The Gate to the Path of Buddhahood

If you act like an animal or a ghost, you become an animal or a ghost. Act like a human and you become a human. Act like a Buddha and you become a Buddha. If you want to become a Buddha, you must walk the path of a Buddha. This is a matter of direction and choice. The five precepts are a gate to the path of Buddhahood and the moral bedrock on which all genuine spiritual progress rests. Hence, together with the three refuges, they are the foundation for both lay and monastic life.

---Master Sheng Yen---