About drinking alcohol

　It is true that Buddhism has a “no drinking rule,” so there is no doubt that it is better not to drink alcohol.
However, what I'm really curious about is why you are so particular about “drinking/not drinking alcohol.”
Did they make some kind of mistake at the drinking table or by drinking alcohol? Did they regret that and stopped drinking alcohol from now on?
Or are they trying to gain some kind of Buddhist favor by following the precepts?
Even if you say keep the precepts... it seems that there are about 350 commandments in Hikyu (female ascetic monks). It's definitely not enough to quit drinking alcohol.
The Jodo Shinshu doesn't say the precepts. Of course, that doesn't mean you don't have to keep the precepts, but the most emphasis is placed on “realizing yourself that you can't keep the precepts at all, and acknowledging your weak self.” And it's a way for me to live my life while looking up to Amida as the Buddha who sucks me up.
There is no way you can drink alcohol, but at this rate, you will be living with anxiety that “you can stop drinking alcohol now, but someday,” and this cannot be described as a life where you live peacefully while gratefully receiving Buddhism.
Why are you trying to quit drinking alcohol... I feel that it is important to face your own feelings.

As for the commandment of not drinking alcohol, I think it is probably one of the commandments that have been interpreted in various ways since a long time ago.
It's best not to drink it.

However, for me,

When it comes to why you shouldn't drink it, it's because you lose your sense of reason.
So, if you are resistant to alcohol, and you can stay rational if it's one cup, for example, you can drink one cup. However, you can't decide if you're drunk yourself, so be sure to check with people around you.

Also, it's not just alcohol. Avoid losing your mind, such as drugs, lack of sleep, ecstasy, anger, etc. I think it also includes this kind of meaning.

Note, keeping the commandments completely is penance.
The Buddha said there was no point in penance.
However, I also said that you should not be lazy to soak in pleasure. In other words, walk the middle path. This is called Nakamichi.
It would be good to dare to practice penance in order to know the middle path, but I think it's a good idea not to dwell only on penance. Obsession is the source of obsession, isn't it?

As an aside, in an instruction book written by a Jodo sect monk in the Edo period to his disciples, it is OK to drink alcohol, but you must never get drunk. This may be penance for me.

Ao-san

I'm glad you're seriously thinking about the “Five Commandments.” I stopped drinking alcohol over 20 years ago because I wanted to keep it at least this long. It was my own decision, so I should have made a simple decision not to drink. However, I have run into various obstacles in my social life.

There are many “excuses for drinking” when it comes to not drinking alcohol, and the reality is that there is a strange phenomenon where those who try to keep them are attacked in reverse. When a smart monk says, “Obsession is about obsessing over such things in the first place,” I feel that those who protect have no words to return have narrow shoulders. Religious beliefs are respected in other countries, but in Japan it is impossible to say “I'm a Buddhist, so I don't drink alcohol according to the precepts.”

I believe that precepts are not restrictions or coercion; they regulate oneself. Since it is not a criminal offense, there are no visible sanctions even if it is broken. Whether or not to keep it is a pledge with myself. So even if people break things, there's no need to criticize them.

People who don't know are allowed to drink. You're also allowed to make up excuses and keep drinking even if you know it. If they make excuses and are satisfied with it even if they drink, or if their conscience doesn't hurt, then that's that person's problem.

When you know what the “Five Commandments” are and are trying to keep them, you already have a Bodhi heart that wants to walk a clean path. Many people hold their minds, have questions, and struggle with places where they get through with convenient excuses. I feel pure purity in your heart towards Buddhism.

My struggle with anxiety continues as long as I live. It's a battle with myself. There are cases where the enemy is inside of oneself with “convenient excuses” or “excuses,” or there are cases where they are outside of oneself, such as attacks from others or social inconvenience. There are many temptations to deceive those who try to take clean steps. The devil's whisper is sweet. So it's a fight. Keeping the commandments is a “sacred battle” to discipline oneself.

Please cherish your pure conflict right now. Buddhist practice progresses with “commandment ➪ determination ➪ wisdom.” It starts by looking at the way you live your life. Buddhism is about facing oneself. I would like to send my sincere cheers to those of you who are facing the conflict sincerely. Please protect and nurture Ao-san's purity. Senryu

Non-drinking is sometimes called undrinking alcohol, and this means “don't throw away () things that lead people astray.” At such times, regardless of whether it is a site run by a proper orthodox monk, it is nothing but sake that seems to be scattered by individuals with their own unique interpretations. Did reading that kind of thing save you even a little bit? It probably just gave birth to hesitation. Not believing that kind of alcohol is also not drinking. Those kinds of people are so different that they have become popular, and if you misunderstand them and put their self-education in jeopardy, then Aum Shinrikyo is up a notch.

If you really want to make the commandment a habit as a law of comfort, take it from a monk who has a proper understanding of the precepts. If you want to learn from a stoic monk, look for a stoic monk. There are many young monks these days who don't drink alcohol. In the first place, it's the generation that didn't drink even before they became a monk. As an age, the atmosphere that makes people drink is also disappearing, and it has helped me a lot. Or if you want to learn from someone stupid, you can look for someone stupid. But, eating snacks is the worst thing to do. Precepts are not laws, rules, rules, or scoring standards. They get lost and become toxic because they don't receive proper teaching from the place there.

What is hesitation? My own rules and self-image are out of control. According to Buddhism, people who are drunk are selfless. I'm not living my life. There is no salvation in the direction of eating away at information and being swayed by interpretation. Self-taught drinking is also alcohol consumption.

First, let's have a relationship with a monk, whether it's a zazen session, a petite ascetic practice, a nembutsu course, a shoukai, or a vegetarian cooking class. On top of that, like a doctor's regular health checkup, it is important to adjust your lifestyle while continuously being examined by a monk from time to time to get advice.