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those 
which are not monastic 
transgressions, are 
those who bring harm and 
unhappiness for 
the manyfolk 
suffering to 
humans and 
angels alike — in so doing earning 
grave demerit, 
consuming much merit and 
causing 
an end to the Saddhamma." 
AnApati Sutta (A.i.20) 
and 
"Distortion of the Dhamma means 
claiming 
the Buddha said or didn't say 
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(A.i.59) or that 
the Suttas contain or don't contain 
(A.i.61) 
what is in fact not the case." 
This is in addition to what has 
already been mentioned 
in Blessing Three (§D.2) about 
joking 
about the Dhamma; 
3. to acquire wisdom: Dhamma 
discussions are intended 
as a way of cultivating wisdom. 
Above 
all other things the Buddha praised 
`wisdom'. 
Most people know that wisdom is 
beyond price. 
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The Buddha even taught the 
proverb: 
PafifiA naranaO ratanaO 
wisdom is the (wish-fulfilling) 
gem of the people 
JarA Sutta (S.i.36) 
The Buddha's observation is in 
contrast to the 
opinion of many modem children 
who seem to 
think that a wish-fulfilling gem 
comes in the form 
of a television or a computer. Life 
is full of problems 
to solve. Whether it be trivial 
problems of 
physical hardship like drying 
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washing when it 
is raining, or problems from the 
people around 
us. There are even problems inside 
our own body 
from illnesses and pain. We must 
rely on wisBlessing 
Thirty: Regular Discussion of the 
Dhamma 333 
dom to solve all these problems —
but wisdom 
is something we cannot buy — it 
can however 
be acquired from two main sources 
(as already 
discussed in the "Two Formative 
Influences on 
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our discretion (0.3) in the First 
Blessing): 
1. the advice and encouragement 
we get from 
good friends [kalyAAamitta] 
during discussion 
of the Dhamma with them; 
2. the insights we come to through 
our ability to 
be a teacher to ourselves 
[yonisomanasikAra] 
— for which the regular practice of 
meditation 
is a prerequisite; 
4. to sharpen our wits: having to 
think and apply 
the Dhamma we know `in 
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real-time' as one does 
in a discussion is a `performing 
art'. In order to 
do so well, we need to have sharp 
wits [paEibhAAa]. 
These are in addition to the five 
objectives of listening 
to the Dhamma already mentioned 
in Blessing 
Twenty-Six (SC.1). 
B. DISCUSSION OF THE 
DHAMMA 
B.1 Definitions: Dhamma & 
Discussion 
The word `dhamma' is not easy to 
define and can 
have up to a hundred meanings 
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depending on the 
context. In Blessing Sixteen we 
have already described 
Dhamma as being a description of 
the reality 
of things while at the same time 
referring to virtue. 
However, at this stage in the 
Manual of Peace 
it is perhaps also useful to reflect 
that the Dhamma 
in its context as the teaching of the 
Buddha and as 
the second component of the 
Triple Gem is recognizable 
by the following six characteristics 
(M.i.37, 
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A.iii.285): 
1. properly expounded by the 
Exalted One 
[svAkkAto bhagavatA Dhamma]; 
2. clearly perceived within 
ourselves 
[sandiEEhiko]; 
3. timeless [akAliko]; 
4. which inspires those who see it 
to call others 
to come and see it [ehipassiko]; 
5. which should be internalized 
[opanayiko]; 
6. which can be realized 
subjectively by the wise .. 
[paccataO veditabbo vifniEhi]; 
The word `discussion' means that 
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there must be at 
least two people dialoguing on a 
subject of the 
Dhamma (not on other matters). 
Such discussions 
should occur regularly and they 
should be aimed 
to increase the wisdom of the 
participants (not to 
show off who is the smartest like 
some sort of contest) 
arranged at an appropriate time 
and taking 
no more time than is appropriate. 
B.2 Varieties of Discussion 
Discussion of the Dhamma can be 
divided into two 
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types: 
I. Giving a Dhamma talk: which 
is more or less a 
one-way discussion of the 
Dhamma. This subject 
has already been touched upon in 
Blessing 
Twenty-Six, however, in this 
Blessing we are no 
longer simply on the receiving end 
of teachings, 
now we must start to take some of 
the responsibility 
for applying them to others for our 
own 
and others' increasing wisdom, 
without devaluing 
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the Dhamma by doing so; 
2. Dhamma debate: which is a two 
(or more)-way 
discussion on the subject of the 
Dhamma. 
B.2.1 Giving a Dhamma Talk 
The Buddha enumerates the 
following five qualities 
of a good Dhamma preacher as 
already mentioned 
in the Twenty-Sixth Blessing §B3. 
The Buddha 
went further to say (Candupama 
Sutta S.ii.195) 
that anyone who teaches simply to 
attract followers 
does not teach in a pure way. 
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However anyone 
who thinks that the Dhamma with 
its six characteristics 
will bring benefit to those who 
know it and 
practice it and who teaches it on 
the basis of loving-
kindness, compassion and the 
thought to help 
others, that sort of teaching is pure. 
In addition to 
these basic skills, according to the 
Kest Sutta 
(A.ii.112ff.) different approaches 
are required for 
training different types of people 
in the Dhamma 
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some disciples need to be 
taught gently by elaborating 
the meaning of good behaviour 
and the 
wholesome fruits of such good 
behaviour — some 
need to be taught sternly by 
elaborating the meaning 
of evil and the unwholesome 
retribution of such 
evil behaviour — some need to be 
taught by a combination 
of these two means — and for 
those that 
cannot be helped in any of the 
previous three ways, 
334 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
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towards Enlightened Living 
one needs to accept that there is no 
use in giving 
them further teachings until such 
time as they can 
gain benefit therefrom. 
B.2.2 Dhamma Debate 
Preaching is challenging in that 
one needs to have 
a sensitivity to the disposition and 
needs of the listener 
without hearing anything from 
them. However, 
even though in debating others' 
position is 
more express, the debate is more 
challenging because 
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one must have the ability to `think 
on one's 
feet'. It is not only a question of 
satifactorily answering 
questions, but also the ability to 
gauge the 
type of question and the real 
purpose behind the 
question too. The Buddha 
enumerates five sorts of 
questions (S.ii.1): 
1. questions about things the 
person asking has not 
yet seen; 
2. questions comparing things to 
those the person 
asking has already seen; 
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3. questions to overcome the 
person asking's 
doubts; 
4. questions to encouraging the 
listener to follow 
what the questioner has seen; 
5. rhetorical questions; 
Surprisingly, many questions do 
not require a 
straight answer and this becomes 
easier to comprehend 
if one looks at the five reasons the 
Buddha identified 
for why questions are asked 
(A.iii.191): 
1. asking under the influence of 
ignorance or forgetfulness 
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2. asking under the influence of 
evil desires 
3. asking as a way to express 
looking down on others 
4. asking out of curiousity to know 
5. asking with the expectation that 
they will get a 
good answer 
Thus, one needs a multifaceted 
strategy in answering 
questions— and it turns out that 
even the Buddha 
himself had four different ways of 
answering 
a question (A.ii.46): 
1. answering directly 
[ekaOsabyAkaraAa]; wellprepared 
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questions deserve a direct answer 
2. answering by dividing one's 
response 
[paEipucchabyAkaraAa]; Answer 
which requires 
you to make a division clear. If 
someone is mixing 
up their practice because they are 
confusing 
steps which should be made 
separate or practising 
things in the wrong order, then 
your answer 
must start by making a clear 
division between 
the factors in an issue. Sometimes 
you need to 
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limit the scope of what you are 
answering. Sometimes, 
you need to make sure that both 
you and 
the listener understand the same 
thing by the 
terms you are using in a dialogue 
(e.g. when they 
are talking about `evil' are they in 
fact meaning 
`sin' defined in their own terms?) 
3. answering by a question in 
return [vibhajjabyAkaraAa], 
Sometimes people ask questions 
not 
because they are interested in the 
answer but 
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they are interested in whether you 
can answer. 
In such cases maybe you should 
ask such people 
why they ask such a question. In 
some cases 
you need to ask them whether they 
would like 
to know or whether they would 
like to experience 
it for themselves — without 
answering, 
and; 
4. keeping one's silence 
[EhapanEyaparila]. This is 
otherwise known as `Noble 
silence' — or in modern 
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