ten evil acts ［十悪］ ( jū-aku): Evils enumerated in the Buddhist scriptures. They are the three physical evils of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; the four verbal evils of lying, flattery or indiscriminate and irresponsible speech, defamation, and duplicity; and the three mental evils of greed, anger, and foolishness or the holding of mistaken views. From the viewpoint of the precepts, the ten evil acts constitute violations of the ten good precepts, which proscribe those acts; they are the opposite of the ten good acts, which are to refrain from the ten evil acts.