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yourself to be 
moody by nature, then try to 
improve your character 
as soon as you can — try doing the 
chanting 
and meditation before you go to 
bed each day. 
If you are angry with anybody in 
particular, try 
to find a way to forgive them and 
spread lovingBlessing 
Five: Having Done Good Deeds in 
One's Past 85 
kindness towards them. If you are 
angry with 
anybody, don't let the anger last 
overnight. It's 
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bad enough to be angry all day 
don't let it last 
to the next morning. 
D.3.1.5 Power: Powerful versus 
powerless 
Some people are born to rule. 
Wherever they go 
others treat them with the utmost 
respect because 
in the past they have always been 
quick to express 
their congratulations [muditA] 
whenever 
they have seen anyone else 
achieving success 
andgiven them their support. As 
for those who 
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are born powerless and cowering, 
the real reason 
for this is because of their jealous 
habits in previous 
lifetimes. Even if they are born 
king, they will 
be king of a mere vassal state or if 
they are born 
queen, they will be no more than a 
secondary 
consort. If you have the luck to 
receive a gift it 
will be second hand! 
D.3.1.6 Riches: Rich versus poor 
Some are born with a silver spoon 
in their mouth. 
Some are born into a wealthy 
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family. Others families 
are poor but start to prosper as 
soon as they 
are conceived so that by the time 
they are born, 
their family is already rich. Others' 
families are 
poor but they start to prosper as 
soon as the baby 
is born. Such occurrences can only 
happen to 
someone who has been generous in 
his previous 
lifetimes. Whatever one chooses to 
do, it will 
make one rich. By contrast, if one 
has lived by 
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robbery in previous lifetimes then 
this lifetime, 
they will have a begging bowl 
waiting for them. 
D.3.1.7 Social Standing: High v. 
low social standing 
Some people are born with high 
social standing 
— such as being born king or a 
member of the 
royal family or as member of a 
house of high 
standing. By contrast, some are 
born a beggar's 
son. They are on the lowest rung of 
the social ladder. 
The Lord Buddha taught that those 
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who are 
humble and respectful of the 
virtuous will be born 
in a family of high social standing. 
If in this lifetime 
you pay respect of high virtue and 
listen to 
their teachings, you will be born in 
a family of 
high social standing next lifetime 
and others will 
have the chance to pay respect to 
you. The reason 
why some people are born with 
low social 
standing is that they have lacked 
humility and 
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reverence in their dealings with the 
virtuous in 
their previous lifetimes and have 
been stubborn 
and unyielding instead. 
D.3.1.8 Intelligence: Intelligent 
v.s ignorant 
Some people are born clever. As 
soon as they have 
the chance to study, all it takes is a 
single lesson 
and they are able to stand up and 
teach in the 
teacher's place. For others, the 
teacher teaches 
them the same thing two or three 
times and still 
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they can make no sense of it. They 
have to rely 
on their friends to explain it to 
them outside lesson 
time. Even after so much trouble, 
they have 
only a superficial grasp of what 
they have learned. 
They will have to read through the 
lesson another 
ten times if they are to understand 
it as well as 
their peers. 
D.4 Level of Society 
This is the next level at which 
merit takes its effect. 
The result of having done only 
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good deeds all our 
life together with the good deeds 
or merit accumulated 
over course of a long time will 
certainly bring 
peace, happiness, harmony, justice, 
progress and 
prosperity to themselves and the 
people around 
them. This happens especially as 
the result of the 
collective merit accrued by the 
majority of people 
in society. Merit takes its effect 
instantly at the level 
of the mind (if we are observant 
enough to notice 
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it), however the time the effects 
take to filter successively 
though to the levels of personality, 
lifestyle 
and society take proportionally 
longer. 
E. CONSIDERATIONS 
El. Speed of Merit Taking Effect 
All we have talked about are 
basically the principal 
forces. In fact, as with the 
dynamics of the karma 
which we studied in the previous 
lesson, all are to 
some extent modified by 
supplementary factors or 
concomitants, especially with 
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reference to the speed 
with which they give their fruits. 
The degree to 
which meritorious deeds will give 
their benefits in 
our lifestyle depends on four 
factors which wecall 
the Four Accomplishments or 
Catalysts [samapatti]. 
86 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
The Accomplishments are the 
factors favourable 
to the ripening of good karma just 
like catalysts 
which facilitate a chemical 
reaction — there are four 
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of these in all: 
1. Catalytic Circumstances 
[gatisampatti] and 
means that you are born in 
favourable circumstances 
or amenable surroundings in terms 
of a 
place to live, a birthplace or a 
neighbourhood 
which will affect us for the better. 
To give an example 
suppose you are born as someone 
who is 
not particularly clever, but 
fortunately for you, 
you are born amidst catalytic 
circumstances - 
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born in a prospering community 
with a good 
standard of education available to 
everyone. 
Thus with the application of a little 
effort in your 
studies, you can make up for your 
lack of innate 
cleverness with cleverness learned 
from your 
surroundings — the clear result of 
the catalytic 
circumstances.Those in possession 
of such 
circumstancses make it easier for 
themselves to 
further their good deeds during 
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their life — and 
this is one way by which merit is 
self-catalytic. 
2. Catalytic Gift of Wellbeing 
[upadhisampatti] 
These refer to the characteristics of 
one's physical 
and personal makeup that facilitate 
the arising 
of good karma. Examples of such 
"gifts" 
might be a golden voice which 
makes everybody 
want to listen to what you have to 
say (no matter 
whether it be good or bad!), a good 
singing 
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voice (that sounds good even if 
you cry!), a beautiful 
or handsome physique (which can 
make 
you Miss Universe without having 
to do anything 
more than be born and grow up!) 
Someone 
who is gifted in this way, but who 
instead of 
sitting on his laurels, continues to 
do good deeds 
all his life will find that good 
deeds give their 
results instantly, before their very 
eyes. 
3. Catalytic Timing 
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[kAlasampatti] To be at the 
right place at the right time in the 
same way that 
we talked about the era of a world 
cycle when 
people are born. In an era where 
people value 
virtue manifest themselves right 
from the time 
you are born. You will associate 
with the wise 
right from your childhood. You 
need never come 
under the influence of fools. 
Throughout your 
life, no matter whether you are 
generous, keep 
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the Precepts, meditate or do 
chanting, you will 
hear only words of encouragement 
from the people 
around you, making it easy for us 
to excel at 
any of these practices. Thus the 
results of one's 
meritorious action will be much 
quicker to see. 
4. Catalytic Discretion 
[payogasampatti]. To be 
born with good discretion and 
more importantly, 
the moral fibre to keep to one's 
principles and 
apply one's discretion to one's 
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lifestyle will facilitate 
the ripening of good karma. This 
catalyst 
is centred on the ability to teach 
yourself to 
improve in all aspects will make 
you a born 
leader never having to wait for 
others to persuade 
you or force you to do beneficial 
things. 
Besides being able to discriminate 
between right 
and wrong, good and bad you will 
be able to 
put your ethics into practice. Such 
a personal 
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endowment will quicken the speed 
with which 
you see the fruits of your 
meritorious actions at 
the level of the lifestyle. 
In conclusion, performing merits 
will give the fruition 
of good deeds instantly at the level 
of the mind 
and the personality. There is no 
need to waitfor the 
afterlife for these things. However, 
at the level of 
the lifestyle, you may have to wait 
much longer if 
you have accrued only a small 
amount of merit in 
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your past. However, for those who 
have a lot of 
merit in their past lives, they will 
see the fruition of 
merits very quickly in the present 
lifetime. Thus 
those who are still skeptical about 
whether doing 
good deeds will really bring 
benefits to us at the 
level of our lifestyle, should study 
the mechanism 
of catalysts and inhibitors to the 
fruition of good 
karma as outlined in this section. 
E2. Why is care needed in the 
study of merit? 
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