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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 mindful 
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 
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from birth, sickness, 
old age and death. 
5. Recall our object of meditation 
the whole of the 
time. All of these things are 
equivalent to having 
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 provide 
for them is still lacking, then we 
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may well be 
criticized for it. We must try to fill 
the gaps so that 
there is no remainingthing which 
others could criticize 
us for as being inhospitable. This 
doesn't just 
mean being friendly to guests, but 
it means training 
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. Hospitality 
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means (A.i.93, Vbh.360): 
I. Material Hospitality 
[Amisa-paEisanthAra]: receiving 
people with the material things 
they 
need. Even if they have come to 
your house to 
borrow your money don't refuse 
them completely 
(but might not give as much as 
they ask). 
2. Spiritual Hospitality 
[dhamma-paEisanthAra]: 
talking about thngs that are useful 
for the guest's 
spiritual transformation instead of 
talking about 
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things which they don't want to 
hear — or useless 
things. 
If we are able to cultivate respect 
for these seven 
objects (of §C.1), before long we 
will gain the ability 
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. 
C2 Secular Objects of Respect 
In daily life, it is not only the 
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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, 
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§C.2): 
2. Parents (for the part of them that 
is virtuous): Supposing 
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 
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are appropriate ways in which 
respect can be expressed: 
Blessing Twenty-Two: Respect 259 
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 
D. ILLUSTRATIVE 
EXAMPLES 
D.1 Metaphor: Cavemen frozen 
for their 
ignorance 
Arthur C. Clarke once observed 
that cave dwellers 
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froze to death on beds of coal. 
Coal was right under 
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 Ex. Tittira JAtaka (J.37) 
There were three animals a pigeon, 
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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 
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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 monkey'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 
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what to do because, 
if they carried on being 
inconsiderate like this indefinitely, 
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 compared 
themselves to the history of the 
tree. The elephant 
said that his first memory of the 
tree was 
when the tree was only as high as 
his navel (a metre 
high). The monkey's first memory 
of the tree 
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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 
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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 
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banyan tree so that the next day 
they wouldn't have 
to go looking for food any more. 
Because of the benefit 
of respect according to seniority in 
bringing 
forth the goodness in every person, 
even in the monastic 
community, monks respect one 
another according 
to seniority and the older monks 
have the 
duty to teach the younger. 
D.3 Ex. SAriputta jumping canals 
The elder monk SAriputta, who 
was second only 
to the Buddha for wisdom, still had 
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certain faults 
remaining even though he was 
already an arahant. 
When he led the other monks on 
almsround, instead 
of using bridges to cross canals in 
his path, 
he would jump across the canal. If 
he led a group 
of monks for dhutaIga 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 
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SAriputta is really an arahant?" 
The Buddha confirmed 
that SAriputta was really an 
arahant. 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 
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`peasant' 
There was another arahant 
Pilindavaccha who, 
260 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
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 aristocrats 
or kings they were all `peasants' to 
him. A large 
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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 aspects 
of his character, too deep to 
change — because 
Pilindavaccha had been born only 
as a king and as an 
emperor continuously for many 
lifetimes. Even as an 
arahant, it is still possible to have 
faults - so what 
about the humble likes of 
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ourselves who have still 
not made much progress in our 
Dhamma practice? 
Blessing Twenty-Three: Humility 
261 
A. INTRODUCTION 
A.1 Introduction to Blessing 
Twenty-Three 
There are many obstacles which 
may stand in the 
way of our acquisition of higher 
virtue. As already 
mentioned, virtue does not exist 
unpackaged, but 
comes as part and parcel of the 
people who are endowed 
with them. If we are unable to see 
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