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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 
C.4 Functions of mindfulness 
The functions of mindfulness can 
be analyzed as 
follows: 
I. It allows us to be careful of 
ourselves. It will 
protect us from falling into ways of 
evil or deterioration 
— by being suspicious of things 
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worthy 
of suspicion and to be careful to 
protect yourself 
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 
248 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
think, "Today it may rain heavily" 
(suspicious 
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of things that deserve it) therefore 
I'd 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 yourself 
fall down faint in the street, maybe 
you 
would instantly think of food 
poisoning and besides 
helping them, be especially careful 
of the 
sort of food you eat. 
2. Tells us where to draw the line: 
when one must 
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share activities with those who 
might a different 
aim in life from our own, to know 
to what extent 
one can join in with the activity 
without compromising 
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 
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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 
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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 
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mindfulness: 
I. Supporting Pillar: The people 
of old compared 
mindfulness to the main supporting 
pillar. Wherever 
you put the main pillar, everything 
around 
will be firm and strong. In the 
same way wherever 
there is mindfulness, you will 
always manage 
to consider issues until you get to 
the bottom 
of things. (No other virtue can be 
cultivated 
without awareness). 
2. Doorkeeper: Mindfulness has 
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also been compared 
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 (especially 
concerning sensory filtering). 
3. Treasurer: Others say that 
mindfulness is like a 
treasurer who must by fussy. They 
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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 
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all the staff who have to check the 
accounts. 
4. Ship's Rudder: Mindfulness has 
also been compared 
to the rudder of a ship which will 
steer to 
port or starboard. Whether the ship 
will complete 
its voyage or collide with another 
object 
along the way will depend on the 
rudder. Without 
a rudder a ship will go in circles 
it uses up 
all its fuel but gets nowhere. 
D. CULTIVATING 
NON-RECKLESSNESS IN THE 
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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 Precepts 
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. 
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Any day you haven't done your 
chanting and meditation, 
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 priorities 
of your spiritual vocation. 
Blessing Twenty-One: 
Non-Recklessness in the Dhamma 
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249 
E. ILLUSTRATIVE 
EXAMPLES 
E.1 Proverbs 
AppamAdo amataO padaO 
Non-recklessness is the pathway to 
immortality. 
PamAdo maccuno padaO 
Recklessness is the pathways to 
death. 
Dh. v21 
When the wise remove 
recklessness by nonrecklessness; 
it is as entering upon the castle 
of wisdom; free of sorrow, they are 
able 
to see people; still caught up in 
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their stupidity. 
Those still caught up in sorrow, 
like 
those standing upon a mountain 
peak. 
E.2 Ex. MakhAdeva JAtaka (J.9) 
Once there was a king called 
MakhAdeva who 
ascended the throne. On the day of 
his coronation 
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 
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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 summoned 
together in an assembly and 
announced, 
"Today, after many years of ruling 
this country, 
the first sign of deterioration has 
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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 impending 
death when their hair turns grey, 
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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.ii.74ff.) 
E.3 Ex. CakkhupAla Thera 
DhA.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 
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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 
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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 
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him eye drops. To administer the 
drops, you needed 
to lie down. Thus CakkhupAla 
didn't use the medicine 
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. 
CakkhupAla thought to 
himself that he no longer had any 
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