EFTA01160176

are only 
40% human, your fangs are longer 
and traces of 
a tail are visible. If only one 
remains you are only 
20% human and the remainder of 
you is 80% 
savage. If none of your Precepts 
remain intact, 
nothing human remains about you. 
Try swapping 
yourself for a dog in anyone's 
house but 
no-one will accept the trade in. 
The dog is worth 
more than you are. You can fairly 
say that keeping 
EFTA01160456

the Five Precepts is the thing that 
closes the 
doors of hell. Because Five 
Precepts are the only 
thing that underpin our status in 
the human 
realm. Thus for the wise man, 
there is no doubt 
as to maintaining the Five Precepts 
and his humanness 
for the whole time, throughout his 
life. 
3. Generosity: That we are still 
alive and well today 
on the long path since our birth is 
only because 
we have relied upon the generosity 
EFTA01160457

of others 
all along the way. If on the day we 
were born, 
our mother had refused us her 
milk, our first day 
of our life would have been our 
last. If all 
throughout our childhood, our 
mother, father 
and relatives had refused us their 
care and attention, 
where would we be today? The 
fact that 
we have managed to learn to read 
and write and 
master knowledge of the world is 
only because 
EFTA01160458

our teachers have given their time 
and energy 
to educate us all through our 
schooldays 
[vidhayadAnaJ. Whenever we 
have made mistakes, 
in our childhood and maybe only 
been 
punished for it and then forgiven 
(rather than 
being put to death for our errors) is 
because others 
have been prepared to forgive us 
our tres42 
A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
passes [abhayadAna]. When you 
EFTA01160459

grow up and 
marry, again you can only get by 
as a result of 
the time and energy your spouse 
gives to support 
you, sharing mutual earnings. 
Without such 
giving the marriage would 
certainly be on the 
rocks within the space of seven 
days. Ultimately, 
even the pavilion where you go to 
listen to sermons 
and the chairs you sit on to listen 
to it, all 
originate from the charity of others 
and that there 
EFTA01160460

is a monk with the time and energy 
to give you 
the sermon is another sort of 
giving 
[dhammadAna]. Thus, in addition 
to faith and 
keeping the Precepts, it is 
necessary to be generous 
too if you are to number amongst 
the wise. 
4. Wisdom [pafifiA]: To be 
specific, anyone who is 
diligent in studying the teachings 
of the Lord 
Buddha will attain wisdom — the 
mark of a wise 
man. Anyone who lies around in 
EFTA01160461

bed all day has 
no chance of accruing wisdom. For 
the wise man, 
simply developing the four 
chambers of the millionaires' 
heart is not enough. He must seek 
out 
wisdom too. When it comes to a 
holiday instead 
of lying around in front of the TV 
or going to the 
cinema, he is already on his way to 
the temple in 
the early morning to study what 
the Buddha 
taught. This is what we call 
seeking out wisdom. 
EFTA01160462

The fool is one whose 
understanding of profit in 
life conforms neither to material 
nor spiritual profit 
in life. Thus we can say that the 
wise man is one 
who understands and works 
towards profit both 
in this lifetime and the here after 
— i.e. both material 
and spiritual profit in life. 
C.5 Defined in terms of quality of 
mind 
The wise man is one whose mind 
is habitually pure. 
A person could be completely 
unqualified. He could 
EFTA01160463

even be completely illiterate 
but 
if his mind is 
habitually pure, he is a wise man. 
The reason for 
this is that just the fact that the 
mind is pure has a 
snowball effect because it sets his 
standards of 
judgement and discretion and this 
alone will ensure 
that wisdom is invested in 
everything he does 
— whether it may be thought, 
speech or action. 
D. RECOGNIZING A WISE 
ONE 
D.1 Tell-tale Behaviours (5) 
EFTA01160464

Many of the characteristics of a 
Wise One mentioned 
above may not be immediately 
apparent to 
us because they are not external 
features. Thus we 
may have to look at the following 
five characteristics 
which will betray the wholesome 
inward qualities 
of someone who is wise: 
1. The wise like to shepherd 
others to live their lives 
in a proper way. Asked where one 
can go on a 
Sunday, he will reply, "to the 
temple of course 
EFTA01160465

— don't waste your time going to 
the cinema." 
Or passing him in the street, "it 
looks like rain, 
you ought to get the harvest in 
before it spoils." 
If you were to meet a fool in the 
same circumstances, 
he'd give you altogether different 
advice 
 
"it looks like rain, if you're 
feeling aches 
& pains you'd be better off down 
at the bar with 
a stiff whisky down your throat!" 
Both the fool 
and the wise man are persuaders 
EFTA01160466

but their persuasion 
leads to different results indeed. 
2. The wise take full responsibility 
for the things 
that are their own business. Apart 
from being 
responsible, they will influence 
those around 
them to be responsible in the same 
way. What 
the wise won't do is interfere with 
other peoples' 
business. They know where to 
draw the line 
in order to avoid nosing into 
others' affairs. The 
fool by contrast is often more 
EFTA01160467

interested in interfering 
in other peoples' business than he 
is about 
taking responsibility for what he's 
meant to be 
doing. 
3. The wise favour the honest and 
the decent. Its 
no use trying to persuade him to be 
dishonest or 
unscrupulous, because he is above 
those sort of 
things. The fool by contrast is 
proud of the fact 
that he can get away with 
anything. Nothing is 
too low for him. 
EFTA01160468

4. The wise man is not easily 
angered. He is grateful 
for criticism from others. The fool, 
by contrast, 
even if criticized in the politest of 
ways will 
lose his temper. Even if someone 
offers him criticism 
with the best of possible intentions, 
he'll 
turn round with a scowl and 
answer back, 
"you've been constantly picking 
on my faults". 
Blessing Two: Associating with the 
Wise 43 
If you smile at him, he'll interpret 
EFTA01160469

your smile as 
teasing and turn his back on you. 
Even just 
speaking to a fool can make him 
lose his temper. 
Sometimes you don't even need to 
say anything. 
Just seeing you look at him can 
upset him —
"What are you looking at me like 
that for?" The 
fool is constantly on the lookout 
for a fight. The 
wise man by contrast is hard to stir 
to anger. Thus 
if you recognize yourself as 
hot-tempered, you 
EFTA01160470

ought to associate with the wise 
and this will 
gradually cool down your fiery 
temper. However, 
you shouldn't confuse the 
cool-tempered 
wise man with the inert and 
irresponsive character 
of the sort of guy who sleeps all 
day and 
seems to do everything in 
slow-motion. These 
dopey sorts are irresponsive to 
nearly everything 
around them, but don't think 
they're free of all 
defilements. They are another 
EFTA01160471

breed of person 
altogether from the wise men we 
aim to associate 
with. 
5. The wise favour self discipline 
and orderliness. 
When we live together in society 
with a huge 
number of other people, if we 
don't comply with 
the laws laid down in society, we 
end up as misanthropes. 
The regulations say that when you 
are at the temple, at the appropriate 
time you 
must come to sit in the main 
pavilion and sit in 
EFTA01160472

neat lines, without encroaching on 
the people 
sitting next to you, that way there 
is enough 
space for everyone and everyone 
has an equal 
area to sit in. The fool, however, 
doesn't respect 
the rules. He doesn't like obeying 
anyone or anything. 
He'll be the only one to sit out of 
line, sticking 
out like a sore thumb. He's like a 
spanner in 
the works. For temples in general, 
people go to 
the temple with the best of 
EFTA01160473

intention to accrue as 
much merit as possible but when it 
comes to 
mealtimes, they end up fighting to 
get to the front 
of the queue like vultures. In the 
morning they 
are like angels walking on the 
Earth, but when 
lunchtime comes, they are like 
hungry ghosts! 
In conclusion, the good thing about 
associating with 
the wise is that it will develop our 
discretion to be 
that of the wise with whom we 
associate — or to 
EFTA01160474

come to the real point — it will 
allow our mind to 
become bright and clear like that 
of the wise man. 
D.2 Qualities of a Wise One's 
Friendship 
Alternatively, the Wise One can 
also be noticed by 
his characteristics of being a true 
friend who exhibits 
all three sorts of responsibility: 
• responsibility for his own 
personal dignity 
• responsibility for the human 
dignity of others 
• responsibility for a fair 
economic system 
EFTA01160475