Question: Is it so that Buddhist precepts are ‘only guidelines’, with no really hard and fast rules, as there might be exceptional situations?
Answer: Even though the precepts are at times flexible in application, observed differently in the letter due to necessary skilful means, the spirit with which they are upheld is always unchanging.
To avoid confusion, it is best to observe the precepts both in the letter and spirit. It not possible, at least in the spirit then. If both the letter and spirit are not observed, the precepts are essentially lost, in both principle and practice.
