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eighteen scholastic degrees before 
renouncing the 
world. After ordination he had 
attained arahantship. 
He was the right-hand chief 
disciple of the 
Buddha —yet look at how humble 
he could be —
comparing himself to a rag, a 
broken-horned bull 
or an untouchable child. SAriputta 
had no trace of 
self-importance or arrogance. If 
such gifted monks 
in such an elevated position can be 
so humble —
then who are we to look down on 
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others? 
D.6 Ex. VidEdabha & 
MahAnAma, DhA.i.346 
Although the SAkya clan were the 
ancestors of the 
Lord Buddha, they had one 
weakness— their arrogance 
about the long history of their clan 
led them 
to look down on everyone else. 
Normally they 
would not even deign to marry 
outside their own 
dynasty. Thus when King Pasenadi 
of Kosala, hoping 
to secure good relations with the 
SAkyans, 
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asked for the hand of a SAkyan 
maiden in marriage 
they had a difficult decision to 
make. In the end 
they succumbed to their normal 
arrogant ways and 
instead of sending a real princess, 
sent an illegitimate, 
half-caste daughter born out of a 
relationship 
between SAkyan King 
MahAnArna and a slave-girl. 
The child was therefore an 
untouchable. King 
Pasenadi didn't know, so he had a 
huge State marriage 
organized. Later a prince was born 
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called 
Prince VidEdabha. He was very 
clever (because of 
hybrid vigour). He wanted to know 
about his maternal 
relatives. When he grew up and 
went to visit 
hismaternal city of Kapilavastu, he 
was still looked 
down upon by all the SAkyans and 
he was given 
reluctant hospitality. 
On the way home after such an 
inhospitable visit, 
one of VidEdabha's generals found 
he had forgotten 
something important at 
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Kapilavastu. He returned 
and found the SAkyans scouring 
the palace 
with milk. When he asked the 
reason why, they told 
him that VidEdabha was an 
untouchable — and 
they must disinfect every place he 
had trodden or 
sat. When Pasenadi heard the news 
he removed 
both the queen and the prince from 
their positions 
and was going to invade Magadha. 
The Buddha 
prohibited him. The Buddha 
explained that 
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whether Pasenadi attacked them or 
not, the 
SAkyans would receive the fruits 
of their own 
karma. The Buddha also advised 
Pasenadi to reinstate 
the queen, saying that the paternal 
blood was 
more important than the maternal. 
Pasenadi followed 
the Buddha's advice but 
VidEdabha found 
it less easy to forgive the SAkyans. 
He made the 
vow that whenever he became 
king, he would seek 
his revenge and scour the earth of 
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Kapilavastu with 
the blood of the SAkyans. Before 
long VidEdabha 
ascended to the throne and 
marched against the 
SAkyans. 
The Buddha knew what would 
happen and appeared 
to VidEdabha at a sand heap on the 
road 
between SAvatthE and 
Kapilavastu. The Buddha 
appealed to VidEdabha to stop and 
the first time, 
he turned around and returned to 
SAvatthE. However, 
he couldn't forget his anger. He set 
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out with 
his troops a second time. Again, 
the Buddha appealed 
to him to be forgiving. A second 
time he 
turned his troops homeward. This 
happened in all 
three times — but VidEdabha was 
not cured of his 
268 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
anger. The fourth timehe marched 
on Kapilavastu, 
the Buddha didn't stand in his 
way. He saw that it 
was karma that was unavoidable to 
the SAkyans 
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because of their past arrogance. 
Even though many 
of the SAkyans had ordained, 
many had attained 
degrees of enlightenment, and all 
of them kept the 
Five Precepts, they still maintained 
their arrogance. 
The SAkyans all came out in 
defense of their kingdom, 
but they were more scared of 
breaking their 
Precepts than they were of death. 
They shot arrows 
harmlessly into the turbans of the 
Kosalans, into 
flags and into the wagon wheels. 
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They were too 
afraid to hit any living target. 
VidEdabha conquered 
the SAkyans easily and had the 
throat of 
every SAkyan slit 
washing the 
floor with their 
blood. He spared only the life of 
King MahAnAma. 
He said that he would have one 
last meal with his 
grandfather. MahAnAma was still 
so arrogant, that 
he would not even eat at the same 
table as his untouchable 
grandson. He threw himself into 
the 
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water and drowned himself. This is 
an example of 
the damage done when people are 
arrogant. 
D.8 Ex. King Rama V. abolishes 
slavery 
In most countries when slavery is 
going to be abolished, 
it will present major difficulties for 
that country. 
In America it caused a civil war 
between the 
North and the South. However, for 
the abolition of 
slavery in Thailand in the reign of 
King Rama V, 
nota single drop of blood was 
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spilled. How did he 
manage to do it? He went to his 
advisors in the palace, 
and they advised him to use the 
tactic of `getting 
their foot in the door'. They knew 
that slaves 
were the most important 
convenience to all the most 
influential people in the country. 
Ninety-nine percent 
of them would instantly refuse if 
the king were 
to change the Law. He sent his 
spies out into society 
and asked them to find out what 
people's attitude 
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was to slaves. The king found out 
that many 
of the old slaves had been slaves 
since they were 
children. Some were sixty or 
seventy years old. 
Even if they were to be released, 
they wouldn't be 
able to support themselves any 
longer. What should 
they do? The king was very 
humble. He made a 
simple law: that any child born 
since his coronation 
should be liberated from slavery. 
Ten years 
later, all the old slaves had passed 
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away. The slave 
masters looked for new slaves but 
the young teenagers 
were protected by the law. As that 
generation 
grew up into the next, slaves 
became extinct 
and not a single drop of blood was 
spilled — all 
because of the humility of the 
King. 
Blessing Twenty-Four: 
Contentment 269 
A. INTRODUCTION 
A.1 Blessing Twenty-Four's place 
in the order 
of things 
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Before starting to discuss the 
twenty-fourth step on 
the stairway of Buddhist practice 
let us take stock 
of the place of Blessing 
Twenty-four in the Seventh 
Group of Blessings "Cultivating 
Basic Virtues" —
so we can see how they integrate. 
In our pursuit of 
basic virtue we started by opening 
up the channel 
by which we can transfer the 
virtues of others into 
our own heart. The respect of 
Blessing Twenty-Two 
helps us overcome the tendency to 
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find fault with 
others — allowing us to target the 
virtues and 
strengths to learn from them. The 
humility of Blessing 
Twenty-three helps us to avoid 
overestimating 
ourselves so that we don't look 
down on others —
so that we can keep the flexibility 
of mind necessary 
to avoid becoming complacent 
about further 
improving ourselves. However 
there is one more 
virtue which we need to acquire 
for ourselves — 
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owing to the elusive nature of the 
virtues we are 
trying to cultivate for ourselves. 
Virtue is strangely unlike worldly 
phenomena. 
For worldly phenomena, often we 
have to rush and 
struggle to achieve our ambitions 
— often we have 
to make sure that our performance 
doesn't fall short 
of the target we have set for 
ourselves — only in 
such a way can our ambitions be 
fulfilled. For 
worldly phenomena, it is always 
with an eye on 
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the outcome that we invest the 
necessary effort. 
However, for spiritual phenomena 
it is very different 
— sometimes the more we hanker 
after results, 
the more elusive they will be. 
Spiritual phenomena 
are like trees where you must add 
the water and 
fertilizer at the roots, but the 
blossoms and fruit for 
which we wish for will appear in 
another place altogether 
— high above our head! However 
if we 
spend the whole day gazing into 
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the branches to 
the neglect of our watering — we 
will never get the 
fruits and blossoms for which we 
long. 
For meditation too, we have to do 
our daily practice 
without undue interest in what the 
results will 
be — although in the long run, we 
would like to 
make a breakthrough in our 
meditation, if we sit 
for meditation worrying about 
when the breakthrough 
will be, such expectations will only 
impede 
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our progress. 
Not only for personal virtues, but 
also for social 
virtues, we have to concentrate on 
our cultivation 
and not worry about the results. If 
you imagine a 
person who whines incessantly all 
day long, "How 
come no-one ever listens to a word 
I say?"— do 
you think his complaints 
ameliorate or worsen his 
situation? If he were instead to ask 
himself how he 
could make himself into the sort of 
person people 
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