Question: How do I prevent myself from breaking the Five Precepts (which guard against killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and taking of intoxicants)?
Answer: You can remind yourself that…
Breaking the precepts creates evil karmas, and little by little, as the evils created grow in number and intensity, with these habits strengthening, it will be harder and harder to not break them, while negative repercussions will become more and more severe, even leading to loss of this human life, with fall into one of the lower realms (of hell-beings, hungry ghosts and animals), with much suffering in the next life.
The next time you are tempted to break any precept, reread the one line in blue above — as mindfully as you can, kneeling sincerely before a Buddha image, repeating it if needed, till the temptation dissolves. (You can also add the practice of mindfulness of Buddha [念佛], to dissolve the temptation.) Finally, prostrate to the Buddha thrice, asking him to witness your promise to not give in to the temptation.
