On Buddha commemorative days, the Lunar Fifteenth or the Thirtieth ones, you may go to the pagoda to fete Buddha, offer flowers, and this is unprohibited. If any pagoda is poor or needs repair, it is good that you can help them ( do not procure many statues).

At any pagoda, you must also respect their ways of worship and must not ridicule them.

TOWARD OTHER RELIGIONS AND LARGER SOCIETY

For the other religious, don’t touch on their methods of practicing. Primarily, please don’t count on the numerical superiority of your Faith to bully or denigrate them. If they are aggressive to you, you are not allowed to take revenge for this reason, but always try to make peace with them. Though they do wrong to you, you must always keep doing good to them even if they are wrong, forget and forgive.

Toward the populace, always harmonize with them and make both the parties cordial with each other. Be compassionate and, if they need it, give  them your best possible support.

HAIR KEEPING 

All of my fellows must know that I have not coerced anyone into hair keeping because it belongs to custom, not to religion. The reason why I keep my hair is  I want to preserve the souvenir of our Ancestors’ old tradition and prove to people that I have not incurred  the Western civilization’s scum influence.

Seeing this, many adherents who adorer me hastily copy me. Thus, many confuse hair keeping with self-cultivating practice.  In fact, practice is practice, hair keeping is hair keeping, and practice is not hair keeping and vice versa. If hair keeping stands alone without cultivation, it does not make a practicer. From now on, under no more French yoke and, according to the country’s evolution, I allow you to freely reform to integrate with the larger populace and members of other religions.

STUDY

 Education does not hinder moral practice. Instead, they help deepen an understanding of religions and their profound contents. They help people avoid aberrations and renounce superstitions. They help discard mysticisms, stop debating your fanciful thinking, e.g. prophecy.

Thus, take a self-directed learning, such as in national language, and let your children and grandchildren attend school to broaden their knowledge base. Moreover, scientific knowledge does not impede practice and, instead, allows for deeper research into Buddhism.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

 Our fellow adherents, male or female, must keep themselves fit and healthy. As such, play the sports that suit your health conditions and as you think appropriate because a sane mind only exists in a sane body. Only this way can you actively engage in your moral practice.

SELF-CARE

The practicer must have a moderate diet. Avoid delicious dishes cooked with unhealthy ingredients, which, if  eaten, cause diseases.   You must  take good care of your body and living space,  maintain hygiene.  Get rid of  unhygienic habits, because  if the body is dirty, the mind will hardly develop.  It is also because the holy spririts only stay with the pure ones; and anyone who wish to receive their blessing must keep both their  mind and body pure.

MAKING A LIVING

Livelihood rests on what the Eightfold Noble Path has taught: Renounce immorality, such as cheating, smuggling, speculation, alcohol sale, drug trafficking, etc. Adopt rightful careers without deception and racketeering.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Those interested in conversion must be introduced by two existing virtuous fellow adherents to the local Committee of Management and inform the leader who then read the code of practice for the convert.  Then he asks if the latter consents to take refuge as prescribed in the religion’s prayer and precepts . If they do, they are  advised to go home and advise their grandparents or parents or make a vow before the Ancestral altar, saying: “On …..day, ……month, I agree to convert.” Afterwards the leader (Committee chairperson) hands out this booklet.. Where there is no Committee, two existing fellow adherents must induct the novice, then take them to the nearest Committee.   It is not mandatory to swear, because their commitment exclusively depends  on their vow: if they want to no more commit to the Faith, they must notify their previous introducers to remove their names.  No adherent may declare oneself a religious member of the Faith without complying with its rules.

Remember that Buddha will guide and support those who conduct a genuine, wholesome, livelihood according to His preachings.  Buddha will never support those fraudulent in their businesses, who do evil and foolish things contrary to His teachings.