The first of the five precepts prohibits killing humans or animals. Scholars interpret Buddhist texts regarding the precepts as opposing capital punishment, suicide, abortion, and euthanasia. However, Buddhism does not impose rules; instead, it is up to the individual to make these decisions.

Buddhist countries take a middle ground on abortion, strongly discouraging it but not fully prohibiting it. The Buddhist view on violence is generally interpreted as opposition to all warfare. The prohibition against killing motivated early Buddhists to oppose animal sacrifice, a common religious ritual in ancient India. According to the Pali Canon, however, early Buddhists did not follow a vegetarian lifestyle.

The Pali vow: “I undertake the precept to refrain from destroying living creatures.”

All living beings wish to be free from suffering. We can become more aware of the suffering caused by our actions, acknowledge our responsibility for their consequences, and aspire to do no harm, or choose to protect the lives of all beings as best we can.

Notice in your own body what it feels like to be cared for and protected. Reflect on the experience of taking action to care for or protect another living being.

• Reflect on the experience or feeling of killing an insect or other creature, if you have done it or witnessed it.?

Analyze the first precept’s prohibition against killing in relation to Buddhist teachings on interdependence and compassion; evaluate the ethical complexities of protecting life in contemporary contexts (environmental conservation, food choices, medical decisions); and synthesize understanding by implementing life-affirming practices that demonstrate reverence for all sentient beings while addressing practical challenges of modern living.