Item 1 in Five Buddhist Precepts
Refrain from Killing Living Beings
Undertake to avoid intentionally killing living beings.
- Position
- 1
- Form
- Prohibition
- Obligation
- Strong duty
- Wording status
- Editorial paraphrase
- Intended audience
- Lay Buddhist practitioners
- Last reviewed
- 28 June 2026
Names and terminology
Canonical name: Refrain from Killing Living Beings
Original term: Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī
Source wording
Editorial paraphrase: Undertake to avoid intentionally killing living beings.
Literal meaning
Undertake to avoid intentionally killing living beings.
Broader interpretation
Interpretations often extend beyond murder to carelessness, cruelty and participation in systems that predictably destroy life.
Ethical purpose
To shape conduct or character in a way consistent with the wider ethical framework.
Modern application
Modern application requires attention to consent, rights, evidence, foreseeable harm and changing social conditions.
Criticism and difficult cases
Application can become difficult when this principle conflicts with another duty, when harm is indirect, or when ancient social assumptions do not fit modern conditions.
Truth By Reason analysis
Truth By Reason assesses this principle according to evidence, rights, intentions, foreseeable consequences and consistency with the treatment of all affected beings.
Ethical themes
Explanations, comparisons and discussions
Comparison
Nonviolence Across Buddhism, Jainism and Yoga
How related traditions interpret non-killing, non-injury and responsibility for indirect harm.
Sources
- Going for Refuge and Taking the Precepts Commentary / interpretation