浅议佛教戒律的现代价值

On the Modern Value of Buddhist Precepts

佛教戒律是佛教弟子的日常行为规范,与道德、法律之间关系密切,在社会控制功能上具有相同之处,但戒律的持守更注重于内心的自律。戒律的制定有两个目的,一是约束和指导个人的思想和行为,二是维护僧团的和合共处。佛教"诸恶莫作,众善奉行"的宗旨主要通过戒律予以实现,戒律中包含着许多具有现代价值的思想观念,自利利他、普度众生的菩萨戒思想将佛教"扬善"的精神发扬光大,禅宗"无相戒"思想化他律为自律,"六和敬"是僧团共处的基本原则。这些积极的戒律思想不仅在佛教自身发展中意义重大,使戒律成为佛教的根本生命力,其具有的社会控制功能对法律、道德的建设亦具有补充和借鉴价值,是佛教与社会主义社会相适应的契合点,值得发扬。

The Buddhist precepts are the daily behavior of the Buddhist disciples, and closely related to the moral and legal relations, but the precepts pay more attention to the inner self. There are two purposes for formulation of the pre- cepts; one is to constrain and guide the individual thought and behavior, the other is to maintain peaceful coexistence a- mong the monks. Buddhist principle ＂don＇t do evil things, pursue the public good＂ is mainly realized through discipline. These precepts contain many valuable modern ideas. These positive precepts are the basic life force in the development of Buddhism, and their social control function has a complement and reference value for the legal and moral construction which reveals that Buddhism and the socialist society are in accordance with each other to some extent.