The Eight Precepts: What They Are, the Request and the Uposatha, with Meaning

The eight precepts are eight training rules kept on holy days or during a meditation retreat. Here with the Pali request and the meaning of each precept, how to take them at home, and leaving them

The eight precepts are eight training rules that lay people take on from time to time, to live more simply and in a way that supports meditation better than on ordinary days. They are usually kept on holy days, when they are called the uposatha precepts, or during a meditation retreat. The eight precepts contain all of the five, change the third from no sexual misconduct to no sexual activity at all, and add three more: no food after midday, no entertainment or bodily adornment, and no high or luxurious seats and beds. Below is the whole ceremony for taking the eight precepts, in Pali with the meaning, from the request, the three refuges and all eight precepts to the closing words.

What are the eight precepts?

1. Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī: refraining from killing.
2. Adinnādānā veramaṇī: refraining from taking what is not given.
3. Abrahmacariyā veramaṇī: refraining from all sexual activity.
4. Musāvādā veramaṇī: refraining from lying.
5. Surāmerayamajjapamādaṭṭhānā veramaṇī: refraining from alcohol and other intoxicants.
6. Vikālabhojanā veramaṇī: refraining from eating at the wrong time, that is, from midday until dawn.
7. Naccagītavāditavisūkadassana-mālāgandhavilepanadhāraṇamaṇḍanavibhūsanaṭṭhānā veramaṇī: refraining from dancing, singing, music and shows, and from wearing garlands, perfume, cosmetics and ornaments.
8. Uccāsayanamahāsayanā veramaṇī: refraining from high and luxurious seats and beds.

The seventh precept is longer than the others because it joins two matters. In the Khuddakapāṭha, the source of the ten precepts, these are two separate rules, and there is a tenth, not accepting gold and money. So the eight come from the ten by joining the seventh and eighth into one and leaving out the rule on money. The meaning of each precept, with an explanation, is in the chant below.

What is added to the five

The five precepts are for everyday life and aim at not harming others. The added rules aim at reducing sensual pleasure, so that time and energy are left for meditation. The eight precepts do not make anyone better than anyone else; they are a stronger training tool for a short time.

• The third precept changes from avoiding sexual misconduct to no sexual activity at all, including with your own partner, for as long as you keep the precepts.
• The sixth, no food after midday, keeps the body light and the mind alert for evening meditation. Water is fine at any time; for other drinks after midday, customs differ between temples, so ask the person in charge if you are unsure.
• The seventh, no entertainment or adornment: today its spirit covers films, music and scrolling through videos on your phone, as well as perfume, make-up and jewellery.
• The eighth, no high or luxurious seats and beds, usually means sleeping on a mat or a thin mattress instead of a soft, thick bed, so as not to oversleep or grow attached to comfort.

What the uposatha precepts are

Uposatha, from the Pali uposatha, is the observance day, a day set aside for keeping precepts and meditating, and the precepts kept on it are called the uposatha precepts. They match the eight precepts rule for rule; the difference lies in the wording and the time. The request asks for 'the uposatha with eight factors', and the closing undertaking says it will be kept 'for this night and this day'. So the uposatha precepts begin on the morning of the holy day and end at dawn the next day, while the eight precepts in general can be taken for as long as you intend, for example for a whole retreat.

In AN 8.41 the Buddha explains that one keeping the uposatha reflects: the arahants give up killing, stealing and the rest for as long as they live; today I too will follow them for one night and one day. Keeping the eight precepts on a holy day is a short taste of the life of the liberated, not self-mortification.

How to take the eight precepts at home

1. Decide beforehand which day and for how long, for example from the morning of a holy day until dawn, and finish your last meal before midday.
2. Bow three times, chant the homage Namo tassa three times, and the three refuges.
3. Say the precepts one by one from the chant below, then Imāni aṭṭha sikkhāpadāni samādiyāmi ('I undertake these eight training rules') three times.
4. Spend the day simply: chant the daily chants, do walking and sitting meditation, read or listen to the Dhamma, and speak only as needed.
5. Before sleep, review how well you kept them, without being harsh on yourself.

No monk is needed, because the precepts arise from the keeper's own intention. If it is your first time, try a single day first. For how to meditate during the day, see how to do vipassana at home.

Taking the precepts from a monk

At a temple or meditation centre, a monk gives the eight precepts. The steps are like those for the five: you say the request together three times; the monk leads the homage and the three refuges, then gives each precept for you to repeat; you then undertake all eight together three times, and the monk closes with the verse Sīlena sugatiṁ yanti. On a holy day, the request and the undertaking take the uposatha form described above. The different requests are on the page on requesting the precepts, and taking the five is explained on the page on the five precepts.

Leaving the eight precepts

Many people ask about the words for leaving the eight precepts when the time is up. Uposatha precepts taken for one night and one day end by themselves at dawn the next day; nothing needs to be said. No leave-taking formula is found in the suttas; leaving the precepts is a later custom that differs from place to place. Some places have you say words of leave-taking before a monk; others simply have you take the five precepts again at the end of a retreat. If you took the precepts at a temple or centre, follow its custom. If you took them yourself at home with no set end, then when you return to ordinary life, simply resolve to keep the five precepts from then on.

If, while keeping the eight precepts, you slip on one of the added rules, such as eating a snack in the afternoon, that rule is broken, but the five precepts within them are still whole. Make a fresh resolve and continue until the time is up.

Keeping the precepts on retreat

Many meditation centres ask participants to keep the eight precepts for the whole course, because the eight rules free each day from much eating, entertainment and grooming, so the mind returns to meditation more easily. If you are preparing for a vipassana retreat, keeping the eight precepts at home for a day or two first will help you get used to them. The precepts are not there to make life hard, but to make the mind light enough to see itself more clearly.

The chant

Machine translation from: The Three Refuges (KP 1) · The Ten Precepts (KP 2) · The request for precepts and the closing verse: traditional, author unknown · The Uposatha in Brief (AN 8.41)