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state. What mental state can I rely upon to bring 
me to liberation from this ocean? 
Buddha: You should take the absorption of the 
Sphere of Nothingness [akiiicaffirlayatana-jhana] 
as the object of your meditation to cross the ocean, 
relinquishing sense-pleasure, overcoming doubt 
and seeing the end of craving be day and by night. 
Upasiva: Do those who cultivate the Sphere of 
Nothingness as their object of meditation ever know 
fading out of that state? 
Buddha: There is no fading out from the state of 
the Sphere of Nothingness. 
Upasiva: If a person were to pass away while in 
the state of meditation on the Sphere of Nothing-
ness would they stay in that realm or would their 
consciousness enter upon Nirvana? 
Buddha: Just as a flame which blows out in the 
wind gives no indication of the direction in which 
it has gone, those who have gone beyond the body 
and mind constituents [nama-rispa] will extinguish 
with no further trace without further birth. 
Upasiva: Has that person really been extin-
guished or are they simply disembodied or do they 
become eternal beyond danger? 
Buddha: Those who enter upon Parinibbana have 
no further defilements to cause them to be born, 
they will take no further birth. 
Nanda: If a sage [muni] exists in the world is he 
one endowed with the absorptions [jhanct] or is it 
the way he earns his living that makes him a sage? 
Buddha: One is not called a sage because of what 
one has seen, heard or known. I say that he who 
frees himself from defilements, who has no further 
defilements, who is no longer concerned by crav-
ing can be referred to as a 'sage'. 
Nanda: A large number of ascetics and brahmins 
claim to have become pure by what they have seen 
or heard, by their discipline, torment or methodol-
ogy — do some of them really manage to overcome 
birth and aging? 
Buddha: I say that those ascetics and brahmins can-
not overcome birth and aging by such practices. 
Nanda: If these brahmins and ascetics cannot over-
come birth and aging, who in the human or deva-
world can? 
Buddha: I do not say that is the case for all 
brahmins and ascetics are trapped in birth and ag-
ing, but I say that only those brahmins and ascetics 
who can relinquish attachment to mental state ac-
companying all what they have seen or heard, their 
discipline, torment or methodology, knowing the 
harmfulness of craving to the extent that they have 
no further defilement, can overcome birth and ag-
ing. 
Hentaka: In the past I have been distracted by 
teachers who have speculated about events of the 
future or the past. All that they have done is sim-
ply lip-service to true practice. I take no delight in 
their teachings — what I would really like to know 
is the thing that allows one to overcome craving? 
Buddha: Whosoever knows that Nirvana is what 
can reduce craving and contentment with 
pleasureable perceptions, that it is not imperma-
nent, and knowing this has mindfulness, who sees 
the Dhamma and has extinguished the defilements, 
will overcome the craving which leads to attach-
ment to this world. 
Todeyya: How is the liberation of a person who 
has transcended the sensual, who has no more crav-
ing and who has overcome all doubt? 
Buddha: The liberation of such a person will be 
unalterable. 
Todeyya: Has such a person really overcome crav-
ing, possessed of true wisdom — or have they just 
altered their wisdom to change the perception of 
craving or Right View in the mind? 
Buddha: That person really has no further crav-
ing and has achieved true wisdom — it is not just 
wisdom to change the perception of craving. 
Kappa: What virtue can be a refuge to those amidst 
the suffering of aging and death in the same way 
that an island can be refuge to someone cast adrift 
in a sea of terrifying waves? 
Buddha: Nirvana, which is free of defilements and 
concerns, free of craving and attachments, which is 
beyond aging and death is as an island refuge. 
Those who know Nirvana can be said to be en-
dowed with mindfulness, have seen the Dhamma, 
extinguished the defilements and are longer under 
the power of the Maras, and no longer walk the 
path of the Maras. 
Jatukanni: As one who has overcome defile-
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ments and sensuality, may I know what is the vir-
tue that allows one to overcome birth and aging in 
this very life? 
Buddha: If you can put an end to obsession with 
sensual pleasure, seeing the end of sense indulgence 
and concern with attachments, craving and views 
no longer ingrained in your mind, putting an end 
to any concern you ever had in your mind — not 
entertaining such concerns at heart, your mind will 
be tranquil and the defilements which allow the 
Mara of death power over you will no longer exist. 
Bhadravudha: What virtue can be of use to those 
who have come from afar to hear the Dhamma of 
the Buddha? 
Buddha: Those people should remove craving 
from themselves completely, because wherever 
craving causes people to attach to things or to the 
world the Maras will be able to interfere — know-
ing and seeing how beings become entrapped in 
the cycle (of existence), monks should cultivate 
mindfulness and not attach or have concern for 
anything in the world. 
Udaya: What is the liberating virtue to be known 
which can destroy ignorance and un-enlightened-
ness? 
Buddha: I say that the virtue to overcome the Five 
Hindrances, equanimity and mindfulness are the 
pure virtues which lead to liberation and destroy-
ing of ignorance. 
Udaya: What binds one to the world — what is 
the release from the world — and relinquishing 
what is Nirvana attained? 
Buddha: Distractedness binds one to the world. 
The world can be escaped by mindfulness. By re-
linquishing craving is Nirvana attained. 
Udaya: What sort of mindfulness leads to the ex-
tinguishing of consciousness? 
Buddha: When one is not distracted by the inner 
and outer feelings [vedana], together with 
mindfulness can the consciousness be extinguished. 
Posala: How should a person who has already 
clearly attained the form (absorptions) seeing in-
side and outside that nothing remains (attaining the 
Sphere of Nothingness) practise further? 
Buddha: He should investigate further in the phe-
nomena arising together with that state of mind to 
attain the full absorption, in order to bring the 
Brahma-faring to completion. 
Mokharaja: How does the Buddha see the world 
(including the Brahma-world and dean-world) that 
death cannot see it? 
Buddha: The world must be seen with mind-
fulness, seeing the world as empty for death to be 
escaped. 
Pingiya: I am old and afflicted by loss of strength, 
wrinkled skin, poor eyesight and hardness of hear-
ing — what is the device for overcoming birth and 
aging in this very life? 
Buddha: Having seen that others are reckless, suf-
fering by their attachment to beauty — you must 
not be reckless nor attached to beauty in order to 
take no further birth. 
Pingiya: I have never known any of the ten di-
rections — may the Buddha inform me of the vir-
tue for release from birth and aging in this very life. 
Buddha: Having seen how living beings are caught 
up in craving and their consequent suffering — as-
sailed on all sides by aging — you should not be 
reckless, relinquishing craving in order to take no 
further birth. 
At the end of the discussion, all Bfivari's disci-
ples and the 16,000 followers who they had gath-
ered during their journey became arahants, except 
for Pingiya who became a non-returner [anagami] 
because he was thinking of Bavari as the Buddha 
preached. Pingiya took leave of the Buddha and 
returned to Bavari to whom he recounted these 
events. At the end of his recital, the Buddha ap-
peared before them in a ray of glory and preached 
to them. Pingiya thereupon became an aralrant and 
Bivari a non-returner. 
E.6 Er. How not to conduct a Dhamma Discussion! 
There were once a father and a son who were 
having a drink while they discussed the 
Dhamma. It was approaching the Buddhist Lent, 
so they were having their last drink before giv-
ing up drinking for the duration of the Lent. 
The father said, "I'll be going to stay in the 
temple to keep the Eight Precepts so this alco-
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hol will cause me to excrete the digestive bacte-
ria in my stomach so that I don't get too hun-
gry." 
The son replied, "But isn't it evil to excrete 
those poor digestive bacteria?" 
"No, because those bacteria are just the cause 
of illnesses in our body — they don't count." 
"But I insist — that is really killing living crea-
tures!" 
Before long, the discussion of the Dhamma has 
been reduced to an argument and the father 
chased the son down the road with a shotgun! 
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The Ninth 
Group of Blessings 
"Practice for the Eradication of Defilements" 
Having acquired all the theory we need in the Blessings up to and 
including Group VIII, the present Ninth Grouping, entitled 'prac-
tice for the eradication of defilements' is characterized by putting 
theory into practice — getting down to earnest spiritual striving. 
The Grouping consists of: 
• Blessing Thirty-One: The Practice of Austerities: Putting into 
practice the sensual restraint and striving needed to burn up 
the defilements in the mind through the practice of gradual 
and intense austerities; 
• Blessing Thirty-Two: The Practice of Chastity: Having prac-
tised austerity until the worst of the defilements have been 
uprooted, one must quickly sow the seeds of higher virtue in 
the mind before the defilements can take root again — espe-
cially by extricating the mind from the sense-desire that is 
the origin of decay and suffering; 
• Blessing Thirty-Three: Seeing the Four Noble Truths: Culti-
vating our meditation further to the point we can know and 
understand the reality of life and the world — otherwise 
known as attaining the Dhammakaya; 
• Blessing Thirty-Four: The Attainment of Nirvana: Having 
seen the Four Noble Truths, if one cultivates meditation fur-
ther, bringing the mind to a standstill so that it can further 
penetrate at the centre of the Dhammalaya, the mind will 
become sufficiently refined to enter upon Nirvana — the sub-
tlest of defilements gradually falling away until there are no 
remaining defilements and arahantship can be attained. 
1/4 
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TABLE 31.1 
Backsliders vs. Strivers' Outlook on the World 
Situation 
Backslider's Reasoning 
Strivers Reasoning 
Knowing there 
"It's not worth meditating because I will soon be 
" I should be quick to meditate, because time for such 
is work on its 
way... 
interrupted by work anyway" 
striving will soon be precious" 
Having just fin- 
"After all that work I deserve to rest instead of 
"I should be quick to meditate to make up for time 
ished 
their 
work... 
meditating" 
wasted while work was in hand" 
Knowing a long 
"It's not worth meditating because I will soon be 
"I should be quick to meditate, because time for such 
journey is at 
hand... 
interrupted by the journey anyway" 
striving will be hard to find en route" 
Having 
just 
"After such a long journey, I deserve to rest in- 
" I should be quick to meditate to make up for time 
completed 
a 
long journey... 
stead of meditating" 
wasted en route" 
Having 
had 
"I can't be expected to meditate on an empty stom- 
"I should be quick to meditate while I have an ame-
only a little food 
to eat... 
ach!" 
nably 'light' stomach" 
Having had a 
"Don't expect me to meditate immediately after a 
"I should be quick to meditate while all the energy of 
lot to eat ... 
meal!" 
the food in my stomach is readily available" 
Being on the 
"If I meditate, I might be risk my health —so bet- 
"I should be quick to meditate before it gets worse" 
brinkof illneks... 
ter that I sleep instead" 
Having just re- 
"If I sit for meditation it might cause a relapse — 
"I should be quick to meditate before there is a re-
covered from 
illness ... 
so better that I sleep instead" 
lapse" 
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Blessing Thirty-One: 
The Practice of Austerities 
A. INTRODUCTION 
A.1 The place of Blessing Thirty-One in the 
order of things 
With this Blessing we come to the thirty-first step 
on the staircase of Buddhist practice. An overview 
of the Manual of Peace reveals that the thirty pre-
vious Blessings have been nothing more than 
'groundwork for the spiritual journey ahead —
which requires removing the impurities or 'defile-
ments' from the mind. Thus this Blessing is the 
first to deal earnestly with the nature of the de-
filements in the mind and continues by advocat-
ing the austerities — particularly sensual restraint 
and striving in meditation — as methods of remov-
ing them. 
13. bk,1.1LliAlt,N 
B.1 Defilements in the mind 
If we look at our human being we can conclude 
that we are made up of two distinct parts: body and 
mind. If you want to be technical your can use the 
word 'raga' for the part that is the body as opposed 
to inertia' for the mind. Although the body might 
look bigger and stronger than the mind, in fact, of 
the two, it is the quality of the mind which has the 
greatest influence on our lives. 
The human mind is like a dynamic energy, which 
is like a sphere which is normally about the size of 
the tip of your little finger. The mind in its natural 
state takes the form of a clear sphere of diamond 
brightness, however, when polluted, the sparkling 
mind is reduced to dullness and weakness, lower-
ing its potential. 
This pollution is caused by the impurities that re-
side in the mind — known by the technical term 
'defilements' [kile.sa]. Defilements are already some-
thing we have met in many of the previous bless-
ings — including 5, 7, 16, 19, 20, 21, 24 and 27 (not 
to be confused with the 'defilements of action' 
ileamnzakilesa] which are actually just the outward 
manifestations of the real 'defilements' in the mind). 
In this blessing, however, we start to tackle these 
defilements directly — as we shall see, by the prac-
tice of austerities. 
Defilements in the mind are equivalent to the bac-
teria and viruses which infect the body, causing ill-
ness. We may think that the possible number of ill-
nesses of the body are a lot, but in fact they are not 
nearly so numerous as the illnesses of the mind. In 
the mind the major infections that destroy the ca-
pabilities of the mind are things like craving, ha-
tred, vengefulness, wishing for fame, sleepiness, 
wanting people to admire us for our beauty — all 
these are signs that the mind is out of condition. 
Defilements have gross and subtle forms in just 
the same way that litter has both gross and refined 
forms. Gross litter can be picked up and put in a 
trash can or a waste basket. Defilements also have 
their subtle forms which are rather like dust. Such 
defilements are so subtle that they cannot be seen 
with normal eyesight. They are like the dust that 
clings to a mirror that make it dull — if you take a 
Blessing Thirty-One: The Practice of Austerities 347 
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cloth, you can dean away such dust so that you 
can see dearly in the mirror again. 
We cannot afford to remain ignorant of the na-
ture of the defilements to facilitate our efficiency in 
ridding ourself from these for good. Defilements 
in the mind are like the residue of engrained bad 
habits. They are the things which cause us to act 
upon our emotions rather than our common sense. 
Even though all these mental taints might be con-
sidered minor — no more than 'rust' in the mind, 
we have to try to get rid of them because otherwise 
they will be damaging to us in the future. For most 
people, the mental taints are so subtle that they feel 
that it doesn't really matter whether they are there 
or not. They are like tiny bacteria which can cause 
much more serious diseases. Unless we have tried 
meditation, it would be difficult to appreciate the 
dangers of these taints. However, when we dedi-
cate ourselves to mental training, we see that these 
taints cannot be ignored. Although defilements may 
be small, abstract and hidden away in the deepest 
recesses of our minds, they cannot fail to have dire 
effects on our everyday lives. In individual work 
defilements can create problems in the the way we 
make decisions especially when we succumb to 
bias. When we work with others, defilements in the 
mind become even more evident when they cause 
discord between those supposed to be working as 
a team. 
Defilements originate as a sort of residue from 
bad habits. Statistically speaking, the more we have 
done something in the past, the more we will be 
likely to do it in the future. If all we have done in 
the past are good and virtuous things, then that 
would be our good luck. However, for most of us 
there are bad habits. The more we do them, the more 
the chance that we will do them again. If we quit 
any of these habits, we feel a lot of resistance. Al-
though we may not see the source of such resist-
ance at its root, we can know that this is the action 
of defilements. 
£2 Principles for removing defilements 
Such an understanding of the nature and the loca-
tion of the defilements is vital to a correct under-
standing of how to eradicate them. Some ascetic re-
ligions believe that defilements are located in the 
body — therefore they try to wash away their sins 
by washing themselves in a sacred river like the 
Ganges (e.g. Sarigarava Brahmin IS.i.182f1.1)— as 
already mentioned in the purification practices of 
Blessing Sixteen (§,42). Even some ill-informed Bud-
dhists try to find material solutions to immaterial 
problems. They think that if their prospective hus-
band is habitually bad-tempered, they can cure the 
problem before their marriage by washing him with 
holy water. Misunderstanding of the nature of de-
filements has given rise to many strange religious 
rituals in the world. People even link their heads 
together with a sacred thread at their marriage cer-
emony with the belief that it will keep them together 
for the rest of their lives. They can only tie them-
selves together — but they will never be able to tie 
their hearts and minds together for life! The Bud-
dha used principles for removing defilements of 
fighting the fire of defilements with the fire of aus-
terity. The purpose of austerity is directly to burn 
up of the defilements of the mind. 
£3 Difficulty in removing the defilements 
If our body is ill, doctors have to find the bacteria 
or viruses that have infected us. In medical science 
they use all sorts of technologies to study the infec-
tions in the mind. They use microscopes to identify 
the infection, study the properties of the infection 
and put a name to it. For the mind, it is the same 
process. We have to identify the defilement we wish 
to remove, catch the defilement and put a name to 
it — however, there are three problems concerning 
removing defilements from the mind: 
1. Defilements are hard to see: The problem with 
destroying defilements in the mind is that de-
filements are even smaller that the mind itself. 
Most people cannot even see their own mind, 
let alone the defilements that exist in the mind. 
2. We take our defilements for granted: Our mind 
is so used to being bathed in defilements that it 
is hard even to notice the effect they are having 
on us. We feel that they are like a legitimate part 
of our personality. It is like a person with ath-
lete's foot who half enjoys having an itch to 
scratch. The Buddha taught that we are as used 
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to our own defilements as a fish is used to water. 
A fish without water will surely die. If anyone 
attempts to take a fish out of water it will strug-
gle with all its might to get back into the water 
again. In the same way, people are used to de-
filements, they will go to great lengths to pre-
serve them. 
3. The way to remove defilements is elusive: It 
wasn't for the Buddha arising in the world, we 
wouldn't know how to cope with defilements in 
the mind. Even though some religions know that 
defilements exist in the mind, they know that 
the mind takes defilements for granted, but they 
don't have any idea how to overcome those de-
filements. They know they are lazy but they don't 
have any idea what to do about it. They know 
they shouldn't covet their neighbour's wife, but 
they cannot get her off their mind. All they think 
is, "Why does it have to happen to me?" What 
they lack are the techniques of practising auster-
ity taught by the Lord Buddha which are the 
subject of this Blessing. 
C. AUSTERITY 
C.1 Definition 
The word used for 'practising austerity' in the Pali 
is 'tapas which literally means to make something 
hot. It can mean to roast, to boil, to grill or to smoke 
— anything that bums or heats something. It is 
not the same as 'tapas' — better known as a small 
savoury dish to befound in Spanish bars — al-
though it readers may find this a good 'aide-
memoire'! If you can bum out the defilements all 
that will be left is the unblemished mind. Such a 
pure mind is wise, not liable to anger etc. etc. It is 
like heating up crude ore to extract the pure metal 
that can be used for something useful. 
Such austerities should not be confused with 
the self-mortification practices of Brahminism 
tried and rejected by the Buddha before his en-
lightenment. Although these practices are also 
sometimes called 'tapas, their objective is differ-
ent — to weaken the body to the point of feeling 
no more sense-desire — in contrast to Buddhist 
'taps' which aim to uproot the defilements in the 
mind. 
C.2 Categories of Austerities 
There are two sorts of austerity: 
I. Gradual Removal of Defilements ]sallekha]: The 
Buddha taught a total of forty-four defilements 
in the Sallekha Sutta (.401f.) together with the 
gradual virtuous behaviours needed to uproot 
each of them. The sallekha are gradual solutions 
and this is the content of almost every heading 
of Dhamma in the Buddhist scriptures. Thus, for 
example: 
• if you know you are a very greedy person, 
then you can change yourself gradually by 
practising generosity. If you practice every day 
in the end the tendency to crave others' pos-
sessions will gradually disappear. 
• if you are a particularly hot-tempered person, 
you should make sure you spread loving-
kindness on a daily basis, before we go to bed. 
• if you know you covet a new woman every 
day or if the whole of the female world looks 
beautiful to us, you should try to keep the 
Eight Precepts. Going without a meal in the 
evening will start to undercut the power of 
your desires little by little. Giving up wear-
ing make-up and jewelry will help to dimin-
ish your tendencies also. The power of your 
sensual desires will gradually be reduced. 
• if you are forgetful then gradually train your 
self in mindfulness. 
2. Intensive Removal of Defilements idhutafigat 
There is another sort of removal of defilements 
which is more intense... This set of teachings is a 
radical way of overcoming bad habits accumu-
lated over the course of many years. The Bud-
dha categorized the root bad habits of people into 
four major categories: habits concerning dress, 
habits concerning food, habits concerning ac-
commodation and habits concerning laziness. 
There are thirteen different forms of dhutatiga 
practice and they address these four major types 
of bad habit. 
C.3 Thirteen forms of Intense Austerity 
(Vism.59-83) 
Overcoming the wish to be choosy about clothes 
Icivara-patisarpyuttai 
1. Rag-robe wearer's Practice iparpsukulikariga] 
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Wearing only robes made from rags retrieved 
from a dust heap or from a charnel ground (§1). 
2. Triple-robe wearer's Practice Itecivarikaligal 
Usually just three robes are allowed for monks 
to use, that is the upper robe [uttarasankam], 
the outer robe [sruighatim] and the waistcloth 
[antaravasakam]. These three robes are sup-
posed to be adequate to keep monks warm even 
in the coldest of weather. In later times there have 
been trends to allow monks to have additional 
accessory cloths such as girdles, belts and a vest 
to absorb sweat in hot climates. Usually monks 
will have a change of robes to a maximum of 
three, to allow one set to be washed when the 
other is being worn. However, if you practice 
dhutariga, only three robes are allowed. This 
practice puts an end to the desire to be choosy 
about your clothes. You have to be very careful 
about where and how you sit or else you will 
soil your robes and have to go to the inconven-
ience of washing them again. Thus such a prac-
tice makes you see the value of the robes you 
have while at the same time training you in 
mindfulness (§2). 
Overcoming slavery to one's appetite Ipitzdaprita-
patisamyutta]: If you are the sort of person who 
cannot control your eating it is hard to make 
progress in meditation. If you eat too much you will 
be sleepy. With too much protein perhaps you will 
be subject to sensual temptations. If you cannot re-
strain your appetite for food it is unlikely that you 
will ever be able to overcome your appetite for 
sexual temptations. The Buddha wanted monks to 
avoid becoming slave to their appetites and even 
without following dhutariga practice monks are not 
allowed to eat between midday and the dawn of 
the next morning, even if food is offered. There are 
thus several ways in which monks can train them-
selves to become less controlled by their appetite: 
1. Almsfood-eater's Practice [piudaptitikariga] 
Eating only food that has been received on 
almsround. If anyone offers food to you on a 
plate you cannot accept it. You accept only as 
much as is given. If anyone makes something 
especially for you, you cannot accept it. Even if 
some other food offered is better than that in your 
bowl, you cannot accept it (§3). 
2. House-to-house seeker's Practice kapadana-
carikariga] For this practice you are only allowed 
to go for almsround along prescribed routes. You 
may not go on almsround to places where you 
think you might get better food. You cannot just 
go down a street where you know plenty of rich 
people live who might give you appetizing food 
(4). 
3. One meal eater's practice rekasanikariga] If hou-
seholders aren't satisfied with their breakfast, 
they can make up for it at lunch time. If they are 
not satisfied with their lunch they can make up 
for it with an extra large evening meal. They eat 
so much that they have to sleep all afternoon and 
gradually regurgitate the food little by little like 
a cow chewing the cud. For monks however, with 
only two meals a day, they have to train them-
selves to be content with whatever they receive. 
Even so, on two meals a day, some monks can 
still not help but be interested in food, and may 
overeat, becoming sleepy as the result. Therefore 
some monks prefer to take only one meal per 
day (o). 
4. Bowl-eater's practice [pattapiudikariga] This 
practice entails eating all your food mixed up to-
gether. This is particularly suitable for those ad-
dicted to tasty food. In a single bowl all the food 
will be mixed up, no matter whether it be rice, 
chocolate powder fish soup or whatever. By the 
time the fourth or fifth contribution is added to 
the bowl, the contents will resemble pig-swill. 
Eating your food in this way will help to remind 
you what the purpose of eating is — to give you 
strength to carry on doing good deeds, not just 
for the sheer enjoyment of eating (§6). 
5. Late-serving refiner's practice Ilzhalupaccha-
bhattikariga] This practice entails not accepting 
further offerings of food once you have already 
started eating (§7). 
Overcoming Attachment to Luxury Accommoda-
tion [semisana-patisarriyutta] 
1. Forest-dweller's practice [awafiliikariga] This 
practice entails living only in shelters in the for-
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est and never using accommodation in the town 
(68). 
2. Tree-root dweller's practice [ruldrhamillikariga] 
This practice entails living only in the forest at 
the roots of trees without any building for shel-
ter. Such a person will stay under a tent or a mos-
quito net — nothing more (69). 
3. Open-air dweller's practice [abbholzasikaiiga] 
This practice entails living out in the open, not 
even using the trees for shelter. It serves radi-
cally to reduce your attachment to comfort, 
luxury and fulfillment of sense desire (§10). 
4. Charnel-ground-dweller's practice Isosani-
hanger] This practice entails living only in a 
graveyard where corpses have been laid to rest 
without coffins. The sound of mice running in 
and out of corpses and the sound of wind escap-
ing from corpses as they dry-out will soon put 
an end to sexual obsessions and delusions of 
grandeur (§11). 
5. Any-bed-user's practice [yathasantatikariga] 
This practice entails taking your shelter wher-
ever you are put by your host. Even those who 
stay under a camping umbrella or mosquito net 
are sometimes choosy about where they stay —
staying near the kitchen if they like the smell of 
food or near the toilet if they think they are go-
ing to have to visit often. If someone is extremely 
choosy, maybe they should try staying in the 
open air instead (§12) (see (SW) above). 
Overcoming Laziness viriya-patisarriyuttaj 
1. Sifter's practice Inesaffikariga]This practice en-
tails avoiding lying down. Usually when one 
stays on a dhutariga retreat, one is there to medi-
tate anyway. If you keep this sort of dhutariga 
practice you must restrict the position of your 
body to standing, walking or sitting down. In 
the time of the Buddha, monks would keep this 
ascetic practice for the duration of the rainy sea-
son. It works well for a group only when every-
body in the group is at the same high level of 
advancement in meditation. It should only be 
done when you can meditate well enough to 
overcome sleepiness (§13). 
C.4 Necessary virtues for practising austerity 
In general, practice of any Dhamma practice is the 
practice of austerities at the level of isalleklid (above), 
however, for the practice of intense austerities, it is 
normal to practice under'residential' circumstances 
(i.e. to join a 'dhutanga camp'). When you practice 
austerities, you have to do so while applying the 
following virtues: 
1. Patience: (see Blessing Twenty-Seven) 
2. Must keep the Precepts strictly according to your 
personal status: If you are a householder, Five 
Precepts is no longer sufficient. You have to keep 
the Eight Precepts at the least. Some people 
might like to keep Ten Precepts like a novice. If 
you are a novice you must keep your Ten Pre-
cepts strictly. If you are a monk you must keep 
your 227 Precepts strictly. 
3. Keep Sabbath Self-Discipline lnposatha-
kammak You must revise your Precepts regu-
larly in the same way as monks revise their Pre-
cepts by taking part in the patimokkha recita-
tion ceremony every two weeks; 
4. You must study the Teachings of the Buddha: You 
need to alternate your activities with the learn-
ing and memorizing of the scriptures by 
Dhamma sermons or readings and daily chant-
ing. 
5. Practise austerities to the best of your ability: 
Some healthy people might keep all thirteen of 
the dhutariga rules at once, but it is more nor-
mal just to keep two or three of the rules at a 
time; 
6. Restraint of the senses; 
7. Striving in meditation 
Sometimes the 'sallekha' practices might seem to 
overlap with the practices already mentioned in the 
preceding Blessings. Sometimes for a person who 
still leads the household life and who must hold 
down a job, some of the dhutanga practices will 
not be at all compatible with everyday life on a daily 
basis. However —if one knows what the practices 
entail, one can look for opportunities to pursue 
them on a sabbatical basis — perhaps during free 
weekends or during the long summer holidays. Of 
these seven virtues, the first five have already been 
Blessing Thirty-One: The Practice of Austerities 351 
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discussed in the forgoing Blessings. As for practice 
in everyday life, we find that far from being stran-
gers to everyday life, the twin practices of restraint 
of the senses and striving to meditate are perfectly 
amenable even to the householder. The following 
sections give further explanation of these sixth and 
seventh virtues of the practitioner of austerity —
i.e. restraint of the senses rindriya sarpvaraRsee §D. 
below) and striving (viriyaj (see section E. below). 
D. 1211Si RA1N 1 OF THE SENSES 
D.1 The Six Sense-doors 
All of us have six channels by which we can im-
prove or damage the quality of our minds and lives. 
They are like six entrances or doorways to the mind. 
The six entrances are: 
1. Eyes 
2. Ears 
3. Nose 
4. Tongue 
5. Our skin 
6. Our mind 
Supposing there is a walled city with six gates - if 
ever the gateman is caught unawares, robbers or 
enemies can gain access to the house or the city by 
any of the six entrances — subsequently wreaking 
havoc inside that city. The sense doors of the mind 
are comparable to those city gates. If our 
mindfulness is ever caught unawares, damaging 
sensory information can find its way into our mind. 
If such damaging things can gain entry to the mind 
they will stir up the mind causing the defilements 
already there to create trouble for us. The Buddha 
went further to compare the sense-doors to lowly 
animals: 
1. The eyes are like a snake: the eyes are always 
tempted to look at secret things; 
2. The ears are like a crocodile: in just the same way 
that the crocodile loves cool water, the ears are 
always tempted to hear the flattery or flowery 
speech of others; 
3. The nose is like a caged bird: in just the same 
way that a caged bird will never stay still in its 
struggle to escape, the nose will always be ob-
sessed to find the source of any pleasant smell it 
detects; 
4. The tongue is like a mad dog: it is always froth-
ing with saliva at the mouth — if ever it has a 
moment free it will fulfill itself by gossiping 
about the neighbours (even though the gossipper 
knows how angry they would get if anyone gos-
siped about them!) 
5. The body is like a fox: like a fox it likes to find a 
warm and comfortable place to rest or to take 
the weight off its feet. 
6. The mind is like a monkey: it is never still, but 
must find something to think about the whole 
of the time. Even if you try to train your mind to 
think of a crystal ball or a Buddha image the 
whole of time, it will think of castles in the air 
and every other possible thing under the sun. 
Thus each of the sense doors has its own damaging 
tendencies in the absence of sensual restraint. This 
is why the Buddha didn't have a word of praise for 
the sense-doors! 
D.2 Attachment neither in whole nor in part 
The key to overcoming the vulnerability of the 
senses is to cultivate sensual restraint. When we talk 
of restraining the senses, the Buddha taught us to 
practice as follows: 
1. Non-attachment to the perception in whole 
Inimitta]: "When we receive images via our eyes, 
sounds via our ears, smells via our noses, tastes 
via our tastebuds, sensations via our skin or in-
ner experience via our mind, we must not be-
come attached to the source of those sensations 
(in a positive or a negative way)" — if we see an 
attractive lady we must not react with the 
thought, "How beautiful she is!" If you see some-
one who is repulsive you must not read with 
the though, "How repulsive that person is!" If 
you are caught unawares thinking such a 
thought, the thought will stir up defilements la-
tent in the mind. 
2. Non-attachment to the perception in part 
Ianubyanjana]: You might see an attractive 
woman and think to yourself, "Overall, this 
woman is not very attractive but... how beauti-
ful her lips are — like Cupid's!" or "Overall, this 
woman is not very attractive but ... look at her 
little twinkling eyes!" Even such an attachment 
352 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps towards Enlightened Living 
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can lead us to make serious mistakes. People rec-
ognize, that such-and-such a man is completely 
irresponsible and all his habits are despicable but 
. his gaze is so mesmerizing that they marry 
him for the rest of their lives! In the opposite 
sense even the sight of a part of an object might 
cause us irritation and anger. 
D.3 Restraint of the Senses paves the way to 
liberation 
It is all very well knowing the advantages of sensual 
restraint, but what if every woman you look at is 
beautiful? You have to develop conscience (as already 
mentioned in Blessing Nineteen §D.3)— and the pos-
sibility of what might happen to us if we make a 
mistake with our senses. It is a way of building up 
shame of evil Ihiri] and fear of the consequences of 
evil IottappaJ. The Buddha taught (Hiri Sutta A.iv.99) 
that training ourselves in conscience will lead even-
tually to liberation in the same way that if the heart-
wood of a tree is not rotten, it will protect the bark, 
and branches from rot too. More specifically, if we 
can manage to train ourselves inconscience ilnri-
ottappa], restraint of the senses lindriya sarnvara] 
will be the natural consequence. If we are going to 
look at people, we look at them to find out what good 
virtues they possess that we might learn from. We 
don't go looking for the physical beauty of others or 
any other superficial quality. If you keep on training 
yourself in this way it will make your self-discipline 
kik] steadfast. You will be able to upgrade your level 
of Precepts. From not being able to keep the Five 
Precepts properly you will be able to upgrade to 
keeping the Five Precepts properly, but not yet the 
Eight. If you continue to train yourself in restraint of 
the senses, before long you will be able to keep the 
Eight Precepts properly too. They will establish 
themselves almost automatically. Once our Precepts 
are properly kept, Right Concentration isamma 
santadhi] will arise of its own accord. If you find in 
the present day that your meditation doesn't seem 
to be making much progress, then examine the pu-
rity of your Precepts. If the purity of your Precepts 
leaves something to be desired, they pay more at-
tention to the restraint of the sense doors. Sometimes 
when you sit for meditation, images of beautiful ce-
lebrities or whisky bottles will arise in the mind —
these are signs that your restraint of the senses needs 
improvement. If you can develop your restraint of 
the senses sufficiently, your Precepts will be pure, 
meditation will arise and brightness will arise inside 
to the degree you can start to see the mind and the 
defilements in the mind, so that you can start to work 
directly on the purification of the mind by the quali-
ties of seeing things as they really are 
lyathabhutafiartack79sanctl— in the same way as a 
medical worker can identify the vectors of illness in 
the body with his microscope—starting at first with 
only lenses of low-powet, but gradually acquiring 
medium-powet, high-power, oil-emulsion and even-
tually an electron microscope until none of the vec-
tors of illness have anywhere left to hide and they 
can be destroyed. In the same way, as the sublety of 
our concentration increases, it will give way to dis-
passion with sensuality Inibbitat release ruiraga] 
and eventually the seeing and knowing of liberation 
Ivimuttitzanadassanal (Kimatthiya Sutta A.v.1) 
S I RIVING IN MUM IAI ION 
By this time in the study of the Manual of Peace, by 
Blessing Thirty-One we are sure to be able to tell 
what is right and what is wrong. We know that the 
practice of austerity is good, but we may be prone 
to giving up too easily instead of seeing our prac-
tice through to its conclusion. We think of keeping 
Eight Precepts for the whole of the three months of 
the rainy season. After the third day, when you feel 
hungry in the evening, you start to think to your-
self, "I have kept the Eight Precepts for three days 
already — and that is already a lot of merit . . . 
maybe I will keep Eight Precepts again at the end 
of the rainy season . . . seven days altogether . . . 
and that is plenty of merit for me." For such a per-
son, the ability to strive is only weakly developed. 
£1 Four types of effort (A.6.15, 16, 74) 
Properly developed striving has four components: 
1. not doing evils which you never did before 
Isarnvarapadhanal; 
2. overcoming evil habits you already possess 
[paluinapadhanak 
3. doing good deeds you never did before Phil-
vanapadhana], and; 
Blessing Thirty-One: The Practice of Austerities 353 
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4. maintaining the good habits you already pos-
sess [anurakkhapadhana]. 
£2 Overcoming excuses for backsliding (8) 
A backslider's attitude to the world always gives 
him an excuse not to meditate, whereas the attitude 
of a striver will lead him to take every chance to 
further his meditation (see Table 31.1 p.346). If you 
use any or all of the backslider's reasoning for not 
meditating, you will be perfectly able to sleep all 
year round and never do any meditation again. The 
same goes for people who cannot meditate in the 
summer because it is too hot. They cannot medi-
tate in the winter because it is too cold. In the sea-
sons when the climateis just right, they regret not 
using the favourable temperatures to get some 
hard-earned rest. Such excuses are not hard to find. 
However, in the practice of austerity, even in eve-
ryday life, we should not resort to the lazy excuses 
above, but instead try to transform that reasoning 
into the reasoning of a striver. 
iLLUS RAi 1V1; EXAMPLES 
El Er. Lomwkasstzpa Jataka (J.433) 
Many aeons ago the Bodhisattva was born as a her-
mit called Loma-Kassapa. The hermit trained him-
self in austerities and asceticism together with medi-
tation (pre-Buddhist). He focused his mind on 
things outside the body and was able to attain the 
absorptions Uharial. However his attainments in 
meditation were still not very steadfast. His mind 
was not perfectly at a standstill. Even so, the more 
he practiced meditation, the more he managed to 
attain supranormal powers. He could fly through 
the air at will. Indra' the king of heaven observed 
how powerful Loma-Kassapa was becoming and 
realized that before long a mere 'human' would 
soon be becoming more powerful than any of the 
angels including himself. Indra felt jealous and 
didn't want Loma-Kassapa to increase his mental 
powers to the degree that he would outshine the 
angels of heaven. He looked for a way to destroy 
the magical powers of Loma-Kassapa and found 
1. The word Indra is a rank or title rather than a personal name 
which denotes the most powerful angel in Tavatimsa heaven. 
The angel occupying this rank will change from time to time as 
angels are reborn again to the human realm. 
that in the town of Benares, there was a princess so 
beautiful that she would be bound to distract Loma-
Kassapa from his practice. Thus Indra went to the 
king of Benares and told him that if he wanted to 
rule the world he would have to make a special 
animal sacrifice and the only person who could do 
that was Loma-Kassapa. Indra told the king that 
Loma-Kassapa would be too afraid to kill an ani-
mal for sacrifice because it would be too obvious a 
way of giving in to temptation. However, if the king 
were to lure Loma-Kassapa using the princess, be-
fore long Loma-Kassapa would be fooled into do-
ing the sacrifice. The king of Benares agreed to do 
the sacrifice and immediately sent his daughter to 
tempt the hermit. Unfortunately the hermit lacked 
restraint of the senses. As soon as he started think-
ing about the beauty of the princess he became slave 
to his latent sensual desires. His meditational pow-
ers disappeared instantly. He could no longer fly 
in the air. Now he had to walk — and he started to 
follow the princess along the road back towards 
Benares. 
It came to the day of the sacrifice and he was still 
wearing the clothes of an ascetic — he felt nothing 
about the fact that he was going to have to kill an 
animal for sacrifice, because sensual desire had 
overcome him. However, the people of Benares 
complained and protested asking how a hermit 
could ever do such a thing. All the animals of the 
town howled and screamed at the same time. Some-
one said the words, 
"The sun has strength, the moon has strength, 
monks and ascetics have strength, the ocean 
coast has its strength, but none of these forms 
of strength can rival that of a temptress." 
On this occasion the complaints and the sound of 
the animals brought mindfulness back to Loma-
Kassapa. He threw away his sword and shame and 
fear of evil and the consequences of evil [hiri-ottappa] 
returned to him. He restrained his senses again. His 
Precepts became intact again and his ability to medi-
tate returned. He was able to float and fly in the air 
again. He flew up into the air and taught to all of 
the assembled people to learn from his mistake —
to practice restraint of the senses for themselves too 
354 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps towards Enlightened Living 
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— so that the people of the world would not be 
slaves to their senses. Once Loma-Kassapa had give 
his warning, he flew away back to the forest again. 
F.2 Ex. Muclulakkhana Jataka (J.66) 
In previous lifetimes when the Buddha was still 
pursuing perfections as the bodhisattva, he re-
nounced the world in order to liberate himself from 
the world of sense-desire. Practising meditation in 
the Great Forest, before long, through earnest prac-
tice, he was able to attain psychic powers through 
his meditation. Because the hermit could fly 
through the air by his mental powers, he would 
always do so instead of walking. On one occasion 
in search of supplementary minerals, he travelled 
through the air to Benares for alms and while there 
stayed in the royal park. The king of Benares was 
pleased with the hermit's demenour and persuaded 
him to live permanently in the royal park. Sixteen 
years passed and the king, leaving the city to quell 
a border rising, left Queen Mudulakkhana in the 
care of the ascetic. 
The hermit was slightly inconsiderate of his spon-
sor — and would visit the palace for alms at his 
own convenience. Any day he was particularly 
hungry, he would go earlier to the palace. On days 
he was not so hungry, he would go later. Thus the 
queen would prepare food each day, but would 
never know when the ascetic would come to col-
lect alms. On the fateful day, the ascetic had still 
not come for alms at the appointed hour, so the 
queen, tired of waiting went about her toilet and 
laid down to relax while waiting for his arrival. The 
ascetic finished his meditation and flew unan-
nounced through the air at high speed, to the pal-
ace for his alms — not entering by the door, but 
through the open window! The queen had very lit-
tle warning, hearing nothing but the sudden sound 
of the wind whistling through the ascetic's bark 
clothing as he flew. Getting quickly up from her 
couch, the queen's clothes slipped from her body, 
revealing her nakedness to the ascetic. 
It was never the intention of the queen to lead 
her respected ascetic into temptation — howevey, 
it was too late for the ascetic whose mind had al-
ready been imprinted with her image — all man-
ner of desires long hidden away in his mind over-
flowed — the hermit fell instantly in love with her, 
consequently losing all his iddhi powers. As he had 
flown to the palace in the morning, he returned to 
his dwelling on foot... Meanwhile the queen was 
upset to think she had unwittingly contributed to 
the undermining of her hermit's austerities. 
Seven days later the king returned, he found the 
ascetic disconsolate and unable to eat — on learn-
ing the reason, and out of respect for the hermit, 
without hesitation agreed to offer him the queen in 
marriage. The reason why the king could deal so 
amenably with the hermit was that he was sure that 
the hermit's condition was the result of his mistakes 
or carelessness and not because of any wicked in-
tention in the hermit's mind. Hearing the king's 
equitable words, the hermit recovered instantly 
from all his apparent illness. Secretly, howevey, he 
asked the queen, to think of some device by which 
she might save the ascetic's holiness. 
Together the ascetic and the queen left the palace 
and went to a derelict house given to them by the 
king which had previously been used as a lavatory. 
The queen made the ascetic clean the house (know-
ing full well that dealing with loathesomeness 
lasubhasaii fia] is a ready antedote to sense desire). 
Furthermore, she made him fetch water and do a 
hundred other chores. Having pushed him to the 
very limits of his physical ability— the queen shook 
him by the shoulders and shouted: 
"And still you don't wake up to the fact you are a 
monastic? Is this how an ascetic who must be and 
example of relinquishing sense-pleasure for the rest 
of the world should behave? 
The ascetic then realized his folly and hastened 
back to the king, surrendering the queen with the 
words: 
"Before obtaining the beautiful Queen Mudu-
laldthafia she was the only thing in the world I 
desired. But once having obtained her for myself, 
the desire for other things has increased without 
end." 
With these words, the hermit was able to recover 
his mental powers.Taking his leave, the hermit flew 
back through the air to the Himavanta forest where 
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he cultivated the 'divine abiding? Ibrahma-uiharal 
for the rest of his life and on passing away was re-
born in the Brahma world. 
F.3 Ex. Buddha's vow under the Bodhi Tree 
The Buddha himself was an example to us the ideal 
attitude to striving. On the morning before he sat 
for meditation for his enlightenment, he received 
milk-rice from Sujata and a seat of perfumed grass 
under the Maha Bodhi Tree. The Buddha sat for 
meditation under the Bodhi Tree and made the 
vow, 
"For however long it take for me to attain enlight-
enment as a fully enlightened Buddha, even if my 
body should shrivel and die leaving only skin, 
sinew and bone, I will not leave this meditation 
seat." 
TABLE 32.1 
Correlation of inner experience to sphere of mental experience 
sphere of mind 
subjective experience 
I. 
() 
K 
1 
1 
li 
1 1 
NI 
I 
sensual 
Physical Body: Of course, everybody reading this book has a physical body (although 
after reading Blessing Twelve you now appreciate how difficult this has been to achieve!), 
but the inner experience that is central to the existence of the human body is a sphere of 
light at the centre of the mind that is bright and clear like a shining star—and which in the 
Dhammakaya tradition is called the 'initial path' Lpeghanza magga]. This is equivalent to 
the first form-absorption in its precursory form. If you want to check the qualities of your 
experience with those in the Tipitaka you will find that indeed you have the qualities of 
initial application of mind Pitaard, continued application of mind fuicaral, joy pitil hap-
pine&s [staid and one-pointednem [thoggated. The defilements associated with the physical 
human body comprise covetousness habhifflud, vengefulness PA/added and False View 
Intiecha dirthil. When the mind is sufficiently pure to be released from these three defile-
ments, the mind will attain the Angelic Body. 
Angelic Body: This form is an inner body similar to the subtle human body but more 
refined and beautiful. This level is equivalent to the second form-absorption. The defile-
ments associated with the Angelic Body are greed [Jolt', hatred [dasa] and delusion [mohal. 
When the mind is sufficiently pure to be released from these three defilements, the mind 
will attain the Form-Brahma Body. 
I or in 
Form-Brahma Body: This form is an inner body similar to the angelic body but more re-
fined and beautiful. This is equivalent to theThird Absorption.The defilements associated 
with the Brahma Body are grasping [raga], hatred idosal and delusion ferokal. When the 
mind is sufficiently pure to be released from these three defilements, the mind will attain 
the Formless Brahma Body. 
tormle,, 
fonniess-Brahma Body: This form is 
inner body 
Brahma form but 
an 
similar to the 
more 
refined and beautiful. This is equivalent to the fourth absorption.The defilements associ-
ated with the Formless Brahma Body are subtle desire liadmaraga drumayaL annoyance 
ludjighcfr dnusayed and subtle ignorance friviiki anusayed. When the mind is sufficiently 
pure to be released from these three defilements, the mind will attain the first Dhamma 
Body Whanunakaya Gotrabhed. 
L 
O 
K 
U 
T 
T 
A 
R 
A 
Initial Body of Enlightenment: This is an inner body of the form of a crystal clear initial 
body 
inside 
The first Body 
Enlightenment 
of enlightenment 
oneself. 
of 
stands at the thresh-
old between the mundane Pk/ye' and the transcendental [lokuttara] worlds and is called 
'Dhannakaya Gotrabhir. There are still some subtle defilements left in the mind called 
'fetters' isainyojanal — but these will be dealt with by cultivating the four remaining 
bodies of enlightenment — stream-enterer [sate:pena], once-returner IsakidagdmiL non-
returner kinagaind and arahant (detail is given in Blessing Thirty-Thrre). 
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Blessing Thirty-Two: 
Practising the 
Brahma-Faring 
A. INTRODUCTION 
A.1 The glace of Blessing Thirty-Two in the 
order of things 
As far back as Blessing Six (§B.) we learned about 
levels of aim in life — indeed, earlier blessings were 
adequate for exclusively material aim in life but 
moving into the material/spiritual or exclusively 
spiritual ways of life, we need to depthen our un-
derstanding of spiritual practice to serve our higher 
aim in life. At the time of studying Blessing Six sev-
eral complex facets of Buddhist cosmology and at-
tainment were left unexplained — and now, as we 
near the end of the Manual of Peace with striving 
towards liberation, it is necessary to explain some 
of these concepts before going further — concepts 
which include the Buddhist world system, mental 
attainments and the transcendental. 
In Blessing Thirty-One we studied about austeri-
ties as a way of burning up defilements in the mind. 
However, once you have burned up your defile-
ments that is not the end of the story. It is like farm-
ers in the rainy season who have pulled out and 
burned-up the weeds in the field. As soon as the 
weeds are gone and all that is left is the fertile soil, 
you have to be quick to plough. As soon as the rain 
falls, you have to be quick to sow your crops. If 
you are slow to sow your crops you will find that 
the weeds will grow up again worse than before. 
You will have wasted your time completely. 
With the removal of defilements from the mind, 
it is the same principle. Once you have practiced 
the austerities, as soon as you find that your mind 
starts to become detached from sensual indulgence 
and laziness, you must be quick to upgrade your 
mind towards the transcendental attainments. If 
you are slow or too lazy, your old bad habits will 
come back worse than before. Moreover, if our level 
of attainment were accidentally to reach transcen-
dental attainment, if our way of life were not suffi-
ciently pure, it would not be able to support it. 
A.2 Definition: the Brahma-faring 
The Pali word used to refer to this blessing is 
ibrahmacariyd. This word is sometimes translated 
as 'brahma-faring'or 'holy-life' — or sometimes, 
more mundanely as, 'celibacy' or 'chastity'. In fact 
this word has a broader a spectrum of meaning (as 
we shall see in §E. below). In the sense of practice, it 
means 'conducting yourself like a god (Brahma).' 
And how does a god conduct himself? A god con-
ducts himself strictly in accordance with the prac-
tices of Buddhism to elevate the state of mind until 
there are no further defilements remaining there. 
Thus the rationale of this Blessing is for us to el-
evate our state of mind and behaviour to the level 
of the Brahma faring for our ultimate liberation. 
IL LEVELS OFOIL MIND vs. REALMS OF 
EXISTENCE 
B.1 Levels of mind 
Quality of mind is dependent on the degree to 
which the mind is unified, purified or made free of 
thought. If the meditator can overcome the Five 
Blessing Thirty-Two: Practising the Brahma-Faring 357 
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Hindrances, (see Blessing Nineteen §D.2.2.) the mind 
can become unified at the level of the first form-
absorption [rupa-jhanal a mental state which is 
qualitatively different from anything it has previ-
ously known. Cultivation of the mind further will 
lead to the second, third and fourth form-absorp-
tions. The next stage of progress of the mind is to 
make a qualitative leap to the formless-absorptions 
[arEpajhanct]. According to Buddhism, all of the 
states of mind mentioned so far are considered no 
better than 'mundane'. However, anyone who cul-
tivates their mind beyond the formless absorptions 
can elevate the mind to a condition so pure that it 
is 'transcendental'. As for the meaning of 'form', 
'formless', 'mundane' and 'transcendental' — and 
their relationship to liberation, what follows is an 
examination of each in more detail. 
B.1.1 The Three Planes of Mind Ibhlimil 
The quality of our mind can be summarized down 
to four different levels: 
1. the sensual plane of mind [kanzavacarabhumi]: 
this is the plane to which most people's minds 
are still attached to the temptation of sensual 
pleasures. Such people are still affected by the 
Five Hindrances. 
2. the form' plane of mind [rispavacarabhumi]: 
this is the plane of those whose minds are still 
attached to absorptions at the form plane [rEpa-
jhana]. With their eyes open or closed they will 
perceive a bright sphere at the centre of their 
body the whole of the time as clearly as seen with 
the eye. If you are really at this plane, the mind 
will be in this state of brightness the whole of 
the time and the mind will have no remaining 
interest in the sensual pleasures of a married life. 
You will see such things as no more entertaining 
than child's play; 
3. The formless plane of the mind [arapavacara-
bhumi]: this is the plane of the mind where the 
mind is still attached to the absorptions at the 
formless level [arapa-jhana]. You will be able 
to perceive the inner body of the formless 
Brahma level at the centre of your body the 
whole of the time. If you have such a level of 
attainment you will have intense brightness in-
side the whole of time and it is no problem if 
you want to sit for meditation uninterrupted for 
seven days and seven nights without a break. 
There is hardly any need to sleep any more —
only 15 or 20 minutes per day is enough. The 
brightness inside keeps the mind refreshed the 
whole of the time. 
4. The supramundane plane of the mind Ilokuttara-
bhumi] This is a plane of mind is beyond the 
reach of worldly viscissitudes. At its most ad-
vanced it includes the level of mind of an arahant 
who has come to an end of defilements. 
From the time of the birth of Prince Siddhartha to 
the time when he left the palace to start his ascetic 
practices, even He was still trapped in the sensual 
level of mind with his royal family and consorts 
and a palace for each of the three seasons. Once he 
practiced to the point where he could attain the first 
absorptions Irripajhanal— e.g. at the age of seven 
under the black plum tree — he elevated his mind 
to the level of form. When he studied with Alara 
and Udaka he could further raise the level of his 
mind to the level of the formless. At the age of 35 
he could attain enlightenment his mind entered 
upon the level of the transcendental. He attained 
all of these levels without leaving the human realm 
— his mind was elevated not his body. 
B.1.2 Subdivisions within the Three Planes of 
Mind 
Within the three planes there are subcategories of 
experience — and we experience these in medita-
tion in the form of inner bodies of experience (see 
Table 32.1 p.356). 
B.2 Parallels between level of mind and realms 
of existence 
Many students of Buddhism, especially those who 
have practised meditation find no difficulty in un-
derstanding how different levels can exist in states 
of mind — however, understanding the full vari-
ety of realms of existence is less easy. With the na-
ked eye, the only two forms of existence we can see 
are the human and the animal realms — are we suc-
cumbing to gullability to accept that Buddhist cos-
mology consists of not two forms of existence but 
thirty-one? 
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Indeed, some refuse to believe in the existence of 
anything they cannot immediately see. They con-
sider as gullable anyone who believes in anything 
without material proof. They maintain that if in-
visible realms are real, they should be immediately 
demonstrable to the naked eye. On the contrary, 
such skeptics find no difficulty in believing in the 
existence of Japan or the existence of microscopic 
particles even though they have no direct expen-
ence of either. Such skeptics would say, if you want 
to prove the existence of Japan — you need to make 
the journey there. If you want to prove the exist-
ence of microscopic particles, you have to have a 
microscope at your disposal — so even skeptics 
have their conditions! — i.e.: 
• You need to have the appropriate vehicle or 
equipment at your disposal; 
• You need to know the route to get there. 
• You need to have enough resources in pocket. 
Well! Meditators can also have their conditions! If 
you want to prove the existence of invisible realms, 
you need to fulfil the following three conditions for 
reaching them, i.e. 
• your mind needs to be sufficiently stable to ob-
serve them 
• you need to know the pathway by which you 
can arrive at there 
• you need to have sufficient merit to get you to 
there 
At the very least, to see the invisible realms for your-
self, you have to allow the defilements to precipi-
tate out of your mind first. When defilements start 
to precipitate out, the mind will be left bright and 
clear. This is the brightness that we use to illumi-
nate the path ahead and we will start to have the 
possibility to see those 'invisible' realms for our-
selves. 
B.2.1 The Destination of the Dead: The 
evidence 
Fortunately it is not only ancient and scriptural evi-
dence we have for realms of existence beyond the 
normal limits of our senses. The testimony of those 
who have had a Near Death Experience (NDE) —
recorded as numbering between 8-13 million peo-
ple in 1998 in the U.S. alone— shows differences in 
the nature of destination of those who have had 
NDE's. Some people report a destination that is 
pleasant, others report a destination that is deeply 
frightening. In summary of some of the differences• 
Heaven-Like Cases 
Hell-Like Cases 
Friendly beings 
Lifeless or threatening appa-
ritions 
Beautiful, lovely environ- 
meats 
Barren or ugly expanse 
Conversations and dialogue 
Threats, screams, silence 
Total acceptance and an over- 
whelming sensation of love 
Danger and the possibility of 
violence and/or torture 
A feeling of warmth and a 
sense of heaven 
A feeling of cold (or of tem-
perature extremes), and a 
sense of hell 
TABLE 32.2: Categorisation of Near Death Experiences 
B.2.2 Equivalence between Planes of Mind and 
Spheres of Existence 
There is a correspondence between states of mind 
(which are transitory within a given life) and state 
of existence (which we inhabit the whole of our 
lives). What we do habitually leads to our habitual 
state of mind and our habitual state of mind will 
lead to our next state of existence. 
Asked why people who die have different desti-
nations after death, there is always a temptation to 
require some higher 'force' to 'put' people 'where 
they deserve'— howevet, in reality, people's ha-
bitual state of mind is already ample reason to ex-
plain afterlife destinations. Consider a bee and a 
dungfly in a bottle. When you open the lid of the 
bottle, the two insects escape. At first they fly along 
in unison, but before long they part—the bee heads 
for a patch of flowers it can smell inthe distance, 
whereas the dung-fly heads for the dung heap. 
Asked by whose power the insects have chosen to 
go their separate ways — the answer is through the 
force of habit. Like attracts like — the bee has been 
used to flowers all its life, so is attracted to flowers. 
The dungfly has been used to dung all its life, so is 
attracted to dung heaps. Any creator god with the 
duty to 'put' them 'where they deserve' is decid-
edly redundant. 
Of course there are sometimes discrepancies be-
tween habitual state of mind and afterlife destina-
Blessing Thirty-Two: Practising the Brahma-Faring 359 
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plane of mind 
lbhitmil 
sphere of existence 
lbhava) 
underpinning 
virtue 
sensual plane 
ikamavaccuttlyhtimil 
sensual sphere 
ikeimabhaval 
<human> 
Five Precepts intact 
<angelic shame of evil 
[hire] and fear of evil 
ioffaPPai 
form plane 
[riipavacerabhunai] 
form sphere 
triipa-bhaval 
The 
four 
divine 
abidings [torah ma-
viheiral: 1. loving kind-
ness; 2. compassion,• 3. 
sympathetic joy; 
4. equanimity. 
formless plane 
lariipavaearabhEmil 
formless sphere 
larlipa-bhaval 
a rupajhezna absorp-
Lions 
transcendental 
Nirvana 
Noble Eightfold Path 
(more in Blessing 33) 
TABLE 32.3: Spheres of Existence as they relate to Underpinning Virtues 
tion — again, it is no more difficult to explain than 
someone who has 'crammed' hard for an exam at 
the last minute (but who habitually knows nothing 
about their subject) who is put in an advanced class 
as the result of their good examination results. This 
might be equivalent to someone who is indifferent 
to virtue all their lives, but who makes an effort to 
elevate the quality of their mind in the final years 
of their life. 
Returning to the maxim of 'like attracts like' we 
find that states of mind and realms of existence have 
virtues and/or inner experience in common— and 
if these virtues or inner experiences are habitual for 
a person throughout their lives or are steadfast in a 
person at their moment of death, they will lead to 
rebirth in the coi icspunding realm. The correspond-
ence is illustrated in the table above. 
Please note that if the Five Precepts are not intact 
then the mind will be attracted to the unfortunate 
realms such as the hell realms at the break-up of 
the body. 
B.3 Realms of Existence 
Having understood the correspondence between 
inner experience and realms of existence, we now 
turn to look at each of the Spheres of Existence in 
more detail. The Spheres of Existence are threefold, 
like the Planes of mind, but their subcategories can 
be expanded in detail to up to thirty-one realms of 
existence. 
B.3.1 The Three Spheres of Existence 
The realms of existence can be summarized down 
into three spheres: 
1. The sensuous sphere [kamabhava] — equivalent 
in subtlety to the sense-pleasure state of mind 
— is the state of existence inhabited by humans, 
animals, hell-realms and angels. In the deepest 
heart of every being which inhabits this realm, 
there is still the feeling of enjoyment of sense 
pleasure. Sense pleasure can mean sexual pleas-
ure or it can mean pleasures of the five senses 
(pleasurable images seen with the eyes, pleasur-
able sounds heard with the ears, pleasurable 
tastes reaching our tastebuds, pleasurable aro-
mas that reach our nostrils or soft sensations that 
come into contact with our skin. Every living 
being in the sensual realm is searching for hap-
piness via sense pleasure, whether by the chan-
nels of sight, sound, taste, smell or touch. 
2. The Form Sphere [rapabhava] is the dwelling 
place of form-Brahmas [rispabrahma]. Such be-
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