EFTA01160176

see that these 
taints cannot be ignored. Although 
defilements may 
be small, abstract and hidden away 
in the deepest 
recesses of our minds, they cannot 
fail to have dire 
effects on our everyday lives. In 
individual work 
defilements can create problems in 
the the way we 
make decisions especially when 
we succumb to 
bias. When we work with others, 
defilements in the 
mind become even more evident 
when they cause 
EFTA01163016

discord between those supposed to 
be working as 
a team. 
Defilements originate as a sort of 
residue from 
bad habits. Statistically speaking, 
the more we have 
done something in the past, the 
more we will be 
likely to do it in the future. If all 
we have done in 
the past are good and virtuous 
things, then that 
would be our good luck. However, 
for most of us 
there are bad habits. The more we 
do them, the more 
EFTA01163017

the chance that we will do them 
again. If we quit 
any of these habits, we feel a lot of 
resistance. Although 
we may not see the source of such 
resistance 
at its root, we can know that this is 
the action 
of defilements. 
B.2 Principles for removing 
defilements 
Such an understanding of the 
nature and the location 
of the defilements is vital to a 
correct understanding 
of how to eradicate them. Some 
ascetic religions 
EFTA01163018

believe that defilements are located 
in the 
body — therefore they try to wash 
away their sins 
by washing themselves in a sacred 
river like the
Ganges (e.g. SalgArava Brahmin 
[S.i.182ff.]) — as 
already mentioned in the 
purification practices of 
Blessing Sixteen (M2). Even some 
ill-informed Buddhists 
try to find material solutions to 
immaterial 
problems. They think that if their 
prospective husband 
is habitually bad-tempered, they 
EFTA01163019

can cure the 
problem before their marriage by 
washing him with 
holy water. Misunderstanding of 
the nature of defilements 
has given rise to many strange 
religious 
rituals in the world. People even 
link their heads 
together with a sacred thread at 
their marriage ceremony 
with the belief that it will keep 
them together 
for the rest of their lives. They can 
only tie themselves 
together — but they will never be 
able to tie 
EFTA01163020

their hearts and minds together for 
life! The Buddha 
used principles for removing 
defilements of 
fighting the fire of defilements 
with the fire of austerity. 
The purpose of austerity is directly 
to burn 
up of the defilements of the mind. 
B.3 Difficulty in removing the 
defilements 
If our body is ill, doctors have to 
find the bacteria 
or viruses that have infected us. In 
medical science 
they use all sorts of technologies to 
study the infections 
EFTA01163021

in the mind. They use microscopes 
to identify 
the infection, study the properties 
of the infection 
and put a name to it. For the mind, 
it is the same 
process. We have to identify the 
defilement we wish 
to remove, catch the defilement 
and put a name to 
it — however, there are three 
problems concerning 
removing defilements from the 
mind: 
I. Defilements are hard to see: 
The problem with 
destroying defilements in the mind 
EFTA01163022

is that defilements 
are even smaller that the mind 
itself. 
Most people cannot even see their 
own mind, 
let alone the defilements that exist 
in the mind. 
2. We take our defilements for 
granted: Our mind 
is so used to being bathed in 
defilements that it 
is hard even to notice the effect 
they are having 
on us. We feel that they are like a 
legitimate part 
of our personality. It is like a 
person with athlete's 
EFTA01163023

foot who half enjoys having an itch 
to 
scratch. The Buddha taught that we 
are as used 
Blessing Thirty-One: The Practice 
of Austerities 349 
to our own defilements as a fish is 
used to water. 
A fish without water will surely 
die. If anyone 
attempts to take a fish out of water 
it will struggle 
with all its might to get back into 
the water 
again. In the same way, people are 
used to defilements, 
they will go to great lengths to 
EFTA01163024

preserve 
them. 
3. The way to remove defilements 
is elusive: It 
wasn't for the Buddha arising in 
the world, we 
wouldn't know how to cope with 
defilements in 
the mind. Even though some 
religions know that 
defilements exist in the mind, they 
know that 
the mind takes defilements for 
granted, but they 
don't have any idea how to 
overcome those defilements. 
They know they are lazy but they 
EFTA01163025

don't 
have any idea what to do about it. 
They know 
they shouldn't covet their 
neighbour's wife, but 
they cannot get her off their mind. 
All they think 
is, "Why does it have to happen to 
me?" What 
they lack are the techniques of 
practising austerity 
taught by the Lord Buddha which 
are the 
subject of this Blessing. 
C. AUSTERITY 
C.1 Definition 
The word used for `practising 
EFTA01163026

austerity' in the Pali 
is `tapa' which literally means to 
make something 
hot. It can mean to roast, to boil, to 
grill or to smoke 
— anything that burns or heats 
something. It is 
not the same as `tapas' — better 
known as a small 
savoury dish to befound in Spanish 
bars — although 
it readers may find this a good 
' aidememoire' ! 
If you can burn out the defilements 
all 
that will be left is the unblemished 
mind. Such a 
EFTA01163027

pure mind is wise, not liable to 
anger etc. etc. It is 
like heating up crude ore to extract 
the pure metal 
that can be used for something 
useful. 
Such austerities should not be 
confused with 
the self-mortification practices of 
Brahminism 
tried and rejected by the Buddha 
before his enlightenment. 
Although these practices are also 
sometimes called `tape', their 
objective is different 
— to weaken the body to the point 
of feeling 
EFTA01163028

no more sense-desire 
in contrast 
to Buddhist 
`tapa' which aim to uproot the 
defilements in the 
mind. 
C.2 Categories of Austerities 
There are two sorts of austerity: 
1. Gradual Removal of 
Defilements [sallekha]: The 
Buddha taught a total of forty-four 
defilements 
in the Sallekha Sutta (M.i.40ff.) 
together with the 
gradual virtuous behaviours 
needed to uproot 
each of them. The sallekha are 
gradual solutions 
EFTA01163029

and this is the content of almost 
every heading 
of Dhamma in the Buddhist 
scriptures. Thus, for 
example: 
• if you know you are a very 
greedy person, 
then you can change yourself 
gradually by 
practising generosity. If you 
practice every day 
in the end the tendency to crave 
others' possessions 
will gradually disappear. 
• if you are a particularly 
hot-tempered person, 
you should make sure you spread 
EFTA01163030

lovingkindness 
on a daily basis, before we go to 
bed. 
• if you know you covet a new 
woman every 
day or if the whole of the female 
world looks 
beautiful to us, you should try to 
keep the 
Eight Precepts. Going without a 
meal in the 
evening will start to undercut the 
power of 
your desires little by little. Giving 
up wearing 
make-up and jewelry will help to 
diminish 
EFTA01163031

your tendencies also. The power of 
your 
sensual desires will gradually be 
reduced. 
• if you are forgetful then 
gradually train yourself 
in mindfulness. 
2. Intensive Removal of 
Defilements [dhutaIga]: 
There is another sort of removal of 
defilements 
which is more intense... This set of 
teachings is a 
radical way of overcoming bad 
habits accumulated 
over the course of many years. The 
Buddha 
EFTA01163032

categorized the root bad habits of 
people into 
four major categories: habits 
concerning dress, 
habits concerning food, habits 
concerning accommodation 
and habits concerning laziness. 
There are thirteen different forms 
of dhutalga 
practice and they address these 
four major types 
of bad habit. 
C.3 Thirteen forms of Intense 
Austerity 
(Vism.59-83) 
Overcoming the wish to be 
choosy about clothes 
EFTA01163033

[cEvara-paEisaOyutta] 
I. Rag-robe wearer's Practice 
[paOsukElikaIga] 
350 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
Wearing only robes made from 
rags retrieved 
from a dust heap or from a charnel 
ground (§1). 
2. Triple-robe wearer's Practice 
[tecEvarikaIga] 
Usually just three robes are 
allowed for monks 
to use, that is the upper robe 
[uttarasankaO],
the outer robe [saIghatiO] and the 
waistcloth 
EFTA01163034

[antaravasakaO]. These three robes 
are supposed 
to be adequate to keep monks 
warm even 
in the coldest of weather. In later 
times there have 
been trends to allow monks to have 
additional 
accessory cloths such as girdles, 
belts and a vest 
to absorb sweat in hot climates. 
Usually monks 
will have a change of robes to a 
maximum of 
three, to allow one set to be 
washed when the 
other is being worn. However, if 
EFTA01163035