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Little did the parents of both sides 
know that both 
sides were already in 
communication with one another 
by letter. Both Pipli and the 
millionaires daughter had 
independently written letters to one 
another saying 
the same thing (i.e. please inform 
your parents to cancel 
the marriage, because with all due 
respect, I am 
not interested in marriage and 
would prefer to remain 
single for the rest of my life). The 
messengers bearing 
the letters met one another on the 
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road between the 
two towns. Both were scared that 
if they brought bad 
news to the respective parents, 
they would get no reward 
for their efforts so the two of them 
read each 
other's letters then rewrote the 
letters to say that both 
sides were ready and waiting to 
marry. So it came to 
pass that Pipli and the millionaire's 
daughter were 
married, but because both had 
cultivated chastity for 
many lifetimes, they had no 
interest in sensual pleasures. 
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Both had the latent ability to be 
arahants and even 
though they were forced to sleep in 
the same bed, both 
of them felt completely indifferent. 
They would put a 
garland of jasmine flowers 
between them on the bed 
and each of them would meditate 
in the sleeping position 
throughout the night. Even after 
ten years when 
the parents on both sides of the 
family had passed 
away, they were still living their 
married life in the 
same way. Once the last of their 
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parents had passed 
away, they gave away all the 
family legacy. They both 
obtained the robes of an ascetic 
and left the home life. 
When they came to a fork in the 
road, the wife said, 
"Now we are ascetics, to go 
around as a couple is no 
longer appropriate." Therefore the 
wife paid her last 
respects to her husband and both 
asked forgiveness 
for any mutual trespasses in the 
past, before the wife 
took the left hand fork and the 
husband took the right 
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hand fork. It is said that through 
the power of the decision 
by such young people to go their 
own separate 
ways, at that time their was an 
earthquake in the vicinity. 
It is said that they were doing 
something very 
difficult to do. The Buddha 
detected the earthquake 
while he was meditating and 
looked for the reason. 
When he saw the reason was the 
ordination of Pipli, 
he went to meet him along the way 
and in a single 
sermon could elevate Pipli to the 
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level of an arahant 
in seven days. As for the wife . . . 
she met with a 
bhikkhuAi arahant who taught her 
to the degree that 
Blessing Thirty-Two: Practising 
the Brahma-Faring 369 
she could attain arahantship within 
seven days in the 
same way. Ultimately, Pipli, under 
the ordained name 
of MahAkassapa Thera was the 
monk praised by the 
Buddha as unsurpassed in the 
practice of dhutaIga 
because he kept the dhutaIga 
practices throughout 
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the whole of his life. After the 
passing away of the 
Buddha, because he was one of the 
most senior of the 
monks in the community, he was 
the monastic president 
for the First Council. 
E.2 Ex. MAtika MAta 
(DhA.i.293) 
In the time of the Buddha there 
was a group of sixty 
monks who having made sufficient 
study of Buddhist 
theory, went to take leave of the 
Buddha before going 
into the deep forest to practise 
meditation. In the forest 
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they came across an old woman 
who was the 
mother of the village mayor. The 
old woman was very 
pleased to see such a large number 
of monks coming 
to practice in the neighbourhood 
and so she provided 
for all the catering needs of the 
monks. One day she 
asked the monks, "Is it possible 
only to practice chastity 
as a monk or can women and 
householders also 
practice?" The monks answered 
that it was also possible 
for householders to practice 
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chastity - it is possible 
for anyone who wants to come to 
an end of defilements. 
The monk taught the lady all about 
meditation 
and keeping the Eight Precepts and 
the remainder 
of the ten components of chastity. 
The lady trained 
herself strictly in accordance with 
what she had been 
taught and found she could make 
progress even more 
quickly than the monks 
themselves. The reason she 
could make more progress was 
because she had built 
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up such habits over the course of 
many lifetimes and 
she could also see the value of 
such practice after coming 
across many disappointments 
during her life. She 
was able to attain the 
form-absorptions, the 
formlessabsorptions 
and the DhammakAya to the level 
of 
anAgAmi. Through the power of 
her meditation, she 
was able to read the minds of 
others. She was able to 
know that her own progress in 
meditation was more 
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than any of the sixty monks for 
whom she brought 
food. She meditated further and 
found that the reason 
that they weren't making progress 
in meditation 
was because the monks were 
unfamiliar with the sort 
of food they provided for them. 
Instead of meditating 
without any concerns, their minds 
were always distracted 
by the thought of the food they 
were used to. 
Thus from that day onwards, if the 
lady knew that 
there was a particular food that the 
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monk was wishing 
for that day, she would provide the 
self-same food 
for the next meal. The monks were 
constantly surprised 
by the fact that whatever food they 
happened 
to be interested in, it would always 
be the next meal 
on their plates. Before long the 
monks were meditating 
better because they were no longer 
worrying about 
food and in seven days, fifty-nine 
of the sixty could 
become arahants. The fifty-nine 
returned to the temple 
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where the Buddha was residing. 
The remaining 
monk who had not been practising 
so hard was not 
only hindered in his meditation, he 
also guessed that 
the lady was able to read his mind 
so he was scared of 
her. He knew if he should happen 
to think of anything 
wicked he would be ashamed to 
death of that 
lady. This last monk ran away 
back to the Buddha and 
asked permission to pursue his 
meditation somewhere 
else. The Buddha asked the reason, 
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and the monk said, 
"The supporter is a mind reader 
supposing I think 
anything evil, what will she think 
of me?" 
The Buddha said, "To have shame 
even of your 
thoughts might just be your 
advantage!" The monk 
was sent back to where he had 
been before, but now 
he took such care even of his 
thoughts that he was 
able to become an arahant. As an 
arahant, he looked 
back into his past lives to see if 
this was the first lifetime 
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in which that lady had helped him. 
He found 
that in a previous life the lady had 
been his wife —
she had been unfaithful and had 
murdered him —
however in other lifetimes, the 
lady had sacrificed her 
life for his benefit. The reason why 
the woman had 
become only an anAgAmi was 
because in the past she 
had not paid enough attention to 
the practice of 
dhutaIga. 
E.3 Ex. BAhiya DArucEriya 
DhA.ii.209ff. 
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Many kappas ago, the teaching of 
a previous Buddha 
was almost disappeared from the 
world. There were 
seven monks who still practised 
well. They saw that 
society had degraded to to a level 
where no-one was 
interested to learn the Dhamma 
any more. The seven 
monks decided to disappear into 
the forest to practice 
in earnest instead of wasting their 
time with society 
any more. They found a mountain 
which was surrounded 
by cliffs on all sides. The mountain 
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in the 
forest which was suitable for 
meditation. They agreed 
370 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
amongst themselves to meditate on 
the top of the 
mountain until they could attain 
mental powers. They 
climbed a ladder up the cliff and 
when all had reached 
the top the kicked the ladder away 
— intending that 
if they couldn't attain 
enlightenment in their meditation, 
they would rather die than give in. 
They meditated 
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without eating and without moving 
for five days 
before the first of the monks could 
attain transcendental 
states. He was able to become an 
arahant and floating 
in the air, flew down the mountain 
to go for 
almsround. Returning from 
almsround, he brought 
enough food for all the other 
monks too. However, 
the other monks were resolute in 
their meditation and 
refused his food. On the seventh 
day a second monk 
attained anAgAmin. The two 
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enlightened monks went 
for almsround, but the remaining 
five still refused to 
eat the food they had brought. 
Eventually the remaining 
five died of physical exhaustion in 
their meditation. 
The arahant entered parinibbAna. 
The anAgAmE 
entered the Form-BrahrnA realm 
and the rest of the 
monks were reborn in heaven. 
After spending the requisite time 
in heaven one 
of the five monks was reborn in 
the human realm as 
a merchant called BAhiya 
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DArucEriya. While trading 
in a ship, it was wrecked and he 
was the only 
survivor. He got hold of a plank 
and eventually came 
to land at the port of Supparaka. 
As he was naked, 
he tied a piece of bark to his body, 
and sat in a place 
where people could see him. 
Passers-by gave him 
food. Some thought that he was a 
holy man and paid 
respects to him. Some brought 
clothes for him to 
wear but he refused, fearing that 
by wearing clothes, 
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