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2. Loss of responsibility towards the sense of human 
dignity of others: if teachers or lecturers fail to inspire 
the students by their example of ethical living, students 
will have no feeling of responsibility towards the 
human dignity of others or of society in general. 
Consequently they may: 
1. Profit from natural resources at the expense of 
the environment: if the students are only interested 
in the short-term gains of a particular item of 
knowledge, but fail to consider or be taught about 
the long-term consequences (e.g They may pull up 
trees to facilitate access by profitable farm 
machinery, but in so doing cause erosion of the top 
soil) 
2. Always put the blame on others: This is a very 
basic form of bias often arising as a result of never 
having been praised by their teacher or lecturer. 
Never having seen their teacher praise the good 
points of others, they assume that picking on others' 
faults is normal and they are the only infallible 
person in the world. 
3. Persuades friends to be delinquent: For the con-
venience of keeping company with those of similar 
habits as themselves, disillusioned students persuade 
their friends to participate in various forms of 
delinquent behaviour such as truancy or "doing 
drugs". 
3. Loss of responsibility towards the sense of economic 
fairness: If teachers fail to instil self-discipline in their 
students, the students will have no sense of responsibility 
towards a fair economy, specifically by: 
1. Unwholesome Livelihood: like selling drugs, petty 
theft, telephone prostitution or gambling; 
2. Addiction to the Six 'Roads to Ruin': 
3. Worshipping Money: When money becomes the 
most important thing, it is unlikely that a person will 
have any concern for the state of their family, of the 
nation or the religion. It is like the aphorism often 
heard on the lips of modern youth that "ideals don't 
keep the wolf from the door". 
A.2 Definition: Artfulness in Knowledge 
The word sbahEsEta' in the Pali means literally 'one 
who has heard much'. It refers to being learned by 
having heard much both in spiritual and worldly ways. 
A 'bahtsEta' is someone who is: 
"artful in knowledge" — choosing to study 
only the things appropriate for study — being 
a person learned in those subjects and 
observant — personal qualities that lie at the 
trailhead of the path to wisdom. Such 
knowledge allows one to be independent in 
earning one's living and will be the key which 
unlocks the door to worldly success. 
B. The Nature of Knowledge 
8.1 The Three Levels of Knowledge 
If we want to identify the features of learning that will 
give rise to wisdom we have to distinguish wisdom 
from other sorts of knowledge. All sorts of knowledge 
help to illuminate the mind. When we don't understand 
something it is as if we are left in the dark about that 
thing. When we understand something it is as if light 
has been thrown on that matter. Knowledge in its most 
basic form, like the ability to do arithmetic or knowing 
where to catch the bus sometimes will feel as if it 
creates some illumination in the mind but it is just a 
feeling — because such an ability is restricted to the 
higher sort of knowledge we call "wisdom". In all we 
can differentiate three levels of knowledge: 
I. Theoretical knowledge [sutamaya-paiiiiA] The most 
basic sort of knowledge arises via the five senses, that is 
through the things we see with our eyes, hear with our 
ears, smell with our nose, taste with our tongue or feel 
by our sense of touch. You could call this sort of 
knowledge raw data. Touching fire tells us that it is hot. 
A child might want to know what fire is like. Their 
mother tells them not to touch it because it is hot and 
will burn them. The child will not believe their mother 
so easily. The mother might tell them not to touch it 
twice, but on the third time she will have to give in to 
the child's curiosity and let him touch the flame so that 
the child will know for next time that heat goes together 
with 
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brightness. This sort of knowledge also includes the 
knowledge we receive by listening to information 
and what you can remember from what you have 
heard in lectures and read from textbooks. If you 
have never had the chance to apply the knowledge 
that you have learned then it may still be of limited 
use; 
I. 
Hands-on Knowledge [cintamayapaiiiiA]: The second 
sort of knowledge which is slightly more advanced is 
hands-on knowledge, the knowledge that has been 
the brightness is not yet continuous and is dim 
like a glowworm. Such brightness is not yet 
sufficient to identify defilements, but it is a good 
start; 
2. It allows us to transcend defilements: When 
wisdom arises, it allows us to transcend defilements 
previously active in the mind. Problems which used 
to exist will be overcome once and for all. Evil in the 
mind is uprooted. It allows us to probe deeper into 
problems and cut off problems at their roots. It 
reflected on, tested and applied. However, even if you a 'It/Mows us to overcome our own faults and 
the world's best professor, your knowledge will not 
weaknesses. It allows us to change our bad habits. 
exceed this level. With this sort of knowledge you are 
Such knowledge is able to overcome suffering and to 
like someone stands on the water's edge and sees ripples change our own habits. It allows us to get to the root 
on the surface of the water. From knowledge or 
of problems. Such knowledge can actually kill 
experience they would be able to assume that the ripples negativity in the mind once and for all. Such 
are caused by fish under the surface of the water. 
knowledge no longer comes via the five senses but 
Whether the fish are large or small or whether there are will come instead directly via the mind that is still. It 
shrimps or crabs or shellfish moving under the water, you is not knowledge that comes from thinking. It is 
could probably notice from the size of the ripples. But 
knowledge that arises in the still mind together with 
because you cannot see the fish directly you are able only 
to make an educated guess; 
brightness. It is a sort of knowledge we sometimes 
2. 
Insight [bhAvanAmayapailtiA]: A third and higher sort call wisdom or insight. If we go back to the scenario 
of knowledge is insight into deeper truths or more 
with the man standing on the edge of the water, 
challenging truths. However if we study meditation 
where through conventional knowledge the man 
further we will discover that even finding the solutions tocould do no better than make an educated guess, if 
simple problems in this way is actually causing there to we were to use insight to assess the same situation, it 
be illumination arising in the mind. The characteristics olwould be as if the water was clear and the man could 
wisdom when it arises in the mind: 
see the fish, the crabs, the shrimps or the shellfish 
without having to think about it. 
I. It will give rise to brightness in the mind. Wis-
dom is the light which will chase away the darkness 
of ignorance. This is not just a metaphor for the 
knowledge but when we train ourselves further in 
meditation, we will see that brightness really is the 
operant feature of wisdom. The illumination of the 
more advanced sorts of knowledge is so bright that 
is is like compressing the brightness of a hundred 
suns into a single spot. It is by virtue of such 
brightness that we can identify and uproot the 
defilements usually hidden in the mind. For those 
who are new to meditation, 
The ability to harness the knowledge that arises from 
the still mind is an ability for which you have to train in 
meditation. 
B.2 Contrast between the Learned and the Wise 
There are several important differences between the 
learned who know only the theory of how to do good 
deeds (but may not practice it) and the wise who may 
not know much but use everything they know to boost 
their opportunity to do good deeds. Unfortunately, 
knowledge in the hands of a fool (or even a learned 
person) can be a dangerous thing. If your only 
knowledge is academic knowledge, no matter how 
clever you might be, there is always a 
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risk of making a mess of your life. For example, if you 
have a knowledge of nuclear physics, you can use it for 
peaceful applications as an energy source — on the 
other hand you can use your knowledge to produce 
atomic bombs and the resulting holocaust towards 
human life. Thus ethical considerations need to go hand 
in hand with our academic knowledge, like a guiding 
light to give us clarity as to whether the application of 
our knowledge is good or bad, appropriate or 
inappropriate. 
Those who are interested only in academic learning, no 
matter how clever, rich or powerful they may be, can 
never manage to make themselves endearing or worthy 
of the respect of others and in the end they cannot make 
a success out of their lives. 
C. THE NATURE OF THE STUDENT 
C/ Sense of Responsibility for own Human Dignity 
In order for a student to protect their own sense of 
human dignity, they must refrain from the Four De-
filements of Action: 
I. taking the lives or being cruel to people or ani-
mals; 
2. stealing; 
3. committing adultery or have sexual intercourse 
outside marriage; 
4. telling lies. 
Also concerning a person's responsibility to their own 
sense of human dignity, a person should: 
C.2 Sense of Responsibility for others' Human Dignity 
Bias gives us negative attitudes which may reduce our 
chances of success in study. If we are able to overcome 
these items of unfairness in the mind from the outset 
then the mind will be a much more fertile receptacle for 
knowledge: 
I. Learning based on Desire [chandAgati]: Desire 
doesn't need to be so strong that you are a Casanova. 
Such a person would have no chance of being a good 
student anyway. However, to a lesser degree even 
someone who is excessively fussy about what they do 
and what they wear would be unlikely to succeed in 
their studies. Those who study simply because they 
would like to become famous will find it hard to 
succeed in study. If you sec possessions as an end in 
themselves then we will have no incentive to study. 
2. Learning based on Hatred [dosAgati]: If you want 
to study successfully then you mustn't be someone who 
loses their temper easily. You must be able to accept 
criticism without being scared of appearing foolish. 
Some people are angry only for an instant and then they 
recover quickly. Others are angry and it takes them a 
long time to get over it. They find it hard to forgive. 
Even later on, although they can't remember why they 
were angry with someone, they still feel angry with that 
person. They forget their respect for others. They think 
that they are superior to everyone else. Thus they can 
never learn anything from anyone else. By meditating, 
• 
avoid sentimentality about learning: those who awch people can train themselves to be less impatient. If 
not strong-minded in their pursuit of learning will not manakey also keep a baseline of morality such as avoiding 
to succeed in becoming learned; 
killing animals and insulting then they will find it much 
• 
avoid obsession with appearances: if you want toett§ier to acquire wisdom. 
to be a learned person in the future — you should model 
yourself on the stereotype of academics or monastics who 
emphasise only two things about their dress — modesty and 
cleanliness. 
3. Learning based on Ignorance [mohAgati]: If you 
• 
avoid childishness: those who play around, neverare still acting on your own ignorance instead of giving 
take responsibility for anything and never taking anything things careful consideration before you do them, then 
seriously, will never succeed in becoming learned. 
you will find it hard acquire new knowledge. If your 
old ways of looking at the world are faulty then you 
need to let go of them before you can expect to acquire 
new ones. 
4. Learning based on Fear [bhayAgati]: Some people 
lack confidence in themselves and their own 
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knowledge. They are always afraid of the criticism 
of others. If you are afraid of taking decisions 
yourself, then you will be destined to always be led 
by other people instead of standing on your own 
feet. You will have no creative or original thinking 
of your own. If even you don't trust your own 
knowledge then how can you expect to make anyone 
else confident. 
C.3 Sense of Responsibility for Economic Fairness 
In order for a student to protect society's sense of 
human dignity, they must refrain from the Six Roads to 
Ruin: 
I. Drinking alcohol; 
2. Roaming the streets at unseemly hours; 
3. Frequenting shows; 
4. Gambling; 
5. Association with bad company; 
6. Laziness to work fora living. 
Furthermore a person who is obsessed with personal 
financial gain will find it hard to make progress in their 
studies. A person should not "worship money". Those 
who see that material rewards are more valuable than 
wisdom will never go very far in acquiring wisdom. We 
don't overlook the importance of wealth — but on the 
way that it is best to apply one's wealth — that will be 
the subject of Blessing Fifteen. 
D. THE LEARNING PROCESS 
D.I Coming into contact with someone knowledgeable 
One of the hardest things is to find a teacher who will 
give the necessary encouragement to bring one's 
studies to fruition. The Buddha taught in the 
SilgalovAda Sutta that successful studies are es-
tablished on the base of reciprocal duties that a student 
practices towards his teacher and that a teacher 
practises towards their student (duties collectively 
referred to as duties to the Southern Quarter). If a 
student finds a teacher that they think they can learn 
something from, they should start to learn from them. 
The teacher should practice the following five duties 
towards their pupil, by making sure: 
I. the student is well trained; 
2. that the student is taught in such a way that he 
understands and remembers well what he has learned; 
3. that the student is thoroughly instructed in the lore of 
every art without holding knowledge back; 
4. to give praise to the student which raises his esteem 
amongst his peers; 
5. that the student's security and safety in every quarter 
(i.e. towards parents, wife, children, employees, friends 
and spiritual mentors) is ensured, while pointing out the 
loopholes and weaknesses present in any body of 
knowledge. 
Meanwhile the student should minister to his teacher 
by: 
I. rising to receive them; 
2. by serving them (in things which facilitate the 
teacher's convenience) 
3. by obedience to the teachings or an eagerness to 
learn; 
4. by personal service 
5. by attentively and respectfully learning the arts and 
sciences 
If a student fails to fulfil their duties but the teacher does 
their part, the student is unworthy of the teacher — and it 
will be no surprise if the student can never become "skilled 
in knowledge" — catastrophe will await the student. 
If the teacher fails to fulfil their duties but the pupil 
does their part, then the teacher is unworthy of the 
student — and perhaps the student should look 
elsewhere for a better teacher 
— and catastrophe awaits the teacher. 
If neither the student nor the teacher fulfil their duties, 
catastrophe will await both student and teacher and their 
failing will have negative consequences for society at 
large. 
However, if both student and teacher fulfil their duties 
to one another, both parties will have a bright future and 
their behaviour will have positive consequences for 
society at large. 
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D.2 Finding the opportunity to hear what they teach 
If you are still the sort of person who skips lectures and 
copies the notes later, you are unlikely ever to make a 
success of your career as a student. This applies both to 
the contact with your teacher and reading from the 
textbooks. It means questioning in order to further your 
knowledge.Whatever knowledge you learn, try to divide 
it up into these four aspects and study all four. Only 
then can you say that you have mastered that 
knowledge. Such an assessment of your own knowledge 
will prevent you from slipping into the premature 
overestimation of the amount you know and give you 
the encouragement to keep listening to people of knowl-
edge. 
1. Knowledge in Depth: You need to make sure that 
you understand deeply what you have learned. You 
need to know the roots and origins of everything you 
study (its past). If you are a doctor and you see a patient 
ill with certain symptoms by looking at their face you 
can tell immediately about the prognosis of their illness 
right from ten or twenty years ago. Don't go believing 
things simply because they are traditional or customary 
without understanding the reasons for such belief. 
2. Knowledge in Breadth: You need to have a broad 
knowledge (the present) not only of your own narrow 
specialism but also about all the things that concern 
your everyday life. Even if you study the arts, you still 
need to know the elements of electricity because you 
use electricity in your everyday life from the time you 
get up in the morning to the time you go to bed. If you 
have studied science, you still need to know about the 
arts othenvise you will not understand how to 
communicate emotions, feelings and ideas from one 
person to another in different forms whether it may be 
written or visual. If you don't study then you can be the 
best engineer in the world but if you have no gift for 
communicating with people you will just be digging 
holes for the rest of your life. 
3. Thorough Knowledge: Not only will you know 
your own narrow subject but you will know the 
connections which it has with other issues as if you 
know the influences of that knowledge all the way 
from the mainstream up to the edges. 
4. Long-sighted Knowledge: You need to have a 
long-sighted knowledge. You need to know how things 
will turn out in the future. You need to know how one 
thing leads to another. 
D.3 Listening attentively 
You need to listen to remember — not just sit in the 
lecture picking your fingernails and chatting to your 
friends, with no idea what the lecture was about at the 
end; 
D.4 Memorizing knowledge learned [vAcAsa-paricitta] 
If you make no effort to memorize what you have 
learned, you will never become a person 'who has 
heard much' (A.v.26). Memorization is an implicit part 
of the duty of a monk and it is expectedof monks by the 
lay congregation. If the knowledge stays in the books, it 
is like having money, but having lent it all to someone 
else. If you want it back instantly, even though it is 
yours you cannot get it back instantly. Even though you 
know which textbook you can find a certain piece of 
knowledge in, you will go reaching for the book one 
day and find that worms have eaten just the page you 
needed. 
D.5 Reflecting on knowledge memorized [manasA-
nupekkhitA] You have to digest new knowledge in 
your mind and look for causes and effects Meditating is 
the mostefficient way of 'digesting' new knowledge. 
D.6 Applying knowledge for one's own benefit 
(see Blessing Eight) 
D.7 Applying knowledge for the benefit of oneself and 
others 
(See Blessing Eight) 
E. PRACTICAL TIPS FOR BECOMING LEARNED 
Here are some practical suggestions for budding 
scholars: 
I. Choose only appropriate subjects to study which will 
not have negative implications for the hu 
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man dignity of yourself, others or society at large; 
2. Dedicate yourself— studying your chosen subject 
to the utmost of your ability; 
3. Always be enthusiastic to learn new things; 
4. Study spiritual knowledge hand-in-hand with worldly 
knowledge; 
5. Remember what you have learned so that it is always 
at your immediate disposal 
F. ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES 
F.! Metaphor: Lamp lighting the path for a long 
journey ahead 
Just as illumination is necessary to light the path ahead 
on a long journey, artfulness in knowledge is the 
pioneering virtue leading to prosperity in life. 
F.1 Ex. Buddha advises a brahmin to pay respect to 
Ananda (1196) 
There was once a brahmin who sought the advice of the 
Buddha. He said that it was obvious how one could pay 
respect to the Buddha and the Salgha, because they 
were already a sort of personality. However, the 
Brahmin didn't know how to pay respect to the 
Dhamma which seemed more abstract.The Buddha 
replied that if you want to pay respect to the Dhamma, 
you should pay respect to those who are learned in the 
Dhamma. The Brahmin asked around to find which of 
the monks was the most learned and everyone agreed 
that/nanda was the most learned because more than any 
other monk, he had heard the teachings of the Lord 
Buddha. Thus the Brahmin went to pay respect to 
/panda above the other monks, many of whom had more 
advanced spiritual attainments. 
F.3 Ex. MahAsutasoma JAtaka (1537) 
There was a certain Buddha who while pursuing 
Perfections as the bodhisattva, was born as a king 
called MahAsutasoma. The king was so keen to learn 
new teachings of the Dhamma that he would invite 
anyone who had knowledge of the Dhamma to come 
and teach him in the palace. On one occasion, 
MahAsutasoma was captured by an ogre. The ogre was 
going to put him to death. On just the day the ogre was 
going to collect him, it was also the 
day when he had made an appointment with a 
knowledgable Brahmin Nanda to teach some teachings 
left over from the Kassapa Buddha. In that day and age, 
there were no living teachings to be followed any more. 
There were no monks left any more. Later even if the 
king offered the prize of a heap of gold as tall as the 
person to give the teaching, there would still be no-one 
who had any teaching to give the king. Even if the king 
offered the prize of a heap of diamonds as tall as an 
elephant, still nobody could be found to give a teaching 
to the teacher. However, in the time of king 
MahAsutasoma, the decay of Buddhism was not so 
much that there were no teachings left any more. The 
day when the king was to be captured, someone had 
accepted an invitation to come and give a teaching in the 
palace. On that day, out of respect for the Dhamma, the 
king had first gone to freshen up and change into a new 
set of clothes in preparation for hearing the Dhamma. It 
was as he was washing that he was captured. The king 
made a deal with the ogre that it could do with him as it 
liked, but it should first let him listen to the teaching of 
the Dhamma, because he had already made an 
appointment with the teacher who was coming. The 
king promised the ogre that after hearing the teaching he 
would allow it to take him away for sacrifice. Even 
though the people of that time didn't know about the 
Precepts, they still knew about the importance of 
truthfulness. The king was allowed to return to the 
palace where the Brahmin was waiting. The Brahmin 
didn't even know how to explain the Dhamma, all he 
could do was to read out a piece of the scriptures. The 
Brahmin also had to wash himself before giving the 
teaching. He rinsed his hands with perfume before 
picking up the scriptures. He bowed three times to the 
scriptures and only then did he open up the scriptures in 
the most careful possible way. The subject matter of the 
scriptures were the words of a previous Buddha. The 
Brahmin could read the words and translate them, but he 
didn't know the meaning: 
Associating with the noble ones just once, 
One can be protected by that contact for 
the rest of one's life. 
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However, associating with fools even many 
times, Will fail to protect you for the rest of 
your life. If you associate with the noble 
ones, You should associate with them closely, 
Because anyone who can learn the virtues of 
a noble one, Will know only prosperity and 
never know decay. 
Even a royal chariot that is beautifully 
decorated, Must eventually deteriorate and 
decay, In the same way the body that we 
possess Must eventually decay and die. 
However, the Virtue of the Noble Ones 
Never goes out of date and never decays. It is 
only the Noble Ones together Who can know 
each others' minds. 
The earth and sky are far apart. The two 
sides of the ocean are far apart. But they 
are not so far apart, As the behaviour of the 
nobles and that of fools. 
Before putting the scriptures away, the brahmin bowed to 
them again. Hearing just these teachings, the king was so 
moved that he cried tears of joy. The king asked the 
brahmin, "Usually when you read this scripture to other 
kings, how much do they give you?' 
The brahmin replied, "They give me a hundred for each 
verse." 
"These verses are not a 'hundred a verse' but are a 
'thousand a verse"' said the king, and presented the 
brahmin with five thousand. 
The king remembered the appointment he had made 
with the ogre and thought to himself, "If I were to break 
my promise, it would only make my mind dull and 
guilty and I would certainly have an unfortunate 
afterlife destination — better that I go to my death with 
that ogre while my mind is still radiant from having 
heard the Dhamma." The 
king gave himself up to the ogre. The ogre was sur-
prised that the king didn't show any sign of fearing 
death. It asked the king why he had no fear of death. 
When the king told them the Dhamma he had learned, 
the ogre was so impressed that it asked to take refuge in 
the king as its teacher and had no more thought about 
sacrificing him. 
F.4 Er. Tuccha-PoEhila (The Blank Scripture 
Monk)(DhAiii4l7-21) 
In the time of the Buddha there was an elder monk who 
was so learned in the Dhamma teachings that he had many 
disciples of his own. Many of his disciples had become 
arahants as the result of what he had taught — but he, 
himself, had not achieved anything. He had heard a lot of 
teachings but he had never showed any interest in 
practising for himself all the theory thathe had taught. All 
he had was knowledge — he had no attainments. 
Out of compassion,the Buddha wanted the elder monk to 
realize that he must practice for himself, so he always called 
the elder by the name 'Blank Scripture'. If the elder came to 
see the Buddha, the only thing the Buddha would say to him 
was "'Blank Scripture'— so you're here again?" For other 
disciples the Buddha would ask questions or give 
encouragement, but instead of giving encouragement to this 
elder for having so many students he just said 'Blank 
scripture'. Apart from this he would ignore the elder 
completely until everyone else was taking their leave. Again, 
the only thing the Buddha would say to him was "'Blank 
Scripture' — so it's time for you to go?" 
One day, the elder saw through his feeling of being 
slighted bythe Buddha and thought to himself, "What 
the Buddha says is really true — I really am a `blank 
scripture' — because I know all the scriptures by heart, 
but I have never used any of it in practice for my own 
benefit." He thought to himself,"I have spent all my life 
teaching others, but I have never taught anything to the 
stubbornest person in the world — myself." 
(Sometimes, even though you know what is good and 
what is bad, you still don't make any effort to change 
your behaviour. When the alarm clock rings in the 
morning, instead of getting up, you switch it 
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off and go back to sleep. This is the reason why it is 
necessary to teach yourself regularly). 
Thus the blank scripture elder went to the most senior arahant 
he knew and asked for his help in teaching the practice of 
Buddhism. The arahant, knew what was in the mind the elder 
and knew if he made life too easy for him, he would never 
give up the arrogance he needed to shed in order to learn 
anything. Thus the arahant did not agree to teach him, but sent 
him to a more junior arahant saying, "That monk is still 
young and healthy — he will have the strength to teach you 
what you want to know." 
The 'blank scripture' elder went to the younger arahant, 
but the younger arahant knew the character of the elder 
again. He knew with his seniority, the elder would not 
pay much attention to anything taught to him by 
someone half his age. Thus the young arahant sent the 
elder to study with a novice who was an arahant. The 
elder was tempted to give up his search for knowledge 
because of the humiliation of having to be taught by a 
young novice! However, the warning of the Buddha 
still rang in his ear and he gritted his teeth and went to 
see the novice. 
The novice knew the arrogant character of the elder so 
he told him that to get a good result from the teaching, 
the elder must be up to his neck in river water to get 
any benefit. The elder thought, "I am really at my last 
resort — if I don't do as this 
novice tells me, I will maybe never have the chance to 
learn any more."When the elder was up to his waist in 
water, he had completely given up his dignity and 
hence his arrogance. The novice said, "Up to your waist 
is enough!" 
The novice taught, "There is a termite mound with six 
entrances. A water monitor is inside the termite mound. The 
way to catch the water monitor is to block five entrances and 
to put your hand through the sixth and you will be able to 
catch the water monitor as you wish." The novice didn't need 
to say any more. Because the elder was an experienced teacher 
he immediately knew that the water monitor in the teaching is 
the mind itself which is constantly thinking of things that are 
of no benefit, losing its energy via the six sense doors. If we 
want to train the mind we have to control the five outer senses 
(eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body) and purify the sixth sense 
which is the object of the mind. As soon as the elder 
understood, he immediately trained himself in sensual restraint 
and purification of the mind. 
By the end of the novice's teaching, the elder was an 
arahant, even standing there up to his waist in water. 
Because the elder had been artful in knowledge for so 
long, to become artful in practice was no difficulty. All 
he needed was to have a little reminder to make him 
think a little. Thus we can see that to be artful in 
knowledge is essential for one's personal development. 
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Blessing Eight: 
Artfulness in 
Application 
A. INTRODUCTION 
Since Blessing Seven, we have already discovered the 
value of being artful in knowledge — but it is not good 
enough — it is also necessary to be artful in the 
application of what we know — the subject of this 
Blessing. 
A.l People confuse knowledge with ability 
Many people confuse knowledge with ability. Artfulness 
in the application of knowledge means that if you have 
learned an occupational subject, if you have learned all the 
necessary theory, you have to transform that theory into 
practice allowing you to earn your living. If you have 
learned Dhamma theory, you have to transform that 
knowledge into Dhamma practice. 
It is like someone who reads a manual of swimming 
who can memorize every page of the manual. He 
knows how many types of swimming styles exist and 
what all the differences are. When he has read the book, 
he puts it at the side of the swimming pool and jumps in 
— sinking without a trace! 
A.2 Why no-one wants fresh graduates 
This is one reason why many graduates are unemployed 
— they have only knowledge from examinations or 
from copying their friends. They have no practical 
knowledge. They expect to get a prestigious job in 
keeping with their prestigious degree and look down on 
almost every type of work. When 
they have only academic knowledge, no practical 
knowledge and they expect to choose where they want 
to work, who can they expect to want to take them on? 
If you don't want to be an unemployed graduate, you 
should take on any work you can find, to get the 
practical experience ever since you have not yet 
graduated. If you can transform your academic 
knowledge into practical skills even before you 
graduate, you will make an very attractive prospect for 
employers. There will be employers asking after you 
even before you graduate. 
Some people get themselves a prestigious degree in 
accounting. They take a job as a lecturer in university 
and because they can teach accounting in a way that 
allows their students to become successful accountants, 
they think that they are also a capable accountant. The 
lecturer sees that his students are richer than he is, so he 
gives up his job to start a business himself. Before 
long, his business is bankrupt and he has to go back to 
teaching! Only then would such a person find out the 
reality that knowledge and application of knowledge 
are completely different attributes. 
B. DEFINITIONS 
B.1 Definition: Artfulness in Application 
The Pali word `sippaO', meaning `one endowed with 
artistry' means someone who is skilled in application of 
their knowledge. The `bahEsEtal of Blessing Seven is 
one who is skilled in knowledge, 
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but the person who has mastered this Eighth Blessing is 
one who can apply that knowledge fruitfully too. 
B.2 Sir Components of Artful Application 
Not all performances or displays of application of 
knowledge qualify as 'artfulness in application'. You 
can learn skills, but it doesn't guarantee that using the 
skill will bring you merit — therefore, before 
committing yourself to a skill you want to learn, you 
have to consider the merits of it first, for the harmony 
of society: If you are a sculptor, then why not use your 
skill to sculpt Buddha images that can bring inspiration 
to others? If you can draw then why not draw the sort of 
pictures that will inspire others to do good deeds? Even 
little skills like being able to make toys for one's 
children can help to stop wastage of family income on 
imported dolls and cartoon characters — as a guideline, 
bear in mind the following six qualities of applied work 
that demonstrates artistry: 
I. Must be refined 
2. Adds to the value of the raw materials 
3. Product of the work leads to creative thinking, not 
aggressive or destructive thinking: A motor engineer 
should use his skill to build engines to help people in 
their everyday lives rather than to build weapons to 
wage war. 
4. Product of the work doesn't lead to sensual ob-
session: Don't go studying the sort of arts that will stir 
up the passion of others — like cabaret dancing or 
strip-tease. 
5. Product of the work doesn't lead to ilrwill or 
vengefulness 
6. Product of the work doesn't lead to aggression: 
Don't engage in arts that will cause people to seek 
vengeance such as inventing war slogans. 
B.3 Three Categories of Artful Application 
Don't think that only artistic applications you can 'see 
and touch' qualify for fulfilment of the Eighth Blessing. 
Such skilfulness can be applied to body, speech and 
mind: 
I. Artistic Application in Body: This applies to various 
sorts of specialism or applied expertise, 
whether it be plumbing, mechanics, painting, design, 
sculpture, photography, printing or other vocational 
skills such as gardener, farmer, author or nurse —
and further than that, having the manners to walk, 
stand, sit and lie down politely, dressing 
appropriately, being hospitable, expressing respect 
and behaving in a `cultivated' way; 
2. Artistic Application in Speech: This applies to 
communication skills, knowing what to say and how to 
say it in a way to inspire the hearer towards virtue 
(more in Blessing Ten) 
3. Artistic Application in Mind: This applies to 
skillfulness in thinking, having one's wits about one 
and creative thinking. 
In a nutshell, Artfulness in Application is artfulness in 
body, speech and mind. 
C. CULTIVATING ARTFUL APPLICATION 
CI Transforming Knowledge into Skills 
If you want to transform your academic knowledge 
into applied ability, you have to possess the following 
qualities (PatthanA Sutta A.iii.l 54): 
I. Believe in what you do [saddha]: You have to 
believe that you what you are doing is really beneficial 
and virtuous. You should be enthusiastic about doing it 
and have the confidence that you can make a success 
out of it. Some doctors graduate in medical science, but 
have no confidence in their ability to heal people. Some 
are more confident in their own ability to construct 
buildings. In the end, they become building contractors! 
They can achieve more success that way than they ever 
could by being a doctor! You need to have to believe in 
what you are doing if you are to be able to dedicate 
yourself to it. 
2. Safeguard your health: Don't be the sort of person 
who bursts into coughs and sneezes when exposed to 
the merest cold draught. If you let your efforts destroy 
your health, it will be hard for you to succeed in 
learning a trade. A practical way to safeguard your 
health from all the possible risks is very simple — keep 
the Five Precepts strictly. If you neglect your health and 
go looking for things to destroy yourself by doing 
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unhealthy things, you will find it hard ever to 
achieve success in learning a trade. 
3. You must avoid arrogance and boastfulness: Those 
who spend all day speaking about what they will do, 
but never getting round to doing it, will never manage 
to master a trade. No-one wants to accept someone who 
is boastful as an apprentice. The only skill which 
boastful people manage to develop is the ability to find 
fault with other people in order to let other people know 
how wonderful they are themselves. By pushing others 
down they are able to hoist themselves up in the 
estimation of others. The habit of a boastful person is to 
take a very minor virtue or ability and magnify it 
beyond all proportion. 
4. You must avoid laziness: If you have only knowl-
edge but you are too lazy to do anything with it, then 
you will be no more than knowledgeable for the rest of 
your life. 
5. Cultivate wisdom: Wisdom is cultivated by being 
observant and reflecting on new skills and techniques. 
C2 Instilling yourself with "Artfulness in Application" 
You cannot acquire wisdom just by eating and sleeping. 
You have to be active in your search for wisdom 
according to the following steps: 
I. Be observant of yourself and the things around 
you: It is all very well to say 'be observant' but in fact, 
it is important to know what to observe! In a nutshell, 
our powers of observation should always attempt to 
seek out the good and useful characteristics of the 
things we observe.You have to start by observing 
yourself first — because to observe yourself is 
theoretically the simplest. You should start by noticing 
aspects of your lifestyle, (for example our habits of 
eating or sleeping) to try to define what is appropriate 
or inappropriate and where the point of equilibrium lies 
for various factors. If you eat too much it will make 
you sleepy. If you eat too little, your stomach will 
rumble at night. You have to notice what happens to us 
if we go to bed late. You have to notice what happens 
to you if you get up late. What is better for you — to go 
to bed at ten at night 
and wake up at dawn, or to go to bed at midnight 
and to wake up at seven in the morning? Once you 
know how to be observant of yourself, you can 
gradually extend your observation to the things 
around you. We notice our clothes. How our clothes 
get dirty at the collar or around the cuffs. Notice 
what sort of clothes are suitable for what sort of 
situation. We gradually extend ow mindfulness to 
the things more distant from us — noticing how to 
speak to people in an appropriate way, how to speak 
to people to inspire them instead of making them 
lazy. Notice the characteristics of the things around 
you. If you train yourself to be observant even of 
yourself, the skill will soon be developed and 
wisdom will follow. 
2. Train yourself to do anything better than best: Never 
look down on any work that conies your way. Never think 
any task you do is unimportant. Even simple things like your 
handwriting should be done with care. From the time when a 
child is young, they should be trained to write neatly 
whatever they do so that 'being careful' about whatever work 
they are to do in the future will be ingrained from the earliest 
age. Some people write with such messy handwriting that 
others can only barely decipher what has been written. 
Someone who writes like that since their youth until 
adulthood will soon get themselves in the habit of doing 
everything in a shoddy way 
— never achieving anything better than 'passable' 
quality. If you do everything to the best of your 
ability, skills and abilities will soon come your way 
without you even having to spend time looking for 
them. Even if you don't study the specific qualities 
of a particular art, if you are always observant of 
quality, and do things cleanly and in a detailed way, 
even though you cannot produce artwork for 
yourself, you will be able to tell quality in the work 
of others. Once you have trained your mind to be 
refined and to notice details, even the way you speak 
will start to be of higher quality — more based on 
reason and more confident (because your train of 
thought will be more systematic). 
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3. Be refined in all you do: Some might accuse you of 
`nit-picking' but if you insist on high quality in your 
work, even in the details, before long, you will start to 
pick up artfulness in application. 
4 Always look for better ways to do the same thing: 
Sometimes you can already do a task, but if you always 
look for quicker, more efficient, more cost-effective 
ways of doing the same thing, it will force you always 
to improve on your skills, never sitting on your laurels. 
5. Apprentice yourself to a craftsman: Seek out 
craftsmen in the field which you want to master and 
become apprentice to them. Be respectful and helpful to 
him so that he will have the compassion to push you 
further in the direction of craftsmanship. 
6. Meditate regularly: The art of training our capa-
bilities of action and speech is rooted in ow capability 
to train the mind. Systematic thinking and observation 
can only be developed when the mind is well-trained. 
Training the mind through meditation will make the 
acquisition of other capabilities easy, because to be able 
to meditate is the ultimate skill — because it deals with 
refinement at its root. 
C.3 Applying knowledge for your own benefit and the 
benefit of others 
In continuation of the "Learning Process already described 
in Blessing Seven", Blessing Eight concerns the last two 
steps of the knowledge acquisition process which involve 
the application of that knowledge for the good of ourselves 
and others. 
Some people use their knowledge and skills only for 
their own selfish benefits. Sometimes they are afraid 
that if they teach all they know to anyone else then they 
will be giving away their trade secrets or that that other 
person may overtake them and make more progress 
than they have done. 
The attitude which is the most healthy for rounding off 
a body of knowledge that you have learned is to use 
your knowledge both for your own benefit and the 
benefit of others too. Like the example of the College 
of Surgery with the policy "See One 
Do One - Teach One" where capable students were not 
only those who could witness and perform surgery —
they were also able to teach surgery to others too! In 
that way, all your mastery of the knowledge will not be 
limited to overcoming your own shortcomings — the 
application of knowledge can also be used to overcome 
the shortcomings of others. 
C.4 How not to instil yourself with "Artfulness in 
Application" 
If you want to learn artfulness in application quickly, 
you have to make sure that you are not the sort of 
person who can do nothing better than find fault with 
the work of others — unless you are training yourself to 
be a professional critic! If you have done nothing but 
criticise others, when it comes to your turn to show off 
your craftsmanship, you will not have the confidence to 
let others see what you have made or done — for fear 
they will criticize you in the same way as you have 
done them. In such a case, you will end up as someone 
who never achieves anything. 
D. ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES 
D.I Proverb: He who knows but a single skill. . . 
He who knows but a single skill can eke out his 
livelihood with ease. 
D.2 Metaphor: Just as twigs... 
If you plant a mango tree, the benefit you get from it 
depends entirely on the amount of fruit. Even though 
the tree might grow a trunk, branches and leaves —
these are no more than precursors for any benefit which 
may come later. In the same way, even though a person 
may be learned, this knowledge is no more than a 
precursor for the benefit that can accrue if the 
knowledge is applied. 
D.3 Er. Swimology (traditional) 
Once a young professor was making a sea voyage. He 
was a highly educated man with a long tail of letters 
after his name, but he had little experience of life. In the 
crew of the ship on which he was traveling was an 
illiterate old sailor. Every evening the sailor would visit 
the cabin of the young pro 
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lessor to listen to him hold forth on many different 
subjects. He was very impressed with the learning of 
the young man. 
One evening as the sailor was about to leave the cabin 
after several hours of conversation, the professor 
asked,"Old man, have you studied geology?" 
"What is that,sir?" 
"The science of the earth." 
"No sir, I have never been to any school or college. I 
have never studied anything." 
"Old man, you have wasted a quarter of your life." 
With a long face the old sailor went away. "If such a 
learned person says so, certainly it must be true," he 
thought. "I have wasted a quarter of my life." 
Next evening again, as the sailor was about to leave the 
cabin, the professor asked him, "Old man, have you 
studied oceanography?" 
"What is that, sir?' 
"The science of the sea." 
"No, sir, I have never studied anything." 
"Old man, you have wasted half your life." 
With a still longer face the sailor went away: "I have 
wasted half my life; this learned man says so." 
Next evening again as the sailor was about to leave the 
cabin, "Old man, have you studied meteorology?" 
"What is that, sir? I have never heard of it." 
"The science of the wind, the rain, the weather." 
"No sir. As I told you, I have never been to any school. 
I have never studied anything." 
"You have not studied the science of the earth on which 
you live; you have not studied the science of the sea on 
which you earn your livelihood; you have not studied the 
science of the weather which you encounter every day? 
Old man, you have wasted three-quarters of your life." 
The old sailor was very unhappy: "This learned man 
says that I have wasted three-quarters of my life! 
Certainly I must have wasted three-quarters of my life. 
The next day it was the turn of the old sailor. He came 
running to the cabin of the young man and cried, 
"Professor! Have you studied swimology?" 
"Swimology? What do you mean?" 
"Can you swim, sir?" 
"No, I don't know how to swim." 
"Professor! You have wasted the whole of your life! The 
ship has struck a rock and is sinking. Those who can swim 
may reach the nearby shore, but those who cannot swim 
will drown. I am sorry, professor sir, you have surely lost 
your life.-
You may study all the "-ologies" of the world, but if 
you don't learn swimology, all your studies are useless. 
You may read and write books on swimming, you may 
debate on its subtle theoretical aspects, but how will 
that help if you refuse to enter the water yourself? You 
must learn how to swim. 
D.4 1x SAlittaka JAtaka(1.107) 
In ancient times, there was a child with polio. His legs 
were so weak that he couldn't walk anywhere unaided. 
He had to stay wherever his friends put him. He 
couldn't even get up. Although his body was deformed, 
his intelligence was bright. He didn't look down on any 
subject. The child would practice flicking sand until he 
could flick sand a long distance very precisely. The boy 
used his skills to earn favours from others. The boy 
could flick sand so accurately that he could shoot holes 
in the leaves of trees above. Not only holes — but he 
could shoot holes in the shapes of anything he wanted 
— whether they be the shape of rabbits or tigers or 
deer. The boy would shoot holes in leaves to the order 
of the other children in return for sweets. The boy with 
polio had never studied in school, but through his skill, 
he had more sweets to eat than the other children every 
day. 
One day the boy was flicking sand on the sand heap for 
the other children when the king passed by. All the 
other children ran away, and the boy with polio was left 
alone. The king came to rest in the shade of the tree by 
the sandheap and when he looked up, he was surprised 
to see that almost every leaf of the tree had been 
perforated in the shape of different animals. The king 
asked how the tree had come to be that way, and found 
out that it was due to the skills of the boy with polio. 
The king thought, "the skills of such a boy should not 
be wasted at the sandpit." The king happened to have a 
something on his mind — every time he had a meeting 
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of his counsellors, there was a particular counsellor 
who would interrupt and dominate the discussion 
regularly wasting the time of everyone in the meeting. 
The king asked the boy, "if someone were to open their 
mouth, would you be able to shoot goat dung into their 
mouth in the same way you shoot sand through 
leaves?" 
The boy said, "It would be a piece of cake." The king 
had the boy taken into the palace. Those with all health 
and strength never got the chance to go to the palace, 
but this poor crippled boy did. Every time there was a 
meeting, the boy was put behind a curtain in the room. 
Every time the counsellor in question opened his mouth 
to speak, the boy flicked goat dung into his mouth. The 
boy was so fast, that the counsellor didn't even know 
where the taste in his mouth had come from. The 
counsellor would want to speak but change his mind as 
a result every 
time, because he would have to swallow what was in 
his mouth. One day, the counsellor had opened his 
mouth so many times that the boy had used up a whole 
litre of goat dung. The king felt sony for the counsellor 
and was afraid he would get dysentery. He ordered the 
counsellor to go and wash his mouth out immediately 
and told him to reduce the amount he said or else in 
future he would get two litres of goat dung in his 
mouth! On future occasions, the counsellor had to 
consider carefully before saying anything in case he fell 
prey to flying goat dung. As the result of having more 
effective meetings, the economics of the kingdom 
improved considerably. The king rewarded the crippled 
boy by allocated all the money earned in taxes from a 
certain province to him as pin-money. The cripple 
became a rich man as the result of a single skill —
because he put his mind to perfecting his skill. 
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Blessing Nine: 
Artfulness in 
Usage 
A. INTRODUCTION 
A.I Place of Blessing Nine in the order of things 
The Seventh Blessing concerned artfulness in knowledge. 
We should be enthusiastic about finding any new 
knowledge either in spiritual or worldly ways as long as it 
doesn't have any negative implications for the human 
dignity of ourselves, others or society in general. Once you 
can avail yourself of such knowledge, then it is a blessing 
in itself. 
The Eighth Blessing concerned artfulness in the 
application of knowledge or "artfulness in learning skills". 
We should be enthusiastic about learning any new skills 
either in spiritual or worldly ways as long as they don't 
have any negative implications for the human dignity of 
ourselves, others or society in general. Once you can avail 
yourself of such skills, then it is also a blessing in itself. 
Already mooted in the previous two Blessings has been 
the difficulty of knowing whether the knowledge or 
skill we are learning has any negative implications for 
the human dignity of ourselves, others or society in 
general. The purpose of the Ninth Blessing is to give us 
the guidelines we need — to allow us to judge our own 
behaviour in action and word, so that the way we use 
our intellectual resources and craftsmanship bring no 
detriment to society around us or to our spiritual 
fuitherment. 
A.2 Objectives of studying `Artfulness in Usage' 
In our consideration of the value of artfulness in usage 
towards human dignity, we must always consider three 
levels of description: our own personal human dignity, 
the human dignity of others and the dignity of the 
whole economic system in society. Being disciplined or 
being "artful in usage" has benefits on three levels: 
I. Personal Level: Being disciplined protects and 
furthers one's own human dignity by protecting our 
health from self-induced illness, reducing possible 
obstacles in our spiritual vocation (especially those 
arising from unintentional blunders with the 
"defilements of action" [kammakilesa] and allowing us 
to develop our level of virtue from mere "discipline" 
[vinaya] to "selfdiscipline" [sEla] which is the 
foundation for the subsequent development of meditation 
[samAdhi] and wisdom [patiiiA]. It is said that being 
disciplined is the one major difference between humans 
and savages — thus by preserving ow level of discipline 
we protect ourselves from decline into savagery; 
Z Interpersonal Level: Being disciplined protects and 
furthers others' human dignity by stopping people 
taking advantage of each other. 
3. Social Level: Being disciplined protects and furthers 
the humanity of the fair economics in our society by 
promoting compliance with the law and general 
harmony for society. 
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Of course it is an advantage for the reader to know 
about artfulness in usage (or more briefly "discipline") 
and how to acquire it — but it is not until you become a 
disciplined person that you will really start to gain 
benefit from this Blessing. 
A.3 Knowing where to draw the line 
From person to person the intellectual resources and the 
level of craftsmanship may not be the same — however, 
the more the knowledge and skills a person has, the more 
potential damage they can do to themselves, others and 
society if they have no ethical discretion about how to use 
that knowledge and skill. Thus it is vitally important that 
everyone has -virtue" to go hand-in-hand with their 
knowledge 
— specifically the virtue to know the negative im-
plications of any deeds they may do or words they may 
say. In society in general, we tend tothink that if what 
we do or say is not illegal then it is acceptable to our 
human dignity — however, the Law is really only a 
very loose guideline for what should or should not be 
done in society. To give a firm example, if a person can 
perpetrate a murder, but has no witnesses, he cannot be 
prosecuted in a court of law. Furthermore, the Law 
from country to country is different — does this mean 
that the ethics can also be localized? In some countries, 
the Law might even be undemocratic — so the Law 
alone doesn't give us sufficient guidelines for the 
preservation of human dignity at any of the levels of 
description. More detailed guidelines were provided by 
the Buddha in the form of a checklist of four items to be 
considered in order from the first to the last: 
1. The Five Precepts: Does the action or speech con-
tradict break the Five Precepts I. killing; 2. stealing; 3. 
adultery; 4. telling lies, and; 5. drinking alcohol (see 
below) — i.e. the baseline of humane behaviour? This 
form of discipline is spiritual discipline, concerning our 
quality of mind and the quality of mind of those who 
share society with us. We find that these Five Precepts 
are at the heart of codes of discipline of many different 
religions, 
whether 
it 
be 
the 
Christian 
Ten 
Commandments, Islamic law, the 16 rules of Hindu 
conduct. 
2. The Five Virtues: Does the action or speech con-
tradict the Five Virtues [palicadhamma] of I. com-
passion; 2. right-livelihood; 3. sexual-restraint; 
4. truthfulness, and; 5. awareness? — see Blessing 
Sixteen. This form of discipline is spiritual 
discipline, concerning our quality of mind and the 
quality of mind of those who share society with us. 
3. Local Law: Does the action or speech contradict the 
local law? This form of discipline is worldly or 
material discipline, concerning our quality of life and 
the quality of life of those who share society with us. 
4. Local Custom: Does the action or speech contradict 
the local custom? This form of discipline is worldly or 
material discipline and concerns social harmony and 
solidarity. 
Thus if an action goes against the Five Precepts, even if 
it doesn't break the Law, it should not be done. Also, 
even if it doesn't break the law notto do something, but 
omitting to do something goes against the local custom, 
perhaps this is a good reason to comply, at least for 
harmony on the local level (but of course, it should not 
break the Five Precepts). 
B. DEFINITIONS 
B.1 Definition: Artfulness in Usage 
The root of the Pali word for `artfulness in usage' or 
'discipline' is 'vinaya' comes from two stems `vi' and 
'ney'. `My' means something that leads you. 'Vi' can 
mean any of three things: 'good', `revealed' or 
'different'. Thus in compound the definition of the 
word `vinaya' means `leads you to good' or 'leads you 
to brightness' or `leads you to something different'. 
Leading one to goodness, means that it takes you away 
from evil. Leading one to revelation means that it 
allows us to see a person as they really are. Leading one 
to be different means that it raises one above people in 
general. 
The actual meaning of the word is `rulesor regulations 
to restrain ourselves in body and word to avoid causing 
suffering to ourselves or others'. Notice that vinaya' 
doesn't restrain the mind directly, but in effect, it has a 
positive effect on the mind too because bodily action 
and speech originate in the 
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mind. When we can avoid causing suffering to our-
selves or others, we set ourselves on the path to 
goodness, revelation and difference from others in 
general. `Vinaya' will be the virtue that tells us what is 
appropriate and inappropriate to do or say or look at or 
eat. 
R2 Definition: Self-Discipline 
When people think of Precepts, they often mistakenly 
think that Precepts are nothing more than prohibitions. 
In fact the meaning of the Pali word for `Precepts' i.e. 
'sElal means 'the norm' or `cooling'. Precepts mean 
the level of virtue that is normal for human beings to 
have. It is a norm that distinguishes men from savages 
or from animals. It is for this reason that we 
differentiate `vinaya' from 'sEla' by calling the latter 
"self-discipline". As we shall see "self-discipline" is the 
result of training yourself in "discipline". It is a state of 
mind rather than a set of rules to follow. 
R3 The Difference between Discipline & Self-Discipline 
Discipline is the means by which we restrain (the 
manifesting of) unwholesome actions and speech. When 
one is new to discipline, the mind is usually still 
reluctant. Many thoughts will go through the mind to 
protest at the inconvenience of behaving in a disciplined 
way. Such thoughts do not constitutea breach of 
discipline because they are not manifest. Apart from 
protecting 
the practitioner from degradation of 
behaviour into any of the Four Defilements of Action 
[kammakilesa], discipline will gradually channel the 
mind into the development of "self-discipline". 
Self-discipline is the attainment of restraint of 
unwholesome thought as well as unwholesome action 
and speech. At this point there is no further reluctance 
in the mind any more. One has managed to be "a 
teacher to oneself" sufficiently well to be able to police 
one's body, speech and mind without the need for any 
further rules or regulations to force such behaviours. 
B.4 Different Types of Discipline 
There are different sets of codes of conduct which can 
be used for training in discipline. Some are suitable for 
laypeople. Others are suitable for monks. They work on 
the principle of the "principle of limi 
tation" because as KierIcegaard wrote in Either/Or: 
A Fragment of Life: Pan One (1843): 
"The more a person limits themselves,the more 
resourceful he becomes" (p.289-91) 
In Buddhism, it is not by arbitrary rules that we limit 
ourselves — we choose rules that also ensure protection 
of the human dignity of ourselves, others and society —
but it is true that the more intensive the level of 
practice, the more rules of training we tend to keep. 
B.4.I Discipline for Householders 
BA.I.1 Five Precepts 
The Five Precepts [palica-sEla] are the basic set of 
discipline advocated for every Buddhist. The Five 
Precepts are much older than Buddhism, but were 
adopted by Buddhism amongst many other religions as 
the core practice for moral conduct. Elements of the 
same principles are found in the Ten Commandments, 
Islamic Law and even Hindu practices. This is because 
the Five Precepts protect against a person taking 
advantage of the weaknesses of himself and others. 
There is nothing that people love more than their own 
life, their possessions, their spouse and trust. There is 
nothing that disables people more than the loss of their 
own clear conscience. These five weaknesses in human 
relationships are guarded by the Five Precepts. Such 
weaknesses are not exclusive to Buddhists, but apply 
for all people in the world, therefore the Five Precepts 
are the fundemental bedrock of all morality. The 
Precepts themselves consist of five rules of training: 
1. Not to kill living beings 
2. Not to steal 
3. Not to commit adultery 
4. Not to tell lies 
5. Not knowingly to drink alcohol or consume in-
toxicants. 
By keeping the Five Precepts people can ensure 
harmony for society and also prevent many of the roots 
of suffering. The Precepts bring coolness to the mind 
and body — there is no burning caused by suffering in 
body and mind as the result. 
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The Five Precepts share the same Pali word -paiicasEla" 
as the five principles upon which Sukarno founded the 
Indonesian Constitution — but don't go thinking that 
Indonesian Law is founded on Buddhist Principles because 
on closer examination, the five basic principles of the 
Indonesian Constitution turn out to be something else 
completely. 
The Five Precepts are intended to be kept by Buddhist 
householders on a daily basis. 
B.4.1.2 Eight Precepts 
The Eight Precepts are a set of rules of training which 
expand on the Five Precepts with adjustment of the 
third and fifth precepts and addition of the sixth, 
seventh and eighth. The Precepts themselves consist of 
eight rules of training: 
I. Not to kill living beings 
2. Not to steal 
3. Not to be uncelibate 
4. Not to tell lies 
5. Not to drink alcohol or consume intoxicants 
6. Not to take meals between midday and dawn 
7. Not to indulge in romantic entertainment or im-
modesty 
8. Not to be indulgent in one's sleeping habits 
They are intended to be kept by Buddhist householders 
during times of intensified training, especially on 
meditation retreats or for self-purification on a periodic 
basis, such as one or twice a week. Eight precepts is 
sometimes called `uposatha-sEla' where the Eight 
Precepts are kept for three days before, during and after 
one of the quarter moon days. The only real difference 
is the length of time one expects to keep them. The 
content is the same but for uposatha-sEla, usually, one 
will only keep them on the MI moon days with the 
possibility of one day before for preparation and one 
day after for debriefing. For Eight Precepts the length 
of time the precepts are kept has no special duration. 
11.4.2 Discipline for Monastics 
11.4.2.1 Ten Precepts 
The Ten Precepts are a set of rules of training which 
expand on the Eight Precepts with adjustment of the 
seventh precept and addition of the tenth. The 
Precepts themselves consist of ten rules of training: 
I. Not to kill living beings 
2. Not to steal 
3. Not to be uncelibate 
4. Not to tell lies 
5. Not to drink alcohol or consume intoxicants 
6. Not to take meals between midday and dawn 
7. Not to indulge in romantic entertainment 
8. Not to indulge in immodesty 
9. Not to be indulgent in one's sleeping habits 
10. Not to handle gold or silver 
They are intended to be kept by Buddhist novices on a 
daily basis 
BA2.2 Two-Hundred & Twenty-Seven Precepts 
As Buddhists train themselves as laypeopleand as 
monks, Buddhist spiritual discipline can be divided into 
two parts accordingly: discipline for the homeless 
[artagAriyavinaya] and discipline for the householder 
[agAriyavinaya]. The monks have special discipline in 
keeping with their aim to reach an end of defilements 
within the shortest possible time. For the monastic 
community, eradication of defilements in the mind is 
intensive, so the self-discipline of monastics is intensive 
accordingly. The 227 Precepts are a set of rules of 
training which expand on the Ten Precepts. They are 
intended to be kept by fully-ordained Buddhist monks 
on a daily basis. 
C. DISCIPLINE: PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS 
Cl Components of Five Precepts 
In the keeping of Five Precepts, householders often feel 
guilty when they mistakenly do unwholesome things —
they don't know whether it means they have broken 
their Precepts. Some people accidentally run over a 
stray dog while they are driving because they happen to 
be in a hurry and wonder whether it breaks the 
Precepts. Some women know that they have never 
taken the possession of others without asking (i.e. they 
have never stolen) but they wonder if taking money 
from their husband without asking is breaking the 
Precepts. The Components of Five Precepts explained 
below are an attempt to answer this genre of 
questions.Below you will find descriptions of the 
factors involved 
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in breaking each of the Precepts. All factors must be 
present in order for the Precept to be broken.: 
C.1.1 First Precept: Not Killing 
In order to break the Precept of not killing, your action 
has to consist of five components: 
I. The victim must really be alive: Suppose there is a 
certain dog we have hated for a long time. Every time 
we see it it has barked us, chased us and bitten us. We 
think that the dog is alive, but in fact it has already died. 
Someone else had just shot the dog dead that very 
morning. It is lying dead in the road, but we were not to 
know that. Seeing it lying in the road we think to 
ourselves, "This time we can get our own back on the 
dog," and we reverse the car over the dog. In this case 
we have not managed to break the Precepts because it 
had already died long ago of other causes. 
2. We are aware that the victim is alive: Sometimes we 
misunderstand that an animal is already dead, so you 
think that a cremation is in order. You throw the body 
of the animal into the flames 
— but it is not really dead. However we were not to 
know that. This time the animal does really die! 
Again, such an action does not break the Precepts. 
3. We have the intention to kill the victim: Supposing 
you run over an animal killing it accidentally, because 
there is no intention to kill (you could not avoid it), 
again the Precepts are not broken. 
4. We put in the effort to kill the victim: You have to put 
in the effort to kill, if you are to break the Precepts. 
You have to really aim the gun and pull the trigger if 
you are to create the necessary conditions to break the 
Precepts. 
5. The victim dies in the way intended: As the result of 
our efforts, the animal must really die if the Precepts 
are to be broken. If you shoot to kill, but the result is 
only to break an arm or leg, the Precepts are not yet 
broken. 
C1.2 Second Precept: Not Stealing 
In order to break the Precept of not stealing, your 
action has to consist of five components: 
1. There is art owner who is possessive about that ob-
ject: If you are in the forest where there are objects of 
which no-one is the clear owner it is all right to take 
them. 
2. The perpetrator knows the object has someone pos-
sessive of it: People can even be possessive of a 
favourite rag. If for some reason you cannot find the rag 
you usually use, often you feel irritated or angry. In the 
past there was an agreement between market gardeners 
as follows — whatever they plant, whether it may be 
bananas or sugar cane or aubergines or chillis, if anyone 
walks through the field and feels they want to eat some 
of the crop, they are allowed to help themselves to as 
much as they can eat, but it is prohibited to take any in 
your pockets or in a bag to eat in the home. It is said 
that there is only one eater of stolen food who steals 
food and takes it home to eat and that is a stray dog. 
3. The perpetrator has the intention to steal: Even the 
intention to steal starts to cloud the mind. 
4. The perpetrator makes the effort to steal the object: 
This means trying to find devious strategies and 
actually putting those strategies into practice. 
5. The perpetrator obtains the object in keeping with 
his intention. 
C1.3 Third Precept: Not Committing Adultery 
In order to break the Precept of not committing 
adultery, your action has to consist of four components: 
I. The object of the affection must be a man or woman 
who is prohibited: So what do we mean by a partner 
who is prohibited? There are four sorts of women who 
are prohibited to men 
• 
married women; 
• 
women who are still in the care of their parents; 
• 
women who lifestyle prohibits sexual intercourse, 
such as nuns or female prisoners. 
• 
women related to us such as our mother or 
our sister or ow daughter and three types of men 
prohibited to women: 
• 
any man who is not your own husband; 
• 
men whose lifestyle prohibits sexual intercourse 
such as monks. 
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• men who are related to us 
2. The perpetrator has the intention to have sexual in-
tercourse with that person; 
3. The perpetrator makes the effort to have sexual 
intercourse (e.g. removes his clothes) 
4. There is a joining of the sexual organs. 
In fact there is no man or women born in the world who 
has no connections except for the one who is already 
married to you. No-one else is the legitimate subject for 
sexual intercourse — not in the bar nor the night club 
— even prostitutes are prohibited (consider respect for 
human dignity and fair economics and you will 
understand why) — there are no such things as 
`wayside flowers' free to be picked by anyone. 
CL4 Fourth Precept: Not Telling Lies 
In order to break the Precept of not telling lies, your 
speech has to consist of four components: 
1. Saying something that is not true 
2. Having the intention to misrepresent the truth 
3. Making the effort to misrepresent the truth. 
4. The listener understands what you have said. 
The damage of lying comes from the chain reaction it 
causes: inorder to lie to someone once, you have to lie 
to yourself first three times. The first time you lie to 
yourself is in order to prepare yourself to tell a lie. You 
have to make up the story and convince yourself first. 
The second time you have to lie to yourself is when you 
meet the person who you are going to lie to. Thirdly, 
you have to remember what lies you have told to who, 
because next time you meet them you have to tell them 
things consistent with that first lie, or else your 
dishonesty will be discovered. If the lie is an important 
one, sometimes you will have to remember it for years. 
The result of being a liar is that eventually you will lose 
your self-confidence because you have lied to yourself 
until you have become used to it. At the end of your 
life, your memory becomes so blurred to the truth that 
you end up suffering from senile dementure as the re-
sult of the mental hypocrisy you have accumulated 
throughout the course of your life. 
C.1.5 Fifth Precept: Not Drinking Alcohol 
In order to break the Precept of not drinkingalcohol, 
your action has to consist of five components: 
I. The liquid drunk must be alcohol 
2. The person must know that it is alcohol. 
3. The person must have the intention to drink it 
4. The person must make the effort to drink it 
S. The alcohol must be swallowed. 
For the purposes of the fifth Precept, not only alcohol 
and heedlessness-inducing intoxicants are prohibited, 
but also such drugs such as heroine, opium, maruana 
etc.. If you consider tobacco from the point of view of 
this Precept in an objective way, you will find that 
smoking tobacco must be avoided too. Those who 
become addicted to anything like tobacco will find 
themselves in difficulty when they come to practice 
meditation on a retreat where there is no opportunityto 
smoke. Some people say that they smoke without being 
addicted — and they have been smoking without 
addiction continuously for the last ten years! 
C /.6 Seriousness of Breaking Precepts 
In addition, breaking a Precept may be more or less 
serious dependent on an additional three factors: 
L the amount of effort invested in breaking the 
Precept: the more the effort invested in a deed, the 
more serious is the breaking of that Precept. To kill a 
large animal is more serious than to kill a small animal 
because it takes more effort. 
2. the gratitude or ingratitude in breaking the Precept: 
the more an action expresses ingratitude, the greater 
will be the seriousness of breaking the Precept. 
Wringing the neck of the cock which crowed to wake 
you up every morning at dawn to go to school until you 
got yourself a university degree is worse than wringing 
the neck of another cock you have never known before. 
Thus one should be very careful not to disregard the 
debt of gratitude owed to others. If that person or 
animal is one that is useful — especially if it has been 
helpful to us personally in the past. 
3. The strength of the intention behind breaking the 
Precept: if you kill an ant by pulling each leg out 
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