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spiritual teachings 
they have learned and at the end of 
seven 
days they will return to their bad 
old ways. If 
you listen to a teaching which 
recommends that 
you study conscientiously, maybe 
you will become 
a conscientious student for a few 
days, but 
by the end of the week you will be 
back to your 
old lazy ways. Supposing your 
parents have 
given you some strong advice 
about a matter. 
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Maybe you will remember what 
they have 
taught you for a few days, but by 
the end of the 
week you will start to forget again. 
It is the same 
for practically every good habit we 
set out to 
build for ourselves — if we are 
absent from our 
spiritual teacher for more than 
seven days, we 
start to revert to our old behaviour. 
Thus it is no 
coincidence that there is teaching 
every seven 
days no matter what the religion. It 
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is like recharging 
your batteries every seven days —
topping 
up your morale. 
2. Whenever there are unskilful 
states arising in the 
mind: If unskilful states arise in 
your mind, you 
should be quick to listen to a 
Dhamma teaching. 
It doesn't matter what day of the 
week it is, if 
your mind has fallen into unskilful 
states — that 
is the right time to listen to the 
Dhamma. It 
doesn't matter where or from 
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whom you listen 
to such Dhamma — from a monk 
in a temple or 
from a layperson or even from 
your parents or 
elders — the important thing is 
that you cannot 
just allow your mind to `run riot' 
— you have to 
do something immediately to solve 
the problem 
Blessing Twenty-Six: Listening 
Regularly to Dhamma Teachings 
293 
of the mind that you are 
experiencing. If you are 
feeling slighted or sorry for 
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yourself, don't allow 
that state of mind to continue, but 
you 
should listen to some Dhamma 
teachings or else 
you might get so negative that you 
feel suicidal. 
Supposing that you are particularly 
angry with 
the neighbours, then you should go 
and listen 
to the Dhamma before you do 
something you 
will regret later. If ever the feeling 
that you would 
like to respond to any of these 
three sorts of unwholesome 
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mental preoccupations 
[akusalavitakka] 
(A.iii.446) arises in the mind to 
make it 
unskilful, then find the opportunity 
to listen to 
the Dhamma without delay: 
1. preoccupation with 
sense pleasures [IcArnavitakka]: 
when your mind is overcome with 
desire (especially sensual 
temptation); 
2. preoccupation with vengefulness 
[byApAdavitakka]: 
(when you feel that you would like 
to steal from people, or damage 
their reputation 
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or even when you are angry), 
3. preoccupation with violence or 
cruelty [vihiOsAvitakka]: 
when you want to hurt or take 
advantage 
of others 
3. When in Doubt: An appropriate 
time to listen to 
the Dhamma is when doubts arise 
in your mind 
— for example, when you feel 
there is something 
about your meditation practice or 
what you have 
heard that you don't understand or 
if you find 
something seemingly inconsistent 
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in the 
Dhamma teachings you have 
heard. If you have 
doubts, then go to find a teaching 
monk or someone 
more experienced in the Dhamma 
practice 
than yourself — so you can put 
your mind at 
rest. 
4. Whenever there is a sermon 
being given: If you 
hear that there is a sermon on 
Dhamma being 
given and you know that the 
person or monk 
giving the sermon is someone who 
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has real 
knowledge, it doesn't matter what 
day of the 
week it is, or what time of the day 
it is, you 
should not hesitate to go and listen 
to such a sermon. 
It is a very difficult thing for 
anyone able 
to understand the Dhamma to arise 
in the world. 
To study the Dhamma to the point 
of understanding 
takes time and it requires that they 
study from the Buddha Himself or 
someone who 
is as adept as the Buddha. Not only 
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that, but they 
must also be able to communicate 
what they 
have learned in a way that others 
can understand. 
If there is such a person arisen in 
the 
world, you should not delay — go 
and listen to 
what they have to teach without 
hesitation. If 
you hear that there is someone who 
is enlightened 
then you should see what they 
have to teach 
— but beware of those who make 
false claim to 
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being enlightened such as the 
many people who 
have to advertise themselves. 
However, if someone 
is knowledgeable, has a good 
manner of 
practice and has a gift for making 
Dhamma easy 
to understand — be quick to make 
yourself one 
of the audience whenever you hear 
news that 
they are teaching. 
The Buddha even went further to 
enumerate the 
virtues of those who teach the 
Dhamma and those 
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who listen to the Dhamma. 
B.3 Marks of a good Dhamma 
Teacher 
Those who are good at teaching 
the Dhamma 
should have the following 
characteristics 
(A.ii.184)(you can use these 
characteristics as quality 
control for any Dhamma teacher 
about whom 
you have your doubts): 
I. Expounds Dhamma 
sequentially: This means the 
speaker must teach the Dhamma in 
way that 
becomes gradually more profound 
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(not someone 
who skips over important subject 
matter vital 
for the listener's understanding). 
To be 
sequentially profound requires that 
the speaker: 
1. has a real understanding of their 
own subject 
matter; 
2. has skill in communication 
3. must have prepared and planned 
what he is 
going to teach. It is not good 
enough just to 
speak `off the top of one's head'. 
2. Gives reasons for the Dhamma 
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taught: It is not 
good enough just to repeat what 
you have 
memorized from a textbook or 
even from the 
Scriptures. It is unacceptable for a 
teacher who 
has not done any preparation 
simply to take the 
same textbook which the students 
already have 
294 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
and read it aloud to them. You 
have to be able to 
explain the causes and effects in 
any relationship, 
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be able to categorize, analyze, 
generalize and 
distinguish. When teaching virtue, 
it is only possible 
to explain something thoroughly if 
one has 
practiced such a virtue for oneself 
How can you 
expect to teach meditation if you 
have never 
practised for yourself? How can 
you expect to 
teach about the Five Precepts or 
Eight Precepts, 
if you are unable even to keep a 
single Precept 
yourself? If you are giving a 
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description or an 
example and there are only the 
examples of what 
others have done, but you can 
never pay witness 
to your own good deeds, who will 
be convinced 
by what you have to say? 
3. Teaches out of sincere 
compassion for the listener: 
The goodwill of loving kindness 
and compassion 
are the basic foundation of a good 
teacher. Supposing someone is 
very virtuous and 
can practice many virtues for 
himself (like a 
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paccekabuddha) but lacks 
compassion for his fellow 
man — supposing he gives up 
teaching as 
soon as someone doesn't 
understand a few 
words of what he has said 
then 
it may be that 
he lacks sufficient compassion to 
teach others. 
4. Teaching without the motive of 
gaining something 
(material) in return: A good 
teacher must 
not teach with a wish for 
something material (e.g. 
wealth, praise or fame) in return. 
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Some monks 
lose their interest in giving 
sermons if they are 
offered insufficient donations. 
Such thinking is 
more worthy of a mercenary 
Dhamma teacher. 
Some are not interested in the 
income from their 
sermon, but will be disappointed if 
their audience 
is small. If there is a large 
audience, they 
will rise to the occasion — but if 
there are only a 
few in the congregation, they don't 
really bother 
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what they teach and try to finish as 
early as possible. 
This is wrong. Thus if you can be 
pleased 
no matter how many or few come 
to listen to 
your teaching, that is one of the 
signs of a successful 
Dhamma teacher. The Great Abbot 
of Wat 
Paknam taught: 
"If a thousand come, we teach a 
thousand: (its 
tiring but a few words can change 
the lives of 
many, so the speaker accrues a lot 
of merit — 
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so that's good). If a hundred come, 
we teach a 
hundred: (its not so tiring 
 so 
that's also 
good). If a handful of people come, 
we teach 
a handful: (so we don't have to 
speak so 
loudly, and the atmosphere can be 
a little more 
informal — so that's also good). If 
no-one 
comes, we sit for meditation and 
teach ourselves 
(so that's also good)" 
5. Teaching without bringing 
conflict to yourself 
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