Hello, does breaking promises break the fourth precept?
The brief answer is yes, breaking promises falls under musāvāda (false speech), as it involves deceiving others through dishonest communication. (If a person is not certain about fulfilling a ‘promise,’ then he should not make it from the beginning).
What if one was honest at the time of making the promise but then changed his mind?
What if one lies that he will do something even though he doesn’t want to but then decided to do it? Will the lie become a truth?
We actually get very little about exactly what breaking the fourth precept entails in the suttas themselves beyond what is normally considered as lying.
I believe for monastics that breaking a promise entails a dukkata according to the commentary. Ven. @bksubhuti do you know if the commentaries have anything to say about breaking promises for lay people?
We discussed something like this in our IIT vinaya class. If I remember correctly, the topic was brought up. If you make a promise knowing that you will not follow this, then this is musavada. However, about breaking a promise due to circumstances… that might be true… I’d have to look that up.
I’m no longer at IIT. So it is difficult to double check things. However, we have gone over this rule recently and I will look in the book.
1 Like
This question is deceptively simple. I present here a few cases for reflection:
-A novice traveling through a forest was captured by bandits and later released on the condition that he would not reveal their location to anyone. He kept his promise, and as a result, his own parents ended up entering the forest and falling into the hands of the bandits. Fortunately (maybe due to their good kamma), the bandits discovered that the novice was the son of the couple and were moved by his sincerity. They released the couple and ordained as monks. Regardless, the novice was willing to keep his promise, even if it meant the loss of his parents (though, of course, without the intention that they would perish at the hands of the bandits).
-The Buddha promised Venerable Nanda that he could marry a celestial nymph if he completed his training. Nanda succeeded, becoming an arahant, and released the Buddha from his promise (as arahants have no desire for marriage). The Buddha made a promise knowing he wouldn’t have to fulfill it—but he certainly knew what he was doing.
One question arises: if fulfilling a promise requires breaking other moral precepts, to what extent is the promise valid? I am inclined to argue that it is preferable to break such a promise (and face the consequences of making unskillful promises) than to fulfill it at the cost of performing unskillful actions.
Another question: in some situations, it may be preferable to negotiate with the person to whom the promise was made—ideally before breaking the promise. This way, the person may release the other from the promise or clearly state the reparations they expect for the unfulfilled promise.
Finally, one must take responsibility and face the possible consequences of breaking a promise, as well as those of having to fulfill it. Better yet, it is wise to avoid making promises whenever possible.
Regarding the story of the novice, I don’t recall the source. As far as I remember, the novice didn’t have the opportunity to warn his parents not to enter the forest. However, at no point did he reveal to them that the forest he had traveled through was inhabited by bandits, thereby keeping his promise.
Here is a followup to what I said (and promised to follow up on 
).
The original vinaya book by ven. Maggavihari does not mention this, although it should.
This is located in the BMC 1 which references Mv.III.14.1-14
Broken promises. Mv.III.14.1-14 imposes a dukkaṭa on the act of making a promise with pure intentions but later breaking it. Because the texts make no mention of any circumstances beyond one’s control that would exempt one from that penalty, a bhikkhu should be very careful of how he states his plans for the future. A special instance of breaking a promise — accepting an invitation to a meal but then not
going — is treated under Pc 33.
1 Like