EFTA01129103

Blessing Twenty-Nine: 
The Sight of 
a True Monk 
A. INTRODUCTION 
A.1 The place of Blessing Twenty-nine in the 
order of things 
With this blessing we come to the twenty-ninth step 
of Buddhist practice — that of 'the sight of a true 
monk'. We find that all that patience and openness 
to criticism developed in earlier blessings together 
with 'seeing a true monk' in this blessing will be a 
foundation to prepare us to discuss spiritual teach-
ings with a monk (the topic of the next blessing). 
A.2 The Objectives of the Twenty-ninth blessing 
The objectives of this blessing are as follows: 
1. to make ourselves worthy of discussing the 
Dhamma with a monk: a monk is an ordained 
person who has no need of anything from any-
one. He has no interest in fame or social stand-
ing. If anyone cannot be sufficiently patient to 
listen to what he has to say, then why should he 
bother to teach them? Even if you were to con-
duct yourself towards him in a pleasant way, his 
main priority is to attain liberation from the 
world, training himself in the forest. Thus, if you 
were to conduct yourself in an inappropriate 
way, it would be an unattractive prospect indeed 
for him to teach you; 
2. to understand by example the meaning of 
Dhamma we have not yet experienced for our-
selves: with higher virtues, if you just say 'such 
and such a virtue' is good in 'such and such a 
way, it brings the listener no closer to under-
standing it. You always need to give an exam-
ple. Supposing you tell someone, "Keeping the 
Five, Eight, Ten or 227 Precepts will make your 
mind cheerful." If someone had never heard of 
the Precepts, they would disagree immediately 
because 227 Precepts looks like a way of remov-
ing all the cheerfulness from life. To the uniniti-
ated, the more Precepts you have, the less life 
has to offer. To them, cheerfulness is equated with 
keeping no Precepts, because you can do exactly 
what you want — you can drink liquor and you 
don't need to be faithful to your wife any more. 
They would argue that keeping no Precepts 
would certainly be more cheerful. They have 
seen only cheerful drunks, night-club singers, 
dancers and boxing crowds. Thus if you say 
keeping the Precepts makes you cheerful, they 
might accuse you of lying. However, the day 
such a person meets a monk keeping 227 Pre-
cepts who is peaceful and has a radiant complex-
ion and who speaks politely, they will realize, 
"Yes, the monk is cheerful too", but it may be a 
sort of cheerfulness they have never encountered 
before. Howevec, if someone never met such a 
monk before, there is no way they would believe 
in the capacity of the Precepts to make people 
happy; 
3. to recognize a monk able to benefit us with his 
teaching: Part of the objective of this blessing is 
to allow us to recognize a good monk when we 
see one — and at the same time to avoid being 
Blessing Twenty-Nine: The Sight of a True Monk 321 
EFTA01129423

taken in by those masquerading as monks. We 
mustn't overlook qualities that make someone a 
'true monk', otherwise, we run the risk of meet-
ing a monk without recognizing him as did the 
main character 'Kamanita' of the novel of K.A. 
Gjellerup's (1906-Danish / 1902-German) classic 
Der Pilger Kamanita, who searched high and low 
for the Buddha, hoping the Buddha would heal 
his broken heart. One night he met an old monk 
and sat talking to him all night because the monk 
seemed to be able to answer all of his questions. 
The next morning he bade farewell to the monk 
and continued in his search for the Buddha, with-
out realizing that the monk he had been talking 
to all night was the Buddha himself. Even when 
at the end of his life he was gored to death by a 
bull, he still didn't realize who he had been 
speaking to! Thus, so you don't make the same 
mistake as Kamanita, we must instead study this 
twenty-ninth Blessing of the Mangala Sutta. 
B. SLUNG A TRUE MONK 
B.1 Definition: The True Monk 
The definition of the word a true monk means 
'peaceful one.' However, because we tend to trans-
late in a haphazard way, we had better compare 
the translations of a few similar words: 
• 'Pabbajitce: This word means 'an ordained per-
son' i.e. a person who has gone forth into the 
homeless life. They will not marry and have de-
cided to remain single and to spend their time 
training themselves in discipline meditation in-
stead. A gpabbajires can belong to any religion, 
not necessarily Buddhist 
• 'Bhikkhu': This term means a certain sort of 
spabbajitat in Buddhism who is an almsman and 
must practice the 'Dhammas of a Peaceful One' 
according to the regulations laid down by the 
Lord Buddha. 
• Bamanerce :This term means a novice — which 
is also a type of 'pabbajita', but they are usually 
of child's age (9-20) or are still a postulant. 
Even those who wear white to practice Eight Pre-
cepts in the temple are also a type of ordinand but 
of a precursory sort. Buddhist nuns are also a form 
of ordinand. In the Chinese religions such as Tao-
ism, there are also ordinands with their own train-
ing regulations — and they would also be called 
'pabbajita'. 
By comparison, the word esamanas should be re-
served for bhikkhus who really practice the 
'Dhammas of a Peaceful One' to the point that they 
are peaceful in body, speech and mind. A'samana' 
is a monk whose body, speech and mind are already 
well-trained — and is hereafter referred to as a 'true 
monk'. 
Just because a person shaves their head and dons 
robes doesn't automatically make him a 'true monk' 
— because there are some monks, unfortunately to 
say, who have a daily regime which consists of no 
more than eating, sleeping and watching the tel-
evision. Such monks are hardly worthy of being 
called a true monk — they can be considered more 
like 'trainee monks'. They are no more than 
bhikkhus'. You have to be careful about your defi-
nition of a a true monk because if you pick the 
wrong sort of monk, (e.g. trainee monks who are 
still fighting over almsfood) you will find it hard 
ever to see why seeing such monks could ever be a 
blessing. In cases where you see monks doing un-
suitable things, you should remind yourself that 
they are just trainees, but not yet true monks. For 
the purposes of this Blessing, seeing a monk, is to 
see a monk of the type we can call a 'true monk' —
because there is no guarantee that seeing monks of 
any other sort will really be a blessing! 
B.2 General Guidelines 
As we shall see later, there are different levels at 
which we can catch sight of a true monk. However, 
we can start by making some generalizations which 
apply at all levels of description of a monk's be-
haviour: 
1. A true monk must be peaceful in action: He must 
be completely free from actions of harm to oth-
ers. He cannot carry weapons, pick fights with 
others or even walk in a demonstration. He can-
not beat the table with his fist as he gives his ser-
mon. None of his physical actions must be pro-
vocative. Anyone who sees him must be left with 
nothing other than a positive impression. He will 
not be attractive in the same way as a handsome 
322 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps lowarrbi Enlightened Living 
EFTA01129424

man or a beautiful woman, but he will be grace-
ful and charismatic in his presence. If a bhikkhu 
has no presence, then maybe he has no self con-
fidence to be anything more than a beggar. The 
a true monk will have confidence in his own 
good deeds, so he will not feel inferior. 
2. A true monk must be peaceful in speech: He must 
be completely free from malicious gossip or 
harmful speech or boasting. How would you like 
to meet a monk who said, "My temple is the best. 
Any other temple is no competition. My way of 
meditation is the best. Don't bother paying at-
tention to any other sort of meditation."? A monk 
must be well-spoken. What he says must be se-
rious — not said just to make people laugh. It is 
not suitable for a monk to speak of matters such 
as politics. 
3. A true monk must be peaceful in mind: He must 
train himself to rid his mind of thoughts of greed. 
If a monk doesn't try to free his mind of greed 
by training in meditation, before long he will 
want to have supplementary activities like be-
ing a witch doctor, or a fortune teller, or a lottery 
tipster. In the same way, he should not allow his 
mind to come under the influence of hatred or 
ignorance. However, it is easier said than done. 
He must try to train his mind the whole of the 
time and maintain a good temper always. 
Thus don't go thinking that a monk can become a 
true monk simply through his achievements in tem-
ple construction. Only these four practices men-
tioned above can allow the body, speech and mind 
of a monk to become sufficiently pure for him to be 
termed a 'true monk'. He needs to practice all four 
in order to really be worthy of the name a true monk. 
A further set of generalizations about monks' behav-
iour which qualifies him as a true monk are as follows: 
1. Must be of no danger to anyone: Thus nothing 
about a true monk in body, speech or mind must 
be of any danger to anyone. 
2. Must not be biased by the temptations of wealth: 
If you find monks overtaking one another on 
almsround to compete for food, could you en-
trust them with anything more valuable? 
3. Must practise the 'Dhammas of a Peacefill One': 
This means he must train himself to avoid the 
temptations of excessive eating and sleeping. He 
must have a steadfast daily routine, without ex-
ception: doing morning and evening chanting, 
studying the Dhammavinaya, Tipitaka and 
Buddhist ceremonies. His manners should be 
polite. 
4. Must practise austerities (to reduce the level of 
bad habits in the mind): These include the prac-
tice of meditation, dhutoriga (see Blessing Thirty-
One). They help one to overcome the habit of do-
ing exactly as one pleases the whole of time. 
In conclusion to this general introduction to the fea-
tures of the true monk — we can say that a monk is 
someone whose happiness comes entirely from spir-
itual sources. We have already seen (from contentment 
in Blessing Twenty-Four 5C.) that happiness can come 
from either material or spiritual sources, and for a 
true monk, the connection with happiness from in-
ner peace is so well-developed that it manifests in 
all that he does and in his appearance too! 
B.3 Ways of seeing a true monk 
Simply to see a monk pass by the door is not fully 
'the sight of a true monk' — it is not much of a bless-
ing. You have to be on closer terms with the monk 
until you can start to distinguish the virtues of the 
monk. Thus simply to 'see' a true monk is not so 
simple as it sounds. In fact the word 'to see' can 
have three different depths of meaning: 
1. Seeing with the eye: i.e a monk's outward ap-
pearances 
2. Seeing with the mind: i.e a monk's outward be-
haviour 
3. Seeing through meditation: i.e a monk's inner 
attainments 
Why do we have to look at three levels to see a true 
monk? This is because every person is complex and 
has an inner and outer self. In the following sec-
tions we consider each level of description in turn. 
B.3.1 Seeing with the eyes 
According to the Samatifiaphala Sutta (D.2) the 
characteristics of a true monk which can be ob-
served by the outward manner and behaviour of 
monks are as follows: 
Blessing Twenty-Nine: The Sight of a True Monk 323 
EFTA01129425

1. Ordination with an aim in mind: A monk should 
ordain with the aim to train himself to be a good 
person in every respect: restraint of senses, edu-
cation of the mind in theory [pariyattiJ and prac-
tice Ipatipatil by study of the scriptures and fol-
lowing a correct method of meditation until be-
ing able to tame the mind — bringing peace, ra-
diance and eventually wisdom to understand life 
and the world in accordance with reality; 
2. Restrained in accordance with the monastic code 
of conduct fpatimokkhasarpoara): (see B1.9 
X3.2.1); 
3. Pure in livelihood (ajivaparisuddhij: (see B1.9 
§C.3.2.3); 
4. Possessed of self-discipline isilak (for details see 
Blessing Nine §O.2) 
If monks are possessed of such characteristics they 
are worthy of the praise, faith, homage and sup-
port of householders. 
B.3.2 Seeing with the mind 
This means appreciating the good manner and con-
duct of the monk through the channel of our mind. 
We see that in the kuti of the monk, there are virtu-
ally no possessions — that he has hardly anything 
but humble bedclothes and a set of the Buddhist 
scriptures. Such a few possessions, would lead us 
to suppose that the monk studies the Tipitaka 
whenever he is free. We might observe a battered 
meditation mat in the corner and might suppose 
that he meditates as part of his daily routine. We 
reflect and surmise according to what we see. This 
is the virtue of the true monk. According to the 
Sfimafifiaphala Sutta the five characteristics of a 
true monk which can be observed a the level of the 
mind are as follows: 
1. Restraint of the senses Iindriyasatrwara]: When 
in public it is especially important for monks to 
restrain the sense doors — to be worthy of the 
homage of laypeople or younger monks. Monks 
who are habitually restrained according to the 
perfimokkha will find that it comes naturally to 
restrain the senses both in public and behind 
closed doors; 
2. Endowment with mindfulness [satiJ and self-
awareness Isampajaiblal: This means not allow-
ing the mind to wander or to drift in a way that 
undermines the faith of others. 
3. Endowed with contentment Isantutthil: This 
means contentment with what one has and what 
one receives — not going to great lengths to ask 
for special treatment and gifts from lay people 
in a way that undermines the faith of others 
4. Freedom from the Hindrances [nivarcuja]: Al-
though the hindrances are an internal affair of 
the mind, a monk must be careful not to let hin-
drances manifest themselves as e.g. losing one's 
temper, hatred of others, sleepiness, reluctance, 
boredom with life, doubt in the teaching — on 
the contrary, a monk should show enthusiasm 
for a life of training, restraint and give encour-
agement and guidance to laypeople. 
5. Attainment of the absorptions khans]: This is 
not something that is obvious to the observer. 
Also a monk will not inform you — because to 
inform you would be in breach of the Vinaya. 
However for a monk who is able to overcome 
the hindrances and make further progress, at-
tainment of the inner brightness of absorptions 
will be visible by improved conduct, ability to 
teach dearly and from a bright physical complex-
ion. 
B.3.3 Seeing through meditation 
According to the Samafifiaphala Sutta the charac-
teristics of a true monk which can be observed a 
the level of inner attainment which come as the re-
sult of self-training in meditation are eight in 
number and sometimes referred to as the Supra-
normal Eightfold knowledge [viifff] are as follows: 
1. insight-knowledge [uipassandii aria] 
2. mental powers Imanomayiddhi] 
3. miraculous powers riddhividdhi] 
4. supra-normal hearing [dibbasota] 
5. knowing the minds of others [cetopariyaya-
firma] 
6. recollection of previous lives Ipubbertivesa-
nussatifbinal 
7. seeing the arising and passing away of other 
beings according to their karma idibbacakkhu 
or cutupapataii anal 
8. knowledge of an end of defilements 
324 
A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps towards Enlightened Living 
EFTA01129426

[asavakkhayaiinua] 
These supramundane forms of knowledge can only 
come about because the monk himself has attained 
the sight of the true monk inside himself i.e. has 
attained one of the levels of the body of enlighten-
ment [dhammakayaJ within himself. 
B.4 Characteristics of a monk not worthy of re-
spect 
The Sfimafifiaphala Sutta teaches us not only the 
things which identify a good monk but also char-
acteristic of monks to be avoided. 
1. Ordained in spite of lacking faith in the Vinaya: 
without any intention to train oneself or im-
prove oneself as a monk. Some ordain simply 
to run away from their worldly problems or to 
avoid the hard work of earning a living. Some 
ordain to escape legal proceedings or as a tool 
in earning their living; 
2. Laxity in following the monastic code of con-
duch This is obvious in the case of monks lying, 
taking drugs, taking an evening meal or listen-
ing to music; 
3. Going to places which are 'out-of-bounds' 
iagocara] for a monk: This may include monks 
going to places of entertainment or commerce 
on personal business instead of by invitation; 
4. Gambling or encouraging supporters to waste 
time with gambling; 
5. Being interested to converse on worldly sub-
jects: Such subjects include waging war or fash-
ion — or other subjects not directly concerned 
with monastic duties; 
6. Volunteering to help with jobs that are the do-
main of a householder: These may include tasks 
such as matchmaking, being a go-between or 
canvassing for votes; 
7. Making a living out of black arts: Examples in-
clude fortune telling, initiations, charms, witch 
doctery, numerical house charms and yantras, 
making predictions looking at the vital signs of 
adults, children or animals — predictions and 
lucky stars for marriage. 
8. Playing games: Such games might include 
chess, draughts, cards, computer games or even 
ball games; 
9. Boasting: This may include boasting about 
one's personal ability or looking down on the 
abilities of other monks; 
10. Indulging the senses; 
11. Distorting the teachings: This may include ex-
plaining and teaching Buddhism in a way that 
deviates from the dhammavinaya or spreading 
or perpetuating false views such as that 
heaven and hell don't really exist, that death 
is the end of the story or that there is no after-
life. 
12. Deviousness: Monks may use means to mis-
lead the public e.g. into understanding that 
they have attained the stages of Sainthood. 
13. Displaying a lack of contentment: This may 
be noticeable from the way a monk's accom-
modation is furnished (excessive luxury or 
with a television or radio — which are not for 
helping to practice Dhamma — and accumu-
lating lot of things in their kuti beyond any 
possible usefulness). 
There may be more characteristics of unworthy 
monks than these thirteen — but any one of the 
thirteen behaviours mentioned above is sufficient 
for supporters to suspect that a monk might not 
be a 'true monk'. It is sad to say that numerous 
are those who profess piety — but who in reality 
doesn't live up to all they profess. Thus don't go 
wasting time with monks who say they can turn 
silver into gold, or give you a fertility spell or guess 
the result of the lottery. If you do — it only goes to 
show that your misunderstanding of the purpose 
of a monk. 
C.1 Receiving the Jul  benefits ofseeing a monk 
In order to gain the full benefit of the sight of a 
monk, it is important, not only to see him, but 
to hear his teaching, to memorize it, reflect on 
it and apply it for one's own and others' ben-
efit in the same way (as already outlined for aca-
demic teachings in Blessing Seven §E. 'The Learn-
ing Process)). In addition it is also necessary to 
help and support the monk in order to learn from 
his example the virtues which may be hard to 
Blessing Twenty-Nine: The Sight of a True Monk 325 
EFTA01129427

transmit in words. 
C.2 Why people like to have a true monk visit 
their home 
In order to gain full benefit from seeing a true monk, 
if we should have the opportunity to invite one to 
our home, the Buddha gave us clear guidance on 
how to offer appropriate hospitality. Done properly, 
such hospitality can bring five distinct sorts of merit 
to the owner of the house, because: 
1. Looking on him with respect: will bring stead-
fast faith in mind because seeing the conduct of 
a true monk will give that household the chance 
to practice the path to heaven; 
2. Preparing his seat: giving the a true monk a place 
to sit Karma) will give that household the chance 
to practice the path to birth in an influential film-
3. Offering him refreshment: putting aside the men-
tal impurities of stinginess (by giving something 
for the a true monk to drink for example) gives 
the household the chance to practice for the path 
to the attainment of honour. 
4. Offering him requisites: sharing their wealth with 
the a true monk (e.g. by offering a donation to a 
monk) gives that household the chance to prac-
tice the path for the attainment of wealth. 
5. Conversing on the Dhamma: conversing on the 
Dhamma and listening to teachings gives the 
household the chance to practice the path to the 
attainment of wisdom. 
In fact to treat a monk of attainment badly can be 
very damaging, as in the case of Koka the Hunter 
(DhA.iii.31) who set his dogs on a monk and whose 
dogs subsequently turned on him, or the case of 
Upaka (DhA.iv.71-2) whose lack of ability to recog-
nize the qualities of a True Monk in the Buddha 
delayed his spiritual search for many years. 
C.3 Manners in meeting with a monk 
These days even Buddhists are often not so careful 
as they used to be about the way in which they treat 
monks whether it be passing them in the street of 
inviting them to their homes. Both the monks and 
the laypeople must shoulder some of the blame, be-
cause often monks ordain without any special 
preparation. They are not really very sure what be-
ing a monk entails. After ordination they don't 
study monastic conduct and so make mistakes. 
When they make mistakes, then no-one treats them 
with any respect. The other half of the blame falls 
on the laypeople who have never taken any inter-
est to look for the good points in monks. They spend 
the whole of their lives going from one bar to an-
other and never think to visit the temple. Thus it is 
sometimes hard for monks if they go into 
town.Young ladies think that the monks are just 
another sort of man and squeeze past them in the 
street. Some gentlemen even walk into monks 
knocking them over in the street. If people carry on 
treating monks like this, then in the end they will 
remove all possibility of ever learning anything use-
ful from the monks. Their eyes still see but their 
minds will become blind to virtue. Even if they were 
to meet the Buddha they would be unable to get 
any benefit from him. Thus if you want to conduct 
yourself properly when interacting with monks you 
need to study the correct protocol. If you should 
have the opportunity to come into contact with a 
monk, try to practise the following as far as it is 
practical: 
/. Offer something: If you have any requisites suit-
able for monks to use, then you should offer an 
appropriate amount to monks. Even a glass of 
water counts as requisites. 
2. Bow: If there are no suitable requisites available 
then bow to the monk using the five-point bow 
to express your respect. It shows that you don't 
just look a monks indifferently and it will be a 
habit which you will build up for yourself to give 
its fruit for the course of many lifetimes to come. 
It will remove the habit of stubbomess from your 
mind. 
3. Join your hands in a gesture of respect:If it is not 
convenient for you to bow (e.g. the floor is not 
clean, there are a lot of people or you risk being 
run over by a car) then join your hands in a ges-
ture of prayer and it is better than nothing. 
4. Stand respectfully: If it is not convenient for you 
to join your hands in a gesture of respect (e.g. 
you are carrying something) at least stand re 
326 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps towarcLs Enlightened Living 
EFTA01129428

spectfully or bow your head or make way for 
him to pass or find some other way of express-
ing your respect. 
5. Look respectfully: Even if you cannot do any of 
the above, at least look at the monk with faith 
and respect — not to look daggers at the monk 
or survey the monk from head to foot as if with 
the question in your mind 'Is that really a monk 
or not?'. 
U. ILLUSTRATIV$1i1L1 S 
D.1 Et Vakkali Thera (11.92, futinofp. 
Vakkali belonged to a brahmin family of Savatthi 
and became proficient in the Vedas. Usually peo-
ple are inspired to faith by one or more of four at-
tributes of a monk (A.ii.71): 
1. the appearance Irtspappanzanika] 
2. the voice [yhosappamanika] 
3. the humble manner of dress [lakhap-
pamauika] 
4. the teachings he gives Idhammapparnitqfkaj 
Vakkali was inspired to faith by the appearance 
alone of the Lord Buddha. After seeing the Buddha 
only once, he could never again tire of looking at 
him and followed him about everywhere. Any day 
he could not see the Buddha he felt low. In order to 
become closer to him he become a monk, and spent 
all his time apart from meals and bathing in con-
templating the thirty-two signs of a Great Man 
Ipurisalakkhanal so well exemplified by the Bud-
dha's person. He was satisfied simply to see the 
Buddha and had no further thought of listening to 
the Buddha's teaching or of striving for liberation. 
The Buddha waited for the right opportunity to 
teach him — because what he had to say would 
surely upset Vakkali — but at the same time must 
be for his benefit. One day when the right time 
came, He banished Vakkali to a place where he 
could no longer see the Buddha. Vakkali was so 
upset by the Buddha's retort that he prepared to 
commit suicide by jumping over a cliff on 
Gijjhakuta (the Vultures' Peak). Fully aware of 
Vakkali's intentions, before he was able to jump, 
the Buddha went to him and appeared to him teach-
ing the words (S.iii.120): 
Alan? Vakkali kiro to imina patikayena 
ditthena. Yo kho Vakkali dhammarn 
passati, so mampassati.Yo mampassati 
so dhammarn passatL 
The sight of my foul body is useless; 
He who sees the Dhamma, sees me 
He who sees me, sees the Dhamma. 
Filled with joy, Vakkali rose in the air pondering on 
the Buddha's words and realized arahantship in 
mid-air 
D.2 Ar. Aitgulimtila Thera (DA.i.240ff., 
J.iv.180) 
There was once a student at Takkasilit called 
Ahimsaka (the harmless one). He became a favour-
ite with his teacher because of his devotion to the 
study of the philosophies and the virtues. His dili-
gence, however, stirred up the envy of his fellow 
students who conspired against him, eventually 
poisoning his teacher's mind against him. Finally, 
looking for a way to rid himself of Ahirpsaka the 
teacher gave this student a final task he must per-
form in order to earn his graduation — he must 
avail himself of a thousand human right-hand fin-
gers —hoping that Ahimsaka would be killed him-
self in the attempt. Thus, out of unerring obedience 
to his teacher, Ahimsaka was transformed from a 
diligent student of virtue to a highway murderer 
attacking travellers in the Mini forest. With his 
usual diligence, he killed each victim taking a fin-
ger from each. With the finger-bones thus obtained 
he made a garland to hang round his neck, hence 
the nickname 'Airgulimilas. 
As a result of his deeds whole villages were de-
serted and the king ordered a detachment of men 
to seize him. Angulimala's mother guessing who 
the notorious murderer must be, started off to warn 
him of the king's plan of action. By now he lacked 
but one finger to complete his thousand and see-
ing his mother coming, determined to kill her. The 
Buddha seeing Angulimala's latent potential for en-
lightenment, and realizing that if he should kill his 
mother it would be the end of his spiritual career, 
went himself to the wood himself, and intercept-
ing him before he could harm his mother. The Bud-
dha appeared to Airgulimala with his back to him 
Blessing Twenty-Nine: The Sight of a True Monk 327 
EFTA01129429

as if he was moving slowly away from him. 
Angulimila seeing his chance chased after the Bud-
dha with his sword, but miraculously no matter 
how fast he ran, he could not succeed in catching 
up with the Buddha — until eventually he called 
out, "Stop monk! Stop!". 
"But, I have stopped," said the Buddha, "On the 
contrary it is you who have not stopped." 
It was at the sight of the Buddha's miraculous 
behaviour that AfigulimMa was eventually con-
verted by the Buddha's power and received ordi-
nation as a monk, later to become fully-enlightened 
as an arahant. 
D.3 Ea Ma(Oa/cum/all (DhA.L2Off.) 
Matthakurfrclali was the only son of the brahmin 
Adinnapubbaka. His father loved him dearly but 
was a great miser and would make savings in every 
way he could instead of spending money on his 
son — even down to the burnished earrings from 
which Matthakundali took his name. When he was 
sixteen years old Mattlakurmiali had an attack of 
jaundice. His father refused to call the physician 
fearing medical costs and prescribed for 
Matthakupflali himself until the boy was beyond 
all cure. Seeing he could do nothing more to help 
the boy, he carried him outside and laid him on the 
terrace — not in the hope of curing him, but to save 
himself embarrassment in the face of those who 
came to prepare for the funeral who might see his 
unspent wealth. 
The Buddha saw Matthakurmlali as he lay dying 
and, out of compassion, came to the door of his fa-
ther's home. Too weak to do anything else at the 
sight of the Buddha, the boy conjoured up devout 
faith in the Buddha. He died soon afterwards and 
was born amongst the gods in a golden mansion 
thirty leagues in extent. 
D.4 Ea AStdil Them (Dh.d.i.78ff.) 
Sariputta had originally been ascetic in the school 
of Sanjaya Velatthaputta. Together with his best 
friend Moggallima, he had achieved eighteen di-
plomas from university and did not know what fur-
ther to study, so they became ascetics. They wanted 
to meet an arahant. Later, Sariputta did meet the 
arahant called Assajji. He recognized from the man-
ner of Assajji that he must have a special attainment. 
Thus, Sitriputta approached Assajji and bowed in 
respect before saying, "Sir, you have a radiant com-
plexion, in whose school are you ordained?" 
"I am ordained in the school of Gotama Buddha 
who is the son of the Sakya kings," replied Assajji. 
"And what does he teach, Sir?" 
Even though he was an arahant, Assajji contin-
ued to treat Sariputta in a humble way saying, "1 
am still newly ordained, and I am still new to the 
teaching of the Buddha, I am not able to elaborate 
much on the Dhamma teachings, but can tell you 
that 'Whatever thing arises because of a cause, the 
Tathitgata will show the cause of that arising and 
the falling away of that thing." 
To the unpracticed listener, such a teaching might 
not sound very impressive (to those who have only 
captured sight of a true monk in the past without 
reflecting on their teachings.) However, Sitriputta 
had over the course of many lifetimes been in the 
habit of 'seeing' a true monk on all three levels, so 
even such a short sermon could become a stream-
enterer [sotapanct] on the spot. 
D.5 Ea Mahanaga Thera (DA.i.190, 191 eta) 
There were once two brahmins who lived at the gate 
of the city of Pittaliputta (a trading city built by 
the Emperor Asoka which served the whole of the 
Indian subcontinent). They often overheard trad-
ers who praised the virtues of an arahant called 
Mahimitga Thera who lived in the remote prov-
ince of Rohana. The two brahmins were inspired to 
faith and had the wish to see the arahant for them-
selves. Even though the arahant lived far away, the 
two decided they would do whatever was neces-
sary to meet with him. The two brahmins left 
Pataliputta and set off on the long journey. Before 
they had got far, one of the brahmins died on the 
way. The remaining brahmin continued undeterred 
to the coast where he made the necessary sea voy-
age to Rohana. He found accommodation at the 
village closeby Mahimitga's dwelling and prepared 
various delicacies to offer the next morning. Early 
next morning, the brahmin went to Malginitga and 
stood respectfully behind all the other people who 
had also gone to visit. Later, when he had the op-
328 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps towards Enlightened Living 
EFTA01129430

portunity, he came closer to the arahant and glee-
fully bowed at his feet, clutching the arahant at the 
ankles. Bowing one more time, the brahmin said, 
"You are so high." In fact the arahant was no taller 
or shorter than the next man. 
"What I meant to say is that you are of such high 
virtue that your reputation has even spread like the 
mist, across the sea to India, so that even sitting at 
the gates of Pitaliputta, I was able to hear others' 
praises of you. That is the reason I have gone to the 
trouble to come here." 
Having spoken thus, the brahmin offered requi-
sites to the arahant and having sought out the nec-
essary robes and bowl for himself requested ordi-
nation under the arahant. Striving hard in medita-
tion and obedient to the teaching of the monk, 
within two or three days, through his understand-
ing of the value of the 'sight of a true monk' the 
brahmin was able to attain arahantship like his 
master. 
D.6 Ex. ('rodha Jataka (J.325) 
There are certain sorts of monks who pretend they 
are genuine but who are actually hypocritical. There 
was once a hermit who would teach every quarter 
moon day. He taught both the humans and the ani-
mals. One day, a supporter offered him some curry 
and he found it delicious. He asked,"What meat is 
this? — it's so delicious!" The supporter replied that 
it was water-monitor meat. The hermit said, "Wa-
ter-monitor meat! It's the greatest." There was a wa-
ter-monitor that lived in a hole at the back of the 
temple and it used to come and listen every time 
Dhamma was being taught. Next time round, it 
would be easy for the hermit to get a delicious meal. 
He would just sit teaching the sermon with a ma-
chete at his side. Next time there was a sermon, the 
water-monitor stuck its head out of its hole and no-
ticed the machete by the side of the hermit. It 
thought to itself, "I wonder what subject is being 
taught today, that the hermit has brought a machete 
with him?" The water monitor was extra careful, 
but as soon as it was not attentive, the hermit hit it 
over the head with the machete. The water-moni-
tor ran back down its burrow and didn't come out 
again, but all the time, it thought to itself, "Who is 
the more advanced anyway, me or the hermit? If a 
hermit who professes the Precepts is going to be-
have like that even in front of the congregation, who 
knows what he does behind our backs?" 
D.7 Es How hot is chili? 
People may be as unaware of the qualities of vir-
tues as they are unaware of the spiciness of a chili 
pepper. If you go to a western country and a Euro-
pean asks what Thai chili is like, you might try 
making a comparison or showing him an example. 
They might ask, "Is it hot?" Of course you must 
agree that it is 'hot'. If they ask how hot it is, of 
course you could answer that it is "as hot as chili 
peppers" — however you run the risk of being ac-
cused of not trying very hard to explain — but it's 
hard to know what to use for a comparison, for 
someone of limited experience. He might ask, "Is it 
hot like ginger?" or "Is it hot like onions?" or "Is it 
hot like peppercorns?" or "Is it hot like mustard?" 
There is only one way of explaining — ask him to 
open his mouth and shut his eyes and put a little 
Thai chili in his mouth. Within five minutes he will 
have a swollen mouth and tongue and his cheeks 
look as if they are on fire. Now it's your turn to ask, 
"What is it hot like?" He will say for himself, "Hot 
like red hot charcoal!" 
D.8 Ex. The turtle and the fish 
People need to understand things based on their 
previous experience. If one tries to understand 
something new in terms of experience in which 
one is lacking, the results might be the same as 
a found in the following story: 
Once upon a time, there were a turtle and a 
fish who were good friends. The fish was con-
fined to the water, but the turtle was amphibi-
ous and could travel in the water or on the land 
at will. When the turtle returned from its trav-
els on the land it would tell the fish about all it 
had seen. At first the fish was not very inter-
ested, but after hearing the stories about the 
land, day in day out, it became more and more 
fascinated. 
The fish asked, "When you say that birds fly, 
do you mean like a frog?" Well, everybody 
knows the difference between a hopping frog 
Blessing Twenty-Nine: The Sight of a True Monk 329 
EFTA01129431

and the flight of a bird — but the turtle was un-
able to make the fish understand the difference. 
"And when you say that elephants are large and 
have tusks, are the tusks the same as the whisk-
ers of a prawn?" Again, the turtle was unable to 
make the fish understand the difference. 
"And when you say that trees have trunks, 
branches and twigs with leaves are they the 
same as seaweed?" The turtle was unable to 
make the fish understand the difference. How-
ever many questions the fish asked, the turtle 
was unable to explain. 
Finally the turtle realized that there is a con-
dition for being able to explain things to another 
person — both people must share common expe-
rience to be able to communicate. Without such 
common experience, the speaker may as well be 
speaking to himself! 
330 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps towards Enlightened Living 
EFTA01129432

Blessing Thirty 
Regular Discussion 
of the Dhanuna 
A. INTRODUt i ION 
• 
A.1 The place of Blessing Thirty in the order 
of things 
Many people can talk all day and all night about 
• 
outings or holidays, but if they had to talk even for 
five minutes on a subject of the Dhamma, they 
would certainly die! Discussing the Dhamma is no 
easy skill — even the Buddha himself spent many 
lifetimes perfecting speaking and listening before 
he could move on to discussion of the Dhamma. 
Dhamma discussion is a challenge because it is the 
culmination of almost all of the Blessings already 
mentioned: 
• Blessing Seven: Having heard much:. Dhamma 
discussion requires participants to be good lis-
teners. We have to be able to build up the ability 
to listen to others first before we can expect them 
to listen to us; 
• Blessing Ten: Artful Speech: Those in the discus-
sion must be artful speakers on the subject of 
Dhamma. They must not just say what others 
want to hear by complimenting and praising 
them. Although someone might speak seven lan-
guages, but they can hardly be considered an 
artful speaker if they are always causing fights 
by the things they say; 
• Blessing Twenty-Two: Respect: Those in the dis-
cussion must be respectful. Everything in the 
world has good and bad points. You should 
choose the constructive aspect of things to talk 
about. 
Blessing Twenty-Three: Humility: Those in the 
discussion must be humble — not looking down 
on others or their opinions; 
Blessing Twenty-Six: Having regularly listened 
to the Dhamma: They must have heard many 
Dhamma Talks — with an understanding built 
by reflecting on what they have learned, and by 
discussing and questioning the Dhamma. Of 
course, it is an acquired taste to want to listen to 
the Dhamma rather than listening to something 
else like music— which can be explained by two 
reasons: 
1. It's hard to concentrate on something abstract like 
the Dhamma: we are used to focussing on more 
material or sensually-stimulating subjects 
2. It's hard to open up one's mind to the Dhamma: 
Supposing the monk talks about Precepts, the 
listener knows that their Precepts are not very 
well kept, therefore to be reminded of their bad 
habits is always painful. It's hard to want to 
listen to someone talk about the faults about 
your personality. It is all very entertaining to 
listen to a sermon about 'fools' (as in the first 
Blessing) for as long as someone else is the sub-
ject of the sermon, but as soon as we realize 
that we also share some characteristics of a fool, 
the sermon becomes less pleasurable to listen 
to. It is like touching an open wound. This is 
why people like sitting right at the back of the 
lecture hall when listening to Dhamma teach-
ings — to try to protect their 'comfort zone'. 
Blessing Thirty: Regular Discussion of the Dhamma 331 
EFTA01129433

• Blessing Twenty-Seven: Patience: Those in a dis-
cussion need to be patient. The sort of patience 
you will need the most of is 'patience in the face 
of conflict' when differences of opinion arise; 
• Blessing Twenty-Eight: Openness to Criticism: 
Those in the discussion must be open to criti-
cism. You will know why you need to have pa-
tience when in the course of a discussion, you 
receive your first item of personal criticism. 
Sometimes during the course of a discussion, the 
others will test our patience first to see just how 
much criticism we are able to accept. If someone 
deserves some heavy criticism, they will start by 
receiving minor criticisms first, such as "When 
you are listening to sermons, you shouldn't sit 
and wriggle because it shows lack of respect to-
wards the Dhamma," and gradually get heavier 
for example: "When you are listening to sermons, 
you shouldn't let your mind wander to think 
about other matters like your own home, because 
it shows lack of respect towards the Dhamma." 
Thus you can see that discussing the Dhamma is 
no easy matter. If it were easy, it would have been 
one of the first units of the Manual of Peace. How-
ever, we find that it has been placed at the thirtieth 
step of the path of Buddhist practice. Thus don't 
go organizing a discussion if you don't know what 
you are doing or else you might end up with a dis-
cussion of things that are not artful. Dhamma dis-
cussion is even more demanding than just listen-
ing to a Dhamma-talk — because discussion means 
we must learn to listen and respond at the same 
time. Similarly, it is easier just to talk and have peo-
ple listen to you than to have the patience to listen 
to other people talk. 
A.2 The objectives of Blessing Thirty 
The objectives of this blessing are: 
1. to discuss the Dhamma in a way that benefits 
oneself and others; for those who are capable of 
discussing and sharing their knowledge, a large 
merit awaits because in the words of the Bud-
dha 
esabbadanarp dhammaclarramjinete 
(the gift of Dhamma excels all gifts) 
Dh.354 
2. to discuss the Dhamma in a way that does not 
detract from the value of the Dhamma; This 
needs to be mentioned because discussing 
Dhamma in an inappropriate or distorted way 
may curtail the life of the Dhamma in living 
memory 
"O! Monks! Those monks who claim (vari-
ous sorts of) monastic transgressions are not 
monastic transgressions, and those who 
claim as monastic transgressions those 
which are not monastic transgressions, are 
those who bring harm and unhappiness for 
the manyfolk — suffering to humans and 
angels alike — in so doing earning grave de-
merit, consuming much merit and causing 
an end to the Saddhamma." 
Anapati Sutta (A.i.20) 
and 
"Distortion of the Dhamma means claiming 
the Buddha said or didn't say (A.i.59) or that 
the Suttas contain or don't contain (A.i.61) 
what is in fact not the case." 
This is in addition to what has already been men-
tioned in Blessing Three (§D.2) about joking 
about the Dhamma; 
3. to acquire wisdom: Dhamma discussions are in-
tended as a way of cultivating wisdom. Above 
all other things the Buddha praised 'wisdom'. 
Most people know that wisdom is beyond price. 
The Buddha even taught the proverb: 
Parana naranarp ratanarp 
wisdom is the (wish-fulfilling) 
gem of the people 
Jaz% Sutta (S.i.36) 
The Buddha's observation is in contrast to the 
opinion of many modem children who seem to 
think that a wish-fulfilling gem comes in the form 
of a television or a computer. Life is full of prob-
lems to solve. Whether it be trivial problems of 
physical hardship like drying washing when it 
is raining, or problems from the people around 
us. There are even problems inside our own body 
from illnesses and pain. We must rely on wis-
332 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps towarcLs Enlightened Living 
EFTA01129434

dom to solve all these problems — but wisdom 
is something we cannot buy — it can however 
be acquired from two main sources (as already 
discussed in the "Two Formative Influences on 
our discretion (4B.3) in the First Blessing): 
1. the advice and encouragement we get from 
good friends Pealyanamittal during discus-
sion of the Dhamma with them; 
2. the insights we come to through our ability to 
be a teacher to ourselves [yonisomanasikara] 
— for which the regular practice of medita-
tion is a prerequisite; 
4. to sharpen our wits: having to think and apply 
the Dhamma we know 'in real-time' as one does 
in a discussion is a 'performing art'. In order to 
do so well, we need to have sharp wits [pati-
bhanct]. 
These are in addition to the five objectives of lis-
tening to the Dhamma already mentioned in Bless-
ing Twenty-Six (§O). 
h. DISCUSSION OF TIM DRAM MA 
B.1 Definitions: Dhamma & Discussion 
The word 'dharnrnd is not easy to define and can 
have up to a hundred meanings depending on the 
context. In Blessing Sixteen we have already de-
scribed Dhamma as being a description of the real-
ity of things while at the same time referring to vir-
tue. However, at this stage in the Manual of Peace 
it is perhaps also useful to reflect that the Dhamma 
in its context as the teaching of the Buddha and as 
the second component of the Triple Gem is recog-
nizable by the following six characteristics (..37, 
A.iii.285): 
1. properly expounded by the Exalted One 
[svakkato bhagavata Dhammal; 
2. clearly perceived 
within ourselves 
[sanditthikoJ; 
3. timeless [akalilw]; 
4. which inspires those who see it to call others 
to come and see it Iehipassikoj; 
5. which should be internalized ropanayaol; 
6. which can be realized subjectively by the wise 
[paccatcup veditabbo viiiiiahi]; 
The word 'discussion' means that there must be at 
least two people dialoguing on a subject of the 
Dhamma (not on other matters). Such discussions 
should occur regularly and they should be aimed 
to increase the wisdom of the participants (not to 
show off who is the smartest like some sort of con-
test) arranged at an appropriate time and taking 
no more time than is appropriate. 
B.2 Varieties of Discussion 
Discussion of the Dhamma can be divided into two 
types: 
1. Giving a Dhamma talk which is more or less a 
one-way discussion of the Dhamma. This sub-
ject has already been touched upon in Blessing 
Twenty-Six, however, in this Blessing we are no 
longer simply on the receiving end of teachings, 
now we must start to take some of the responsi-
bility for applying them to others for our own 
and others' increasing wisdom, without devalu-
ing the Dhamma by doing so; 
2. Dhamma debate: which is a two (or more)-way 
discussion on the subject of the Dhamma. 
B.2.1 Giving a Dhamma Talk 
The Buddha enumerates the following five quali-
ties of a good Dhamma preacher as already men-
tioned in the Twenty-Sixth Blessing 5B3. The Bud-
dha went further to say (Candupama Sutta S.ii.195) 
that anyone who teaches simply to attract follow-
ers does not teach in a pure way. However anyone 
who thinks that the Dhamma with its six character-
istics will bring benefit to those who know it and 
practice it and who teaches it on the basis of lov-
ing-kindness, compassion and the thought to help 
others, that sort of teaching is pure. In addition to 
these basic skills, according to the Kesi Sutta 
(A.ii.112ff.) different approaches are required for 
training different types of people in the Dhamma 
—some disciples need to be taught gently by elabo-
rating the meaning of good behaviour and the 
wholesome fruits of such good behaviour —some 
need to be taught sternly by elaborating the mean-
ing of evil and the unwholesome retribution of such 
evil behaviour —some need to be taught by a com-
bination of these two means — and for those that 
cannot be helped in any of the previous three ways, 
Blessing Thirty: Regular Discussion of the Dhamma 333 
EFTA01129435

one needs to accept that there is no use in giving 
them further teachings until such time as they can 
gain benefit therefrom. 
B.2.2 Dhamma Debate 
Preaching is challenging in that one needs to have 
a sensitivity to the disposition and needs of the lis-
tener without hearing anything from them. How-
ever, even though in debating others' position is 
more express, the debate is more challenging be-
cause one must have the ability to 'think on one's 
feet'. It is not only a question of satifactorily an-
swering questions, but also the ability to gauge the 
type of question and the real purpose behind the 
question too. The Buddha enumerates five sorts of 
questions (S.ii.1): 
1. questions about things the person asking has not 
yet seen; 
2. questions comparing things to those the person 
asking has already seen; 
3. questions to overcome the person asking's 
doubts; 
4. questions to encouraging the listener to follow 
what the questioner has seen; 
5. rhetorical questions; 
Surprisingly, many questions do not require a 
straight answer and this becomes easier to compre-
hend if one looks at the five reasons the Buddha iden-
tified for why questions are asked (A.iii.191): 
1. asking under the influence of ignorance or for-
getfulness 
2. asking under the influence of evil desires 
3. asking as a way to express looking down on oth-
ers 
4. asking out of curiousity to know 
5. asking with the expectation that they will get a 
good answer 
Thus, one needs a multifaceted strategy in answer-
ing questions— and it turns out that even the Bud-
dha himself had four different ways of answering 
a question (A.ii.46): 
1. answering directly [ekarpsabyakarwaa]; well-
prepared questions deserve a direct answer 
2. answering by dividing one's response 
[patipucchabyakaraqa]; Answer which requires 
you to make a division dear. If someone is mix-
ing up their practice because they are confusing 
steps which should be made separate or practis-
ing things in the wrong order, then your answer 
must start by making a dear division between 
the factors in an issue. Sometimes you need to 
limit the scope of what you are answering. Some-
times, you need to make sure that both you and 
the listener understand the same thing by the 
terms you are using in a dialogue (e.g. when they 
are talking about 'evil' are they in fact meaning 
'sin' defined in their own terms?) 
3. answering by a question in return Ivibhajja-
byakaractak Sometimes people ask questions not 
because they are interested in the answer but 
they are interested in whether you can answer. 
In such cases maybe you should ask such peo-
ple why they ask such a question. In some cases 
you need to ask them whether they would like 
to know or whether they would like to experi-
ence it for themselves — without answering, 
and; 
4. keeping one's silence [thapaniyapa film]. This is 
otherwise known as 'Noble silence' — or in mod-
em day parlance 'no comment'! It is applicable 
when giving any answer irrespective will only 
serve to reinforce the unwholesomeness of the 
questioner. An example of this is when people 
ask about the specific inner experiences gained 
as a result of meditation but they have never 
practiced for themselves, it is not much use to 
give an answer because: 
1. they may not believe you; 
2. they may use what they have remembered in-
stead of striving to attain such experience for 
themselves. 
C. PRACTICALITIES OF ORGANIZING A 
DHAMMA DISCUSSION 
C.1 Self:preparation for a Dhamma Debate 
It is hard to get a good Dhamma discussion going 
if you don't know the rules and regulations of the 
game. You need to be well-prepared when you en-
ter a Dhamma Discussion. It is not just like having 
a chat. As for conducting the discussion of the 
Dhamma, the following guidelines are recom-
334 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps lowarth: Enlightened Living 
EFTA01129436

mended: 
1. Keep the Precepts in advance: If you are a house-
holder, you should keep Five Precepts for at 
least seven days beforehand. (If possible, Eight 
Precepts is even better). It will make sure that 
we embody the Dhamma about which we want 
to talk. It is not the idea to discuss the Dhamma 
when you are drunk. In the old days Dhamma 
would never be discussed if alcohol was being 
drunk or if any of the participants had been 
drinking. If you want to know the reason, why 
not try it for yourself? If you try speaking on a 
sensible subject to someone under the influence 
of alcohol, you may start a fight. To discuss the 
Dhamma, your mind must first be true to its 
real nature. Alcohol interferes with this nature. 
Thus if you can't even manage to keep the Five 
Precepts, don't delude yourself into thinking 
you will be able to discuss the Dhamma. 
2. Meditate in advance: You should prepare your-
self for the Dhamma discussion by meditating 
regularly beforehand and meditating immedi- 
7. 
ately before starting the discussion. In this way 
your mind will be sufficiently refined to under- 
8. 
stand the subtle nature of the subject under dis-
cussion. 
3. Dress politely and modestly to participate: you 
must dress in a way suitable for the nature of 
things under discussion. Thus don't dress in 
clothes that are too brightly coloured, provoca-
tive, tight-fitting, dirty, stained or torn. 
4. Maintain good manners: Nothing you do must 
9. 
be irritating to the others participating. 
5. Speak politely: You should speak calmly. For 
those who speak loudly, it is obvious that the 
mind is already away from the centre of the 
body. One should not boast about one's own at- 
10. 
tainments or one's own school of meditation. 
One should honestly admit the limits of what 
one knows and not pretend to be expert in eve-
rything. 
6. Give unknown teachings the benefit of the 
doubt: Even if you don't understand some of 
11. 
the Buddha's teachings at first encounter, don't 
refuse them outright. Sometimes we don't in-
stantly understand the meaning of teachings we 
learn. Sometimes our experience or refinement 
of mind is not enough to be able to see the ben-
efit of a teaching. Supposing we have the teach-
ing, "forge your own destiny with diligence" 
— if we are heavily involved in social welfare 
work we might think that the teaching cannot 
be right — how could it be better to help our-
selves rather than to spend our time being al-
truistic to others? However reflecting more 
deeply we will find that it refers to the fact that 
the benefit of others will be of no use in the long 
term if we don't train ourselves too as our first 
priority. Thus, if you don't agree with a teach-
ing, don't refuse it but express your doubt and 
what you think it might mean as an alternative 
instead. Supposing we have already categori-
cally refused a teaching and later someone 
points out that it is right using appropriate rea-
sons, it will be hard for us to reconsider our 
point of view — because we will be more afraid 
of losing face than of being wrong. 
Avoid provocative words: Use only a manner 
and choice of words that facilitate harmony. 
Avoid expressing anger when confronted by dif-
ferences of opinion: Sometimes there are even 
classic proverbs can be contradictory (viz. 
"Make hay while the sun shines" versus "More 
haste less speed") Both can be true in the ap-
propriate context. If two people have different 
situations in mind they will be sure to have dif-
ferences on even the same subject. 
Avoid having fame or oneupmanship as the mo-
tivation for your discussion: If such unskilful 
motives are the reason you want to have a dis-
cussion for it would be better for you to stay at 
home! 
Don't forget that Dhamma discussions are de-
signed to bring forth wisdom: Dhamma conver-
sations are always to further our knowledge and 
to use the strengths of others to fill in our own 
weaknesses. Such discussions are never to show 
off how much we know. 
Avoid letting the conversation drift 'off topic': 
If you you start by talking about generosity and 
later find yourself boasting about all the times 
you have been generous then you have gone 
Blessing Thirty: Regular Discussion of the Dhamma 335 
EFTA01129437

beyond the limits of a Dhamma discussion. 
Similarly, if you find that you are gossiping 
about how stingy such-and-such another per-
son is, then again it is no longer a Dhamma dis-
cussion. 
12. Avoid letting the discussion go on for too long: 
— otherwise everyone involved will be bored 
C.2 Selecting worthy participants 
Choosing the wrong people to engage in a 
Dhamma discussion can be disastrous and 
cause a quarrel. As mentioned above, it is only 
in conversation with the 'Good Friend' that 
wisdom will arise, therefore, in choosing par-
ticipants, you should invite those possessing 
the seven characteristics of a good frienclikal-
yervamitta] (A.iv.32): 
1. endearing [piyo]: attractive and making oth-
ers feel at ease, ready to ask questions and 
seek advice; 
2. respectable [guru]: one who makes others 
feel that they can take safe refuge in them; 
3. cultured and emulable [bhavaniyo] others 
who see their educated qualities and would 
like to be like that too; 
4. a counsellor [uatta] having the ability to give 
good counsel through knowing the way to 
speak to get results, through knowing how 
to explain Dhamma so that others under-
stand, through knowing the appropriate time 
to give praise and mention criticisms ; 
5. being a patient listener [vacanakkhamo] al-
ways being open to advice, questions and 
criticism without being irritated ; 
6. the ability to treat profound matters [gam-
bhirahca katharp. Junta] and able to diffi-
cult matters in a way which can be easily un-
derstood; 
7. never speaking of things without reason or 
leading conversations to a useless end [no 
catthane niyojaye]. 
These criteria apply to conversation between 
unrelated people. It should be noted that if the 
conversation is within the family, then it is not 
necessary to worry about selecting the partici-
pants. 
C3 Selecting a worthy subject of debate 
According to the Buddha there are ten criteria 
[katthavatthu] for selecting subjects constructive for 
a Dhamma discussion (A.v.129, also at 
. 
.145 and 
113), namely subjects that are con ucive to: 
. wanting little [appiccha]; 
2. contentment Isantutthip 
3. seclusion Ipavisekal; 
4. solitude raswpsaggal; 
5. energetic striving Iviriyab 
6. self-discipline Isilaj; 
7. concentration [samadhij; 
8. wisdom [pair' fie]; 
9. liberation [vimutti], and; 
10. seeing and knowing of liberation Ivimutti-
iianadassaruzl. 
One should talk on these sorts of subjects while 
avoiding unconducive talk of kings, robbers, min-
isters, armies, panic, battle, food, drink, clothes, 
beds, flowers, garlands, perfumes, relatives, vehi-
cles, villages, townships, cities, districts, women, 
champions, streets, gossip, ghost-stories, 
desultatory talk, fables about land and sea, pros-
perity and decay. In addition, the subject of con-
versation must be suited to the participants — if 
you are going to discuss the Vinaya you must 
choose people who are expert in this subject. If you 
are going to discuss meditation then it should be a 
discussion between those who have really got down 
to practice for themselves. 
C.4 Selecting an appropriate time fora debate 
For participants in a Dhamma Discussion who are 
unrelated, any mutually appropriate time is accept-
able. For families, particular advice (given below see 
§D.4). Just like listening to Dhamma teachings, the 
practice of Dhamma discussions should be regular 
(weekly, monthly) or might be on the occasion of a 
particular calendar event with an appropriately 
related topic — e.g. for New Yeac it might be a dis-
cussion about one's good resolutions for the New 
Year. 
C.5 Conclusion: By Dhamma, for Dhamma 
In conclusion, there are three governing principles 
to discussing the Dhamma: 
336 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps Towards Enlightened Living 
EFTA01129438

1. Discuss within the scope of Dhanima: The sub-
ject of discussion must remain within the scope 
of the Dhamma. If you want to talk about vir-
tues, don't let the discussion overlap into boast-
ing about virtues. If you want to speak on pro-
tecting yourself from vices, don't let the discus-
sion run over into gossipping about others' ills; 
2. Discuss by means of Dhanima: Those partici-
pating in the discussion must not behave out of 
keeping with the Dharnma. Respect should be 
given to others where it is due — rather than 
looking down on the other participants you as-
sume know less than you. You should speak 
politely with artful speech. Praise those who 
speak correctly— and be polite if occasion arises 
to point out the faults in another's argument 
(rather than insulting them personally). If you 
make a mistake yourself, apologise rather than 
letting your defilements dominate the conver-
sation; 
3. Discuss for Dharnrna: Those who discuss must 
share the goal of furthering their knowledge of 
Dhamma through conversation — rather than 
showing off what they already know. In express-
ing your knowledge, it should be with the aim 
of facilitating others to share their knowledge 
with you! 
U. DILIMMLA DISCUSSION IN EVERYDAY 
LIFE 
D.1 Dhamma Discussion in the time of the 
Buddha: 
In the time of the Buddha, even though arahants 
had already freed themselves of all defilements, 
they would hold discussions of the Dhamma to 
sharpen their knowledge — not to speak of the less 
'enlightened'. Discussion of the Dhamma was like 
the national pastime of that age with debate on spir-
itual and philosophical matters to be found in 
groups on every street corner. 
13.2 Old tradition in Buddhist society 
In the olden days, in the countries of Southeast Asia, 
any village where the mayor was interested in the 
Dhamma, would hold a public Dhamma discussion 
every full-moon night. The discussion would have 
very simple rules so that everybody could have the 
chance to join in — for example, each villager took 
it in turn to talk about the best good habit they had 
— something even the village thief could manage! 
D.3 Role of the Older Generation in Dhamma 
Discussion 
In Asian Buddhist society of old, when all the fam-
ily lived together, the young and middle-aged 
adults would all go to work the fields. The old folks 
and would stay at home with the children. Usually 
the old folks would make baskets or do other sed-
entary tasks, but often they would tell tales to the 
children playing nearby — often cautionary tales 
from the Jatakas (birth stories of the previous life-
times of the Buddha). The young children would 
have a lot of questions for the old-folks and by ques-
tions and answers, before long there would be a 
conversation set up on the subject of the Dhamma. 
As the result of such conversations, the children 
would learn the foundations of moral behaviour 
from a very early age. 
D.4 Dhamma Discussion around the dining 
table 
(see also B1.12 §B3.1, heading 3.2) These days the op-
portunity to discuss Dhamma en .famille is becom-
ing scarcer because the family tends to centre itself 
more on the TV than Dhamma wisdom. However 
anyone who values the future of their children 
should realize that the TV is robbing them of the 
opportunity to instil their children with virtue. It 
can be predicted that any family which cannot man-
age to come together for at least one communal meal 
per day will have a sorry future for its children.The 
extra money parents can earn for their children by 
working late (but missing the family mealtime) is 
no substitute for the time they will miss teaching 
virtue to their children — guidance without which 
the children can ruin their future. For Dhamma 
Discussions within the family, finding an appropri-
ate time is more complex. Whether you are the 
leader of a family yet or not you need to consider 
being responsible for the real education of your 
child. Nowadays, we no longer have grandparents 
at home to look after the children's morality. The 
Blessing Thirty: Regular Discussion of the Dhamma 337 
EFTA01129439

form of the discussion is usually a parent giving 
advice to his children and asking for their opinions 
on certain things concerning the childrens' own 
behaviour. The parent will speak for 80% of the time 
and the child speaks for 20% of the time — no more 
than that — otherwise it will end up with the child 
teaching the parent instead! 
115 Twin pulpits & Tibetan debate 
Between monks in the present time in the 
Theravada tradition, there is still the tradition of 
giving a sermon 'from two pulpits' — that is two 
monks with expertise in a subject will discuss that 
subject in front of an audience — maybe the an-
dent equivalent of today's televised panel discus-
sion? In the Tibetan tradition, there is alse the tra-
dition of debating for students and teachers to 
hone their wits and mastery of scriptural mate-
rial. 
116 More than just talking about it — practise! 
It should never be forgotten that whether knowl-
edge gained comes from a sermon or a discus-
sion, it can be of no use to anyone if we don't 
practice it for ourselves as the result — as the 
Buddha mentions in addition to the criteria for 
subject of discussion (see K.3 above) that the most 
praiseworthy topics of discussion are those where 
the debators not only talk about it, but also prac-
tice it too (A.v.129). 
111,US1 RA 11% E, EXAMPLES 
.E.1 Metaphor: Conferences for academics 
Just as the sharing exchange of ideas at conferences 
helps to foster academic progress, regular discus-
sion of the Dhamma will bring wisdom, the path-
way to the liberation of suffering. 
£2 Metaphor: Shadow-boxing 
The people of old compared talking to 'shadow 
boxing'. They compared listening to others like 
punching a sandbag. However, discussions with 
others are the hardest of all (like boxing in the ring). 
E.3 Ex. Ekuddana Thera (DhA.iii.384ff.) 
There was once the son of a wealthy brahmin of 
Savatthi who entered the Buddhist order. He 
dwelled in the forest fulfilling his noviciate and 
came to the Buddha to receive a subject of medita-
tion from him. Seeing that Sariputta was otherwise 
occupied, the Buddha gave the novice a short teach-
ing himself to the effect: 
"There is no sorrow for the monk of transcen-
dental thoughts" 
The novice learned this verse by heart and returned 
to the forest to reflect on it. Although he didn't know 
any other verses of Dhamma, he understood this 
one thoroughly and eventually became an arahant 
by contemplation of it. Later he came to be known 
as "one exclamation" [ekuddana] he would exhort 
others to listen to the Dhamma, and he would re-
cite this only verse he knew. Every time he had fin-
ished his recitation, the guardian spirits [devas] of 
the forest rejoiced in his merit resoundingly. On one 
occasion two learned monks who were well-versed 
in the Tipitaka, each accompanied by a group of 
500 monks came to his dwelling place. Ekuddana 
invited the two monks to preach the Dhamma. They 
enquired if there were many who wished to listen 
to the Dhamma in such a remote area. Ekuddana 
told them that even the guardian spirits of the for-
ests would rejoice at the end of each discourse. Thus 
reassured, the two learned monks took turns to 
preach the Dhamma, but when their discourses 
ended, there was no rejoicing from the guardian 
spirits of the forests. The learned monks were puz-
zled and they doubted the words of Ekuddana —
but he insisted that the guardian spirits always re-
joiced at the end of each discourse. The two learned 
monks then requested him to do the preaching. 
Ekuddana recited his usual verse. At the end of 
the recitation, the guardian spirits rejoiced as usual. 
Some monks in the retinue felt that the devas in-
habiting the forests were showing favouritism to 
Ekuddana. They reported the matter to the Bud-
dha on arrival at the Jetavana monastery. However, 
the Buddha admonished them: 
"O! Monks! I don't say that a bhikkhu who 
has learned much and talks much of the 
Dhamma is one who is versed in the 
Dhamma. One who has learned only little 
and knows only one verse of the Dhamma, 
but fully comprehends the Four Noble 
338 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps towards Enlightened Living 
EFTA01129440

Truths, and is ever mindful is the one who 
is truly versed in the Dhamma." 
E.4 At Verafija Sutta (A.iv.172) 
The brahmin Verafija once visited the Buddha at 
Nalerupicumanda and asked the Buddha a series 
of questions. 
First he asked, "It is said that the Buddha pays no 
respect to aged brahmins?" 
The Buddha replies that he has not seen a brahmin 
in the whole world to whom such respect is due 
from him. 
"It is said that the you are tasteless?" 
"In fact that they say I am tasteless is correct be-
cause the Buddha has relinquished attachment in 
the sense perceptions of eye, ear, nose, mouth and 
body — but that is not the reason for your asking?" 
"It is said that the you are without wealth?" 
"What they say is true, because the Buddha has 
relinquished the sense perceptions of eye, ear, nose, 
mouth and body which lead to attachments to 
wealth — but that is not the reason for your ask-
ing?" 
"It is said that the you are inactive?" 
"What they say is true, because the Buddha ex-
horts his disciples not to do anything which is evil 
with body, speech or mind — but that is not the 
reason for your asking?" 
"It is said that the you are a nihilist?" 
"What they say is true, because the Buddha ad-
vocates the anihilation of greed, hatred and delu-
sion from the mind — but that is not the reason for 
your asking?" 
"It is said that the you arefill of hatred?" 
"What they say is true, because the Buddha ad-
vocates the hatred of evil action of body, speech and 
mind —but that is not the reason for your asking?" 
"It is said that the you are a terminator?" 
"What they say is true, because the Buddha ad-
vocates the termination of greed, hatred and delu-
sion and he teaches the Dhamma for the termina-
tion of all forms of evil and unwholesomeness —
but that is not the reason for your asking?" 
"It is said that you are an incinerator?" 
"What they say is true, because the Buddha ad-
vocates the burning up of the unwholesome states 
of body, speech and mind — but that is not the rea-
son for your asking?" 
"It is said that you will not be born any more?" 
"What they say is true, because the Buddha will 
never again enter the womb or take future birth. 
Just like amongst 8, 10 or 12 eggs are incubated by 
a mother hen, wouldn't it be true to call the first of 
those chickens to use its beak or its claw to break 
through the shell the eldest of the batch? " 
"It is true he should be called the oldest, because 
he emerges before all the others." 
"In the same way, of all the beings of the world 
encapsulated in their shell of ignorance Itzufila] the 
Buddha has been the first to break through that shell 
because of cultivating the recollection of previous 
lifetimes Ipubbertivescinussatififigal, knowing the 
arising and falling of others according to their 
karma Icutripapcitafinga] and knowing an end to 
defilements [amavakklictyafiaga]. 
Only after this explanation did Verafija realize 
the answer to his original question and appreciat-
ing the uniqueness of the Buddha in his world and 
took refuge in the Triple Gem as a Buddhist lay-
man for the rest of his life. 
E.5 Er. Bavari & his disciples (SN 9764148) 
There was once a Brahmin ascetic teacher who lived 
on the banks of a river in Dalcichicapatha and who 
had many students. He heard praise of the Buddha 
and decided to send his students to interrogate the 
Buddha with questions to see if his claim to Bud-
dhahood was justified. 
They followed the Buddha to Rfijagaha, and 
meeting him, satisfied themselves that he bore all 
the thirty-two marks of a Great Man. Then each in 
turn asked one or more questions (to a total of thirty-
five different questions!) —
ABM: What is the reason why living beings are 
enshrouded in unknowing? 
Buddha: The enshrouding of ignorance is reason 
for their unknowing. Because of their craving and 
recklessness no wisdom is available to them. Thus 
I teach that craving smothers living beings in at-
tachment and suffering is the consequent harm 
brought. 
Ajita: What is the thing to prevent the craving that 
Blessing Thirty: Regular Discussion of the Dhamma 339 
EFTA01129441

runs like water through our perceptions? What can 
release us from craving? 
Buddha: Mindfulness is what can prevent and pro-
tect one from craving while wisdom is what allows 
one release. 
Ajita: And what can cause the extinguishing of 
body and mind components Intinta-rnpa]? 
Buddha: If the consciousness (mind) has already 
attained extinction, the bodily component will also 
be brought to extinction. 
Ajita: What characterises those who have already 
seen the Dhamma (attained enlightenment)? 
Buddha: They have no further attachment for 
sense pleasure, their mind remains unclouded and 
knowing all mental phenomena they are mindful 
in all postures. 
Tissametteyya: Who can be said to be contented? 
Buddha: I call those who are not caught up in sense 
pleasure . .. those who follow the Brahma-faring, 
who are restrained as to the senses, who have no 
further craving, who are mindful in all postures 
who are of Right View and who have uprooted the 
defilements from the mind, those who are con-
tented. 
Putirtaka: What is the reason why large numbers 
of people worship deities with sacrifices? 
Buddha: The reason is that their aging interferes 
with them achieving what they wish. 
Putzrtaka: Is it possible through properly prac-
tising sacrifices to overcome birth and aging? 
Buddha: Those who perform sacrifices are moti-
vated by material gain. I say that whoever is so mo-
tivated cannot be released from the cycle of rebirth. 
Putznaka: If those performing sacrifices cannot 
obtain release from the cycle of rebirth, then who 
can? 
Buddha: Those who can attain release must be 
those who have no further craving in their mind, 
who have seen the Dhamma by which their mind 
is peaceful, pure, without unwholesome behaviour 
to cloud the mind, like a snuffed candle, without 
further defilements or craving. 
Mettagu: What causes all the suffering in the 
world? 
Buddha: Suffering has karma and defilements as 
its cause piped/ill The more the cause is fulfilled, 
the more suffering there will be — thus fools by 
fulfilling the cause come across suffering often. 
However, knowing the cause, one should avoid 
fulfilling it. 
Mettagu: How can one endowed with wisdom 
cross the ocean of birth, aging and sorrow? 
Buddha: All my teachings are those you must put 
into practice by yourself, within the very body of 
yours — it cannot be attained by asking other peo-
ple — and that is to mindfully overcome the crav-
ing that traps you in this world 
Mettagu: Which dliamma does the Buddha rejoice 
in as the highest? 
Buddha: The Buddha rejoices in any teaching 
which reduces absent-mindedness in the beginning, 
middle or ending — which leads to mindfulness 
and non-recklessness to know and relinquish at-
tachment to all that is 'mine' in order to transcend 
the suffering of birth, aging and sorrow. 
Mettagis: Just as the Buddha must have overcome 
suffering and doubtlessly have taught your disci-
ples to do the same — may I be accepted as one of 
your disciples? 
Buddha: He who is the true Brahmin has (not only) 
thoroughly studied the Three Vedas (but), has no 
further defilements or anxieties, has no further at-
tachment in the sensual plane — has crossed the 
ocean of suffering with no remaining suffering —
that is who I say is liberated from birth and aging. 
Dhotaka: In the human or deva-world is their any 
brahmin perfectly free of concerns? 
Buddha: Those who know the supreme Dhamma, 
having overcome doubt, have crossed the ocean of 
defilement. 
Dhotaka: What is the device to extinguish the de-
filements? 
Buddha: The device which you can see for your-
self, and which you don't need to enquire from oth-
ers, is the mindfulness to overcome the craving that 
attaches the mind to this world. 
Dhotaka: I delight in the Buddha's explanation of 
how to overcome defilements... 
Buddha: Once knowing that craving of the high, 
middle or low level traps beings in the world, en-
tertain no further craving. 
Upasiva: I find that I have no perceptable mental 
340 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps towards Enlightened Living 
EFTA01129442