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attainment 
(DhA.iii.111ff) 
In the time of the Buddha there 
was a group of 
monks who had been practising in 
isolation in 
the forest, keeping their Precepts 
strictly and 
practising hard. They had been 
practising for so 
long that they became convinced 
that they had 
already overcome all the 
defilements in the mind. 
They thought they had no 
remaining greed, hatred 
or delusion. All the monks felt 
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fulfilled and 
left their practice in the forest to 
return to the temple. 
They planned to visit the Buddha. 
The Buddha 
knew through his meditation that 
this group 
of monks had overestimated their 
attainment and 
in fact had still not reached an end 
of defilements! 
The Buddha toldfnanda to wait for 
the monks 
at the gate of the temple and tell 
them to go to 
stay in the cemetery instead of 
coming to see the 
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Buddha immediately. In the 
cemetery there was 
the corpse of a beautiful woman 
who had just 
recently died. When the monks 
saw the corpse 
of the woman they would be 
attracted by her 
(former) beauty. The monks would 
then know 
that there were still subtle 
defilements remaining 
in their minds and they would 
know that they 
needed to practice further. In this 
case, without 
the right circumstances to magnify 
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the subtle 
defilements into a recognizable 
emotion, the 
small defilements in the minds of 
these monks 
had remained hidden without them 
realizing it. 
418 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
C.3 Ex. The Revenge of the 
KAOE Ogress 
(DhA.i.37ff.) 
Once there was a householder 
whose wife was barren. 
Being unable to bear a child and 
afraid that 
she would be mistreated by her 
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husband or her 
mother-in-law, with the best of 
intentions she arranged 
for her husband to marry a second 
woman. 
In spite of her original goodwill, 
on two occasions, 
as soon as she knew the second 
wife was pregnant, 
the barren wife gave the other food 
mixed with 
miscarriage-inducing drugs. When 
it came to the 
woman's third attempt, she wife 
kept the pregnancy 
secret. However, when the barren 
wife came to 
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know about it, again she caused an 
abortion. Eventually 
the second wife died in childbirth. 
Before her 
death, the unfortunate woman was 
filled with hatred 
and vowed vengeance on the 
barren wife and 
her future offspring. Thus the feud 
started. 
Next lifetime, the second wife was 
born as a villager 
near SAvatthE. She kept a hen (the 
barren wife 
of the previous existence) and 
every time it laid an 
egg, the woman would destroy it. 
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The hen became 
very angry and as a result, it was 
reborn as a cat 
and the woman was reborn as a 
hen in the same 
house. The cat ate up the eggs of 
the hen. In their 
next existence, the hen became a 
leopard and the 
cat became a deer. The leopard ate 
up the deer as 
well as its offspring. Thus their 
feud continued for 
several existences. 
When it came to the time of the 
Buddha, one of 
them was born as a woman and the 
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other as an 
ogress [yakkhiAE]. On one 
occasion, the woman was 
returning from the house of her 
parents to her own 
house near SAvatthE accompanied 
by her husband 
and young son. While they were 
resting by a roadside 
pond, her husband left her to bathe 
himself. 
During his absence, the woman 
was approached 
by the ogress in human guise. 
Despite, the ogress's 
transmutation, the woman still 
recognised her — 
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and fled with her child straight to 
the monastery 
where the Buddha was expounding 
the Dhamma. 
She put her child at the Buddha's 
feet. The ogress, 
in hot pursuit of the woman, was 
unable to enter 
the monastery. Nonetheless, the 
Buddha summoned 
the ogress to his presence. He 
admonished 
both of them for their long and 
bitter feud, `If you 
two had not come to me today, 
your enmity would 
have continued endlessly. Enmity 
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cannot be appeased 
by enmity; it can only be appeased 
futher 
by loving-kindness.' Reflecting on 
the admonition, 
both realised the futility of their 
hatred, admitted 
their mistakes and resolved to help 
each other mutually 
from that day on instead of 
continuing with 
their senseless feud. 
C.4 Ex. KAma JAtaka(J.467) 
There was once a king who had 
two sons. When 
the king passed away, the older 
prince did not want 
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to take the throne. He renounced 
the throne to his 
younger brother and went to live as 
a regular citizen 
in the border country. The action 
of the older 
prince looked like renunciation, 
but in fact, the 
prince had not yet overcome his 
desires. A local 
millionaire knew that the ex-prince 
would not be 
very gifted at earning a living, so 
he helped by supporting 
him in every way. The millionnaire 
had his 
conditions. He told the ex-prince to 
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tell his little 
brother not to collect taxes in their 
area, so that the 
millionnaire could use these funds 
to support the 
ex-prince instead. The ex-prince 
did as he was advised 
and the king exempted them from 
taxation. 
Everyone was happy, but the 
defilements in the 
mind of the prince gradually 
became more powerful. 
The neighbouring provinces got 
jealous and 
asked to be exempted from paying 
taxes in the same 
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way. As the special incomes of the 
ex-prince increased, 
his greed became insatiable. He 
wanted to 
go back to being the king again. 
His younger brother 
would not agree at first, but later 
allowed him to 
return as king. The king had done 
many good deeds 
in the past and Indra the king of 
the gods wanted 
to teach him a lesson, to put him 
back on the correct 
path of life. Indra appeared to the 
king in human 
guise and told the king, "There are 
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another 
three domains greater than the 
ones you have which 
you have not conquered."Before 
the king could ask, 
Indra disappeared. The king 
became dissatisfied 
with what he had. He wanted to 
invade border territories 
and conquered three neighbouring 
provinces. 
The king was so impassioned to 
acquire the 
three domains he had never seen 
that he became ill 
just thinking about them day and 
night. No doctor 
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Blessing Thirty-Seven: Freedom 
from Subtle Defilements 419 
could cure the king of his illness. 
At that time, the Bodhisattva had 
just finished his 
studies and volunteered to cure the 
king. He found 
out what the cause of the illness 
was and healed 
the king without medicine, but by 
using questions 
to make the king regain his 
mindfulness. The 
Bodhisattva knew the king had one 
kingdom but 
wanted govern another three — a 
total of four. He 
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asked, "When your majesty sleeps 
does your majesty 
sleep in four beds?" 
"No, only one!" replied the king. 
"When your majesty eats does 
your majesty fill 
your stomach four times?" 
"No, to be full just one meal at 
atime is enough!" 
"Then why does your majesty 
want to rule four 
kingdoms when you already have a 
kingdom of 
your own?" 
The king was miraculously cured 
of his illness. 
420 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
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towards Enlightened Living 
Blessing Thirty-Eight: The Blissful 
Mind 421 
A. THE DIFFICULTY 
OFFINDING BLISS IN 
LIFE 
A.1 The Darkness of Unknowing 
Besides being the last blessing of 
the series, the subject 
matter of this Blessing is the 
summum bonum of 
the whole of The Manual of Peace 
— like the sense 
of relief of a traveller who has 
reached his destination 
safely or like a mariner who has 
reached the 
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far shore. It is a relief because all 
along our journey, 
we have been amidst dangers 
which have constantly 
threatened the chances of reaching 
our destination. 
Especially, for as long as the night 
is dark, in the 
absence of light, we have no idea 
how many dangers 
surround us. Because we don't 
know, we fear. 
Even a familiar place like our own 
bedroom can 
become a frightening place as soon 
as the lights go 
out. However, if we have a little 
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light to throw on 
the situation — whether it be 
literal light like that 
of a torch or a spotlight, or more 
profoundly the 
inner brightness that arises as the 
result of meditation 
— the darkness of unknowing will 
be chased 
away. The dangers that lurk in the 
darkness will be 
vanquished at the same time. In a 
word, wherever 
there is darkness, there is also 
danger — wherever 
there is illumination there is safety. 
Our mind also has a darkness 
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inside. It is darkness 
that has been with us for 
innumerable lifetimes 
— it is a darkness that blocks our 
ability to answer 
the eternal questions, such as: 
"Why were we were 
born", "where have we come 
from?" or "What is 
the meaning of life?" or "When we 
die where do 
we go?" Because we have no 
solutions to the 
fundemental questions that give 
meaning to life, 
the assumptions on which we base 
our life are no 
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