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a reputable university. In fact if 
you get yourself a 
good degree and set yourself up in 
business and 
make a success of it, you will earn 
praise and respect 
from many other people. However, 
there are 
no small number of the more 
unscrupulous 
amongst these who find 
themselves behind prison 
bars inspite of all their academic 
knowledge. Thus 
in spite of all their good intentions 
it is reasonable 
to assume that such graduates are 
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not truly wise 
but are only wise in the ways of the 
world. The sort of 
wisdom we are interested in, in 
this section, is the 
sort of wisdom that will, at the 
very least, keep you 
out of jail and ensure wholesome 
profit for the 
owner both this lifetime and in the 
here after. This 
sort of wisdom is called spiritual 
wisdom. The best 
example of the wise man in the 
present day must 
have both wisdom of the ways of 
the world and 
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spiritual wisdom to a true example 
of a wise man. 
B. THE DIFFERENCE 
BETWEEN A FOOL & 
A WISE ONE 
We are all people alike, equipped 
with a body and 
a mind, so what can be blamed for 
the different 
amounts of success people meet 
with as they go 
through their lives? Why is it 
advantageous to associate 
with one sort of person and not 
another? If 
you look at people just on the 
surface, the reason is 
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not obvious. You have to look 
deeper. 
B.1 People distinguished by 
quality of mind 
In these days of human rights, we 
do all we can to 
make people equal, but it is not 
always so easy. 
Blessing Two: 
Associating with the 
Wise 
38 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
When it comes to differences of 
wealth or access to 
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education, it makes sense to give 
people the maximum 
of opportunities to help 
themselves. But 
where the system of rights breaks 
down is when 
people no longer want to help 
themselves any more 
— or when people don't even want 
to live their lives 
by the rules of decency that bind 
society together. 
Of course there are some people 
who claim that 
even criminals should be given full 
human rights 
and who spend their time feeling 
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sorry for sentenced 
murderers. However, for the most 
part we 
accept that when a person's 
behaviour deviates into 
violence or vengefulness or cruelty 
so far as that of 
a wrong-doer, no matter whether 
the police catch 
him or not, that they are no longer 
dealing with a 
person like you or me any more. 
There is a "screw 
loose" somewhere in the thinking 
of such people. 
Even though they might have two 
arms, two legs 
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and a head just like you or me, but 
there is a difference 
of mind so great that it makes that 
person dangerous. 
Whats more the deviation of 
thinking of 
such people is (as discussed in 
Blessing One) so contagious 
that it brushes off on the people 
who associate 
with them. 
B.2 Effect of differences in the 
quality of mind 
It is differences of mindi that 
distinguish such people 
from the rest of the world whose 
lives are governed 
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by discretion.To pinpoint why a 
fool suffers 
from faulty discretion, is hard to 
explain to a person 
who has never tried meditation. 
The difference between 
the mind of a fool and the mind of 
a wise one 
is a difference of quality. The mind 
of a fool is one 
where the thoughts are confused 
— a mind which is 
unyielding and blind. Such a mind 
is dull and cannot 
think constructively about any 
subject. Such a 
mind is blind to reality. If you 
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were to compare such 
a mind to glass, you could 
compare it to opaque or 
frosted glass.Whatever you look at 
through glass of 
this type will appear distorted, dark 
and formless. 
By contrast, the mind of a wise 
man is like crystal 
clear glass. Everything viewed 
through the glass is 
crystal clear. Like a clear mirror, 
you can even see 
yourself as you really are. 
You might doubt that the mind, as 
an abstract phenomenon, 
could have such a powerful 
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influence on 
our destiny — but the mind is in 
fact of utmost importance 
because every dealing we have 
with the 
world must pass through the 
channel of our mind. 
Consider looking at the world in 
the mirror. What 
ever is situated in front of the 
mirror will show its 
reflection instantly. Furthermore, a 
mirror only the 
size of the palm of your hand is 
large enough to show 
the reflection of an entire 
mountain! All it needs is 
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for the mirror to be really clear, 
that's all, in order to 
be able to show instantly the 
reflection of any object, 
indiscriminable from the real 
object itself. In the same 
way, all it takes is for the mind to 
be really clear and 
it too can instantly hold, examine 
and understand 
anything and everything as it really 
is. All of this is 
by contrast with the man who has a 
clouded mind 
(who we have compared to a dull 
or frosted mirror) 
which can do nothing to facilitate 
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clear understanding, 
who cannot comprehend clearly 
because his own 
mind is clouded. Because the mind 
of a fool is distorted, 
he sees the world in a distorted 
way. When 
everything he sees is distorted, 
how does he interact 
with the world? The answer to this 
question is, "in 
the way he thinks is appropriate" 
— namely, according 
to thought, speech and action 
which are distorted 
from the norm. On the contrary, 
because a wise man 
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has a mind that is crystal clear like 
a diamond he 
sees the world clearly 
as it 
really is. Thus, he can 
deal with the world in a way that is 
appropriate on a 
more cosmic level than the fool 
who is locked up in 
his own selfish view of the world. 
Meditation is the main means by 
which we can 
upgrade the quality of our mind. 
Once we realize 
the peril of having a mind which is 
dull, clouded 
and of generally low quality, we 
can start to appreciate 
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why meditation is so important in 
the prevention 
and cure of problems in our lives. 
B.3 The Ups and Downs of the 
Mind from Day-to-Day 
Very few people are out and out 
murderers and 
plunderers. At the same time very 
few people are 
completely pure in mind. The ones 
who are already 
"arahants" have no need to waste 
time reading a 
book like this. 1. The terms `mind' 
or `mental' are used in the Asian 
sense 
meaning the abstract phenomena of 
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`spirit' or `awareness' rather 
than the western concept of `brain' or 
`nervous system'. 
Blessing Two: Associating with the 
Wise 39 
An example of ups and downs in 
the quality of 
mind of someone like you or me, 
who lies between 
the extremes, is the man who gets 
up in the morning 
with the best of intentions and 
enthusiastically 
prepares almsfood to offer to the 
monks. At the time 
he is preparing the food his mind is 
as clear as that 
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of a wise man. However, even 
before the monks 
have arrived on almsround, he has 
lost his temper, 
shouting at his children and his 
state of mind has 
been reduced to that of a fool. 
When the monks arrive, 
his mind is back to a state of 
clarity as he gives 
the alms and pours water from the 
vessel to transfer 
the merit — he has recovered for 
himself the 
clear mind of a wise man. But as 
he is leaving for 
work he spoils his state of mind 
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again, shouting at 
his kids for being late for school. 
As soon as he 
leaves the house, he gets his 
temper back. In the 
best of moods he makes the 
intention to do the very 
best he can at work that day — to 
make every penny 
of the wage he receives from his 
employer worthwhile. 
The black clouds in his mind go 
over the 
horizon and he's back in the frame 
of mind fitting 
for a wise man. But alas, another 
car cuts in in front 
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of him, someone overtakes him on 
the inside and 
thoughts of revenge stir up a storm 
of road rage in 
his mind spoiling his quality of his 
mind and the 
rest of his day. Don't worry this 
man is not something 
special. When talking about such 
imperfection 
of mind it is not the same as 
mental illness —
merely inefficiency in our quality 
of mind. Most of 
us have the same ups and downs in 
the course of 
making our way through life in the 
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real world. 
B.4 Varieties of people 
If we were to divide people 
according to the quality 
of their minds, being very 
simplistic we can divide 
people into a minimum of three 
different types: 
1. Those whose mind is usually 
clouded — the 
fools; 
2. Those whose mind is usually 
clear — the 
wise; 
3. Those half way in between 
whose mind is not 
entirely clear, but at the same time 
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their mind 
is not completely obscured by 
clouds. 
This third category represents the 
majority of good 
intentioned people in the world. 
We're not yet free 
of mental defilements and for this 
reason we earn 
the special name of kalyAAabAla. 
"KalyAAa" means 
beautiful or good. "BAla" means 
the fool. Together 
the two words mean the 
good-intentioned fool. 
Sometimes a fool, sometimes a 
wise man — but not 
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