Some friends save, others destroy us

• Some friends save us, others destroy us | Buddhism with Venerable Gotami
• The Buddha's Guide for Lay Buddhists (Sigalovada Sutta)
• Wisdom Quarterly: The Buddha on toxic relationships

New Year's Day Yoga: 108 Sun Salutations

Stella Han (Kinship Yoga); Ananda (Dharma B Meditation), Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Let's reflect on the Buddha's advice to the householder Sigala (Sigalovada Sutta).

New Year's Day tradition of 108 sun salutations at Kinship Studios (mindbodyonline.com)

Yoga instructor Stella Han (Kinship Yoga)

On Sunday, January 1, 2023, from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm, join Yogini Stella Han at Kinship Yoga for the 7th annual New Year's Day 108 Sun Salutations Ceremony! Instruction provided then participants go at their own pace. To participate, just drop in or contact Stella with any questions via:

• stellaheartyoga@gmail.com
• Kinship Yoga at kinshipyoga.com
• Kinship Studios (mindbodyonline.com)

What is a sun salutation? It's a flowing series of yoga moves, much like the ancient India practice of honoring the quarters or directions of the sky. The Buddha redefined the meaning of this ancient practice in the Sigalovada Sutra. Here Surya, the deva or "shining one" ("god" or goddess) of the Sun (Sol/Sól), is honored in the morning. It welcomes the new in yoga and is a traditional practice, particularly with the magical number of the mala or rosary of 108.

Taking drugs? Pot Cafe opens in LA (sutra)

CBS LA; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, A. Wells, S. Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly

Is Buddhism about hallucinating, abusing drugs, getting intoxicated? NO way! Wake up.

 .

“Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe,” WeHo

WEST HOLLYWOOD, California - The first ever cannabis cafe in the nation opens today in West Los Angeles, across from a synagogue.

“Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe” opens at 1201 North La Brea Ave. as a full-service outdoor rooftop restaurant featuring a THC and CBD-based menu, along with a marijuana smoking area.

Abuse of a medicinal plant's CBD, THC

The West Hollywood Business License Commission approved a license for a cannabis consumption area for the Lowell café, which allows smoking, vaping, and intoxicating edibles.

However, there is some controversy. The café is located directly across from the Jewish Kol Ami Congregation synagogue, which has raised concerns with the city.

According to Wehoville, Kol Ami Rabbi Denise Eger sent an email to city council members in which she noted that the synagogue has families with children, and some of its members are in 12-step programs.

[But the city is more interested in the green for green, the tax revenue, the economic prosperity, and the notoriety of being the first Amsterdam-style pot shop and cafe in the nation.] More + VIDEO

SUTRA: Buddhists get high?

I'm freaking out, I can't hang, it's too much!

Can Buddhists get high? They can do whatever they want. Should Buddhists get high? The Buddha warned against it in his wisdom and experience. For he saw the working of karma (actions) and their results (vipaka and phala, resultants and fruits).

To help people along their way to enlightenment -- to security and freedom -- in this very life, he pointed out five trusted modes of conduct, long held and uncontradicted. We call them the Five Precepts.

They are spelled out in the Sigalovada Sutra or "Enlightened Advice for Householders," "A Layperson's Code of Discipline." (Why should we do what's skillful? Because it's good for everybody involved including us.)

1. Undertake the training to abstain from taking the lives of living being (killing, harming) or encouraging others to do so;
2. undertake the training rule to abstain from taking what is not given (stealing, misappropriating) or encouraging others to do so;
3. undertake the training rule to abstain from taking liberties with others (sexual misconduct, sexual intercourse with the ten out-of-bounds persons, sensual abuse, misuse of the senses) or encouraging others to do so;
4. undertake the training rule to abstain from taking the truth in vain (perjury, lying, abusive speech, chatter) or encouraging others to do so;
5. undertake the training rule to abstain from taking intoxicants (drunkenness, delusion, incapacitation) that occasion heedlessness or encouraging others to do so.

Sex, drugs, rock 'n roll...or unskillful karma?

There are two kinds of drugs, opposites by nature. But we speak as if the use of both were the same thing, and we call the consumption of both "getting stoned" [or high, f-d up, blitzed, s-faced]. They are quite different.

One class of drugs is obtunding -- deadening the senses (like being pelted on the head by rocks or stones), hallucinating, loosening morals, occasioning heedlessness, incapacitating, making us out of our minds, leading us to do what we would not otherwise do, namely, violate the other four precepts.
 

My stroke, my drain bramage (Jill Bolte Taylor)

We would never kill/fight, steal or gamble compulsively, cheat/engage in sexual misconduct, lie/omit or gossip, or encourage anyone else to do these things -- unless we were stoned. If you take a substance likely to lead to heedlessness, don't take that substance! For karma's sake.

The other class is sensitizing, mind expanding, insight producing, a category of natural substances called entheogens (what releases the divine within) or "mind-producing" or "soul-creating," which is what "psyche-delic" actually means, widening our consciousness and opening our third eye (pineal gland, ajna chakra). Most of us are not ready for these things, and these substances, too, are susceptible to abuse by some.

But for the most part, people do not use iboga, mushrooms, peyote, harmaline, or ayahuasca recreationally and repeatedly, losing control, falling into addiction. But weed (high THC), beer, alcoholic spirits, amphetamines, and toxins are frequently the subject of abuse, misuse, overuse, and our lives falling apart.

Cigarettes (and now vape pens) are the great "gateway drug." For many so is white sugar, beer, and weed. CBD is more entheogen than hallucinogen in that a marijuana overdose (freak out) is instantly cured by the administration of CBD. High THC strains make this a drug of serious abuse because in combination with a high CBD content, it can be an etheogen. But any medicine (something with a medicinal use) can be abused and become a dependency that negatively impacts life.

Pass drugs = be reborn handless 500 times.

What a great world it would be if everyone gave up alcohol and replaced it with pot, but few do that; most add two misused substances to weaken their minds, damage their bodies, and ruin their futures karmically with the storing up of much demerit. Avoid drugs.

The thought that marijuana is no big deal is a mistake. It can become a big deal and take the place of alcohol, leading us far from enlightenment, freedom, self-control, or realization of the Truth.

If you're a Buddhist, do what you want. You're responsible for it (karmically). And both the world (society, the law, others) and the future (the impersonal working out of deeds-and-results) will show that drugs were not the way at all.

• Dharma Meditation Initiative, Thursday free addiction-recovery meeting nights, North Hollywood
• Buddhist 12 Steps (RecoveryDharma.org)
• Addiction (RefugeRecovery.org)

Study: happiness can be bought (audio)

AirTalk/KPCC (scpr.org, 7-26-17; Crystal Quintero, Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly

Happiness for sale: how to buy it

If you have money, call me. I'll make you happy.

New study explains how happiness can be bought.

It’s often been said that money can’t (or won’t) buy happiness. The road to adulthood is littered with cautionary tales with this idea as the moral.

 

King Midas’ touch turned things to gold, but he soon realized the fatal flaw in his plan after touching his daughter and turning her to a gold statue.

• NEWSFLASH: Amazon.com's Founder, Chairman, CEO Jeff Bezos (with a paper fortune of $92.3 billion in stock) is a major shareholder. At 9:30 this morning, Amazon stock began selling at $1,083.31/share making him the WORLD'S RICHEST HAPPIEST MAN beating out Mexican cellphone magnate Carlos Slim and MicroSoft's miserable Bill Gates.

• VIDEO: Bezos surpasses Gates as world's richest man (Bloomberg.com, July 27) A surge in Amazon.com Inc. shares Thursday morning in advance of the online retailer’s earnings report briefly propelled founder Jeff Bezos past Bill Gates as the world’s richest person. More+VIDEO

I could give this to someone to do things.

One of author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic characters, eccentric millionaire Jay [The Great] Gatsby, throws lavish parties every weekend and has all the world’s modern comforts but can’t buy the one thing that truly makes him happy: love [of another character, Daisy, he desires more than anything].

 

But the findings of a new study suggests that you might actually be able to buy yourself happiness -- if you spend your money right.

 

The study, co-authored by American and Dutch researchers, suggests that people who buy time for themselves are happier than those who don’t. Think paying someone to go grocery shopping, walk your dog, or do your laundry.
 

Stacks of time = stacks of potential happiness.

The study surveyed 6,000 respondents from four countries and also conducted an experiment in which participants were given $40 one week to buy something material then $40 the following week.

People said they were happier when they had more time versus when they purchased a material thing.
 

There's money in these good luck envelopes.

With the prevalence of the gig economy and apps that allow you to pay other people to do your grocery shopping or walk your dog, it would seem it’s easier than ever to buy yourself extra time and therefore buy yourself some happiness, that is, assuming you can afford to do it.

  

What do you think about the findings of this [overblown] study? Does it correlate to your own life experiences? What kinds of tasks did you once do yourself that you now pay someone else to do? Do you find yourself happier as a result? More + AUDIO

• Guest: Elizabeth Dunn, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and co-author of the study

Silicon Valley's sexual harassment issue have a long history. Corruption at Samsung!

Happy Father's Day (cartoon)

Amber Larson, Seth Auberon, CC Liu, Crystal Quinter, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly

(FOX) The dysfunctional fathers of FOX TV, animated only. There are too many on sitcoms to fit.

Kids? Kids!

Today is the day we collectively honor our fathers. Fathers get short shrift in the parenting business. And while that is changing, kids' first word is still much more likely to be na, mama, or ya, then pa. One day soon infants will cry, papa papa papa, and men will regret getting into the whole child raising racket. It takes a village. But it was not always so. In the past, parents were respected and revered. Times have changed, particularly in the West. Asia is deteriorating due to Western hegemony but once was a great home of filial piety still found in traditional countries less affected by the industrial revolution and the rise of technology.

(Covalent Couple) Latino parents are fooken crazy!

(Off The Great Wall) Asian parents vs. Western parents! (Part II)

SUTRA: Father and mother

Asian parents, particularly fathers, are often misunderstood and mislabeled (chineasy.org)

Parents, even non-Buddhist ones, are the best! (chinabuddhismencyclopedia.com)

 
(AN 2.31-32) The Buddha taught: "I tell you, meditators, there are two people who are not easy to repay. Who? One's mother and father. 

"Even if one were to carry one's mother on one shoulder and one's father on the other for 100 years, and were to look after them by anointing, massaging, bathing, and rubbing their sore limbs, and they were to defecate and urinate right [on one's shoulders and one were to bear it with patience, acceptance, gratitude, and streaming rays of loving-kindness, even then] one would not in that way repay one's parents.

"[Even if] if one were to enthrone one's mother and father in absolute sovereignty over this great earth, abounding in the seven treasures, one would not in that way repay one's parents....

"But anyone who rouses unbelieving parents, settles and establishes them in confidence [in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha], rouses unvirtuous parents, settles and establishes them in virtue, rouses parents, settles and establishes them in generosity, rouses foolish parents, settles and establishes them in wisdom -- to this extent one, indeed, repays one's parents."

SUTRA: "The Layperson's Code of Conduct"
Ven. Narada Thera (trans.), adapted from Everyman's Ethics: Four Discourses of the Buddha (Wheel 14, Buddhist Publication Society) and edited by Wisdom Quarterly, Sigalovada Sutra

The Buddha, who knows and sees, extends his compassion to help by wisdom.

.

The Noble Ones are a field of merit.

Sigala was the son of a Buddhist family residing at Rajagaha. His parents were dedicated followers of the Buddha, but the son was indifferent to spirituality and religion. Neither father nor mother could by any means persuade their son to accompany them to visit the Buddha or the noble ones to hear their ennobling Dharma (the path of practice that leads to enlightenment and nirvana for those who practice it).

The son thought it practically useless to pay visits to the enlightened community (Arya Sangha), as such visits might entail material loss if asked to make a donation. Sigala was only concerned with material prosperity; to him spiritual progress was to no avail.

Constantly he would say to his father, "I will have nothing to do with ascetics. Paying honor to them would make my back ache and my knees stiff [by bowing or kneeling]. I should have to sit on the ground and soil and wear out my clothes. And when due to conversations with them, after sitting, one gets to know them, one has to invite them [to a meal] and give them offerings, and so one only loses by it."

Finally as Sigala's father was about to pass away, he called his son to his deathbed, and inquired whether he would at least listen to his parting advice. 

Sigala answered, "Most assuredly, dear father!" he cried. "I shall carry out any order you may be pleased to enjoin on me," he added.

We're crazy, but at least were not Kardashians.

"Well then, dear son, after your morning bath 'worship the quarters.'" The father asked him to do so hoping that one day or other, while the son was so engaged, the Buddha or the monastics would see him and make it an occasion to teach an appropriate sutra to him. 

Since deathbed promises are to be remembered, Sigala carried out his father's wish -- not, however, knowing its significance.
 
Now it was the custom of the Buddha to rise from a few hours of sleep at 4:00 am and after experiencing nirvanic bliss for an hour to pervade the whole world-system with boundless feelings of loving-kindness called metta meditation.

It is at this hour that he surveys the world with great compassion to see what fellow beings he might be of service to on that day.

One morning Sigala came into the Buddha's perceptual field and brought into compassionate net. With his profound vision, the Buddha saw that Sigala could be shown a better channel for his acts of worship. He decided, "This day will I will give a discourse to Sigala on the layperson's Code of Conduct [for a good and prosperous life]. That sutra will be of benefit to many. There must I go."

Even if they defecated? Happy Father's Day!

The Buddha thereon went up to Sigala on his way for alms to the royal ringed city of Rajagaha (a capital rung by seven hills). Seeing Sigala engaged in the ancient Indian custom of worshiping the quarters, the Buddha delivered a great discourse which contains, in brief, the whole social and domestic duty of a layperson. More

Young Sigala came around to seeing what a miraculous teacher the Buddha was and how much his father loved him to set him on a course to hear the Buddha's Dharma, the path to enlightenment and freedom from all suffering.

Happy Fathers Day!

Wisdom Quarterly

Sutra

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Electrified Bees: Charged Flowers (audio)

Wisdom Quarterly (DN 31); Adam Cole, NPR.org

Bee is electrically charged harmlessly drawing pollen and sweet nectar (smart-kit.com)

 

Flowers are nature's ad men. They'll do anything to attract the attention of the pollinators that help them reproduce. 

 

That means spending precious energy on bright pigments, enticing fragrances, and dazzling patterns. Now, scientists have found another element that contributes to flowers' brand: their distinct electric field.

 

Anne Leonard, who studies bees at the University of Nevada, says our understanding of pollinator-flower communication has been expanding for decades.

"Flowers do a lot of things you might not expect," Leonard says. "We observe they have these distinct bright, beautiful colors, patterns, scents."

But we don't often stop to consider that this incredible display is all an attempt to attract bees and other pollinators. These displays don't just consist of things humans notice. There are also patterns in the ultraviolet spectrum, petal temperatures and textures and shapes. LISTEN

Flowers for the Buddha, Buddhist Island, Sri Lanka (Simonmonk/flickr.com)

 

"I sing the body electric," and so do birds and bees. I saw the flowers come to life -- the colors, the colors!

What if all such talk referred to expanded sensitivity of the human eye or brain? There is much more light than we are generally aware of. Think of the devas.

The humble bumble bee is not bumbling. It is generating a field and attracting pollen to itself. A harmless quest for nectar keeps Nature alive. We can learn from that.

The Buddha advises householders in the Sigalovada Sutra (DN 31):

 

Who acquires wealth in harmless ways,
Like a bee who without harm its nectar gathers --
Riches soon mount high for such a person,
Accruing like an anthill with stunning growth.

With riches acquired in this way,
The layperson fit for household life
In four portions divides such wealth.
Thus does one friendship win:

 
One portion for one’s wants one uses,
Two portions on one’s business spends
[Satisfying the past, ensuring the future].
The fourth for times of need one saves.

• Science Seat: Meet a climate change scientist
• Why are our bees vanishing, Monsanto?
• VIDEO: Poisoning our skies

Mother and Father (sutra)

John D. Ireland, § 106. "With Brahma" (Itivuttaka 4.7; Iti 109); Wisdom Quarterly

Perhaps the average American family falls short of the ideal explained to Sigala below.

  

Rahula, Yasodhara, and Siddhartha

This was said by the Buddha... "Living with Brahma [the supreme] are those families where, within the home, mother and father are respected by their children. Living with the early devas are those families where, within the home, mother and father are respected by their children. 

   

"Living with the early teachers are those families where, within the home, mother and father are respected by their children. Living with those worthy of veneration are those families where, within the home, mother and father are respected by their children. 

  

"'Brahma,' disciples, is a term for mother and father. 'Early devas' and 'early teachers' and 'those worthy of veneration' are terms for mother and father. For what reason? 

  

"It is because mother and father are very helpful to their children; they take care of them, bring them up, and teach them about the world."

   

Mother and father are called "Brahma,"
"Early teachers," and "worthy of veneration,"
Being compassionate towards
Their family of children.
Thus the wise venerate them,
Pay them due honor,
Provide them with food and drink,
Give them clothing and a bed,
Anoint and bathe them
And also wash their feet.
When one performs such service
For mother and father,
They praise that wise person even here
And hereafter that person rejoices in heaven.

 

The East: Life Begins with Parents' Care

Excerpt, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly translation (Sigalovada Sutta, DN 31)
I. "In five ways, young householder [Sigala], should a child minister to mother and father as the east:

1. I shall support them, having formerly been supported by them.
2. I shall fulfill their obligations when they are no longer able to.
3. I shall keep up the family tradition.
4. I shall make myself worthy of my inheritance.
5. I shall, when they depart, make charitable offerings to benefit them.

"In five ways, young householder, do the parents thus ministered to as the east by their child show their compassion:

1. They restrain you from doing harm.
2. They encourage you in what is wholesome.
3. They provide for your education enabling you to become independent.
4. They offer you appropriate help in selecting the best marriage possible.
5. They, at the appropriate time, hand over your inheritance.

"In these five ways does a child minister to one’s parents as the east, and the parents show their compassion to that child. Thus is the east honored and upheld by householders and made safe and secure in the way of the nobles." More

A Brief Code of Buddhist Ethics (DN 31)

Dharmachari Seven, Wisdom Quarterly updated translation (Sigalovada Sutta, DN 31) The Buddha at Sukhothai (Aidan McRae Thomson/Flickr.com)

On meeting a young householder (Sigala) engaged in Saluting the Directions, the Buddha was asked for advice on the proper performance of this ancient Indian custom.

The Buddha explained the threefold preparation that must first be established: One must eradicate the

• (1) Four Vices in Conduct
• (2) Four Causes of Unwholesome Karma
• (3) Six Channels of Dissipating Wealth
  

He then shed light on friendship in four ways by pointing out the

• (1) Four False Friends
• (2) Four True Friends
• (3) Four Divisions of Wealth
• (4) Four Bases of Popularity
  

Finally, the Buddha reveals what the real "cardinal directions" -- which Sigala the young householder was previously only bowing to in the performance of an empty ritual – represent and how one actually honors and upholds them.

Moreover, the Buddha explains how one is honored and upheld by them. In this way a short but thorough set of reciprocal social obligations is established -- a "brief code of Buddhist ethics."

The Buddha at Bamiyan, Afghanistan (ghostofaflea.com)

Part I. The Empty Ritual
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Buddha was residing in the Bamboo Grove, at the Squirrels’ Sanctuary, near Rajagaha.

Now at that time the child of a householder, the young Sigala, arose early in the morning. This young householder set off from Rajagaha with wet hair and clothes [ancient marks of respect following the passing of someone important] to engage in the ancient practice of paying homage to the cardinal directions -- bowing at sunrise with joined hands to the east, south, west, north, below (nadir), and above (zenith).

Then the Buddha [after scanning the world for whom he might benefit], arranging his robes in the morning, took his bowl and set off toward Rajagaha for alms. He saw Sigala, the young householder, along the way worshiping in the customary manner and said:

"Young householder, on what account have you arisen early in the morning, set off from the city with wet hair and clothes, and come to salute with joined hands these cardinal directions -- east, south, west, north, nadir, and zenith?"

"My father, venerable sir, when he was dying said to me: ‘My dear child, do not neglect to worship the cardinal directions.’ Respecting and upholding my father’s word [Sigala's father was a follower of the Buddha], to show reverence and honor, I get up early in the morning, leave Rajagaha with wet hair and clothes, and with joined hands pay homage to these cardinal directions."

"But, young householder, this is not the way in which one honors and upholds the cardinal directions according to the teaching of the nobles."

"Then, teacher, how -- what is the noble way of honoring and upholding the cardinal directions? It would be a wonderful thing if the Noble One were to instruct me accordingly in the way of the nobles."

"Listen then, young householder, attending carefully to what I say, and I will tell you."

"Very well, venerable sir," replied the young Sigala.

The Buddha began by explaining, as a matter of preparation, those things to be done before setting out to honor and uphold the cardinal directions.

Giant Buddha at Leshan, China (tenlivingcities.org)

Part II. Preparation
THREEFOLD PREPARATION
"Young householder, inasmuch as a follower of the noble ones eradicates the Four Vices in Conduct [which the Buddha define along with all other terms] abandons the Four Motivations of Unwholesome Karma, and

III. avoids the Six Channels for Dissipating Wealth, to that extent, covering and protecting them, a lay follower honors and upholds the cardinal directions in the way of the nobles."

"By avoiding these [14] unskillful things, one sets off on the path leading to success here and beyond: One comes to be favored in this world and the world(s) to come. With the dissolution of this body, after death, such a person goes on to be reborn in a happy and fortunate destination."

I. THE FOUR VICES IN CONDUCT
"Young householder, what are the Four Vices in Conduct one eradicates?

1. The destruction of life,
2. taking what is not given,
3. sexual misconduct [AN X.206, Buddhism and Sex], and
4. false speech are defilements, vices in conduct.
   

These are the four karmic defilements one eradicates."

Thus did the Enlightened One explain, and having explained he summarized before continuing:

Killing, theft, harmful indulgence, lies --
Such vices are never extolled by the wise.

II. THE FOUR MOTIVATIONS OF UNWHOLESOME KARMA
"Due to what four causes is unwholesome karma produced?

1. Led by desire one perpetrates unwholesome actions.
2. Spurred by anger one performs unskillful deeds.
3. Motivated by delusion one engages in demeritorious conduct.
4. Provoked by fear one produces unwholesome karma.

But to the extent that one is not motivated by greed, hatred, wrong view, or fear, a lay follower accumulates no unwholesome karma."

Thus did the Buddha explain then he summarized before continuing:

Who led by craving, contempt, cowardice, or confusion
Transgresses the self-discipline thus proclaimed,
All of that person’s glory dims and fades away
Declining like the light of the waning moon.
But who in spite of desire, dislike, delusion, or dread
Does not transgress the self-discipline thus proclaimed,
All of that person’s glory gains in strength
Dazzling like the light of the waxing moon.

III. THE SIX CHANNELS FOR DISSIPATING WEALTH
"What are the Six Channels for Dissipating Wealth one abstains from pursuing? They are:

1. Indulging in intoxicants which occasion heedlessness,
2. roaming the streets at unseemly hours,
3. frequenting unsavory shows,
4. being infatuated with gambling,
5. associating with the foolish, and
6. being addicted to idleness."

"[Why?] There are, young householder, these six miserable consequences to indulging in intoxicants which occasion heedlessness:

1. loss of wealth,
2. increase in quarrels,
3. susceptibility to disease,
4. loss of reputation,
5. indecent exposure, and
6. weakened intellect.

"There are, young householder, these six harmful consequences to roaming the streets at unseemly hours:

1. You are unprotected and unguarded.
2. Your spouse and children are unprotected and unguarded.
3. Your property is unprotected and unguarded.
4. You’re suspected of crimes.
5. You’re the subject of false rumors.
6. You encounter many troubles.

"There are, young householder, these six unskillful things associated with frequenting unsavory shows. One who does so remains restless and agitated, wondering:

1. Where is there dancing?
2. Where is there singing?
3. Where is there music playing?
4. Where is there reciting?
5. Where is there this entertainment?
6. Where is there that entertainment?

"There are, young householder, these six unwelcome consequences to being infatuated with gambling:

1. One is despised due to winning.
2. One grieves on account of losing.
3. One dissipates one’s wealth.
4. One’s word is not relied on.
5. One comes to be disparaged by friends and associates.
6. One, unable to properly support another, is not much sought after."

"There are, young householder, these six disagreeable consequences to associating with the foolish:

1. Any gambler,
2. any wastrel,
3. any drunkard,
4. any cheater,
5. any swindler,
6. any violent person

is one’s friend and companion."

"There are, young householder, these six unprofitable consequences associated with being addicted to idleness. Nothing is accomplished because one is not inclined to put forth the effort to get any work done, instead thinking:

1. It’s too cold!
2. It’s too hot!
3. It’s too late in the evening!
4. It’s too early in the morning!
5. I’m too hungry!
6. I’m too full!

Living in this way, one leaves many wholesome and profitable things left undone. New wealth is left unacquired. And savings dwindle away."

The Buddha dispelling fear (lionsroar.com)

Thus did the Buddha explain and then he summarized before moving on to a new topic:

Some are two-faced friends,
Calling you ‘friend, friend’ only to your face.
Some are with you through your hour of need
And should be recognized as friends indeed.

Sleeping and cheating,
Quarreling and causing harm,
Unwise association and miserliness --
These six causes ruin a person.

One regarding fools as friends
Is given to disadvantageous ways
On account of which one grieves in two places --
In this world and the world to come.

Dice-and-promiscuity, drinking, dance-and-song,
In bed by day and taking night as the time to rise,
Associating with fools, a heart to hardness inclined --
These manifold causes ruin a person.

Who indulges in games of chance, consumes intoxicants,
Consorts with partners as dear to others as their very lives --
Associating with clouded rather than enlightened minds --
Such a person declines just as the waning moon.

Intoxicated, broke, destitute,
Thirsty even when drinking,
One sinks in debt like a stone in water --
And bringing family disrepute, one is soon bereft of kin.

Who by habit sleeps the day away,
Looks on night as the time to wake,
Ever intoxicated and indulgent,
Is unfit to lead the household life.

Who cries, ‘Too cold!’ ‘Too hot!’ ‘Too late!’
Thereby leaving many things left undone,
What opportunities for good one might have had
Soon slip past such a person.

Yet one who regards cold and heat
As less than a pinch of grass,
Performing one’s duties with vitality,
That person does not fall away from happiness.

The Buddha and Brahma, Thailand (BobyBahar/Flickr.com)

Part III. Friendship
FALSE FRIENDS
"These four, young householder, should be understood as Foes in the Guise of Friends:

1. one who borrows your possessions,
2. one who renders lip-service,
3. one who flatters,
4. one who encourages ruin.

"[Why?] In four ways, young householder, should one who borrows your possessions be understood to be a foe in the guise of a friend:

One borrows with no thought of returning,
appropriating everything
One gives little wanting much in return
What one must do one does out of fear
One is always looking out for selfish ends.

"In four ways, young householder, should one who renders lip-service be understood to be an adversary disguised as a friend:

1. One speaks proudly of favors attempted in the past.
2. One makes friendly vows regarding the future.
3. One tries to gain favor with empty words.
4. One pleads inability when an opportunity to be of service actually arises.

"In four ways, young householder, should one who flatters be understood to be a foe masquerading as a friend:

1. One consents to the doing of unwholesome deeds.
2. One dissents to the doing of beneficial actions.
3. One praises you to your face.
4. One speaks ill of you behind your back.

"In four ways, young householder, should one who encourages ruin be understood to be an enemy in the guise of a friend:

1. One is a companion for indulging in intoxicants which occasion heedlessness.
2. One is a companion for roaming the streets at unseemly hours.
3. One is a companion for frequenting unsavory shows.
4. One is a companion for gambling."

Thus did the Buddha explain then summarized before continuing:

The friend arrogating selfishly,
The friend airing empty promises,
The friend overflowing with flattery,
The friend accompanying ruin --
These four as foes the wise behold!
Thus recognizing them even from afar,
They avoid them as paths of peril.

The Buddha at Weherahena Temple, Matara, Sri Lanka (DurbanBay/Flickr.com)

TRUE FRIENDS
"Conversely, young householder, these four should be understood as warmhearted friends:

1. one who helps,
2. one who is the same in good times and bad,
3. one who provides good counsel,
4. one who sympathizes [throbs with sympathy].

"[Why?] In four ways, young householder, should one who helps be understood to be a warmhearted friend:

1. One guards you when you’re heedless.
2. One protects your wealth when you’re heedless.
3. One serves as a refuge when you’re afraid.
4. One, when you have obligations to meet, provides you with twice as much as you need.

"In four ways, young householder, should one who is the same in good times and bad be understood to be a warmhearted friend:

1. One shares one’s secrets.
2. One guards your secrets.
3. In your misfortune, one does not abandon you.
4. Even one’s life one sacrifices for your sake.

"In four ways, young householder, should one who provides good counsel be understood to be a warmhearted friend:

1. One restrains you from performing unskillful deeds.
2. One encourages you to do what is beneficial.
3. One informs you of things you did not know.
4. One points out the path to a fortunate rebirth.

"In four ways, young householder, should one who sympathizes be understood to be a warmhearted friend:

1. One does not rejoice in your misfortune.
2. One rejoices on account of your success.
3. One restrains others from speaking ill of you.
4. One commends those who speak well of you."

Thus did the Buddha explain then he summarized [with an important addition on the earning and apportioning of one’s money] before moving on to explain how one honors the cardinal directions in the way of the nobles:

The friend who is a guardian and helpful,
The friend alike through weal and woe,
The friend who provides sage counsel,
The friend throbbing with sympathy, too --
These four as friends the wise behold
And cherish them with warmest regard
As a mother does her own child.
The wise and virtuous shine like a flame blazing forth!
Who acquires wealth in harmless ways
Like a bee that without harm its nectar gathers --
Riches soon mount high for such a person
Accruing like an anthill with stunning growth.
With riches acquired in this way,
The layperson fit for household life
In four portions divides such wealth.
Thus does one friendship win:
One portion for one’s wants one uses,
Two portions on one’s business spends
[Satisfying the past, ensuring the future].
The fourth for times of need one keeps.

The bodhisattva Hotei, the historical Buddha, and Happy Buddha (Khorsani/Flickr.com)

Part IV. The Cardinal Directions
HOW ONE HONORS AND UPHOLDS THE CARDINAL DIRECTIONS
"Now, young householder, how does a lay follower indeed honor and uphold the cardinal directions in the way of the nobles? [It is not by bowing to the six directions with joined hands, but rather by looking upon the following persons as the directions and honoring them in the following way.]

Parents are looked upon as the east,
Teachers as the south,
Family as the west,
Friends as the north,
Employees as the nadir,
Advisers as the zenith."

[Rhys Davids points out the underlying wisdom of the Buddha’s choice of directions. "The symbolism is deliberately chosen: as the day in the east, so life begins with parents’ care; teacher’s fees and the south are the same word: dakkhina; domestic care follows when the youth becomes [the adult], as the west holds the later daylight; north is ‘beyond’ (attara) so by help of friends, etc., [one] gets beyond troubles" (PTS).]

THE EAST
I. "In five ways, young householder, should a child minister to mother and father as the east:

1. I shall support them, having formerly been supported by them.
2. I shall fulfill their obligations when they are no longer able to.
3. I shall keep up the family tradition.
4. I shall make myself worthy of my inheritance.
5. I shall, when they depart, make charitable offerings to benefit them.
   

"In five ways, young householder, do the parents thus ministered to as the east by their child show their compassion:

1. They restrain you from doing harm.
2. They encourage you in what is wholesome.
3. They provide for your education enabling you to become independent.
4. They offer you appropriate help in selecting the best marriage possible.
5. They, at the appropriate time, hand over your inheritance.

"In these five ways does a child minister to one’s parents as the east, and the parents show their compassion to that child. Thus is the east honored and upheld by householders and made safe and secure in the way of the nobles."

THE SOUTH
II. "In five ways, young householder, should a student minister to teachers and tutors as the south:

1. by rising to greet them,
2. by attending on them,
3. by an eagerness to learn,
4. by rendering appropriate personal service, and
5. by [study and practice thus] learning one’s lessons well.

"In five ways, young householder, do teachers and tutors thus ministered to as the south by their students show their compassion:

1. They train them to the best of their ability.
2. They see to it that they grasp their lessons well.
3. They instruct them widely and thoroughly.
4. They recommend them to their colleagues and friends.
5. They provide for their safety in all directions.

"The teachers and tutors thus ministered to as the south by their students show their compassion towards them in these five ways. Thus is the south honored and upheld by them and made safe and secure."

THE WEST
III. "In five ways, young householder, should a spouse minister to one’s partner as the west:

1. by being courteous,
2. by not disparaging one’s partner,
3. by being faithful,
4. by handing over household authority [relinquishing control of domestic matters], and
5. by providing one’s partner with adornments.

"The partner thus ministered to as the west by the spouse shows compassion to that spouse in these five ways:

1. by organizing one’s duties well,
2. by being hospitable to those around the house,
3. by being faithful,
4. by protecting what is stored up in the house, and
5. by the skillful and efficient discharging of one’s duties.

"In these five ways does a partner show compassion to the spouse who ministers to one as the west. In this way is the west honored and upheld by partners and is protected and made safe."

THE NORTH
IV. "In five ways, young householder, should a friend minister to friends and associates as the north:

1. by liberality,
2. by kind and courteous speech,
3. by looking out for their welfare,
4. by being impartial, and
5. by keeping one’s word to them.

"The friends and associates thus ministered to as the north by a friend show compassion to that friend in five ways:

1. They protect you when you are heedless.
2. They protect your property when you are heedless.
3. They act as a refuge when you’re in danger.
4. They do not desert you in your times of trouble.
5. They show consideration for your family members.

"The friends and associates thus ministered to as the north by a friend show their compassion toward that friend in these five ways. Thus is the north honored and upheld by friends, making it safe and secure."

THE NADIR
V. "In five ways should an employer minister to one’s employees and assistants as the nadir:

1. by assigning them work according to their ability,
2. by supplying them with wages and necessities,
3. by nurturing them through times of illness,
4. by sharing with them unexpected treats, and
5. by granting them leave from time to time.

"The employees and assistants thus ministered to as the nadir show compassion to their employer in five ways:

1. They commence before you.
2. They leave off after you.
3. They take only what is given.
4. They perform their duties well.
5. They uphold your good name and reputation.

"The employees and assistants thus ministered to as the nadir by an employer show their compassion toward that employer in these five ways. Thus is the nadir honored and upheld, making it safe and secure."

THE ZENITH
VI. "In five ways, young householder, should a householder minister to wandering ascetics and temple brahmins as the zenith:

1. by loving deeds,
2. by loving words,
3. by loving thoughts,
4. by opening one’s home to them, and
5. by providing for their material needs.

"The wandering ascetics and temple brahmins thus ministered to as the zenith by a householder show their compassion towards that householder in five ways:

[The text lists six things, as if to remind us that advisers do more for supporters than supporters do for advisers. But to preserve regularity of exposition, two have been collapsed into one.]

1. They dissuade you from harmful things.
2. They persuade you to adopt beneficial things.
3. They are benevolent and compassionate toward you.
4. They acquaint you with things you are unfamiliar with and clarify what is already familiar.
5. They point out the path to happy and fortunate realms of rebirth.

"In these [five] ways do advisers show their compassion towards a householder who ministers to them as the zenith. Thus is the zenith honored and upheld making it safe and secure."

The Buddha and monks in Cambodia (Roger Cracknell Photography/Flickr.com)

Part V. Summary
Thus did the Enlightened One explain then he concluded by summarizing:

Guardians as the east,
Instructors are the south
Family as the west,
Associates are the north
Assistants below,
Ascetics above --
One suited to exert a householder’s discretion
Honors and upholds these cardinal directions.
Wise and full of virtue,
Gentle and keen,
Humble and amenable --
Such a person may indeed honor attain.
Energetic, overcoming indolence,
In the midst of adversity unshaken,
Immaculate in manner, and intelligent --
Such a person may indeed honor attain.
Hospitable, amicable to all,
Beneficent, and liberal,
A guide, counselor, and model --
Such a person may indeed honor attain.
Generous, of sweet speech,
Helpful, and impartial to all --
By these four* fixed, the world goes round
As the linchpin serves the moving cart.
If these in the world were not found
Then this repercussion would redound:
Neither mother nor father could expect
From children proper honor and respect.
Since these four winning ways
The wise approve and display,
They to eminence have attained
With praise and honor rightly gained.

[*The Four Bases of Popularity (sangaha-vatthu, "winning ways"): liberality, affability, beneficence, and impartiality. In the Lakkhana Sutra, the Buddha says of himself, "The Tathagata, then being human, became popular to the people by the four bases of popularity, to wit, by giving, by kindly speech, by sagacious conduct and by impartiality, he by the doing and by the accumulating of that karma, by the mass and by the abundance thereof, was when the body perished reborn after death in a bright and blessed world..." (Dialogues of the Buddha III, p. 145; also in Anguttara II, 32, 248; Jataka V, 330).]

Part VI. Reaction
When the Buddha concluded the young householder exclaimed: "Excellent, Enlightened One, excellent! It is as if a person were to set upright what had been overturned, or were to reveal what had been hidden, or were to point out the way to one who had become lost, or were to hold a lamp against the dark so that those with eyes might see exactly what was there! Just so has this ennobling Doctrine and Discipline been explained in a variety of ways by the Enlightened One.

"I go for guidance to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. May the teacher take notice of me as a seeker, a lay follower, as one having gone for guidance to the Three Jewels [Buddha, Dharma, Sangha] from this day forward!"

Buddha Eyes, Swayambhunath Stupa just outside Kathmandu, Nepal (Prateekdahal/Flickr.com)

Part VII. Commentary
Buddhist go for "guidance" (sarana) as explained a century ago in the classic A Buddhist Catechism by the American Col. Olcott. "Wijesinha Mudaliar writes me: ‘This word [sarana] has been hitherto very inappropriately and erroneously rendered refuge by European Pali scholars and thoughtlessly so accepted by native Pali scholars. Neither Pali etymology nor Buddhistic philosophy justifies the translation.

Refuge, in the sense of a fleeing back or a place of shelter, is quite foreign to true Buddhism, which insists on every [person] working out [his or her] own emancipation. The root sr in Sanskrit (sara in Pali) means to move, to go so that saranam would denote a moving, or [one] or that which goes before or with another -- a guide or helper.

I construe the passage thus: Gachchami, I go, Buddham, to the Buddha, saranam, as my guide. The translation of the Tisarana as the ‘Three Refuges’ has given rise to much misapprehension...

The term refuge is more applicable to nirvana, of which saranam is a synonym. The [chief abbot] Ven. Sumangala also calls my attention to the fact that the Pali root sara has the secondary meaning of killing, or that which destroys. Buddham saranam gachchami might thus be rendered ‘I go to the Buddha, the Doctrine, and the Order, as the destroyers of my fears -- the first by his preaching, the second by its axiomatic truth, the third by their various examples and precepts’" (Note 1, pp. 43-44).

The Buddha (enlightened teacher), the Dharma (Doctrine and Discipline leading to enlightenment), and the noble Community (followers who have any of the stages of enlightenment). These "Three Jewels" (Tiratana) may also be rendered as the teacher (of enlightenment), the teaching (of enlightenment), and the successfully taught.

Unless Sangha as one of the Three Jewels is understood as the noble Sangha of accomplished practitioners, the "community" of those who have rightly practiced and attained, one might become disheartened by the misconduct of monastics.

The four noble disciples (arya) are the stream enterer, once returner, non-returner, and fully enlightened. (Sometimes these four are divided into eight by distinguishing the attainment of "path" and "fruition" consciousness, explained by most commentaries as differing only by a single moment, yielding the "eight kinds of persons").