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gored to death by a cow on the 
way and regretted 
not having reached her goal or else 
the golden colour 
of her raiment and the mansion 
would surely 
have been even more striking than 
this! 
On hearing this, Indra 
exclaimed,"Paying respect 
to the Lord Buddha with a mind of 
faith, even 
though He has already entered 
parinibbAna in no 
way lessens the fruits of good 
karma. Whether the 
Lord Buddha is alive or passed 
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away gives fruits 
of merits equally." 
For this reason, even though we 
have been born 
in a time after the Lord Buddha 
has already passed 
64 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
away, it should in no way lessen 
our diligence in 
paying respect to the Lord Buddha. 
PEtavimAnavatthu, Vv.iv.9, 
VvA.200ff. 
F.5 Ex. ParicapApA pays homage 
with resentment 
There is one more illustratory 
example — that of 
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ParicapApA. This name means 
`five types of evil' and 
is the name give to this particular 
woman by her father. 
The reason for such an 
inauspicious name was 
that the child was born defective 
with knarled hands, 
lame feet, a squint mouth, squint 
eyes and a crooked 
nose. None of her bodily organs 
were in symettry. 
Her hands went one way and her 
feet went another. 
Although the child was repulsively 
ugly, she had one 
attractive point 
her skin was 
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soft like that of an 
angel. Because of her one good 
point, ParicapApA 
was to become the queen of the 
country late life. 
When she was in the royal palace 
as one of the royal 
consorts, her skin was so soft that 
the king forgot all 
the other women the palace. The 
other consorts were 
so jealous that they framed her so 
that the king had 
to float her away on a raft 
downstream. But as soon 
as she reached the next kingdom, 
all it took was one 
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touch for the king there to take her 
as his queen. Everybody 
was so astonished that a woman so 
physically 
deformed could come to be the 
queen of two 
kingdoms that someone asked the 
Lord Buddha how 
this could come to be. 
The Lord Buddha looked back at 
her previous lifetimes 
and discovered that the woman had 
made 
an offering to a paccekabuddha 
but the offering was 
made out of anger. On that day, the 
woman was 
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shoring up the wall of her house 
with mud. A 
paccekabuddha also needed mud 
to build his kuti and 
seeing that the woman had more 
than enough mud 
came bowl in hand to ask for some 
of the mud. The 
woman was reluctant to give away 
any of her mud, 
but gave the paccekabuddha some 
anyway. Out of 
anger, she threw a clod of mud into 
the 
paccekabuddha's bowl. At the 
time she was scowling, 
with her eyebrows knitted 
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together, her feet 
stamping the ground and shaking a 
fist at the 
paccekabuddha. The result of her 
reluctant gooddeed 
in future rebirths was that her 
stamping feet were 
lame, the hand which threw the 
mud was knarled 
and her scowling face was 
deformed beyond recognition. 
The good part of her deed, the 
generosity, 
still gave its fruit — because the 
mud which built 
the kuti which helped shelter the 
paccekabuddha from 
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the rain gave her angelic 
complexion. But this could 
not diminish the bad part of the 
deed that was not 
being polite to those worthy of 
respect. 
J.v.440ff., KuAala JAtaka (J.536) 
Thus in conclusion, not paying 
respect to those worthy 
of respect, or not having faith in 
those who ought 
to inspire faith clouds the mind and 
the extension of 
this ultimately to become a fool. 
Blessing One: Not Associating 
with Fools 65 
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The Second 
Group of Blessings 
"Turning towards 
wholesomeness" 
It is rare to find a system of 
spiritual wisdom that has 
environmental 
considerations built into its 
metaphysics. The possible 
exception is the Chinese "Feng 
Shui" system which probably 
has its 
roots in Buddhism anyway. In 
science by contrast, there is 
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always a 
great debate in developmental 
biology about the relative 
influence 
of the genetic component and 
the formative experience — the 
socalled 
`nature v. nurture' debate. For 
science, of course it is mostly 
considerations of the 
development of physical 
features like a colour, 
or a size which might have an 
influence in the `survival of the 
fittest', but for spiritual wisdom, 
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we are more interested in the 
development 
of spiritual maturity. However, 
no less than with science 
the Blessings of Life recognize 
that there is influence both by 
our internal dispositions 
(nature) and our environmental 
influences 
(nurture). The fourth blessing 
on "amenable location" is the 
first 
blessing of the second grouping 
of blessings which deals with 
"turning 
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towards wholesome discretion". 
If we have practised the first 
three blessings successfully, we 
will already have" turned our 
back 
on negative discretion". In this 
set of three blessings, the first 
(Blessing 
Four) deals with "nurture" 
influences of the environment 
on 
the development of our 
discretion. The second 
(Blessing Five) deals 
with the "nature" influences on 
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the development of our 
discretion 
and the sixth deals with having 
a clear aim or purpose in one's 
life. 
All three together are necessary 
if we want to set ourselves on 
the 
path of development of spiritual 
maturity. Thus, in Buddhism, it 
iS 
acknowledged that the 
environment must be good if 
people are to 
become good. If the 
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Dhamma Teachings 
Unextreme Climate, 
not too rugged, 
accessible 
from other countries 
Self-sufficient in 
food 
Righteous monarch 
or government, 
population 
honest, no terrorists 
or anarchists 
who threaten solidarity 
Just law and customs 
Ease of earning an 
honest living, good 
social infrastructure, 
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no infectious 
diseases. 
Supply of good all 
year round 
Lack of criminals, 
outlaws and mafia 
Good educational 
system in worldly 
and spiritual matters 
Good water & 
electricity supplies, 
good roads, 
no traffic jams, 
good communications, 
no natural 
disasters 
Proximity of market 
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Access to doctors, 
patrons/benefactors, 
wise men, no 
dens of vice 
nearby 
Monks pass on 
almsround, temples 
and schools in 
area 
Well planned house, 
sufficient spaces, 
good ventilation, 
trees for shade, parks 
nearby, no disturbance 
from noise 
A cottage garden, a 
good cook in the 
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house 
Heads of the household 
must be virtuous 
and not engage 
in roads to ruin 
Atmosphere of 
learning and teaching 
Dhamma in the 
home, having at least 
one communal meal 
daily 
TABLE 4.1 
AMENABLE LOCATION ON 
DIFFERENT LEVELS OF 
DESCRIPTION 
Blessing Four: Living in an 
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Amenable Location 67 
A. INTRODUCTION 
A.1 Amenability of Location in 
general 
Generally speaking, an appropriate 
or amenable 
location is one which facilitates 
success in what we 
set out to do. If we are a fisherman 
then it might be 
a place on the coast closest to the 
fish breeding 
grounds. If we are in business then 
it might be a 
place with all the hustle and bustle 
of the crowds 
where our business will prosper. 
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And what if we 
are monks? Monks need a place 
with special characteristics 
— a place that is both peaceful and 
quiet 
but not too far from the 
homesteads of the village. 
For soldiers, an amenable location 
is a strategic one. 
In conclusion, each and every 
profession and activity 
has its own appropriate location 
for facilitating 
success. The word `location' can 
equally well 
be applied to the microcosm the 
setting of a particular 
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