"Abstain from any evil deed,accomplish what is good and true,And fully purify your mind -That is what all the Buddhas teach.Enduring patience is the bestof all ascetic practices;The best of everything at allis called Nibbāna by the sage.If you cause harm to anyoneyou can't be called a genuine monk!Refrain from harming and abuse,and strictly keep the Buddha's rules;Be moderate when taking food,nd dwell alone in solitudedevoted to the Higher Mind -That is what all the Buddhas teach."Dhp 183-185Ajahn Dhammasiha points out that these essential instructions start with:"Abstain from any evil deed..."Before we rush ahead and try to do good, we have to make absolutely sure that at least we do not cause any harm.If we look at human history of the last 100 years, there have been numerous ideologies that claimed to do good, but instead have caused misery and death to countless millions. Whether communism, facism, nazism, maoism and so on, so many of their proponents claimed, and possibly even believed, that they are acting in persuit of a high ideal, and that the 'damage' therefore is 'justified'. This false argument is known as: "The end justifies the means.If we put absolute avoidance of any evil as our first principle, we can never fall into the trap of intentionally harming other beings for a supposedly noble end. We simply do not kill or harm, never mind whatever motivation or justification anyone may suggest.www.dhammagiri.net