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angel. 
"Of course," said the worm."We 
used to be 
friends a long time ago." 
"0! Worm! Now I am an angel. 
Today I have come 
to do you the biggest favour of 
your life. I have come 
to invite you to join the heavenly 
host. However, 
there is one condition. If you want 
to be an angel 
you have to keep all the precepts 
without breaking 
any of them from this day 
onwards. You must think 
only meritorious thoughts and do 
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meritorious 
deeds and before long we'll be 
able to abide in the 
same heavenly host." 
"What's so great about being an 
angel?" asked 
the worm. 
"You can get whatever you wish 
instantly simply 
by thinking of it. As soon as you 
think of angelic 
sustenance, ambrosia manifests 
itself. If you 
think of clothing then instantly you 
are clothed in 
angelic apparel. If you think of a 
heavenly mansion, 
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then a heavenly mansion arises 
instantaneously. 
All you have to do is have the 
intention and 
hundreds of good things will come 
your way. 
"In that case I don't want to be an 
angel. I'm better 
off as a worm thank you." 
"What do you mean?" asked the 
angel. 
"If you are an angel you have to 
make the wish 
before you get what you want. As 
a worm I don't 
even have to make the effort to 
think. Excrement in 
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the toilet just keeps on flowing into 
my mouth. Just 
leave me alone because I'm better 
off as a worm." 
In such a case it is obvious that he 
is so used to his 
foolish ways that in the end he is 
beyond help. 
G.2 Metaphor: Leaves wrapping a 
stinking fish 
Another parable used by the Lord 
Buddha is that 
of the leaves wrapping a putrid fish 
taking on the 
same putrescant smell of the fish 
itself. 
G.3 Metaphor: Burning hovel 
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next to a palace 
Our ancestors had a parable. They 
said that to associate 
with a fool, no matter how good 
we might 
originally be, is like building a 
palace next door to 
a hovel. Whenever the hovel 
catches fire, no matter 
how safe the palace is from fire, as 
soon as the hovel 
goes up in flames the palace burns 
down as well, 
just like the virtuous person 
destroyed by association 
with fools. 
G.4 MahAkassapa's Kuti Burned 
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Down by 
Foolish Student (KuEidEssaka 
JAtaka J.iiL71) 
In the time of the Lord Buddha, 
there was an elder 
monk of unblemished virtue 
named Kassapa. He 
was respected by all of the 
enlightened monks and 
other members of the monastic 
community. Even 
the Lord Buddha's closest disciple 
/nanda, had 
great respect for Ven. Kassapa. 
It was the norm for the elder 
monks of the community 
to accept newly-ordained monks as 
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their 
disciples, in order that those new 
monks could receive 
training. Some of the elders 
accepted more 
than others in keeping with their 
ability as teachers. 
Ven. Kassapa accepted three or 
four disciples 
but it turned out that among their 
number was a 
stubborn monk, UluIkasaddaka 
who would listen 
tono-one's advice. On winter 
evenings it was 
the duty of the disciples to boil 
water for the elder 
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monks for them to take a bath in 
comfort. The stubborn 
disciple would never boil water for 
Ven. 
Kassapa in accordance with his 
duty. He would always 
leave the chore of boiling the water 
to his fellows 
while going himself to invite Ven. 
Kassapa to 
wash as if he had boiled the water 
himself. 
Everything else the stubborn 
disciple did was in 
the same vain. Instead of going on 
alms round, if 
he fancied something special to eat 
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the stubborn 
monk would claim to temple 
supporters that Ven. 
Kassapa wanted such-and-such to 
eat and when 
they brought such-and-such a food 
to offer, he 
would eat it himself. 
Ven. Kassapa knew what was 
going on and 
warned the stubborn monk,"to be 
so lacking in respect 
is not in keeping with having 
ordained as a 
monk. You must train yourself 
better than this in 
Blessing One: Not Associating 
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with Fools 35 
future."Kassapa warned the 
stubborn monk continuously, 
but the only effect of the criticism 
was to 
make him feel as if his master was 
singling him out 
unfairly for criticism.The more 
advice he received 
from his master, the more 
victimized he felt. Instead 
of feeling grateful for all the 
special attention his 
master had given him, he planned 
on getting his 
revenge. He planned the following 
day instead of 
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going out on almsround with the 
rest of the disciples 
for the master's breakfast, he'd 
stay behind, 
let the master go for almsround 
himself and burn 
down the master's kuti while he 
was gone. In this 
case it is clear to see the behaviour 
of a fool who 
repays a master's advice given 
with the best of intentions, 
by burning down his master's 
house. Ven. 
Kassapa came back from his 
almsround to find only 
ashes where his kuti had stood. 
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The disciple had 
run away. 
The Lord Buddha heard the story 
and disclosed 
to Ven. Kassapa that the stubborn 
disciple had been 
a fool causing damage not only in 
this lifetime, but 
in previous lifetimes as well: 
In that previous lifetime, Kassapa 
had been born 
as an oriole while the stubborn 
monk had been born 
as a monkey. The two inhabited 
the same tree. The 
oriole wanted to waste no time in 
building a nest 
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to protect itself from sun, rain and 
dust 
but at 
the same time the oriole warned 
the monkey, he 
ought to build himself a nest 
against wind and rain, 
sun and dust, because he had 
perfect gripping 
hands like a man, and could build a 
nest even more 
easily than the bird with her beak. 
The oriole told 
the monkey to build its own nest 
again and again. 
but the monkey never took any 
notice. When it 
came to the monsoon, the oriole 
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ducked into the 
shelter of its nest whenever it 
rained, while the 
monkey sat out in the rain sobbing. 
The oriole felt 
sorry for the monkey and thought 
the time had 
come to tell the monkey to build a 
nest. Perhaps 
now that he'd had a good soaking 
he'd see the value 
of the advice. Thus the oriole 
poked its head out of 
its nest and told the monkey ,"you 
ought to build 
yourself a nest against wind and 
rain, sun and dust, 
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because you have perfect gripping 
hands like a 
man, you can build a nest even 
more easily than I 
can with my beak. As soon as the 
rain stops build 
yourself a nest !" 
The monkey replied,"If I wanted to 
build a nest I 
could build one easily 
but even 
though my body 
is like that of a man, my 
intelligence is the lesser." 
"You're a strange case," said the 
oriole. "Some 
days you go around destroying the 
nests of others 
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but when it comes to the monsoon, 
you're the 
only one without a roof over your 
head. This is 
the destiny of one ungrateful for 
the generosity 
of others. You had better start 
improving yourself!" 
The monkey was stirred to anger 
by the criticism. 
Soaked to the skin by rain and only 
insulted 
further by a bird from inside the 
comfort of a dry 
nest, the monkey climbed up the 
tree to the oriole's 
nest and pulled the nest to pieces. 
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As a monkey he had pulled the 
oriole's nest to 
pieces. As a human, he put his own 
master's kuti 
to the flame, even though his 
master had spoken 
only kind words.These are the 
identifying features 
of a fool and are the reason why 
we have to beware 
of this type of person. 
36 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
Blessing Two: Associating with the 
Wise 37 
A. INTRODUCTION 
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The second Blessing of the 
Thirty-Eight, concerns 
how in our self-cultivation we can 
successfully close 
the door on unwholesomeness in 
our lives, to prevent 
ourselves from slipping any further 
back on 
the slippery slope of spiritual 
entropy. At this point, 
when our discretion and sense of 
conscience is still 
not very accurate, we are not yet 
sufficiently versed 
in spiritual ways to become a Wise 
One ourselves. 
However, what we can start by 
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doing is to learn 
how to recognize others who are, 
and to associate 
with them so that some of their 
discretion may 
brush off on us. 
A.1 Difference between 
knowledge and wisdom 
A wise one is distinguished by his 
or her wisdom. 
Before starting this blessing it is 
important to define 
this wisdom clearly because being 
`wise' is not the 
same as being `educated'. 
`Wisdom' as intended in 
this blessing is the discretion as to 
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what is real 
`profit' in our lives as outlined by 
omission in our 
description of fools in Blessing 
One. In fact, being 
educated is also a blessing, but its 
details can be 
found in Blessing Seven. The word 
"wise one" of 
this Blessing comes from the Pali 
word "paAlita" 
better known in our language as 
"pundit". Some 
people believe that you can 
become a "pundit" simply 
by getting yourself a graduation 
certificate from 
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