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their uncle's character, but pays 
respect because 
he has been told to. At school, the 
child is told to 
pay respect to their teachers. The 
child might not 
be able to tell the real virtue of the 
teacher, because 
the child's ability to comprehend is 
only 
limited. However, sometime in the 
future when 
we become so used to expressing 
our respect that 
we become used to it, the thought 
will eventually 
occur to us to look for the reason. 
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B.4 Three Types of Bowing 
Sometimes people confuse respect 
with expressing 
respect. However, if you express 
respect when your 
attitude is wrong you will not 
succeed in furthering 
your spiritual progress. Consider 
the following 
examples: 
1. Bowing out of obsequiousness: 
Some people bow 
just because everyone else does. 
Usually they 
bow reluctantly. They have no 
attitude of respect 
in their mind. Therefore, all they 
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get for their efforts 
is a stiff feeling in their muscles. 
2. Bowing out of peer pressure: 
Some people only 
show respect in order to please the 
person they 
pay respect to, so that they can ask 
favours from 
that person, often for things which 
are not entirely 
honest or noble. 
3. Bowing in search of wisdom: 
This refers to those 
who have an attitude of respect and 
who also 
54 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
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express their respect with the 
determination to 
practice themselves all the virtues 
exemplified 
by the object of their respect. An 
example of the 
sort of attitude in mind of someone 
who benefits 
from expressing respect is —
supposing we 
bow three times to express respect 
towards the 
Buddha: 
I. When we bow the first time: to 
reflect on the 
supreme wisdom of the Buddha 
which allowed 
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him to see the existence of 
suffering, know the 
origin and the cessation of 
suffering and find 
a Path to the Cessation of 
Suffering — wisdom 
arising from the Buddha's 
extended 
meditation mind until his mind had 
become 
sufficiently clear and bright to 
eradicate all defilements 
of the mind. Following his 
example, 
we should also determinedly 
meditate 
until we can achieve the same 
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wisdom as that 
of the Buddha. 
2. When we bow the second time: 
to reflect on 
the supreme compassion of the 
Lord Buddha 
that instead of just keeping his 
wisdom to 
himself, he spent all his life 
teaching Dhamma 
to others so that they could become 
enlightened 
in his footsteps. Following his 
example, 
we should also find ways of being 
generous 
as a way of expressing our 
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compassion to others. 
3. When we bow the third time: to 
reflect on the 
supreme purity of the body, speech 
and mind 
of the Lord Buddha cultivated 
through his extended 
practice of self-discipline. 
Following 
his example, we should also find 
ways of finding 
better ways to extend our own 
self-discipline 
so that we too can attain full purity 
of 
mind. 
B.5 Two sorts of Respect 
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However, all four of these can be 
summarized under 
just two headings, that is: 
I. Homage through gifts: 
[AmisapEjA]: this refers 
to all material forms of paying 
homage —
whether it be putting your palms 
together in a 
gesture of respect or even speaking 
words of 
praise about a person. 
2. Homage through practice: 
[paEipatipEjA] this 
means paying homage by doing as 
one is taught 
— for example, we pay respect to 
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the Lord Buddha 
by doing as he taught. 
Thus, in practice, expressing 
respect has two major 
components. 
B.5.1 Relative importance 
When we pay respect to the Lord 
Buddha, we 
should emphasise homage through 
practice, while 
homage through gifts should play 
only a supporting 
role. As for paying respect to 
teachers who are 
still concerned with worldly 
matters (ie. king, parents, 
teachers, elders and boss, we have 
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to emphasise 
homage through gifts) while 
homage though 
practice plays only a supporting 
role. 
To give an example, if we are to 
meet up with our 
teacher and when we meet up with 
them all we 
have for them is the words,"I have 
put into practice 
everything you have taught me". 
This would 
hardly impress the teacher. It 
would have been appropriate 
to have some sort of gift to give 
the teacher 
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as well. 
Others go abroad and on the way 
back thinkof 
their teacher. They don't know 
what to get as a 
present for the teacher and so they 
get a bottle of 
liquor. In the end the result is that 
the teacher and 
the pupil sit down and drink liquor 
together. The 
more they drink, the more irritated 
they feel and 
end up fighting one another. When 
it gets to this 
point, that gift can hardly be 
counted as a token of 
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respect any more. It is an 
unwelcome gift resulting 
from false view. 
C. PERSONAGES WORTHY 
OF RESPECT 
The person worthy of respect, in 
its simplest terms 
is the wise one (as defined in the 
previous Blessing). 
The wise one in this context is 
someone whose status 
or position or level of existence is 
so high that it 
would be completely inappropriate 
for us to associate 
with them on equal terms or as 
peers. Examples 
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of such people include: 
C.1 Buddha 
The Lord Buddha (who is truly 
wise), 
Blessing Three: Expressing 
Respect to Those Worthy of 
Respect 55 
C.1.1 Three worthy qualities of 
the Buddha 
For example, why we consider the 
Lord Buddha to 
be worthy of respect, and we find 
that it is because: 
1. His wisdom is so great that he 
could singlehandedly 
attain enlightenment. 
2. His Compassion is so great that 
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He sacrificed the 
rest of his life to teach the way for 
others to reach 
enlightenment as he had done. 
3. His body, speech and mind were 
so pure (because 
of the immaculateness with which 
he had 
kept the Precepts) that no one else 
in the world 
can compare 
and for that reason 
we hold him 
in the highest of respect. 
To begin with we might not be 
able to appreciate 
the degree of his virtue, but after 
paying respect 
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more and more, it makes our own 
mind more refined, 
gives us the ability to consider 
things in a 
constructive way and in the end, 
opening to us the 
innate wisdom that will allow us to 
appreciate that 
virtue. In any place, there are many 
things that are 
worthy of respect and many more 
things that are 
not worthy of respect. Thus, when 
deciding about 
the type of people who are worthy 
of respect, the 
subject of this Blessing, it is 
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important to be able to 
distinguish one thing from the 
other. 
C.2 The monastic community and 
other clergy 
The monastic community [Salgha] 
(who can be 
divided into those who are devoid 
of all defilement 
[ariyasaIgha] such as the arahants, 
the 
non-returners [anagAmi], the 
once-returners 
[sakatagAmi] and the 
stream-enterers 
[sotApana]; and the general 
monastic community 
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who are striving to train 
themselves towards 
an end of all defilements 
[sammutisaigha]. 
Although the latter may not yet 
have 
purged themselves of all 
defilements, they are 
abundant in virtue to a degree that 
it is 
innappropriate to associate with 
them as if they 
were our equals. If we associate 
with them, we 
should treat them as our superiors 
— i.e. with 
respect - 
at all times. Monks or 
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clergy worthy 
of respect are those who 
exemplify, teach and 
discern virtue for us by fulfilling 
the following 
six duties: 
1. restrain their congregation 
from evil; 
2. encourage them to establish 
themselves in virtue: 
these two responsibilities are also 
the domain 
of parents and teachers; 
3. minister to them in kindness: 
this means spreading 
loving-kindness towards the 
congregation 
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without exception for their 
happiness. They 
might also visit their supporters, 
together with 
their monastic fellows, in order to 
give those congregation 
members the chance to hear 
Dhamma 
teachings and have the opportunity 
to practice 
to practice generosity; 
4. teach them new or beneficial 
things: One of the 
most important functions of the 
clergy is to encourage 
study of the spiritual teachings 
amongst 
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their congregation. Monks should 
have a large 
repertoire of teachings to give to 
the congregation, 
teaching without repeating 
themselves, so 
that the congregation can have a 
broad knowledge 
of Dhamma knowledge, 
reinforcing their 
Right View and ability to be a 
teacher to themselves 
[yonisomanasikAra] in relation to 
finding 
the highest happiness in their lives; 
5. clarify things they already 
know: if monks give 
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