Buddhism - consequences of breaking rules?
Answers
The basic precepts of Buddhism are 5, for lay people who do not wish to put a high priority on spiritual development but wish to be good people who live worldly lives focused on money and family concerns.
The five precepts are:
1 to abstain from taking life
2. to abstain from taking what is not given (to not steal)
3. to abstain from sexual misconduct (not to harm others through sex by forcing them or cheating)
4. to not say what isn't true (to not tell a lie)
5. to abstain from intoxicants (to not eat or drink anything that clouds and confuses the mind.
There are karmic consequences to breaking the precepts. These are common sense in that it is basically an "eye for an eye" kind of situation.
The consequence of killing is a short life, the consequence of stealing is poverty, the consequence of sexual misconduct is unhappy relationships because no one will trust you, the consequence of lying is that no one will listen to you, and the consequence of intoxicants is ignorance.