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their own in honour 
of the Lord Buddha. 
Through Sumana's faith together 
with the power 
of the perfections of the Lord 
Buddha, the jasmine 
flowers sent their scent throughout 
the whole of 
the city. The scent followed the 
Lord Buddha wherever 
he went and this attracted everyone 
out of their 
houses to see the sight of the Lord 
Buddha. 
62 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
Many of the householders had seen 
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the Lord Buddha 
before, but they had never been 
inspired by 
Him. But that day the sight of the 
Lord Buddha was 
so impressive that many of the 
householders were 
inspired to faith. Those who were 
only slightly faithful 
put their hands together in a 
gesture of prayer. 
Those who were more inspired 
raised their hands 
in a gesture of prayer and offered 
words in praise 
of the Lord Buddha. Those whose 
faith was even 
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greater prepared food to offer into 
the Buddha's 
bowl and followed him around to 
see what would 
happen to the flowers. 
The Buddha's almsround took him 
all over the 
city and eventually brought Him to 
the front of the 
palace. The king heard the news 
and came to give 
alms himself. Then the king 
invited the Buddha to 
take his breakfast in the palace. 
As the Buddha was taking his 
meal, the ceiling 
of flowers remained above Him 
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while the Buddha 
gave His blessing and until he 
returned to 
Jetavana Temple. As He entered 
the temple the 
flowers fell down in a pile at the 
temple gate. This 
only added to the faith of the 
followers and even 
Sumana thought,"If the king is to 
execute me for 
failing in my duty, it has certainly 
been worth it!" 
By contrast, Sumana's wife 
thought the opposite. 
She wondered how her husband 
could have been 
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so incredibly stupid. If he had 
given the flowers to 
the king at least he would have got 
money in return. 
By giving the flowers to the 
Buddha, he got 
no money in return. All he got was 
faith and how 
was that going to feed his hungry 
children? And if 
the king were disatisfied about not 
getting his flowers 
and decides to execute Sumana 
and decide to 
execute his wife and children too, 
they'd all suffer 
because of his stupidity. And if the 
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king seized 
Sumana's belongings, he would 
just take Sumana's 
possessions — he would take the 
possessions of 
everybody in the household. She 
didn't want that 
to happen. The wife went straight 
to the king and 
disowned all responsibility for her 
husband's actions. 
She demanded divorce from her 
husband 
there and then, and swore before 
the king that if 
her husband was to suffer for his 
actions let him 
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suffer alone. The king asked her if 
she was sure of 
what she was doing. The wife 
asserted that she was 
quite sure of her actions. 
Instead of being angry with 
Sumana, the king felt 
intrigued and inspired by the 
flower-man's example 
and decided to give Sumana a 
prize for his virtues. 
In the end Sumana received the 
prize alone 
because his former wife had 
already disowned him. 
When the story reached the ears of 
the Lord Buddha, 
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the Venerable/nanda asked the 
Lord Buddha 
about the fruits of Sumana's faith 
on that occasion. 
The Lord Buddha taught that with 
a strength 
of faith that someone is prepared to 
lay down his 
life, such as that of Sumana, faith 
is very deeply 
rooted in someone's mind, making 
the mind of 
Sumana very radiant and that for at 
least a hundred-
thousand aeons [kappa]. However 
many 
rebirths Sumana took, he would be 
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born in only 
the human and the heaven realms. 
He would never 
be born in the neither realms of 
hell, animals, hungry-
ghosts or asEras. After the 
appropriate length 
of time, Sumana would become 
enlightened as a 
paccekabuddha. 
Thus from the power of faith in the 
Buddha,the 
resulting brightness and clarity of 
mind will stay 
with one throughout the course of 
many lifetimes. 
One's discretion will be 
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impeccable and because 
one's judgement is sound, one will 
be a wise one in 
every lifetime. This is the fruit of 
paying respect to 
those worthy of respect —
radiance of mind, which 
ultimately will lead to Right View 
in every lifetime. 
DhA.ii.40ff. 
F.3 Ex. SudhApiAIaya helps build 
pagoda 
Another illustratory tale is that of 
Ven. SudApiAliya 
Thera. When he became 
enlightened as an arahant 
he recollected his previous lives to 
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see how he had 
come to attain arahantship and 
meditating to recollect 
his previous lives he discovered 
that he had 
made an offering of only a handful 
of lime. 
SudApiAliya Thera was born in 
the era of one of 
the previous Buddhas, at the time 
when that Buddha 
had already entered Parinirvana. 
The people 
of the country were building a 
cetiya in which to 
inter the relics of that Buddha. 
SudApiAliya Thera 
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was a man of faith despite his 
poverty, he thought, 
Blessing Three: Expressing 
Respect to Those Worthy of 
Respect 63 
"I have relied on the Teachings 
and virtue of the 
Lord Buddha all along. Now that 
the people are all 
building a cetiya as a memorial to 
the generations 
of the future to take the same 
opportunity as the 
Lord Buddha to do good deeds all 
their life. It is 
only fitting that I should make 
some contribution 
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to the building of the cetiya on this 
occasion." 
With this thought in mind, 
SudApiAIiyaThera felt 
strong faith in the Buddha and 
wanted to take a 
part in paying homage to the Lord 
Buddha along 
with the other people. As a pauper, 
he had no possessions 
to give as an offering. He went and 
bought 
a handful of lime and took this 
lime as his contribution 
to the building of the cetiya. But 
on this occasion, 
although the contribution was 
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small, but his 
faith profound. 
The fruit of SudApiAliya Thera's 
faith made his 
mind so radiant that from that 
lifetime onwards to 
his final rebirth, he was born only 
in the human 
and the heaven realms. He never 
descended into 
hell throughout 94 aeons and 
attained arahantship 
in his final lifetime. 
In the opposite respect if we 
cultivate anger or 
vengefulness for 94 aeons this will 
lead us to do no 
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end of hateful acts and the 
resulting extra interest 
of bad karma will ensure that you 
never get born 
in the human realm again. 
Ap.i.133 
F.4 Ex. KosAtakE pays homage at 
pagoda 
Another example is that of 
KosAtakE. Her name 
means `loofah'. There are many 
species of loofah. 
Some can be eaten. Some are 
inedible and have to 
be thrown away. At the time when 
the Lord Buddha 
had already passed away and his 
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disciples were 
organizing a grand cremation, 
King AjAtasattu enshrined 
the relics of the Lord Buddha in a 
cetiya and 
when the ceremony was over, there 
was a festival. 
At that time there was a woman 
who was pitifully 
poor who had had faith in the Lord 
Buddha since 
the time when he was alive. When 
the people of 
the country were holding their 
festival to celebrate 
the completion of the new cetiya, 
this woman 
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wanted to join in the celebration by 
honouring the 
cetiya with flowers.The woman 
wasn't discerning 
enough to buy beautiful flowers 
like the rest of the 
people. She went and collected 
four loofahs from 
the edge of the forest — golden 
yellow in colour. 
These loofahs were priceless 
because no-one 
would pay good money for 
something inedible. She 
took the four such fruits and set off 
in the direction 
of the cetiya with the full intention 
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to offer them in 
homage to the Lord Buddha. 
She was in such a rush that she 
didn't look where 
she was going, so fixed was her 
mind on making 
her offering at the cetiya. In her 
path were a cow 
and calf. The cow saw the 
determination of the 
woman and misunderstood that she 
wanted to 
harm her calf and responded by 
goring the woman 
to death, before she could reach 
the cetiya. Even so, 
even though the woman never 
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reached the cetiya, 
her mind had such a determination 
to accomplish 
her good deed that with the 
collected potential of a 
mind with shame and fear of evil, 
virtue and the 
wisdom to appreciate the good 
deeds of the Lord 
Buddha, meant that as she was 
gored to death she 
was reborn immediately as an 
angel — her clothes 
became immediately refined as 
angelic raiment of 
the same golden colour as the 
loofah and the angelic 
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mansion that arose as the result of 
her merit 
was also the colour of the loofah. 
Indra, the king of heaven saw the 
new arrival in 
heaven and asked what merit she 
had performed 
to cause the arising of a golden 
coloured mansion. 
The angel smiled shyly and replied 
that she had 
done only something very 
insignificant — just taking 
four loofahs to pay respect to the 
cetiya containing 
the relics of the Lord Buddha but 
she had been 
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