The 5^th precept: I take up the way of not giving or taking drugs.

Isn’t it in our Zazen practice that in time the clouds of the mind are blown away; with the support of following the precepts and other fields of Zen training.

I think of our miscellaneous koan, number 21c: “If there is a bit of difference, it is the distance between heaven and earth” (from Dogen’s Fukanzazengi). Without giving the answer away - it is the overactive thinking process that produces the clouds that seperate heaven and earth. This is endorsed in such Zen lines as: “The great way is not difficult, it simply dislikes choosing,” and “With a bit of thinking about if a dog has Buddha nature, or has no Buddha nature, then our body is lost and our life is lost.”

I recall at a Jukai ceremony, probably more than 25 years ago now, Robert Tindal, when adding his personal vow for the 5^th precept, said, “I take up the way of not giving or taking drugs; I vow not to have more than two and a half cups of coffee a day.”

Of course, the precepts may still be followed without doing Jukai. If Jukai becomes a source of pride - clouding the mind - it might be better not to do it. I know of Roshis who did not do Jukai until just before they received transmission.

Towards the end of our koan study, the individual precepts are looked at as koans . In this context, Bodhidharma and Dogen’s brief comments on each precept is helpful. For this 5^th one, Bodhidharma added: “In the realm of the intrinsically pure dharma, not giving rise to delusions is called the precept of not giving or taking drugs.” And Dogen adds: “Drugs are not brought in yet. Don’t let them invade. That is the great light.”