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entailing acknowledgment" 
[pAEidesanEya]; "Minor 
Transgressions" [dukkaEa], 
and;"Wrong 
Speech" [dubbhAsita]. For these 
infringements 
of the monastic conduct there is no 
need 
for monks to confess in front of the 
monastic 
assembly. By confessing to 
another monk the 
offending monk can be returned to 
purity 
again. In fact, confession doesn't 
wash away 
the evil caused by infringement of 
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the discipline, 
but it helps to give the monk the 
mindfulness not to infringe the 
same rule of 
conduct again. Confession is like 
the healing 
of an open wound — but the scar 
still remains. 
Best of all is never to break the 
rules of monastic 
conduct. 
C.3.2.2 Restraint of the senses 
[indriyasaOvara] 
This means specifically the 
restraint of the eyes, ears, 
nose, tongue, skin contact and 
mind. Monks should 
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not look at inappropriate things: if 
a monk sees a 
couple petting at the side of the 
road, he shouldn't 
stay and watch them but should 
quickly go somewhere 
else. Monks should not listen to 
inappropriate 
things — there is no need to go 
listening to gossip 
that doesn't concern him. Monks 
should not 
smell things that are inappropriate 
or taste things 
that are inappropriate: mostly this 
concerns food 
and not just eating things for the 
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taste. Monks 
should not touch or have skin 
contact with things 
that are inappropriate: not using 
rubbing creams 
just for the smoothness of the skin 
or to take pleasure 
in touching soft and comfortable 
things. Monks 
should not use their mind to think 
of inappropriate 
things. In other words monks 
should not find 
pleasure or displeasure from the 
use of the senses. 
C.3.2.3 Purity of livelihood 
[Ajtvaparisuddhi] 
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Monks have to make their living, 
but not by cultivating 
fields or earning a wage. The 
proper way of 
making a living for a monk is to go 
on almsround. 
128 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
All monks know this but some 
think that almsround 
is inconvenient because sometimes 
alms are donated, 
sometimes not. To set oneself up 
as a fortune 
teller or a seller of lottery tickets 
somehow 
seems more convenient!  
but it 
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is not pure livelihood 
for monks. Lotteries are a form of 
gambling 
and gambling is one of the roads to 
ruin. Thus if 
monks encourage and make their 
living out of lotteries 
or lottery numbers, don't go 
supporting them 
— they are in breach of monastic 
discipline. Fortune 
telling by monks is no better than 
lottery tips. 
Fortune telling is a pseudo-science 
of statistics and 
is not grounded on truth. Thus 
fortune telling is a 
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sort of guesswork which is not 
much better than 
lying. 
C.3.2.4 Reflection on the 
Requisites 
[paccayapaccavekkhaAa]: 
This is the practice by monks of 
recollection or reflection 
on the four different sorts of 
requisites before 
use. The requisites of clothing, 
food, shelter and 
medicine are the basic needs of 
life. Monks must 
reflect that the requisites are 
nothing more than 
needs to keep the body going, in 
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the same way as 
fuel keeps a car mobile. Most 
people use the requisites 
of life without distinguishing 
between need 
and want — but for monks the 
proper practice is to 
use the requisites to train oneself in 
the consideration 
of moderation. 
D. ATTAINMENT OF 
SELF-DISCIPLINE 
D.1 Levels of Avoidance 
Properly practised, discipline will 
give rise to selfdiscipline. 
Where discipline is the avoidance 
of unwholesomeness 
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by external means, self-discipline 
is the avoidance of 
unwholesomeness by internal 
means. To distinguish between the 
two, we identify 
three different ways in which 
unwholesomeness 
can be avoided [virati]: 
I. Avoidance on the spur of the 
moment 
[sampattavirati]: this is a form of 
discipline 
whereby one refrains from 
unwholesome action 
or speech spontaneously without 
having requested 
any Precepts in advance. If you see 
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a 
fish washed up on the beach and 
you decide on 
the spur of the moment to throw it 
back into the 
water out of compassion, rather 
than killing —
this is the sort of avoidance which 
we call `avoidance 
on the spur of the moment'. 
Perhaps you 
would turn in a lost wallet with all 
of the money 
instead of keeping it for yourself, 
for fear of being 
accused of stealing. Such 
avoidance of evil 
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occurs as the result of fear and 
shame of evil or 
the consequences of evil 
[hiri-ottappa]; 
2. Avoidance having requested the 
Precepts 
[samadAnavirati]: this is a form of 
discipline 
whereby one refrains from 
unwholesome action 
or speech for fear of breaking 
Precepts one has 
previously requested from a monk. 
Some people 
simply make a vow to keep the 
Precepts each 
day in front of the shrine. Even if 
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someone were 
to give you a bottle of beer, 
because you have 
taken the five precepts that day, 
you will turn 
down the offer for fear of breaking 
your vow; 
3. Avoidance through 
transcending [samuccedavirati]: 
this is a form of self-discipline 
whereby 
one no longer has any temptation 
to do evil, because 
the mind has reached a stage of 
purity and 
transcendental attainment whereby 
no unwholesome 
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intention can arise in the mind any 
more 
to drive unwholesome speech or 
action. This is 
absolute avoidance of evil of the 
type achieved 
by those who have attained the 
stages of Buddhist 
sainthood. 
D.2 Refraining from the Tenfold 
Path of 
Unwholesomeness 
The result of practising discipline 
until attainingselfdiscipline 
is to remove oneself from the 
influence 
of the Tenfold Path of 
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Unwholesomeness 
[akusaladhammapatha], 
the first four of which can be 
recognized 
as the Four Defilements of Action 
[kammakilesa]: 
I. Killing: e.g. killing people, 
fishing, hunting 
and cruelty to animals 
2. Stealing: e.g Thieving, 
mugging, shoplifting, 
corruption and deceit 
3. Committing adultery: 
unfaithfulness to one's 
spouse, rape, pre-marital sex 
4. Lying: eg. telling lies, 
exaggeration, forgery 
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5. Malicious or divisive gossip: 
e.g. gossip in a 
Blessing Nine: Artfulness in Usage 
129 
way to turn one person against 
another, mudslinging 
6. Harsh or insulting speech: e.g. 
name calling, 
swearing 
7. Idle chatter: e.g. purposeless 
babble, raving, 
boasting 
8. Covetousness: e.g. considering 
to get something 
one wants in a dishonest way, 
coveting 
others' possessions 
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9. Vengeful Thought: e.g. wanting 
to get revenge 
or get your own back 
10. False View: e.g. thinking good 
and evil to be nonexistent, 
thinking you have no debt of 
gratitude 
to your parents, thinking death to 
be the end of 
the story, not believing in the Law 
of Karma 
and to establish oneself in the 
Tenfold Path of 
Wholesomeness 
[kusaladhammapatha]: 
1. absolutely not killing. 
2. absolutely not stealing 
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3. absolutely not committing 
adultery 
4. absolutely not lying 
5. absolutely not gossiping 
6. absolutely not speaking harshly. 
7. absolutely not idle chatter 
8. absolutely not thinking to take 
the possession 
of others 
9. absolutely remove yourself from 
vengefulness. 
10. absolutely possession of Right 
View 
E. ILLUSTRATIVE 
EXAMPLES 
E.1 Metaphor: Vinaya to 
knowledge is as a 
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scabbard to a sword 
Even if you have theoretical 
knowledge and experience, 
you need to have an extra virtue to 
protect 
you from using that knowledge in 
the wrong way 
— that virtue is self-discipline. 
Without self-discipline, 
you will apply your knowledge to 
do immoral 
things. The people of old had 
sayings that: 
"If a sharp sword lacks a scabbard, 
it can harm 
even the owner. If a hand-grenade 
lacks a firing 
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pin it can kill even the owner. A 
person of 
knowledge and experience can 
come to an unfortunate 
end, if he lacks self-discipline" 
E.2 Metaphor: Value of clay is in 
the value of 
the mold 
The people of old remarked that a 
humble lump 
of clay in the middle of a field is a 
strange thing. 
Unshaped, in the middle of that 
field it is without 
worth. However, if you put it into 
moulds 
of various sorts, it acquires worth 
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depending on 
the nature of the mould. If you put 
the clay in 
the mould for a plate or a cup, 
when it comes 
out of the mould, it has acquired 
some value —
it is something you can use on the 
table. If you 
put it into the mould for a doll, 
then the resulting 
doll is of value and can be used to 
decorate 
the house. If you put the clay into 
the mould for 
a Buddha image, the clay is 
suddenly transformed 
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