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laid down by the Lord Buddha). 
This is in 
contrast to the untrained mind of 
an arrogant 
person which will tend to be 
subject to `views' 
— especially those concerning 
' self-importance ' 
In any situation where they must 
forgo their individual 
whims in order better to work as a 
team, 
they will often find it hard to 
adapt. They will 
always want to be the leader of a 
group — even 
if they don't have the capability. 
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C. OVERCOMING 
ARROGANCE 
C.1 Useful ways to train yourself 
Everyone has tendencies towards 
arrogance — even 
children. Children are known to 
gangfight with others 
simply because they go to a rival 
school. A crying 
child will stop crying as soon as 
they hear the 
magic words, "Oh aren't you the 
bravest little boy 
in the world?" When our arrogance 
is engrained 
from such an early age, we need to 
make a special 
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effort to cultivate humility in its 
place — and in 
practice this can be done by: 
I. Avoiding flatterers: If we have 
the feeling that 
we have a tendency towards 
arrogance or if we 
know that our own family is one of 
influence —
the person who has the most 
danger for us is the 
flatterer. Instead of succumbing to 
popularity 
with flatterers we need to seek out 
those who 
can wake us up to our delusions on 
a regular 
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basis. Such people may be found 
amongst our 
teachers or elders, but they might 
even be responsible 
friends or those who have a lot of 
virtue. 
Such friends will influence us to be 
thorough 
and detailed in assessing all that 
we do, never 
overlooking our habits irrespective 
of the situation 
(see Blessing Two). 
2. Being thorough and think 
carefully before you 
do things: You have to think 
things through thoroughly 
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before doing them. For example, 
you 
should wisely reflect whether 
dressing so lavishly 
is appropriate to one's social 
position. You should 
wisely reflect whether driving such 
a large car is 
appropriate if your boss drives a 
much smaller 
one. If, even uninintentionally, you 
are constantly 
doing things that might be 
interpreted as arrogant 
by others you will eventually find 
yourself 
surrounded by enemies. Be careful 
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when you express 
opinions. Remember that an idea 
doesn't 
have to be yours to be good! You 
get your merit 
even if you make your good idea 
appear to belong 
to someone else! Don't become 
reckless when 
you have success. Never forget 
that you are never 
the best, there is always better. 
Think of death and 
remind yourself that there are still 
a lot more good 
deeds to do. Don't become 
enamoured by superficial 
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qualities of your personality —
and try to 
remember that no matter how good 
you think you 
may be, you are still subject to all 
the weaknesses 
of a human — whether it be old 
age, sickness or 
death. 
C.2 The tradition of paying 
respect to one's teacher 
Humility is one of the virtues 
heavily emphasised 
along with `patience' and 
`self-discipline' in the ceremony 
of respect for one's teacher 
practised in the 
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266 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
Buddhist tradition by schools and 
educational institutions 
annually throughout Thailand. At 
this 
ceremony called ' Wai Kru', there 
are three symbolic 
gifts whichhave been used 
traditionally in the ceremony 
to pay respect to the teacher —
aubergine 
flowers, coarse grass and popped 
rice: 
1. The aubergine flower is a 
symbol of humility because 
each flower that will give rise to a 
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fruit 
must bow its head towards the 
ground. Flowers 
which hold their head high will 
give no fruit and 
in the end will wither. In the same 
way, humility 
is quality of every student who will 
receive a 
teacher's knowledge to the full. 
Just as water 
must flow down to a lower level, 
the student who 
is humble will receive the most 
knowledge the 
most quickly. 
2. Coarse grass is a symbol of 
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patience. This sort of 
grass can endure being parched 
during the dry 
season. It can endure treading and 
crushing by 
countless feet at the side of a 
footpath where 
other plants might have withered 
and died. In 
the same way, only the student 
with patience will 
endure the full duration of the 
course — doing 
whatever is needed to succeed in 
their studies. 
3. Popped rice is a symbol of 
self-discipline. When 
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by exposure to heat upon the stove, 
only the rice 
which can stay in the cooking pot 
without jumping 
out before time will be sweet and 
tender: 
ready to eat. In the same way, the 
one who can 
stay within the discipline they have 
set themselves 
in studying will succeed in their 
studies. 
The one who cannot stand the 
discipline and has 
to give-up half way can be 
compared to rice 
which is charred but not popped 
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and ready to 
eat. 
These are the three qualities of the 
effective learner 
— humility is the first and the two 
others are covered 
in Blessings Nine and 
Twenty-Seven with also 
Sensitivity to Self-improvement 
(willingness to hear 
out criticism of oneself) at 
Blessing Twenty Eight. 
D. ILLUSTRATIVE 
EXAMPLES 
D.1 Metaphor: Deadwood v. 
Greenwood 
Deadwood is tough and brittle. It 
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will stand unyielding 
in the wind. If the wind gets 
stronger, it 
will remain unmoving. However, if 
there is a gale, 
it will break in two. Pushed to its 
limits, the damage 
to deadwood is irreparable. No 
matter how 
much more water or fertilizer you 
give it, it will 
not come back to life. This can be 
compared to an 
arrogant person who will never 
show any deference 
to anyone else and thereby forgoes 
the opportunity 
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to absorb virtue from others. 
By contrast, greenwood is soft and 
flexible. In a 
breeze it will bend and twist with 
the wind. If the 
wind gets strong, then it will bend 
double — or even 
parallel with the ground. When the 
wind has 
passed, then it will stand up as 
straight as it was 
before. If you give it a little water 
after the dry season, 
it will soon break into leaf. This 
can be compared 
to a humble person who will adapt 
themselves 
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favourably to any situation or 
person from 
which they can absorb virtue. 
D.2 Metaphor: Clay earth v. 
sandy earth 
Sandy soil becomes fragmented 
into individual 
clods in the drought of the dry 
season — but even 
when the rains come, although the 
ground is wetted, 
the soil will still remain rigidly 
cracked into its 
individual clods. In a similar way 
when differences 
arise in a group of arrogant people, 
even though 
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they have the opportunity to 
reconcile them, vengeful 
thoughts keep prevent them from 
coming back 
together again. 
Clay earth also becomes cracked in 
the dry season 
— however, all it takes is a shower 
of rain, and 
it will soon be back to normal with 
no remaining 
cracks. In a similar way, when 
differences arise in a 
group of humble people, as soon as 
they have the 
opportunity to reconcile 
themselves, they will soon 
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be back to harmony again. 
D.3 Metaphor: the low-lying 
ocean 
The ocean is the lowest lying of all 
the waterways 
in the world 
as such all the 
waters of the all the 
rivers of the world must flow 
towards it. In the same 
way the deference shown by a 
humble person will 
lead all the virtues exemplified in 
other people in 
the world to flow towards him. 
D.4 Metaphor: Half-full bottle 
A bottle that is full of water makes 
no noise when 
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shaken like a person full of virtue 
who doesn't need 
Blessing Twenty-Three: Humility 
267 
to boast about it. But a bottle that 
is half-full is noisy 
when shaken like a person lacking 
in virtue who 
feels compelled to boast about 
what little they have. 
D.S. Ex. Humility of SAriputta 
(VuIIhi Sutta) 
A.iv.373, DhA.ii.178 
Once in a monastic assembly 
presided over by the 
Lord Buddha, a monk accused 
SAriputta saying 
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that in spite of being one of the 
two chief disciples 
of the Buddha, he was clumsy 
enough to have 
bumped into him. The Buddha thus 
asked 
SAriputta whether the accusation 
was true or not. 
SAriputta explained to the Buddha, 
"I am a person 
who is steadfast in mindfulness -
I am careful 
of everything I do. I am mindful of 
the body with 
just the same care that a man 
would carry a tray 
filled to the brim with oil if stalked 
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by a swordbrandishing 
guard threatening to cut off his 
head 
should he spill a single drop. I am 
wont to behave 
with the humility of a wiping rag, a 
bull with broken 
horns, like an untouchable child 
who blunders 
into the village of another caste 
all of whom have 
no opportunity to indulge in their 
self-importance" 
Even before renouncing the world, 
SAriputta was 
already so gifted that he had 
attained no less that 
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