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that the Buddha taught that if you 
do good you 
will receive good fruits from your 
actions. If you 
do evil deeds, you will receive evil 
results from your 
action and that DhammakAya and 
Nirvana are the 
ultimate result attainable through 
good deeds. 
The reason why such people are 
confused is that 
they don't realize that certain 
things exist that are 
not subject to the Three 
Characteristics — that are 
permanent, happy and true self - 
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the characteristics 
of Nirvana (described in Blessing 
Thirty-Four, 
§B.3) 
C. BECOMING LESS 
VULNERABLE TO 
VICISSITUDES 
C.1 Some principles 
In general, the more uncontrollably 
people laugh 
when they are elated, the louder 
they will cry when 
they are disappointed. If people 
only smile slightly 
when they are pleased about 
something, when they 
are disappointed the trauma will be 
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only minor. We 
must continually remind ourselves 
not to allow ourselves 
to be too elated or disappointed 
when we 
encounter the vicissitudes of the 
world, and before 
long, the resulting stability of mind 
will soon lead 
us to attain the DhammakAya for 
ourselves, attain 
the Four Noble Truths and attain 
Nirvana. 
C.2 Some things to remind 
yourself 
Even the best of people, the 
Buddha himself, still 
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hours at the most. 
In the thirteenth hour it must 
reach the dawn. 
Even if you are at breaking point 
as the result of 
the pressure you have been put 
under, know that 
before much longer you will be 
close to an end 
of suffering. The word for 
`hindrances' or `obstacles' 
in the Pali, `upasakka' actually 
means 
`close to heaven'. Even the 
unpleasant things of 
the world are subject to the 
Universal Characteristics 
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- just as they have come into 
being, before 
long they must decay; 
• the good things coming to you 
are not forever: 
Instead of becoming elated one 
should reflect 
that when the vicissitudes have 
worked in our 
favour, such good fortune cannot 
last for ever. 
Blessing Thirty-Five: A Mind 
Invulnerable to Worldly 
Vicissitudes 399 
Even wealth, honour, praise and 
worldly happiness 
has suffering and change as its 
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nature. Because 
of the lack of such elation and 
disappointment, 
they manage to escape the clutches 
of birth, 
old age, death, pain, feeling 
slighted and despair. 
• everything that evolves must 
also decay: When 
the Three Universal Characteristics 
are the reality 
of the world, Buddhists have long 
had the 
tradition to remind themselves that 
it is the nature 
of everything in the world to 
evolve, to sustain 
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and then to decay. No-one can 
stand in the 
way of this process. It is no use 
trying to create 
eternity in this world. Not even 
Buddhist teachings 
with all their powers can last 
forever. Even 
after 2,500 years there are already 
those who have 
their doubts about whether 
Buddhism is genuine 
because peoples' memories are 
subject to the 
Three Universal Characteristics. 
• don't take the vicissitudes 
personally: The eight 
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vicissitudes will happen to people 
no matter 
whether they attain the stages of 
Buddhist sainthood 
or not. Don't think that just 
because someone 
is a Buddhist saint, nothing 
unpleasant will 
happen to you. For all of us who 
have not yet 
attained DhammakAya, the Noble 
Truths and 
Nirvana, of course our mind is still 
not completely 
invulnerable to the vicissitudes of 
the 
world — but if we know that we 
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are not alone in 
being victim to such vicissitudes, 
and that even 
those who are more fortunate than 
us still suffer 
from them, somehow it will make 
us feel better 
about them. 
D. ILLUSTRATIVE TALES 
D.1 Ex. Visayha JAtaka (J.340) 
When the Buddha was still 
pursuing perfections 
as the bodhisattva, he was born in 
the family of 
bankers and had the name 
'Visayha'. He was extremely 
wealthy but was of the habit 
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always to give 
alms. He gave alms daily to 
600,000 persons in six 
parts of the city. He would not 
only give alms in 
large amounts, but he would give 
only refined 
things and delicacies 
of the 
same quality that he 
used himself. He would give away 
vast quantities 
of alms each day and was thus a 
refuge to paupers 
and those in suffering alike. He 
was like the moon 
shining forth its light for the 
benefit of the manyfolk. 
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Sakka, the king of heaven, felt a 
warming of his 
throne as the result of Visayha's 
generosity and 
thought Visayha's generosity was 
surely intended 
to outshine his own goodness. He 
feared to lose his 
own position — so Sakka decided 
to use his powers 
to reduce Visayha to poverty 
overnight — so 
that he would no longer be able to 
give gifts to others. 
Sakka saw to it that all of 
Visayha's wealth disappeared 
leaving nothing to give away. 
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Waking up to find all his wealth 
gone, Visayha 
reflected to his wife, "If our life is 
without giving, it 
is an empty life indeed. We cannot 
quit from our 
giving."He told his wife to go and 
search the entire 
house for anything that could 
possibly be used as a 
gift. The wife scoured the house 
and found only a 
scythe, a yoke-bar and a rope 
forgotten by a servant 
by the gate. These she brought to 
her husband. 
Visayha said,"Never in my life 
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have I been reduced 
to cutting grass — but today I'm 
going to have to 
learn to become a grass-cutter in 
order to have fodder 
to sell, so that we can have 
something to give." 
Having spent the day cutting grass 
he amassed 
enough fodder to sell and made the 
promise to himself 
that he would keep half the 
earnings acquired 
to support himself and his wife, 
while giving away 
the other half. That day, however, 
there was a particularly 
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large number of paupers who came 
begging 
— so by force of habit he gave 
away everything 
he had — that day he and his wife 
going without 
any food themselves. The same 
thing happened 
for six consecutive days. On the 
seventh day, 
Visayha was carrying a sheaf of 
grass in the fierce 
heat of the midday sun when his 
fatigue and hunger 
got the better of him and he fell to 
the ground 
in exhaustion. 
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Sakka had been following the 
banker around unseen 
and at this point made himself 
visible to 
Visayha, floating in the air before 
him and calculated 
to give Visayha's generosity its 
final blow with 
the taunt, "Before you were 
wealthy — but you 
have squandered your wealth on 
the poor — and 
now look at you! If only you are to 
cling on to your 
wealth, before long you can return 
to your usual 
wealth! Promise me that from now 
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on you will put 
an end to this foolish generosity!" 
400 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
Hearing the voice, Visayha 
recovered consciousness 
and challenged Sakka, 
saying,"Who do you 
think you are?" 
"I am Sakka — king of heaven" 
"Normally Sakka is one for 
practising generosity, 
observing the precepts and the 
quarter moon 
days and practising the seven 
virtues that make one 
the king of heaven [vattapada] 
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(namely: 1. cherishing 
one's parents; 2. respect for elders 
in one's family; 
3. speaking politely; 4. speaking to 
engender 
harmony; 5. being generous to 
banish stinginess; 6. 
speaking the truth, and; 7. 
banishing anger) but 
Your Majesty is telling me to stop 
my generosity —
which contradicts everythingthat 
brought your own 
greatness — if you are truly Sakka, 
Your Majesty is 
acting out of keeping with your 
own nature! May 
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no wealth ever accrue to me which 
makes me possessive 
of it! Whatever practice is virtuous 
or supreme 
which I have done in the past, may 
I always 
continue — may I never stop. 
Even though I have 
to cut grass for a living, I will 
continue with my 
generosity until my dying day!" 
Sakka could not succeed in 
dissuading Visayha 
from his generosity — so he asked 
instead, the reason 
for Visayha's determination to 
cultivate giving. 
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Visayha said that his generosity 
was in no way 
aimed to attaining the position of 
the king of heaven 
— but in order to accrue 
perfections with the view 
to attain enlightenment as Buddha 
— to lead all 
beings out of suffering. 
Hearing Visayha's answer, Sakka 
could not help 
but be happy — and he patted 
Visayha's back, so 
replenishing Visayha with 
superhuman power. 
Sakka restored all Visayha's 
wealth and more, so 
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