Question: Is it so that at the highest state, one will not have right speech, right thought, right livelihood, etc. because in the first place, there is no such thing as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’?
Answer: It’s not so much that there is no right or wrong, but that concepts of them wouldn’t be attached to then — because in some situations, doing what is usually right can be wrong and vice versa. Moral guidelines for training perfection of morality are still important — unless we are already naturally always ‘right’ like enlightened beings. An article to share on this: https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2010/02/is-it-better-not-to-observe-any-precepts
Question: Yes, e.g. if we need to tell a lie but it is done with a good intention, it is okay?
Answer: It is best to even avoid telling white lies, to be more skilful in speech, to never need to lie. If one is repeatedly caught telling white lies, one will still lose trust. However, in some cases, when we’re not skilful enough, white lies might seem the way to go. An article to share on this: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thedailyenlightenment-realisation/message/296
Question: Isn’t it due to our education system that we learn about ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, when there is actually no such thing as a bad or good guy, who are so only because we differentiate? Just like one saying an apple is better than an orange, when in the first place, the apple tastes like an apple and the orange like an orange… These are just two different types of taste. What do you think?
Answer: If there is no such thing as right and wrong, there would be no need for the Buddha to advocate the observation of any moral precepts. The truth is, when people do great wrongs due to evil intentions, they can be reborn in the lower realms as a result, and vice versa when they do good. As long as we are beings who have not realised full enlightenment, the importance of having the right perception of right and wrong still applies to us. And when fully enlightened, one will be naturally right while not being attached to concepts of right and wrong. From the perspective of Buddha-nature, it is beyond the duality of good and bad – it is pure. But the differentiation of good and bad is still important as long as we have not realised our Buddha-nature fully yet. You mentioned that the apple and orange have two different types of taste, which means they DO taste different – so they are related to as different fruits!
