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The Decalogue
World Scripture
THE DECALOGUE
The moral outlooks of most religions are basically quite similar. Just as the
Decalogue, or Ten Commandments, is the basis of Jewish and Christian ethical
values, similar lists of ethical principles may be found in one form or another
in the scriptures of most religions. The Qur'an contains several passages
summarizing proper ethical behavior which have been called Islamic Decalogues.
In Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism we find lists of ten charges or ten precepts
for monks and lay people, and there are further condensations into five
universal dharmas called samanya dharma. Another comparable list is found in
the Buddhist Eightfold Path.
The first table of the Decalogue contains positive injunctions for right
worship to establish a proper vertical relationship with God, and the second
table contains negative injunctions prohibiting criminal behavior in order to
foster horizontal relationships of community. These two ethical dimensions,
the vertical towards the Absolute and the horizontal towards one's neighbor,
are characteristic of such lists in every religion. We may regard the
injunctions to renunciation and meditation in the Buddhist Eightfold Path and
in other Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain lists of dharmas as non-theistic expressions
of the vertical dimension. In the horizontal dimension of law, prohibitions
against social crimes such as murder, adultery, and stealing are universal. The
specific offenses will be taken up again individually in Chapter 9.
And God spoke all these words, saying, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you
out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything
that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the
water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the
Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing
steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain: for the Lord will not
hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do
all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you
shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or
your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates;
for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in
them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day
and hallowed it.
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which
the Lord your God gives you.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's
wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything
that is your neighbor's."
1. Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Exodus 20.1-17: The Ten Commandments
The second five commandments were intended to be paired off with the first five
commandments.
"You shall not murder" corresponds to "I the Lord am your God." The Holy One
said, "If you did murder, I hold it against you as though you have diminished
the image of God."
"You shall not commit adultery" is paired with "You shall have no other gods."
God said, "If you committed adultery, I hold it against you as though you bowed
down to another god."
"You shall not steal" is paired with "You shall not swear falsely by the name
of the Lord your God.".... If you steal, you will go on to swear falsely, go on
to lie, and end up swearing by My name falsely.
"You shall not bear false witness" is paired with "Remember the Sabbath day."
God said, "If you bear false witness against your neighbor, I hold it against
you as though you bore witness against Me to the effect that I did not create
My world in six days and did not rest on the seventh."
"You shall not covet" is paired with "Honor your father and your mother." Clans
like Gaius of Gadara and Lucius of Susitha would sneak into each other's homes
and cohabit with the wives of the others, the others with the wives of these.
In time a quarrel fell out between them, and a man killed his father, unaware
that it was his father.
2. Judaism. Midrash, Pesikta Rabbati
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Exodus 20.1-17: These are the Ten Commandments. There is some variation as to
how they should be divided. In the Jewish tradition the verse 'I am the Lord
your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage' is
regarded as the first commandment, but Christians regard it as a prologue. Most
Protestants and Eastern Orthodox Christians reckon 'You shall have no other
gods before me' as the first commandment and the prohibition of images as the
second commandment. For Jews the second commandment includes both 'You shall
have no other gods' and the prohibition of graven images. Lutherans and Roman
Catholics likewise regard 'You shall have no other gods' and the prohibition of
graven images as together constituting a single commandment, but reckon it the
first commandment; they then divide the verse against covetousness into two
commandments to make up the ten. See the short enumerations of the
Commandments in Psalm 2 4.3-6, p. 229; Hosea 4.1-3, p. 318; Jeremiah 7.1-15, p.
1088.
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Say, Come, I will recite what God has made a sacred duty for you:
Ascribe nothing as equal with Him;
Be good to your parents;
Kill not your children on a plea of want--We provide sustenance for you and for
them;
Approach not lewd behavior whether open or in secret,
Take not life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law.
Thus does He command you, that you may learn wisdom.
And approach not the property of the orphan, except to improve it, until he
attains the age of maturity.
Give full measure and weight, in justice--No burden do We place on any soul but
that which it can bear.
And if you give your word, do it justice, even if a near relative is concerned;
and fulfill your obligations before God. Thus does He command you, that you
may remember.
Verily, this is My straight Path: follow it, and do not follow other paths
which will separate you from His Path. Thus does He command you, that you may
be righteous.
3. Islam. Qur'an 6.151-53
The charge to avoid the taking of life.
The charge to avoid taking what is not given.
The charge to avoid unchastity.
The charge to avoid falsehood.
The charge to avoid fermented liquor, distilled liquor, intoxicants giving rise
to sloth.
The charge to avoid unseasonable meals.
The charge to avoid dancing, song, playing music, and seeing shows.
The charge to avoid the use of flowers, scents, and unguents, wearing
ornaments and decorations.
The charge to avoid the use of raised beds, of wide beds.
The charge to avoid the accepting of gold and silver.
4. Buddhism. Khuddaka Patha: The Ten Charges
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Pesikta Rabbati: Cf. Tosefta Shebu`ot 3.6, p. 397. Qur'an 6.151-153: See
Qur'an 2.177, p. 861; Hadith of Bukhari and Muslim, p. 491; also Qur'an
17.23-38.
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Contentment, forgiveness, self-control, not appropriating anything
unrighteously, purification, coercion of the organs, wisdom, knowledge of the
Supreme, truthfulness, and abstention from anger: these constitute the tenfold
law [for ascetics].
5. Hinduism. Laws of Manu 6.92
Forgiveness, humility, straightforwardness, purity, truthfulness,
self-restraint, austerity, renunciation, non-attachment and chastity [with
one's spouse] are the ten duties [of lay people].
6. Jainism. Tatthvarthasutra 9.6
Not killing, no longer stealing, forsaking the wives of others, refraining
completely from false, divisive, harsh and senseless speech, forsaking
covetousness, harmful intent and the views of Nihilists--these are the ten
white paths of action, their opposites are black.
7. Buddhism. Nagarjuna, Precious Garland 8-9
The first great vow, Sir, runs thus, I renounce all killing of living beings,
whether subtle or gross, whether movable or immovable. Nor shall I myself kill
living beings [nor cause others to do it, nor consent to it]. As long as I
live, I confess and blame, repent and exempt myself of these sins, in the
thrice threefold way [i.e., acting, commanding, or consenting, either in the
past, present, or future], in mind, speech, and body. There are five clauses...
The second great vow, Sir, runs thus, I renounce all vices of lying speech
arising from anger or greed or fear or mirth. I shall neither myself speak
lies, nor cause others to speak lies, nor consent to the speaking of lies by
others. I confess... There are five clauses....
The third great vow, Sir, runs thus: I renounce all taking of anything not
given, either in a village or a town or a wood, either of little or much, of
small or great, of living or lifeless things. I shall neither take myself what
is not given, nor cause others to take it, nor consent to their taking it. As
long as I live, I confess... There are five clauses....
The fourth great vow, Sir, runs thus, I renounce all sexual pleasures, either
with gods or men or animals. I shall not give way to sensuality, nor cause
others to give way to it, nor consent to their giving way to it. As long as I
live, I confess... There are five clauses....
The fifth great vow, Sir, runs thus, I renounce all attachments, whether
little or much, small or great, living or lifeless; neither shall I myself form
such attachments, nor cause others to do so, nor consent to their doing so. As
long as I live, I confess... There are five clauses....
He who is well provided with these great vows and their twenty-five clauses is
really homeless if he, according to the sacred teaching, the precepts and the
way, correctly practices, follows, executes, explains, establishes and,
according to the precept, effects them.
8. Jainism. Acarangasutra 2.15
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Khuddaka Patha: These are the rules of training observed by the monks, with the
third charge modified as a concession to lay people (a monk would of course
take a vow of celibacy). Lay people ordinarily observe the first five charges.
Cf. Dhammapada 246-47, p. 463. Khuddaka Patha, Laws of Manu 6.92,
Tatthvarthasutra 9.6 and Precious Garland 8-9: The tradition of ten precepts
runs through Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, though elements in the list may
vary.
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Nonviolence, truthfulness, not stealing, purity, control of the senses--this,
in brief, says Manu, is the Dharma for all the four castes.
9. Hinduism. Laws of Manu 10.63
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Laws of Manu 10.63: This list of universally applicable dharma for all castes
and stages of life is called sadharan or samanya dharma. It is the universal
foundation upon which are erected the specific dharmas which differentiate the
castes. It is a least common denominator by which Hindu society, for all its
variety of castes, roles, and traditions, maintains an ethical consensus. Cf.
Chandogya Upanishad 5.10.9, p. 463.
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The Noble Truth of the Path leading to the cessation of suffering is this Noble
Eightfold Path, namely: right view, right aspiration, right speech, right
action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
What is right view? Knowledge of suffering, knowledge of the arising of
suffering, knowledge of the cessation of suffering, knowledge of the path
leading to the cessation of suffering--this is called right view.
What is right aspiration? Aspiration for renunciation, aspiration for
non-malevolence, aspiration for harmlessness--this is called right aspiration.
What is right speech? Refraining from lying speech, refraining from slanderous
speech, refraining from harsh speech, refraining from gossip--this is called
right speech.
What is right action? Refraining from violence against creatures, refraining
from taking what has not been given, refraining from going wrongly among the
sense-pleasures, this is called right action.
What is right livelihood? A disciple of the Noble Ones, getting rid of a wrong
mode of livelihood, makes his living by a right mode of livelihood. This is
called right livelihood.
What is right effort? A monk generates desire, effort, stirs up energy, exerts
his mind and strives for the non-arising of evil unskilled states that have not
arisen... for the getting rid of evil unskilled states that have arisen... for
the arising of skilled states that have not arisen... for the maintenance and
completion of skilled states that have arisen. This is called right effort.
What is right mindfulness? A monk fares along contemplating the body in the
body... the feelings in the feelings... the mind in the mind... the mental
states in the mental states... ardent, clearly conscious of them, mindful of
them so as to control the covetousness and dejection in the world. This is
called right mindfulness.
And what is right concentration? A monk, aloof from the pleasures of the
senses, aloof from unskilled states of mind, enters on and abides in the first
meditation which is accompanied by initial thought and discursive thought, is
born of aloofness, is rapturous and joyful. By allaying initial thought and
discursive thought, with the mind subjectively tranquilized and fixed on one
point, he enters on and abides in the second meditation which is devoid of
initial thought and discursive thought, is born of concentration, and is
rapturous and joyful. By the fading out of rapture... he enters on and abides
in the third meditation... the fourth meditation. This is called right
concentration.
10. Buddhism. Majjhima Nikaya iii.251-52, Saccavibhangasutta
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Majjhima Nikaya iii.251-52: This is a complete statement of the Noble Eightfold
Path.
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