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had built up for himself since he 
was young. Eventually, 
the king and the people lost all 
hope that he 
would be king and sentenced him 
to death. However, 
at the moment he was to be 
executed, he demonstrated 
to the executioner that he had no 
disability 
and he had been faking all along 
— and escaped 
to become an ascetic instead. 
When the people of 
the town found out what had 
happened, they followed 
his example and all left the home 
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life to become 
ascetics in the same way. This is 
the power of 
the perfection of patience. 
D.5 Ex. Chica MAAavika 
During the lifetime of the Buddha, 
he was falsely 
accused many times by those who 
didn't agree with 
what he was doing. At that time 
the Buddha overcame 
his rivals accusations through the 
use of patience. 
There once was a woman called 
Cirica 
MAAavika who supported ascetic 
sects. She was 
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also a very beautiful woman 
the 
local beauty of 
SAvatthE and also a competitor of 
VisAkhA. 
VisAkhA supported Buddhism 
throughout her life. 
In that time, they would always 
invite celebrities 
to do the opening ceremony for 
local events. Buddhists 
would always invite VisAkhA to 
open their 
ceremonies.The naked ascetics 
would always invite 
Cirica MAAavika to do their 
openings. One day, because 
the naked ascetics were losing 
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many followers 
to the Buddha, they enlisted the 
help of Cirica 
MAAavika to spread gossip about 
the Buddha. In 
310 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
the evening, when supporters of 
the Buddha were 
returning from listening to His 
teachings at the temple 
she would pass them in the 
opposite direction 
and make it look like she was 
about to sleep in the 
kuti of the Buddha. When they 
asked where she was 
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going, she would say, "To bring 
pleasure to the 
Buddha." In the morning Cifica 
MAAavika would 
pass the supporters who came to 
offer food in the 
morning. When they asked where 
she had been, 
she would say, "Bringing pleasure 
to the 
Buddha."She pretended to be on 
intimate terms 
with the Buddha. She faked that 
she had become 
pregnant, by wearing a concealed 
lump of wood 
over her stomach. Gossip started 
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amongst some 
people who were still unsure of the 
virtue of the 
Buddha. Some believed that he had 
made Cirica 
MAAavika pregnant. After nine 
months, many supporters 
had been put off going to the 
temple. Cirica 
MAAavika stood up in the middle 
of a sermon and 
asked, "Are you only interested in 
teaching others 
rather than paying attention to our 
unborn child?" 
If any woman in India made an 
accusation like this, 
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she would be instantly believed. 
Many people 
walked out of the temple. The 
Buddha continued 
to use patience as his weapon. He 
said, "Only the 
two of us know the truth of the 
situation." He didn't 
deny or accept the accusation and 
he was not angry. 
Cirica MAAavika didn't know 
what to do. She 
strode about irritably and somehow 
the lump of 
wood slipped out from under her 
dress. Everyone 
knew the truth of the situation. 
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"Have you given 
birth to a lump of wood?" some 
asked — but others 
were not so forgiving — they were 
going to kill 
her. She ran out of the gate of the 
temple, but as 
soon as she escaped the temple, the 
Earth split open 
between her feet and swallowed 
her straight into 
Aveci Hell. In India there are still 
two holes in the 
ground close to the historic sight of 
Jetavana Temple. 
One where Cirica MAAavika was 
swallowed 
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up — the second belonging to 
Devadatta. Even to 
the present day, the soil of those 
two holes remains 
infertile to any crops planted on 
them. 
D.6 Ex. MAgandiyA 
In another place, a Queen 
MAgandiyA hired people 
to accuse the Buddha because in 
the past she 
had been presented to the Buddha 
as gift and as a 
monk he was unable to accept the 
gift. She had felt 
slighted and later vengeful. When 
she became 
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queen she used her authority to 
destroy his reputation. 
Wherever he went, there were 
hired men by 
the hundred waiting to insult him. 
They would follow 
him wherever he went, insulting 
him, until his 
secretary,/nanda could not stand it 
any more. He 
suggested to the Buddha that they 
go to another 
town. 
The Buddha asked/nanda, "And 
what happens 
if in the next town there are also 
people coming to 
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insult us?" 
/nanda replied, "We should move 
on to another 
town." 
The Buddha said, "If you think 
like that, we will 
be moving for the rest of our lives. 
Better, when we 
find the get to the root of the 
problem and solve the 
problem at its roots. The roots of 
our problem are 
right here in this town. If we do 
good deeds and 
nothing but good deeds, within 
seven days the 
problems will sort themselves 
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out." 
After seven days, the hired 
insulters went to get 
paid. They were supposed to keep 
their work secret, 
but when they were paid they spent 
their 
money on drink. They were no 
longer able to keep 
their silence and started to boast 
where they had 
got their money from. When the 
`cat was out of the 
bag', the people of that country 
wanted to execute 
the MAgandiyA — and that was 
the end of the story. 
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in
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锣？m.' oi 
ssa犯ddO :7幼8御一心uaMI8饪？ssa7g 
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Attano pana chAdeti 
kaliO va kitava saEho 
Easily seen are the faults of others 
but one's own are difficult to see 
Like chaff one winnows another's 
faults 
but tends to hide one's own 
Even as a crafty fowler 
hides behind sham branches 
— just like a fish born and raised 
in the water might 
never know what `water' is — we 
are sometimes 
so used to our faults that we fail to 
notice them. 
Thus we need to rely upon 
outsiders to offer their 
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criticism to us in order that we can 
know the weaknesses 
we must improve upon. In this 
respect, we 
start to appreciate that the 
acquisition of higher virtues 
requires more than just the four 
levels of patience 
described in the Blessing 
Twenty-seven, 
namely: 
1. Patience in the face of physical 
hardship: working 
on normally despite rain, hot or 
cold 
weather; 
2. Patience in the face of physical 
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suffering: working 
on normally despite illness or pain; 
3. Patience in the face of conflict: 
working on normally 
despite having to avoid conflict; 
4. Patience in the face of 
temptation: working on 
normally despite the ever-present 
temptation of 
things like bribes which we might 
like but know 
are not good for us; 
indeed, what we need to bring 
the higher virtues 
to their fruition is the additional 
sort of patience 
that allows us to receive (instead of 
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refusing) 
the criticism offered to us by 
others. In fact, 
the openness to criticism (or not 
being stubborn) 
which is the subject of this 
Blessing, is like another 
subtle form of patience — but is 
patience in the face 
of criticism. Some people can 
tolerate all forms of 
physical hardship, physical 
suffering, mental anguish 
and temptation, but if anyone gives 
them a 
piece of advice they will turn their 
back on the person 
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who gives them it. When it is close 
to examination 
time, a parent might warn their 
child, "Son! 
Isn't it about time you started 
doing your revision?" 
The son turns round and says, 
"Why don't you say 
such things before I dress up to go 
out?" If his little 
brother gives him advice, even if it 
is useful advice, 
Blessing 
Twenty-Eight • 
Openness to Criticism 
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312 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
he will not listen— why? —
because how can someone 
younger than him have the cheek 
to talk in such 
a way? In this respect, the Buddha 
taught: 
"Those who tolerate criticism from 
superiors 
do so out of fear; those who 
tolerate criticism 
from equals do so to compete; but 
those who 
tolerate criticism from 
subordinates; the Noble 
ones praise as the ultimate of 
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patience." 
SarabhaIga JAtaka (J.522) 
Who is the most stubborn person 
in the world? In 
fact everybody in the world has the 
seeds of 
stubborness in them, but it's just a 
question of degree. 
The sound of advice seems to 
singe their ears 
so badly that they never listen to 
such things. Thus 
we come to `openness to criticism' 
as the twentyeighth 
step on the staircase of Buddhist 
practice. 
B. OPENNESS TO CRITICISM 
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