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vulnerability to misfortune, lack of 
attainment, 
disappointment in the things we 
wish 
for. 
4. Level of Society: Beyond the 
level of lifestyle, 
accumulated collective results of 
the unwholesomeness 
of many people together will give 
rise to: Sorrow, disharmony, 
injustice, aggression, 
lack of progress, hardship at the 
social 
and family levels 
C.3 Purifying oneself from 
unwholesomeness 
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In Buddhism unwholesomeness 
arises as the residue 
of our own unwholesome deeds. 
Unwholesomeness 
which we have accrued for 
ourselves will 
stay with us until it gives its 
retribution. To do good 
deeds does not even out the bad 
ones we have done 
— they are like two separate bank 
accounts. However, 
if we would like to reduce the 
effect of unwholesomeness 
you have accrued for yourself in 
the past is to do as many good 
deeds as you can, 
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thereby to dilute the relative 
amount of unwholesomeness 
in your karmic history (as already 
mentioned 
in Blessing 16, §A.1, A.2). 
D. ABSTAINING FROM 
UNWHOLE-SOMENESS 
D.1 Definitions 
This blessing uses two words to 
describe the way 
in which unwholesomeness can be 
eradicated from 
the mind. Arati' means giving up 
any unwholesome 
habits which we have picked up in 
the past 
— i.e. eradication.' Virati' means 
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not picking up any 
further types of unwholesome 
habit — i.e. by avoidance. 
D.2 Strategies for abstinence 
The way we practice eradication 
and avoidance of 
unwholesomeness depends on the 
exact type of 
unwholesomeness. Even medicine 
needs to be separated 
into different classes such as 
internal, external, 
vitamins etc. for convenience in 
using them to 
cure illnesses. In the same way if 
we understand 
the different sorts of 
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unwholesomeness, we will be 
thorough in our giving up and 
avoidance of unwholesomeness 
behaviours and practice will be 
more convenient for us. 
Unwholesomeness is categorized 
according to its refinement and the 
appropriate 
way to avoid such 
unwholesomeness depends 
on their refinement. 
D.2.1 Gross unwholesomeness 
Gross unwholesomeness includes 
physical and verbal 
misdeed such as killing, stealing, 
committing 
adultery and lying. No-one stops 
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doing evil by accident. 
One has to start with the intention 
to avoid 
evil. It is like the person who 
wants to give up smoking 
has to start with the intention to 
give up smoking 
first of all. The intention to avoid 
evil is called 
"virati" in the Pali or "veramaAE" 
which you will 
recognize from the requesting of 
the Precepts. In 
fact there are three ways in which 
people avail 
themselves of the intention to 
avoid evil (DA.i.305, 
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KhA.142). 
I. Situational avoidance 
[sampattavirati]: This 
means avoidance of evil on a 
situational basis. 
There is no public declaration that 
a person 
will avoid evil in advance 
he 
decides 
on the spur of the moment when 
confronted 
with the situation. If you see a fish 
washed 
up on the beach and you decide on 
the spur 
of the moment to throw it back 
into the water 
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out of compassion, rather than 
killing it — this 
is the sort of avoidance which we 
call 
sampattavirati. Perhaps you would 
turn in a 
lost wallet with all of the money 
instead of 
keeping it for yourself, for fear of 
being acBlessing 
Nineteen: Abstaining from 
Unwholesomeness 229 
cused of stealing. Such avoidance 
of evil occurs 
as the result of the important 
ability to 
teach oneself i.e. the fear and 
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shame of evil or 
the consequences of evil 
[hiri-ottappa]. 
2. Planned Avoidance 
[samAdAnavirati]: This 
means avoidance of evil by 
formally requesting 
the giving of the precepts by a 
monk. Some 
people simply make a vow to keep 
the Precepts 
each day in front of the shrine. 
Even if 
someone were to give you a bottle 
of beer, not 
because you are ashamed to do so, 
but because 
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you have taken the Five Precepts 
that day, you 
will turn down the offer for fear of 
breaking 
your vow. 
3. Transcendental Avoidance 
[samucchedavirati]: 
This is absolute avoidance of evil 
of 
the type achieved by those who 
have attained 
the stages of Buddhist sainthood. 
Their mind 
is on such a high level, that even 
the intention 
to do the evil doesn't enter into the 
mind, let 
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alone the outcomes of evil thought 
like speech 
or action. 
Although there are different ways 
of abstaining 
from unwholesomeness, in 
practice, keeping the 
Precepts is the most workable. The 
Precepts are the 
means by which gross 
unwholesomeness can be 
avoided. Thus we use the Five 
Precepts, the Eight 
Precepts, the Ten Precepts and the 
227 Precepts. 
D.2.2 Medium unwholesomeness 
Unwholesomeness at the medium 
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level is anything 
that causes the mind to wander 
away from the centre 
of the body. The further the mind 
wanders from 
the centre of the body, the more 
damaging will be 
the things which the mind will 
think about — and 
the amount of unwholesomeness 
will increase in 
proportion.This is the reason why 
we must practice 
meditation as the way to bring the 
mind back 
from all those negative thoughts to 
the centre of 
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the body. 
Supposing you are walking along 
and stub your 
toe on a step. When you are angry, 
your mind will 
go to the step. If you can bring the 
mind back to the 
centre of the body again, then the 
anger disappears. 
Even if you are not able to bring 
the mind back immediately, 
the sooner you can bring the mind 
back 
the sooner will you recover from 
the anger. If you 
are slow in bringing your mind 
back, before long 
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your thoughts will elaborate onto 
who to blame and 
how to get your revenge. 
The same principles apply to 
greed. Whenever 
you see something as beautiful, it 
will cause your 
mind to be pulled away from the 
centre of the body 
to be with the beautiful thing. If 
your mind is away 
from the centre of the body for 
long enough, the 
thoughts that follow on will be 
thoughts of envy 
and how to obtain the thing for 
yourself, even if it 
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is by dishonest means. If you see 
something as beautiful, 
if you want to maintain your 
quality of mind, 
then you should quickly bring your 
mind back to 
the centre of your body, repeat the 
mantra SammA-
ArahaO to yourself and be quickly 
on your way. 
Therefore, when we talk about 
unwholesomeness 
at this level, we mean the 
distancing of the mind 
from the centre of the body andthe 
associated negative 
thoughts. These negative ways of 
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thinking can 
be categorizedas five sorts of 
mental hindrance 
[nivaraAa]. Most people overlook 
the damage of 
them. In fact they seriously impede 
your opportunity 
to do good deeds 
1. Sense-desire [kAmachanda]: 
2. Illwill [byApAda]: 
3. Sloth and Torpor 
[thEnamiddha]: 
4. Absent-mindedness 
[uddhacca-kukkucca] 
5. Doubt [vicikicchA]: 
Hindrances can be overcome by 
the practice of 
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meditation until one-pointedness 
[ekaggatA] of 
mind can be achieved. Some days 
we meditate well. 
Other days we have to compete 
with many obstacles. 
All this is part of the fight against 
impurities 
in the mind. Thus don't think that 
if your meditation 
still seems to have many obstacles 
it is of no 
merit. In fact it is a fight against 
the unwholesome 
in the mind. One day in the future 
you achieve total 
victory. 
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D.2.3 Subtle unwholesomeness 
Subtle unwholesomeness is yet 
harder to observe. 
These fetters [anusaya] (D.iii.254, 
A.iv.8, Vbh.383) 
are like habits that stop us 
achieving the path to 
Nirvana: 
230 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
1. Sensual grasping [kAmarAga]: 
2. Irritability [paEigha] 
3. Wrong View [diEEhi] 
4. Doubt [vicikicchA]: 
5. Looking down on others [mAna] 
6. Grasping for existence 
[bhAvarAga] 
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7. Ignorance [avijjA] 
You have to overcome such 
defilements by attaining 
the DhammakAya and using the 
DhammakAya 
for insight meditation to uproot 
them. 
D.3 Developing Conscience as 
Protection from 
Unwholesome Behaviour 
Sometimes we know that our 
behaviour is unwholesome, 
but we carry on doing it 
nonetheless. 
In order to strengthen one's 
conscience, the Buddha 
recommended the cultivation of 
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two additional 
virtues — that of being ashamed of 
unwholesomeness 
[hiri] and fear of the consequences 
of unwholesomeness 
[ottappa]. Shame of 
unwholesomeness 
can be developed by recollecting: 
I. Your own human status. You 
have to think 
that you are a human being and not 
a savage 
— having attained such a noble 
birth how can 
we stoop to killing, stealing or 
adultery? 
2. Your own family. You have to 
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