Sila (Ethical Discipline) — The Second Paramita

Sila is the second paramita and the ethical foundation of the Threefold Training (tisikkhā) alongside samadhi and pañña. In Theravada practice, sila manifests as the pañcasila (five precepts) for laypeople and the Vinaya Pitaka's 227 rules for bhikkhus — not divine commandments but training rules (sikkhapada) derived from the Buddha's direct observation of which actions generate dukkha. The Visuddhimagga of Buddhaghosa identifies sila as the necessary basis for samadhi: without ethical restraint, the mind is too agitated for the jhana absorptions to arise. As the second paramita in both the Theravada's ten-perfection and the Mahayana's six-perfection schema, sila occupies the position between dana and kshanti, marking the transition from outward relinquishment to inward discipline.