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F.6 Ex. Choice of which Precept to break 
There were once a man and a wife who lived near 
the mountains. One day the husband left home and 
went to live in a cave in the mountains to keep the 
Five Precepts. After a while, his wife began to miss 
him and went to him in his cave, threatening to kill 
herself if he continued with the 'Five Precepts non-
sense'. The man found the threat rather worrisome, 
so offered to break one of the Precepts in order to 
save the life of his wife. The wife brought him a 
cow, a young woman and a bottle of liquor and told 
him to take his pick of which Precept to break. The 
man thought that to kill the cow would be destruc-
tive — and equally to rape the young woman— so 
he settled for drinking the liquor because it didn't 
seem to bring harm to anyone else. After one sip of 
the liquor he found it good and drank the whole 
bottle. Inebriated, he killed the cow and raped the 
young girl too. The moral of the story is that ab-
staining from alcohol serves to preserve the intact-
ness of all the other four Precepts! 
F.7 Ex. Kumbha Jataka (J.512) 
Long ago before alcohol was produced industrially, 
it occurred by accident far away, deep in a forest in 
Kasi in India. In the forest there was a certain tree 
with a deft between its branches. Rainwater collected 
in the deft. Fruit like myrobalans and peppercorns 
from the surrounding trees fell in the water. At the 
foot of the tree was a rice plant and the birds in the 
forest would collect the rice seeds and perch to eat 
them in the bough of the tree. Some of the seeds fell 
in the water in the deft of the tree too. The water, the 
fruit and the rice in the tree cleft were warmed by the 
heat of the sun until it fermented into alcohol, chang-
ing its colour, taste and smell. It became red in colour 
and the smell attracted birds to drink it. The birds 
drank some of the rotgut without realizing its danger 
— they only drank it to slake their thirst, mistaking it 
for water. 
After only a taste the birds fell out of the tree un-
conscious — and the pile of birds under the tree did 
not escape the eye of a forester called Sura who hap-
pened to be passing by. He taught "that's good luck 
for me today —1 don't have to catch birds and set my 
traps or spread my nets!" As he watched the birds 
continued to fall out of the tree one by one. In fact the 
birds were asleep and when then eventually woke 
up, they could fly away as normal. The hunter was 
curious and realized there must be something special 
up the tree. He climbed the tree and found the special 
liquid in the deft with a tempting aroma. He tasted a 
little fluid — not knowing its dangers however by 
the time he had climbed down the tree he started to 
feel dizzy, unlike he had ever felt before — intoxi-
cated. He picked up some of the unconscious birds 
from the foot of the tree and started to roast them on 
the coals of a bonfire he had built, and ate them as an 
appetizer with cup after cup of alcohol from the top 
of the tree. He felt like dancing and singing all by him-
self in the forest. Then he remembered a friend of his 
called Varuna who had become a hermit He thought, 
"I ought to share discovery with my friend." Think-
ing this, he took a flask of the alcohol for his friend to 
try. When Sura arrived at Varuna's hermitage, he was 
sitting for meditation. 
Sura tapped on his shoul-
der, "Hey friend! Don't waste your time meditating. 
Drink this instead —it's more fun!" You'll feel intoxi-
cated and relaxed." 
Varuna the hermit tasted it and laughed out loud. 
He felt more lively than usual and decided to give up 
being a hermit to see if he could make a living out of 
selling the liquor. Sura led the way back into the for-
est saying, "We'll start by offering some to the king." 
Eventually they brought a sample of alcohol of of-
fer to the king. They explained, "Your majesty, we 
have found the most wonderful, the most delicious 
drink in the world. A drink so amazing that you have 
never before tasted since the day you were born —
won't your majesty just try a sip?" 
The king tasted it and liked it— and ordered more. 
Therefore Sura and Varuna were in and out of the 
forest all day long bringing alcohol from the tree for 
the king. 
Later the two got tired of making the journey so 
often, so they contrived a synthetic process to pro-
duce the alcohol. The produced many barrel of the 
liquor. They reserved some of the liquor for the king 
but they sold the rest to citizens of the kingdom. 
In the beginning the citizens asked what sort of 
drink it was — they replied, "It's a delicious drink 
and call it 'Sura' after the discoverer." 
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The citizens drank more and more. The more they 
drank, the less inclined the felt to work for a living. 
When they were drunk they would sleep all day. 
When they got sober they would drink more because 
it was so tasty. In the end, the whole kingdom went 
bankrupt — eventually going to rack and ruin. Sura 
and Varuna realized their market had collapsed so 
they moved to another kingdom, namely Benares, 
where the king and the citizens were still unaware of 
the side-effects. They brought Benares to rack and ruin 
in exactly the save way and moved on to the next 
kingdom, that of Saketa. The same thing happened 
there, so they moved to Sivatthi. 
In that kingdom, King Sabbamitta ordered 500 bar-
rels of alcohol without even tasting it. However as 
they were pouring the alcohol into the barrels some 
split over the brim. A cat licked some of the spillings 
out of curiosity. The cat's curiosity was not easily 
abated and eventually it got so drunk that it fell down 
unconscious. It lost all it's cat-like dignity when the 
mice came out and nibbled its whisker and ears. Some-
one discovered the incapacitated cat and reported to 
the king that 'curiosity had killed the cat' — it had be 
poisoned to death by the alcohol. The King had Sura 
and Varuna up for treason and sent them for execu-
tion. 
However before their heads were chopped off. The 
cat came round and wandered around dizzily. The 
king realized that alcohol was not poisonous and par-
doned the two alcohol merchants—having prepara-
tion made for the launch of the new product 
The impending doom caused Indra, the king of 
heaven's throne to show signs of heat. Indra realized 
that if he did not intervene and this major kingdom 
got addicted to alcohol in the same way as the lesser 
kingdoms before it, alcohol would spread unabated 
throughout the subcontinent... Indra therefore ap-
peared to King Sabbamitta in the guise of young Brah-
min holding a 'gold pot' floating in the air before the 
throne. The king marvelled, "0! Brahmin! — How 
come you can float in the air like that you are surely 
no ordinary being! What is that you have in your 
hand?" 
The Brahmin replied, "This is a magic pot. In this 
pot is a fluid which is exceptionally delicious. Any-
one who drinks this fluid will be so drunk they could 
fall head first in a pond, abandon their reason, sing in 
the street, run around naked and encourage their 
friends to do same. They will be shameless, sing rau-
cously, walk back and forth all night each friend tak-
ing it in turn to see the other home. They will fall 
asleep so drunk that they won't even notice if the 
house is burning down around them. Anyone who 
drinks this won't even care about eating dog food off 
the floor, go around clumsily, unsuitably dressed in 
public, vomiting in the street or sleeping face down 
in their own vomit. Some have delusions of their own 
grandeur, or become hideously aggressive. Drinking 
such a fluid can kill you, it will consume all your 
wealth if you drink it. It will make you so shameless 
that you won't think twice about insulting your par-
ents, flirting with your daughter-in-law, shouting at 
your in-laws or having an affair with the maid. You 
will be capable of all this if you drink this fluid. You 
will think nothing of harming clergy, getting in argu-
ments and fighting. Children will have no respect for 
their elders, adults will squabble, chatter aimlessly 
and tell lies, when they drink this fluid — they will 
forget to do the work they promised. The intelligent 
are reduced to fools. People forget to eat and nourish 
themselves properly, falling asleep in inappropriate 
places — anyone who drinks this fluid is like some-
one who has drunk poison. If your princes drink this 
they will elope with the court dancers. Even angels 
who drink this fluid fall out of heaven and become 
Titans lasitral. This gold pot contains no butter. cheese 
or honey — it contains the fluid with all the side-ef-
fects I have been speaking of — does your majesty 
want some?" 
"I certainly wouldn't touch it with a bargepole —
let alone drink it," said the king and rewarded the 
Brahmin by granting him five estates, with a great 
deal of other riches. The king wanted the Brahmin to 
be his minister. 
The Brahmin said, "You may keep your wealth and 
estates because I am already king of my own estate in 
heaven. It is out of anxiety that I have come here to 
warn your majesty. I am afraid otherwise that the 
whole subcontinent will come to rack and ruin. May 
your majesty be established in justice. May you prac-
tice in accordance with the Buddha's teaching so that 
you too may gain heaven at the end of your life!" 
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Blessing Twenty-One: 
Non-Recklessness 
in the Dhanmia 
A. 1NTJRODUCLION 
A.1 Looking a spiritual gift horse in the mouth 
In the previous blessings we have started to set the 
foundation for the cultivation of higher virtues by 
closing the door definitively on any unwholesome 
behaviours that might deviate us from our spiritual 
quest. We have seen specifically the dangers of 'un-
wholesomeness' and alcohol towards our path of 
cultivation. However, in this grouping there still re-
mains one possible danger for us on our path of 
cultivation — that we miss or overlook the oppor-
tunities which come our way to cultivate ourselves 
in earnest. Such opportunities are precious and few 
— and given our short lifespan, if we miss the 
golden opportunity to work on ourselves, we can 
never be sure if there will be a second chance. 
The irony of self-cultivation is that the impuri-
ties in our mind may lead us to 'look a gift horse in 
the mouth'. Because the untrained mind is full of 
weaknesses — it spends the whole time mulling 
unsystematically over thoughts about the world —
in distinct contrast to the thinking of the Lord Bud-
dha who had a systematic way of thinking. We 
spend our whole time drunk with the desires of life 
(even when we are sober) — our thinking is more 
like a boat cast adrift without a rudder— than that 
of someone pursuing a spiritual quest! 
Whenever the mind is without direction it will 
almost always fall under sway of the five forms of 
sensual desire: 
1. visual images; 
2. melodious sounds; 
3. tasty food; 
4. perfumes, and; 
5. things soft to the touch. 
All we care about is beautiful houses, beautiful 
clothes — our desires are without end. When such 
thoughts as these dominate the mind, there is no 
remaining space for our spiritual vocation. There 
is only selfishness and even the thought to take ad-
vantage of others. When our thoughts are negative, 
negative speech starts to escape from our mouths 
and bad action start to manifest themselves for the 
rest of the world to see. Even when we set our mind 
on doing good things, our good intentions become 
discontinuous. Allowing our mind to succumb to 
such unsystematic thinking is a condition the Lord 
Buddha called 'recklessness' and because of all the 
harm such recklessness brings, the Buddha advo-
cated non-recklessness at every opportunity. 
A.2 Things for which we cannot afford to be 
reckless 
One might think that there is no harm in a little 
'recklessness' — but the opportunity to cultivate 
ourselves spiritually is so precious that we cannot 
afford to be reckless about anything leading us in 
the direction of self-improvement. Such resources 
upon which our opportunity to better ourselves 
depend are in limited quantity — consider these: 
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1. Time. We cannot afford to overlook the passing 
of time. The Buddha taught that "he who is not 
reckless will habitually reflect that days and 
nights are passing us by, what are we doing with 
our lives?" Some people sit and gossip all day 
or sit and boast about this or that all day or sit 
and look at fashion magazines or rehearse danc-
ing. We are always competing with time. Time 
waits for no man and once it has passed it has 
gone. 
2. Youthfulness: We cannot afford to overlook the 
value of the 'best years of our life'. Some people 
spend their life thinking that they will wait until 
retirement before getting religious — however, 
in reality, even if you are lucky enough to reach 
retirement age, you will lack the former health 
and strength necessary for spiritual striving. 
3. Health: We cannot afford to overlook the value 
of strong health. Some people think they will be 
healthy the whole of their lives — some even 
abuse their health— if you see the robustness of 
your health in the context of spiritual striving, 
you will realize the importance of preserving it! 
4. Long-life: We cannot afford to overlook the tran-
sience of human life. Some people think that they 
have plenty of time to do good deeds—but eve-
ryone knows someone younger than themselves 
who has already passed away — couldn't they 
just have easily been us? 
5. The opportunity to train oneself in working 
skills: We cannot afford to overlook the oppor-
tunity to train ourselves in working skills. Make 
sure that every task that comes your way is done 
to the best of your ability. Make it your personal 
rule always to do things to the best of your abil-
ity no matter what the situation around you. At 
the very least it will build up good habits for 
yourself. 
6. The opportunity to train oneself in knowledge: 
We cannot afford to overlook the opportunity to 
train ourselves in knowledge. When you get 
older, your memory starts to falter. If there is any-
thing which you need to study and memorize 
get it done since you are young. You don't need 
to wait until you are in the mood! 
7. The opportunity to further oneself spiritually: 
We cannot afford to overlook the opportunity to 
train ourselves spiritually. In a single lifetime, 
we can expect only to overcome 10% of the weak-
nesses in our mind at the most— and that is only 
if we try our hardest. Therefore, you can very 
easily make no improvement to yourself at all 
or even backslide if you let opportunities pass 
you by, to train yourself spiritually. 
A.3 Three Characteristics of the reckless 
The usual way in which a person's recklessness in 
the Dhamma expresses itself is to overlook the im-
portance of putting in the appropriate effort in or-
der to get the hoped-for results. Here are some ex-
amples of the attitudes of those caught up in reck-
lessness: 
1. Those who don't do anything good but who ex-
pect good results Ikusital: Some people expend 
no effort when studying but expect to pass their 
examinations. Some do no work but expect pro-
motion. Some never help anyone else but they 
expect to be popular. Some don't keep the Pre-
cepts — they practice neither generosity nor 
meditation — and yet they expect to attain 
heaven and Nirvana ... 
2. Those who do only wicked things but expect for-
tunate outcomes from their actions IducaritaJ: 
Some do their work badly or harmfully but ex-
pect to receive a wage rise. Some spend their 
whole time gossiping behind others' backs but 
expect everyone to like them. 
3. Those who do negligable amounts of good deeds 
but who expect significantly good results 
IsithilaJ: Some do nothing more than light sticks 
of incense on the shrine and expect an afterlife 
with a heavenly mansion and a retinue of thou-
sands. Some spend only an hour doing serious 
revision for an exam but expect to be the top of 
the class. Some do others a small favour like giv-
ing someone a meal but expect loyalty for the 
rest of their lives. 
In conclusion, any of these three types of reckless-
ness are caused because the doer underestimates the 
importance of investing effort in doing good deeds. 
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B. NON-RECKLESSNESS 
B.1 Definition of non-recklessness 
'Non-recklessness' means being in control of one-
self the whole of the time, no matter whether one is 
thinking, speaking or doing overt actions — never 
allowing yourself slip into complacency, and never 
letting the opportunity to do good deeds pass by 
unanswered. You need to be focussed on the things 
which you have to do and things which you need 
to avoid. You have to be aware and responsible for 
your duties — working in earnest with the effort to 
seek for spiritual progress the whole of the time. 
Non-recklessness is thus like a feeling of responsi-
bility towards yourself which you maintain the 
whole of the time. It is also like being constantly 
'awake to one's proper priorities. 
B.2 Importance of nowrecklessness in Dhamma 
as a whole 
We have already mentioned the preciousness of 
opportunities to cultivate oneself — and the 
Dhamma, or teaching of the Buddha, is the system 
which explains these opportunities and how they 
can be benefitted from. Before exploring the detail 
of this particular Blessing, let us examine the na-
ture of the Dhamma, so that we can orientate our-
selves in a non-reckless way towards it. 
The Dhamma can be compared to the spire of a 
pagoda. A flag attached to the top of the pagoda of 
the Dhamma could be marked 'non-recklessness' 
or equally well with the words 'freedom from de-
filements' or 'Nirvana' or 'arahanthood' or 'free-
dom from suffering'. 
TAKE 211.1 
PYRAMO Cf MUCCHISI PRAC10E 
II! n fire2 
If you are ultimately non-reckless, then you will 
manage to attain all of these other things i.e. an end 
of defilements, an end of suffering, Nirvana and 
arahanthood. The pagoda is made of 84,000 bricks 
— which are the symbolic number of teachings at-
tributed to the Buddha. Just below the flag on the 
top, there are three special bricks engraved with the 
words 'avoid evil' (Precepts), 'do good' (medita-
tion) and 'purify the mind' (wisdom). These three 
teachings are expansions upon the concept of not 
being reckless as mentioned in the "Ovida-
pitimolddia". 
Avoiding evil is further expanded as the follow-
ing three bricks: 
• Right Speech Pummel Vaal; 
• Right Action [Samma Kammanta], and; 
• Right Livelihood [Samma 
The 'meditation' brick is also further supported by 
the following three bricks: 
• Right Effort [Samma Vayanzo]; 
• Right Mindfulness [Samma Batt], and; 
• Right Concentration [Samma Samadhi]. 
Wisdom' has two supporting bricks: 
• Right View [Samma Ditthi], and; 
• Right Intention [Samma Saizkappol. 
This line of bricks all on the same level as the No-
ble Eightfold Path. Beneath the Eightfold Path there 
is a further expansion of detail in each of the three 
original categories, rather like a base to the whole 
structure. On the side of 'Precepts' there is a gradual 
expansion to 'Five Precepts', 'Eight Precepts', 'Ten 
Precepts' and '227 Precepts'. 
Finally it expands to 21,000 items that are the con-
tent of the Vinaya.The bricks Right Effort, Right 
Mindfulness and Right Meditation are further ex-
panded to a base of 42,000 items which are called 
the Suttanta. The bricks Right View and Right In-
tention are further expanded into 21,000 items 
known as the Abhidhamma. 
Thus when you see the structure of all the teach-
ings, you can see that the Teachings of the Buddha 
originate from 'non-recklessness' and anyone who 
does not want to be reckless needs to train them-
selves in Precepts, meditation and wisdom. 
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We might easily overlook the importance of 'non-
recklessness' at this particular point in the thirty-
eight blessings because it seems like nothing 
more than a vague instruction to 'be careful'. 
'Being careful' — we might think— means noth-
ing more than taking a torch with us when we 
go outside in the dark or not going out of the 
house during a storm — or if you are a drunk-
ard, it might mean making sure that there is al-
ways enough stock of whisky in the house! How-
ever, when we come to study what 'being care-
ful' means according to the Buddhist meaning, 
we have to make a study that has its own indi-
vidual identity. It is a teaching that is particu-
larly deep, not just a teaching that is 'vaguely 
useful'. It is a teaching that is at the heart of Bud-
dhism and even Buddhists, even if they have 
'known Buddhism' all their lives, might not un-
derstand 'non-recklessness' if they have never 
given it due consideration. If it was an easy 
blessing to apprehend, it would surely not have 
been put as number twenty-one in the sequence 
of thirty eight. 
Another point which reminds us of the impor-
tance of this teaching is that it is contained in 
the Parinibbana Sutta which is the last teach-
ing of the Lord Buddha to his disciples. In His 
last days, instead of going back and revising any 
particular teaching from the forty-five years of 
his dispensation, the Buddha talked of non-reck-
lessness. He said: 
"0! Monks! Our aggregates have the nature of 
impermanence — therefore all of you must 
arouse 'non-recklessness'." 
These were His last words before passing away. 
'Non-recklessness' is therefore sure to be a major 
issue. You cannot afford to overlook it. 
B.3 Definition of non-recklessness in the 
Dhamma 
Non-recklessness in the Dhamma, refers particu-
larly to "being careful" concerning the performance 
of particular "causes" that will lead to the "effects" 
— rather than superstitiously believing that 'eve-
rything will turn out fine' even if we are too lazy to 
make things better. 
BA Components of non-recklessness in the 
Dhamnta 
When we apply the cause and effect of non-reck-
lessness to the spiritual path, it points to a total of 
five things we should be particularly 'careful' 
about: 
1. Being careful to remind ourselves to abstain from 
the three modes of evil action (evil of body, 
speech and mind) the whole of the time. It is like 
a conscience which reminds you not to kill or 
steal or speak in an aggressive way or think about 
things that are going to upset your mind with-
out due cause. 
2. Being careful to remind ourselves to do the three 
modes of good actions (goodness of body, speech 
and mind) the whole of the time. It is like a con-
science which reminds you to do good deeds at 
every opportunity 
3. Being careful to remind ourselves of the suffer-
ing of the hell realms that awaits us in the case 
we do evil. We cannot be reckless, because even 
though we may be a good person these days, in 
our childhood, when we didn't know the differ-
ence between wholesome and unwholesome be-
haviours, we surely have amassed a not insig-
nificant toll of bad karma for ourselves... 
4. Being careful to remind ourselves of the suffer-
ing that arises from birth, sickness, old age and 
death. Mindfulness reminds us 'at our age' we 
can no longer afford to be reckless any more. If 
we are a child of ten, we cannot afford to be reck-
less because we must study. If we are teenagers 
we cannot afford to be reckless because we need 
to get the skills we need to help our parents run 
their business. If you are thirty and you are still 
unable to set yourself up in life you cannot af-
ford to be reckless. If you are thirty-five or forty, 
even though you have already set yourself up in 
life, you cannot be reckless because you have still 
not done many good deeds in life — the same 
principle of non-recklessness applies throughout 
our lives. 
5. Being careful to recall our object of meditation 
the whole of the time. Apart from keeping your 
mind focussed on your chosen object of medita-
tion throughout your waking hours, this means 
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the mindfulness to keep your mind free from the 
bias of greed, hatred, delusion and fear the whole 
of the time. 
These are the virtues maintained continuously in 
the mind by those who are cultivating 'non-reck-
lessness'. If you regard yourself as someone in the 
face of impending death the whole of the time, it 
will inspire you not to neglect these tasks of non-
recklessness. Treat each day as if it were your last 
and by this recollection of death, your mind remain 
focussed on the task of self-cultivation. Such an abil-
ity to focus comes from a mental attribute we call 
'mindfulness' — a virtue discussed in more detail in 
the following section. 
C. MINDFULNESS 
C.1 Definition of mindfulness 
Mindfulness is recollection and discernment of 
good or bad, right and wrong, together with the 
motivation to think, speak and act in the proper way 
without forgetting oneself, without distraction and 
with wise reflection —not letting our mind become 
caught up in sensory stimuli than come into con-
tact with us. 
C.2 Properties of mindfulness 
The properties of mindfulness can be analyzed as 
follows: 
1. Not allowing the mind to wander: They are 
at work here but their mind is thinking about 
things on the other side of the world. 
2. Not allowing moods and feelings to take over 
the mind: Not like those who smoke opium 
or maruana or even actors who make no ef-
fort to control their feelings. 
3. Not allowing the mind to elaborate one 
thought after another without end. 
4. Constantly reminding yourself not to forget 
yourself. 
C.3 Benefits of mindfulness 
The benefits of mindfulness can be analyzed as fol-
lows: 
1. Mindfulness controls the state of mind to 
make sure our mind remains in the state we 
require — keeping only the sorts of things we 
want to think and cutting out the things we 
don't want to think. 
2. Allows the body and mind to be independent. 
Sometimes when we feel ill or in bad shape, 
our body feels heavy and sluggish. This also 
happens when our business is not going so 
well, or there are problems in the family. It is 
as if the world is weighing heavy on our 
shoulders. However, if we have good 
mindfulness, even though the things around 
us may be challenging they are unable to 
weigh us down it will not'get through' to your 
state of mind. 
3. Mindfulness will allow our thoughts to en-
large outwards without limits. You will see 
things as they really are. You will be able to 
spread loving kindness without limits because 
you have no limiting anxieties. 
4. Mindfulness will allow us to consider things 
with wisdom and follow them up with clar-
ity. Thus mindfulness augments wisdom be-
cause it will allow you to get to the root of 
every matter. 
5. Will purify all actions of body, speech and 
mind. 
The Buddha taught that non-recklessness can be 
brought about by the simultaneous cultivation of 
five virtues at all times. See if you possess all of 
these virtues or whether some are missing. Can you 
manage to maintain them continuously all of the 
time or can you only maintain them from time to 
time. In this way we will know the degree of our 
recklessness 
CA Functions of mindfulness 
The functions of mindfulness can be analyzed as 
follows: 
1. It allows us to be careful of ourselves. It will 
protect us from falling into ways of evil or dete-
rioration — by being suspicious of things wor-
thy of suspicion and to be careful to protect your-
self from dangers. Mindfulness is something that 
has the ability to stay with us wherever we are, 
whatever posture we are in. If you go out of the 
house and there is the sound of distant thunder, 
instead of simply being oblivious, you might 
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think, "Today it may rain heavily" (suspicious 
of things that deserve it) therefore 
better take 
along my umbrella" (care to protect yourself 
from potential dangers). If you see a friend of 
the same age who is usually stronger than your-
self fall down faint in the street, maybe you 
would instantly think of food poisoning and be-
sides helping them, be especially careful of the 
sort of food you eat. 
2. Tells us where to draw the line: when one must 
share activities with those who might a different 
aim in life from our own, to know to what ex-
tent one can join in with the activity without com-
promising one's spiritual path. 
3. Gives us a timely reminder. To wake us up and 
get us doing useful things with our lives instead 
of lying around all day. 
4. Acts as a catalyst: Stimulates us to hurry us up 
instead of allowing us to drag our feet in certain 
situations which require haste — an attribute 
lacking for those who are already thirty years 
old but who are still playing around in life as if 
they were teenagers. 
5. Makes us aware of our reponsibilities: It will 
remind us of our responsibilities — to know what 
and should not be done. If you are young and 
you wear lively colours, no-one will criticize your 
for it, but if you are old and you still do the same, 
your mindfulness might remind you about your 
duty at your particular time of life. It will tell 
you that old people don't belong in discotheques 
any more. 
6. Engenders Thoroughness: Thoroughness relies on 
experience — if you know the sort of mistakes 
you or the employees in your care tend to make, 
you will be more cautious when assessing the 
quality of work done. 
C.5 Metaphors for mindfulness 
There are many metaphors for mindfulness: 
1. Supporting Pillar: The people of old compared 
mindfulness to the main supporting pillar. Wher-
ever you put the main pillar, everything around 
will be firm and strong. In the same way wher-
ever there is mindfulness, you will always man-
age to consider issues until you get to the bot-
tom of things. (No other virtue can be cultivated 
without awareness). 
2. Doorkeeper: Mindfulness has also been com-
pared to a doorkeeper/guard in a large house 
or palace. A doorkeeper will let familiar people 
pass, but must stop strangers. In the same way 
mindfulness must always question as to what to 
investigate and what to let pass by. Whether to 
adjust or whether to start all over again (espe-
cially concerning sensory filtering). 
3. Treasurer. Others say that mindfulness is like a 
treasurer who must by fussy. They must make 
sure that the income and outgoings are balanced 
or else they will not let go of the issue. In a bank 
sometimes they have to stay late to midnight if 
there is an irregularity in the accounts — even if 
it is a profit—because they cannot afford to have 
even the slightest mistake in the accounts. Even 
if the amount of money in question is only a small 
fraction of the extra wages that must be paid to 
all the staff who have to check the accounts. 
4. Ship's Rudder Mindfulness has also been com-
pared to the rudder of a ship which will steer to 
port or starboard. Whether the ship will com-
plete its voyage or collide with another object 
along the way will depend on the rudder. With-
out a rudder a ship will go in circles—it uses up 
all its fuel but gets nowhere. 
D. CULTRATIM2 N0N•RELEMSNESS IN THE DHAMMA 
In order to cultivate non-recklessness in the 
Dhamma, one needs to make the cultivation of 
wholesomeness a regular daily activity — without 
exception or excuses. Be generous, keep the Pre-
cepts and meditate on a daily basis. Any morning 
when you have not get given alms, don't dare to 
take breakfast. Any day you have no intention to 
keep the Precepts, don't dare to leave the house. 
Any day you haven't done your chanting and medi-
tation, don't yet dare to go to bed. If you have the 
opportunity find time for temporary ordination or 
to keep the Precepts at the temple — keep your 
mind on your object of meditation throughout your 
waking hours and remind yourself of impending 
death in order to keep yourself focussed on the pri-
orities of your spiritual vocation. 
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h. ILLUS RAIIVE ELUIl'L1S 
E.1 Proverbs 
Appamado amataip padam 
Non-recklessness is the pathway to immor-
tality. 
Pamado maccuno padam 
Recklessness is the pathways to death. 
Dh. v21 
When the wise remove recklessness by non-
recklessness; it is as entering upon the cas-
tle of wisdom; fee of sorrow, they are able 
to see people; still caught up in their stu-
pidity. Those still caught up in sorrow, like 
those standing upon a mountain peak. 
E.2 .Ex. Makhadeva Jataka 41.9) 
Once there was a king called Makhadeva who 
ascended the throne. On the day of his corona-
tion he summoned his barber and said, "From 
now on my work will be much more busy — I 
will look after the country, but you also have 
your job, to tell me on the day you see the first 
grey hair appearing on my head." 
The barber smiled at such an easy job. One 
day a few years later, the barber saw the first 
hair on the king's head turn grey. When he told 
him, the king's face turned sheet white. The 
king had all the subjects in the kingdom sum-
moned together in an assembly and announced, 
"Today, after many years of ruling this coun-
try, the first sign of deterioration has appeared 
on my body. It has therefore come to the time 
for me to seek good deeds for myself. Thus I 
give up the throne, and my son will reign in 
my place." 
The king then went into the forest and became 
a hermit. That was the Buddha himself in one 
of his previous lifetimes as the Bodhisattva. 
For most people, instead of thinking of im-
pending death when their hair turns grey, they 
are still thinking of hair dye. This is more a case 
of lack of mindfulness. Wouldn't it be better to 
donate the price of the hair dye to a good 
cause? 
(J.i.137ff., also M.74ff.) 
£3 Er. Cakkhupala Thera Dh.A.i.15ff.40/32 
There was a monk called Cakkhupala in the time 
of the Buddha. He ordained in his old age. Once he 
had learned the principles of meditation, he went 
into the forest to practice with another thirty monks. 
Before the beginning of the rainy season, the monks 
had a meeting to decide how to practise in keeping 
with having become Buddhist monks. Some monks 
said they wanted to meditate for an hour a day. 
Others said they would learn chanting or read 
books. Cakkhupala disagreed and said that they 
were all still reckless. He said that such practice was 
no more challenging than the household life. He 
said that for himself, he would restrict himself to 
the three positions of sitting, standing and walking 
to meditate throughout the rainy season. He would 
not lie down even for the fear of death. All the other 
monks agreed with him so they all practiced like 
this for two months. At that time, Cakkhupala's 
eye got an infection. He developed opthalmia and 
needed medicine. He went to see a doctor who gave 
him eye drops. To administer the drops, you needed 
to lie down. Thus Cakkhupala didn't use the medi-
cine because he didn't want to break his vow of not 
lying down. He thought at his advancing years, he 
didn't know when death would come. He was more 
afraid that his mind would be blind to the Dhamma 
than that his eyes would be blind to the light. The 
doctor abandoned him. Calckhupila thought to 
himself that he no longer had any refuge so he sat 
for meditation with a fervour, to try to find a real 
refuge for himself — the Dhammalciya inside. On 
the last day of the rainy season, he attained 
Dhammalaya and used the Dhammalciya to con-
sider the Noble Truths and was able to become an 
arahant, but by that time he was already blind. All 
of the thirty monks were able to become arahants. 
Some asked the Buddha why after doing so many 
good deeds Cakkhupala could go blind. 
Calckhupila had been an optician in a previous life 
and had a female patient who was blind. The girl 
had made a contract that if she got her sight back 
she would pay him a certain amount. When she 
really recovered her sight, she didn't want to pay 
what she had agreed, so she pretended not to have 
recovered. The doctor wondered how she knew it 
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was him if she could not see. When he found out 
she was just evading payment, in anger he made 
her a new eye medicine with acid, saying that 
when she used this medicine, she would be cured 
for life. This time the girl really did go blind. The 
karma of that action was to plague him in every 
future lifetime. 
To advocate meditation even to the point of dam-
aging one's health might sound extreme. If we 
were still considering the pursuit of virtue in Bless-
ings One to Eighteen, perhaps we would consider 
compromising spiritual practice with our worldly 
needs, however, now that we are in the second half 
of the Manual of Peace concerning higher virtue, 
given that we have the knowhow and the oppor-
tunity, having come thus far, we should strive 
without compromise in every way that we know 
will bring progress to our practice. 
EA Ex. Subhadda Thera M.148ff., 
DhA.iii.376ff. 
When the Buddha knew that he was approaching 
the time when he must enter Parinibbima, he made 
an announcement that anyone with any remaining 
doubts concerning the Dhamma should come and 
ask their questions within three months. Everybody 
was so sad and cried with grief. One monk 
Subhadda however, did not cry, but withdrew into 
the forest to intensify his own practice. He practiced 
meditation walking, standing and sitting — never 
allowing himself to lie down. He trained himself in 
mindfulness the whole of the time. Someone went 
to the Buddha and accused the monk of disrespect 
saying that even though that monk knew the Bud-
dha must pass away soon, he had still not come to 
pay his respects. The Buddha summoned the monk 
in question and asked, "Why have you abandoned 
the community?" 
"I considered myself that I have still not attained 
any higher virtue as the result of my practice. If this 
is how I am even when the Buddha is still with us, 
what will I be like when you are gone? Therefore, I 
am practising to my utmost in the hope that the 
Buddha will be able to help with any obstacles that 
may crop up in the course of my practice during 
this three months." 
The Buddha agreed with the answer and said, 
"Other monks should take this monk as their ex-
ample. He has done correctly and is an exemplar of 
non-recklessness." 
The monk was able to become an arahant before 
the Buddha entered Parinibbina — he was the last 
to become enlightened before the passing of the 
Buddha. 
This might seem like a very high level of practice 
which surely could not apply to us, but even on 
meditation retreats, when retreatants know for 
themselves that they are close to making a break-
through in their meditation, they would be wrong 
to waste time chattering and joking with their fel-
lows — instead, maybe they need more time to 
themselves, more solitude and practice until they 
can secure progress in their meditation and only 
then to return to being their usual gregarious self. 
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The Seventh 
Group of Blessings 
"Instilling oneself with Basic Virtues" 
In the sixth grouping we have already removed the weeds from the 
soil of the mind ready for the sowing of higher virtues. At this point 
in our pursuit of higher virtues we still need to till and seed the 
ground of our mind before sowing the higher virtues we want to 
cultivate. There is no seed that grows well on stony ground and 
accordingly the first four of the five blessings in this Group, pa-
tience, humility, contentment and gratitude are concerned with sof-
tening up the mind and making it more receptive to the seeds of 
Dhamma to be sown in Blessing Twenty-Six (Regularly listening to 
Dhamma teachings). 
1/4 
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Blessing Twenty-Two: 
Respect 
A. INTRODUCTION 
A.1 Introduction to Blessing Twenty-two 
In recent years, a new term has become fashion-
able in the vocabulary of management science —
that word is 'knowledge management'. The term 
refers to ameliorating the atmosphere of knowledge 
sharing in a working or educational context. The 
problem is that knowledge in the working 
enviroment consists of more than just academic 
knowhow. Many of the skills which a craftsman can 
show by example, but can't put into words, will be 
lost on an apprentice if he has a bad rapport with 
his trainer. Discretion especially, can be learned only 
through example — an apprentice needs to rely 
upon his master's experience especially when it 
comes to steering clear of the pitfalls implicit in 
every body of knowledge. Some types of knowl-
edge such as acting or singing for entertainment 
are useful sorts of knowledge in themselves, but 
when entertainers don't know where to draw the 
line, then they may run the risk of becoming pro-
miscuous simply because they don't know how 
much is too much in their quest for fame or fortune. 
Some doctors are very skilled in their medical skills, 
but if they are not close to a good exemplar of medi-
cal ethics (which are often not contained in the text-
books) they will end up becoming immoral doc-
tors who will find any excuse to do operations be-
cause they know that the more operations they do, 
the more money they can earn. Without a good rap-
port with a teacher who is a good exemplar, with 
all professions, new practitioners run the risk of de-
generation into the vices of alcohol, prostitution, 
corruption etc. 
Moreover, researchers have found that in many 
working environments where expertise consists of 
more than just academic knowledge, there is often 
little sharing of knowledge between employees, be-
cause many barriers arise which impede the spread-
ing of good ideas in a workplace. Those who should 
be on the receiving end of knowledge waste time 
'reinventing the wheel', they don't learn from oth-
ers' mistakes or their own, they have a reduced abil-
ity to absorb knowledge, learning only overt aspects 
of knowledge, competing with one another instead 
of co-operating, and not giving sufficient time or 
interest to new ideas to improve their work per-
formance. In turn, those who have the knowledge 
to share are often unaware of what the less knowl-
edgable wish to know and thus they communicate 
their ideas ineffectively or may be disinclined to 
share their knowledge at all. 
In the academic situation the same principles ap-
ply. For all the knowledge a lecturer may have if he 
is confronted day-in-day-out by inconsiderate, fault-
finding students who have no genuine interest in 
their studies eventually he will be tempted to teach 
only half of what he knows. He will take the other 
half with him to the grave. The next generation will 
know only 50% and teach only 25%.Within only a 
few generations for the whole body of knowledge 
once so well known, will completely disappear. 
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Looking for ways to rectify the situation in work-
ing and educational contexts, the researchers rec-
ognized a set of behaviours found to act as an anti-
dote to the problems mentioned above — behav-
iours which work as a sort of lubricant in the stu-
dent-teacher relationship — allowing the knowl-
edge to flow. Such behaviours include being open, 
having the courage to admit failings, asking if one 
doesn't understand, looking for good points in the 
people one wishes to learn from and in the knowl-
edge itself (rather than finding fault) and showing 
enthusiasm. In a nutshell, these sort of behaviours 
help to transform passive transfer of knowledge 
into an active and enthusiastic search for knowl-
edge. 
Just as in the world of business and education, 
obstacles to the transfer of knowledge need to be 
overcome, it may come as no surprise that the same 
is all the more true in the world of spiritual teaching 
and learning. Many of the behaviours just described 
which help a student to learn actively instead of 
passively, are just as essential to the spiritual learn-
ing process. Howevec, far from being a new dis-
covery, these behaviours are grouped together un-
der an ancient virtue by the name of 'respect'. Re-
spect is vitally important to the spiritual learner. In 
its business context, the worst that can happen if 
respect is lost is the bankruptcy of the company —
but in the spiritual world the stakes are much 
higher. All of us are familiar with the rise and fall 
of different Empires in the world, whether they may 
be the Roman Empire, the Ancient Egyptian civili-
zation or the Aztec Empire to take a few examples. 
All of them are established upon a particular vision 
which unifies a sufficient number of people and is 
of benefit to satisfy the human need to reach out to 
a cause that is larger or greater then their own self 
interest. Civilization can last for only as long as there 
is still a unifying vision to inspire people to share 
what they know with those of the next 
generation. The civilizations of the world prosper 
or founder depending on the vitality of visionary 
scholarship in their day and age. The Great Wall of 
China and the Pyramids which even today's mod-
em technology cannot replicate are concrete proof 
of the knowledge of the ancient ones — but nowa-
days Egypt's empire is but desert, and ruins are all 
to tell us of civilizations past. Empires prosper as 
the arts and scholarship grow, bringing more and 
more comfort to peoples' lives. Peoples' appetites 
are never satiated though, and in the race to per-
sonal pleasure man becomes less considerate of his 
fellow man. At this point as the market grows for 
those sort of pleasures that make men antisocial —
the vices of gambling, prostitution, alcoholism and 
drugs — pleasures of which no-one can ever get 
enough. However, neither vice nor materialism per 
se are reasons for the fall of civilizations. It is man's 
lack of respect for his fellow man and especially 
towards the knowledge he relies upon for his well-
being, that is the critical factor in the downfall of 
bodies of knowledge and their dependent civiliza-
tions. 
Without respect, whole bodies of knowledge 
quickly die because neither student nor teacher are 
willing to go out of their way to help each another. 
The death of knowledge is the death not just of al-
truism, but of civilization. Thus respect needs to be 
cherished by all who wish to see such a crucial body 
of knowledge such as the way to enlightenment, 
perpetuated throughout our generation and for 
many generations to come.Thus we must ask our-
selves how both on the level of the individual and 
the level of civilization how we can promote and 
preserve a learning environment which promotes 
spiritual maturity. 
A.2 Virtue that opens our eyes to the qualities ofpeople 
The key value which we need to develop in order 
to activate our spiritual learning is the ability to look 
deep enough into the personality of others to iden-
tify the good qualities from which we can learn. To 
know the uses of things, whether it be the healing 
properties of plants or the applications of miner-
als, is the characteristic of a wise man — contrary 
to those who think that nothing is a greater gift to 
the world than themselves. Anyone blind to the use-
fulness of the objects or people around them lose 
any opportunity to benefit from the things around 
them. Unfortunately, without practice we tend not 
to see others as they really are. When we see some-
one, we tend to be caught up in appearances in-
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stead of being able to tell what virtues that person 
really has. The only way we have any chance of 
seeing through to the real value of people is if we 
make a specific effort to look for the good qualities 
in people. However, we have a tendency not to do 
this. Because we have a certain arrogance, thinking 
that we will always be better than others, often we 
overlook the good in anyone else. If we are not even 
able to see the goodness in others, what chance do 
we have to emulate that goodness for ourselves? 
Some people are blind to the goodness in others 
because they do not look for it — or they assume 
themselves to be superior— or the goodness in oth-
ers is often not manifest — and even when their 
virtues are manifest, they are veiled from our own 
perceptions by the impurities in our minds. In or-
der to overcome possible blindness in the mind we 
therefore need to focus on respect and how to culti-
vate it. 
13. RI:SI hd.,1 
B.1 Definitions 
Respect means to open up sincerely to the ways in 
which others are (in truth) more valuable or im-
portant than yourself and by expressing sincere and 
humble praise deserved by others with body, 
speech and mind — whether you are in their pres-
ence or not — as a way of showing that the person 
expressing respect appreciates and is cognizant of 
the good deeds of another — voluntarily without 
being forced to show such respect. Respect is easy 
to understand if we say that is is the opposite of 
finding fault with others. If you look at the episte-
mology of the word 'respect' you will find that it is 
made up of two parts "re" and "spect"."Spece" 
means 'to look'. "Re" means 'to do something 
again'.Thus the meaning of the word 'respect' is 'to 
look at something a second time' — but specifically 
to find the good qualities of something. 
Such a definition helps us not to confuse 'respect' 
with its near neighbour 'expressing respect'. Such 
behaviours as bowing may be sincere but often they 
are not. A soldier's salute, for example, doesn't 
mean he has respect for the person he salutes —
the key factor which makes respect useful in the 
cultivation of virtue is the attitude behind the re-
spectful behaviour. 
Having emphasised so much on the attitude of 
respect, the reader might be tempted to think it is 
superfluous to bow or express respect — in fact 
many think that having respectful thoughts is good 
enough. However, expressing respect is also useful 
in itself (see objectives below for feather details) — be-
cause it helps to reduce ones' selfish views, culti-
vates humility and lends value to the cultivation of 
virtue in any society. For a young child taught from 
an early age to bow in respect to monks, parents, 
elders and teachers — in the beginning it might be 
an automatic response out of a child's blind faith 
or obedience. However, when expressing such re-
spect becomes habitual, later when the child is older 
and more reflective, it will start to ask itself the ques-
tion, "what's so great about my parents or teachers 
or spiritual teachers that makes them worthy of 
such respect?" and at that time the child will start 
to look for the virtue in those people — which is 
the fully-fledged attitude of respect. 
B.2 Objectives of expressing respect 
The reasons we show respect are in order to: 
1. To show that we have real respect for that per-
son both in body and mind 
2. To reinforce the goodness of that person: When 
you pay respect to someone it forces the person 
on the receiving end of the respect to reflect 
whether they are worthy or not of such respect 
— if they feel embarrassed by the respect because 
of their lack of virtue, before long they will feel 
motivated to improve themselves. Teachers, for 
example often forget that their duty consists of 
both parts, both of which he need to be fulfilled 
in order to qualify for the respect of their stu-
dents: 
1. The duty to explain (i.e. teach a subject in 
theory) 
2. The duty to exemplify (especially the moral 
useage of the subject he teaches) 
3. To perpetuate humane culture 
4. To reduce your own selfish views 
5. To train yourself in human relations 
6. To publicize the goodness of yourself and the 
person who is object to your respect. 
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Those who express respect have the wisdom to seek 
for goodness in others. If someone shows you respect 
you will know that that person is someone of devel-
oped virtue — they have at least the makings of wis-
dom. If you too are smart, when someone treats you 
with respect, you will treat them with respect too. It is 
a foolish person who ignores or patronizes someone 
else who shows them respect. Not to acknowledge 
another's respect is as good as saying, 
so dumb 
and devoid of wisdom that I can see no good in you!" 
The fear to express respect to others or to acknowl-
edge the respect shown to one is usually rooted in the 
assumption that it will belittle one's grandeur or al-
low others to appear more important than oneself. 
Such hankering after self-importance and hunger for 
deference by others unfortunately blinds one's mind 
to the goodness in others. 
C. °BMA, IS OF RLS1 htl 
C.1 Spiritual objects of respect 
The Buddha taught (AppamAda Sutta A.iv.27; 
Kimmi la Sutta A.iv.84; Sakkacca Sutta A.iv.120) that 
there are seven objects of respect in the spiritual 
world which are so full of virtues that even if a per-
son is unable to appreciate the value of virtue at 
the outset, the effort to show respect will soon be 
rewarded by an appreciation of virtue (a process a!-
ready described in the Third Blessing). These are spir-
itual objects of respect which are so valuable to the 
world that no-one can afford to overlook the good 
they exemplify: 
1. the Buddha (a personality) 
2. the Dhamma (a phenomenon) 
3. the Sangha (personalities) 
4. education (a phenomenon) 
5. meditation (a practice) 
6. non-recklessness (a practice) 
7. hospitality (a phenomenon) 
All of these things have such a decisive influence 
over our own well-being that we cannot afford to 
overlook them. If we have no respect for these 
things it is hard to appreciate any lesser virtue. 
C.1.1. The Lord Buddha 
We need to have respect for the Buddha, because 
he has nothing but goodness, we can really look as 
deep as we like and we will find no end to his vir-
tue. 
If anybody is able to instill themselves with the 
virtues which the Buddha had, they will themselves 
be worthy of respect. Anyone whose mind is blind 
to the virtues of the Buddha will find it very diffi-
cult to achieve success or happiness in life. 
There are different ways of expressing one's re-
spect to the Buddha which depend on whether the 
Buddha is still alive or has already passed away. 
When the Lord Buddha was still alive, disciples 
would pay respect by: 
1. going for audience with the Buddha three times 
a day — or if lay Buddhists, would pay respect 
to the Buddha by going for audience with the 
Buddha regularly; 
2. not wearing shoes when the Buddha was bare-
foot 
3. not walking in a place higher than where the 
Buddha was standing; 
4. not sitting in a place higher than where the Bud-
dha was sitting; 
5. (for monks) not wearing one's robe in a manner 
as to cover both shoulders when the Buddha was 
robed with one shoulder open. (to cover both 
shoulders in the time of the Buddha was the 
manner of dressing of a leader — thus if the Bud-
dha was already sitting as president in any par-
ticular place with one shoulder 'open' it would 
not be suitable for others to keep both shoulders 
covered). 
6. not putting up an umbrella or parasol within the 
Buddha's sight if the Buddha had not already 
done so; 
7. not passing water or defecating within the Bud-
dha's sight 
When the Buddha had entered Parinibbana, differ-
ent ways of paying respect became applicable: 
1. respecting the pagoda containing the Buddha's 
relics; 
2. paying respect at the four holy sites of Buddhism 
Iscupvejaniyattheinal the places as which the 
Buddha was born, enlightened, gave his first ser-
mon and passed away into ParinibbAna; 
3. paying respect to Buddha images or anointing 
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the Buddha image with water on the appropri-
ate occasion; 
4. paying respect before the main shrine of a tem-
ple when arriving and before leaving; 
5. not wearing shoes in pagoda grounds; 
6. not puffing up an umbrella or parasol in the pa-
goda grounds; 
7. not chattering while walking in the pagoda 
grounds; 
8. taking down one's umbrella or parasol and re-
moving one's shoes when entering the grounds 
of a temple (or for monks to change one's man-
ner of robing from that of covering both shoul-
ders to that of exposing one shoulder when en-
tering the temple) and maintaining modesty and 
composure from the time one enters the temple 
compound; 
9. practising what the Lord Buddha taught. 
C.1.2. The Dhamma 
The Dhamma is the collective name for all that the 
Buddha taught about the nature of life and the 
world. It is also a pathway which if followed will 
lead to an end of suffering. Even the Lord Buddha 
himself paid respect to the Dhamma. He respected 
the teaching so much that his final words were to 
declare, not a person, but the Dhamma (together 
with the monastic code of conduct Ivinaya]) as 
successor to Buddhism after his passing. 
1. never missing opportunity to listen to Dhamma 
teachings 
2. listening to Dhamma teachings attentively, 
peacefully and with composure — rather than 
falling asleep or picking one's fingernails dur-
ing the teaching 
3. taking respectful care of books containing 
Dhamma teachings —not shoving them in trou-
ser pockets, putting them on the floor or in 
places where they will get dirty or wet and not 
putting other things (like cups of coffee) down 
on top of them; 
4. You should not make fun of the Dhamma —
and if one has the opportunity to teach the 
Dhamma to others, it should be taught accu-
rately. 
C.1.3. The Sangho 
The Sangha were those who have trained them-
selves and help to teach others to follow in their 
footsteps. We can pay respect to the Sangha by: 
1. Bowing and saluting with composure in the pres-
ence of monks; 
2. Sitting with composure when in the presence of 
monks (rather than sitting hugging one's knees, 
for example); 
3. Not putting on shoes or putting up umbrellas in 
the middle of the monastic community; 
4. Not making exaggerated gestures (such as wav-
ing one's arms and legs immodestly) when in 
the presence of monks; 
5. Not standing, walking, lying or sitting in a way 
impedes or encroaches upon monks; 
6. Not boasting of Dhamma knowledge or answer-
ing questions on Dhamma unless specifically in-
vited to do so by the most senior monk; 
7. looking after the monks needs with a faithful 
heart; 
8. receiving monks hospitably with appropriate 
gifts of requisites. 
C.1.4. Education 
Education in both spiritual and worldly ways is 
necessary for one's welfare doesn't mean bowing 
to your pencil and jotter. It means being sincere in 
your studies (not reckless). You must not take the 
attitude that you already know it all. If you study 
then try to get to the core of the thing you are study-
ing. 
C. L5. Meditation 
People might be very respectful towards the Triple 
Gem and education, but they can never expect to 
attain enlightenment unless they get down to the 
practice of meditation too. It is necessary to remind 
oneself constantly of the benefits of practising medi-
tation and express one's respect by practising medi-
tation regularly for as long as one can. Meditation 
is vital to the cultivation of virtue. It is the last and 
most important link of the Eightfold path that will 
bring the mind to successful attainment in medita-
tion. It is irreplaceable for all who wish to know 
the real meaning of the Dhamma as explained by 
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the Threefold Training [ti-sikkhal — the heart of 
the Buddhist teaching consisting of self-discipline 
[silo], meditation [samadhi] and wisdom [parlibiJ 
— which will lead to the liberation of Nirvana. We 
cultivate self-discipline in order to avoid the evil 
that might otherwise cloud the mind and impede 
our mind from entering upon meditation. Medita-
tion is in turn the foundation of wisdom. Thus 
meditation is the prime principle in the cultivation 
of all sorts of virtue, especially removing defile-
ments from the mind and entry upon Nirvana. 
Some people refuse to meditate, but try to attain 
enlightenment exclusively by reading about it. Un-
fortunately, no matter how much they read, they 
have no chance of coming closer to enlightenment, 
because all their theoretical knowledge, can do 
nothing to help an inner sphere of knowing to arise 
in the mind unless the mind is directed inwards... 
Thus don't go believing anyone who tells you that 
meditation is superfluous to Buddhist practice. It 
contradicts the Buddha's own words and it does 
not correspond which the example set throughout 
his life by the Buddha himself. 
C.1.6. Non-recklessness 
Those who are not reckless will habitually be mind-
ful of: 
1. Abstaining from evil 
2. Doing good deeds 
3. Remind ourselves of the suffering of the hell 
realms that awaits us in the case we do evil. 
4. Recall the suffering that arises from birth, sick-
ness, old age and death. 
5. Recall our object of meditation the whole of the 
time. All of these things are equivalent to hav-
ing respect for yourself. 
C.1.7. Hospitality 
Hospitality is helping to fill the gaps. Sometimes 
when we are taking care of other people, it is hard 
to please them in every respect. However, if guests 
come to our own house and the reception we pro-
vide for them is still lacking, then we may well be 
criticized for it. We must try to fill the gaps so that 
there is no remainingthing which others could criti-
cize us for as being inhospitable. This doesn't just 
mean being friendly to guests, but it means train-
ing everybody in our circle of influence who might 
receive guests in our place (e.g. sons & daughters, 
subordinates or housemaids). Hospitality is very 
important if you want to be a pillar of society. Hos-
pitality means (A.i.93, Vbh.360): 
1. Material Hospitality lamisa-patisantharaj: re-
ceiving people with the material things they 
need. Even if they have come to your house to 
borrow your money don't refuse them com-
pletely (but might not give as much as they ask). 
2. Spiritual Hospitality [dhamma-patisanthara]: 
talking about thngs that are useful for the guest's 
spiritual transformation instead of talking about 
things which they don't want to hear — or use-
less things. 
If we are able to cultivate respect for these seven 
objects (of §C.1), before long we will gain the abil-
ity to see the virtue not only in these objects, but in 
everybody around us in the world — whether they 
are spiritually inclined or not. The habit of finding 
fault with others will gradually recede. 
C.2 Secular Objects of Respect 
In daily life, it is not only the seven objects of §C.1 
which we should show our respect towards. Virtue 
exists in many places, even the mundane world, 
and the Buddha advised us also to have respect for 
the following secular personages. Such personages 
are especially worthy of respect if in turn they have 
respect for the seven objects already mentioned: 
1. Kings or national leaders who are established in 
the Ten Virtues of a Monarch (see Blessing 16, 
§C.2): 
2. Parents (for the part of them that is virtuous): Sup-
posing they are robbers and get put in jail, maybe 
you will send food for them. 
3. Teachers and Preceptors (who have virtue) 
4. Elders 
5. Older brothers or sisters should be respected by 
younger brothers or sisters 
6. Younger brothers and sisters (who have exceptional 
virtue) 
For these secular objects of respect, the following 
are appropriate ways in which respect can be ex-
pressed: 
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1. Clearing the way for that person to pass. 
2. Standing up to receive the person 
3. Holding your hands in a gesture of respect 
4. Bowing 
IL 
EXAMPLES 
D.1 Metaphor: Cavemen frozen for their 
ignorance 
Arthur C. Clarke once observed that cave dwellers 
froze to death on beds of coal. Coal was right un-
der them, but they didn't notice it, or have the 
knowledge to mine it or use it. Not knowing the 
beneficial qualities of a resource can cost you your 
life. In the same way, without the respect to wake 
you up to the virtues latent in the people standing 
right next to you might cost you your the path of 
spiritual progess. 
D.2 Et Tittira Jataka (J.37) 
There were three animals a pigeon, a monkey and 
an elephant which lived in a banyan tree. They 
showed no respect or consideration for each other. 
The elephant thought it was the best because it was 
the biggest. It would scratch itself against the tree 
so roughly that all the other animals would fall out 
of the tree. It would trumpet so loudly that it would 
wake up all the others. The monkey was no less 
inconsiderate. It thought it was the best because it 
was fast and could climb the tree more quickly than 
the others. It would throw a red-ant's nest down 
on the elephant if it was dissatisfied. If it was bored 
it would destroy the pigeon's nest just for fun. The 
pigeon said nothing but did a dropping on the mon-
key's head. Also the pigeon would coo loudly 
whenever it felt like it. In the end, none of the three 
animals could get a proper night's sleep. The three 
animals met together to decide what to do because, 
if they carried on being inconsiderate like this in-
definitely, they would surely all die. They decided 
to respect each other according to age. They didn't 
have a way of counting the years so they all com-
pared themselves to the history of the tree. The el-
ephant said that his first memory of the tree was 
when the tree was only as high as his navel (a me-
tre high). The monkey's first memory of the tree 
was when it could sit on the ground and nibble the 
top of the tree (six inches high). The bird said that he 
could remember the tree since it had still not 
sprouted. Therefore the bird was oldest followed 
by the monkey followed by the elephant. Now each 
animal could put its own goodness to work. The 
bird would get up in the morning and fly up high 
into the sky to see which part of the forest where 
the fruit was ripe. Now the elephant and monkey 
didn't have to guess where the fruit was any more. 
The monkey and the bird would sit on the back of 
the elephant and go to where the fruit was ripe. 
Now instead of the elephant having to wait for the 
fruit to drop, the monkey would climb the tree and 
collect the fruit for the other two. They would pick 
so much fruit and put it on the back of the elephant 
that they could store fruit at the bottom of the 
banyan tree so that the next day they wouldn't have 
to go looking for food any more. Because of the ben-
efit of respect according to seniority in bringing 
forth the goodness in every person, even in the mo-
nastic community, monks respect one another ac-
cording to seniority and the older monks have the 
duty to teach the younger. 
113 Et. Sariputta jumping canals 
The elder monk Sariputta, who was second only 
to the Buddha for wisdom, still had certain faults 
remaining even though he was already an arahant. 
When he led the other monks on almsround, in-
stead of using bridges to cross canals in his path, 
he would jump across the canal. If he led a group 
of monks for dhutaizga practice, he would like to 
hang up his umbrella not at ground level, but at 
the top of a tree. Some people asked the Buddha, 
"With all these strange habits, is it true that 
Sariputta is really an arahant?" The Buddha con-
firmed that Sfiriputta was really an araltant. They 
asked, "Then why does he still jump across canals 
and camp at the top of trees?" The Buddha replied, 
"Sariputta is really an arahant, but even so,there 
are some deeply engrained aspects of his character 
that being an arahant has not changed — because 
he has spent many lifetimes as a monkey." 
D.4 Ex. Pilindavaccha says 'peasant' 
There was another arahant Pilindavaccha who, 
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whenever he met someone, would call them with the 
words, "you peasant" [vasala]. If you didn't deserve 
such a title and you got called 'a peasant' every day, it 
would surely become very irritating, even for the most 
patient of people. To him, whether they were aristo-
crats or kings they were all 'peasants' to him. A large 
number of people asked, if Pilindavaccha was really 
an arahant or not, with such disrespect for everyone 
he met. The Buddha confirmed that he was really an 
arahant, but that again he had certain engrained as-
pects of his charade; too deep to change — because 
Pilindavaccha had been born only as a king and as an 
emperor continuously for many lifetimes. Even as art 
arahant, it is still possible to have faults — so what 
about the humble likes of ourselves who have still 
not made much progress in our Dhamma practice? 
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