When a Buddhist has taken refuge in the Three Jewels, he should make a vow to uphold five precepts. To keep precepts, a practitioner must understand what precepts are. Why does one have to keep precepts? What are these benefits? Those are questions that lay people need to understand, because one only keeps precepts well when understanding them correctly.

According to The path of purification, precepts have four meanings:

Precepts are the foundation of good deeds. They are the results of practice of deliverance. Without commandments, there would be no concentration, when having no concentration there would be no wisdom; consequently, there would be no enlightened path and Bodhi fruit.

- Precepts means to help purity is to make the mind clean. Thanks to these precepts to prevent sin, not do evil, our mind is purified from greed, hatred, and delusion.

- Precepts mean combination. Combining body, speech and mind in the same way to do well, not commit evil.

- Precepts means refraining from evil deeds in five ways:

1. By remembering the precepts that have lived without committing sin.

2. Protecting its keeper's senses.

3. Thanks to diligence, overcome the unwholesome.

4. By being enduring, accepting to keep the precepts pure.

5. Thanks to wisdom, he overcomes all unwholesome things, causing no wrongdoing, hatred, and no guilt.

On the path of practice to purify the mind, eliminate greed, anger and selfishness, the Buddha's disciples must take precepts as his teacher and his refuge. The precepts exist, Buddhadharma is still in existence, where the precepts are observed, that place is peace and happiness. If one person obeys Buddhist precepts, that person will have benefits, if a family obeys precepts, that family will be happy, until a whole society will obey precepts, that country will be happy and peaceful. Therefore, the followers of World-Honored One should learn precepts, practice precepts to bring joy to themselves and to all beings, which advance on the path becoming a practitioner to be worthy of being a devout disciple of the Buddha.

Tam Trieu.