Steer clear of fools; associate with the wise
Sattigumba and Pupphaka
Asevanā ca bālānaṃ, paṇḍitānañca sevanā;
Pūjā ca pūjaneyyānaṃ
etaṃ maṅgalamuttamaṃ.
Avoiding fools and
Associating with the wise.
Giving respect to the deserving.
This is [among] life's highest blessings.
Maṅgala Sutra
This quote begins the verse spoken by the Buddha when asked, “What is life's highest blessing?” There are 38 blessings listed. Find them HERE. However, this first verse is the most important. Let's distinguish fools from the wise.
The commentary to this verse explains: Fool commit bad karma (unskillful deeds of body, speech, and mind).
The wise create good karma (skillful deeds of body, speech, or mind). The wise develop virtue (sila, morality, ethics).
Lay Buddhists follow the Five Precepts. Monastics follow 227 precepts. When a wise person hears about the Five Precepts, or a wise monastic hears about the 227 precepts, that person becomes happy.
When one hears of the unskillful karma created by breaking precepts, one becomes happy because of not having broken precepts and knows that bad karmic results (vipaka and phala) will be avoided.
When one hears of good karma due to morality, one becomes happy because of knowing that good results will come. These are "wise" people according to the Bālapaṇḍita Sutra (MN 129). Fools are described in the same sutra:
Suppose a fool is sitting in a council hall, street, or crossroads, where people are discussing what is proper and suitable. And suppose that fool is someone who kills living creatures, steals, engages in sexual misconduct, lies, and uses intoxicants that cause negligence. That fool thinks:
“These people are discussing what is proper and fitting. But those things are found in me, and I am seen in them!”
"This is the first kind of suffering and sadness a fool experiences in the present life.
“Those who do not follow the Five Precepts for lay people or 227 precepts for monastics become afraid when they hear these precepts and the negative results from breaking them. They are called fools (bāla).”
Actually, the ones who become afraid have some hints of wisdom, for they know they should change [so as not to suffer]. It is the ones without fear who do not become afraid at all who are absolute fools. They are the most dangerous fools because they hold wrong view and act on them.
They are dangerous because they believe the bad actions they do are actually good, and they share these wrong views with others.
The commentary to the Maṅgala Sutra says that it is like when a house is on fire and burning: It easily spreads to neighboring houses.
Spiritual development starts with being morally wise. After morality is developed, one is capable of developing stillness of mind (samatha). Those who have developed stillness (samadhi, unification, concentration, coherence) have completed the second part of “being wise.”
The third step is to develop insight knowledges or vipassana. One must have the ability to focus or be calm and still to develop insight knowledges, and one must have morality to develop focus (non-distractedness.
That is why it is said that sīla, samādhi, and paññā (morality, stillness, and wisdom), in this order and not in any other order.
The highest level of insight is the realization of nirvana (Pali nibbāna), and the highest level of attaining nirvana (while still alive) is full enlightenment or arhat knowledge.
This is when attachment (greed and clinging), aversion (hatred and fear), and delusion (wrong views and ignorance) are completely destroyed without remainder.
Where to ordain?
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| Where is a good place to become a novice? |
One cannot be spiritually-wise without being morally-wise. Therefore, start at a place where both the monastic rules (vinaya) and meditation are important.
In addition to one house spreading fire to another house, the Maṅgala Sutra commentary speaks of rotten fish spreading rot to nearby objects.
One who ties up putrid fish
with blades of kusa grass
makes the kusa grass smell foul:
so it is in the following fools
(It 68, 9-12, Ja IV 435, 28-29, JaVI 236 4-5).
Maṅgala Sutra Commentary: In contrast, the commentary explains that if one were to wrap tagara jasmine flowers with leaves, those leaves would come to smell very fragrant.
One who ties up tagara
with leaves [fallen from a tree]
makes the leaves sweetly fragrant:
so it is in the following wise
(It 68, 13-16, Ja IV 436, 1-2, Ja VI 236, 6-7).
Maṅgala Sutra Commentary: This is literally used to explain that whatever is near to us can easily “rub off” on us. Perhaps the best example of this is our language or accent. Not long ago, if someone were from New York City or Long Island, one could easily tell by the way the person talked.
My father is from the Bronx, and everyone knows it. Now this is becoming a thing of the past because of TV and internet videos.
Think about it. Television and internet media affect us in deeply rooted and subconscious ways, and they affect the way we speak. If they can affect the way we speak, why would they not affect people’s attitudes, beliefs, and morals?
As internet algorithms choose more and more polarized and extremes to show us, those things will become a part of us. They become the new normal. Or they already have.
We are encouraged to associate or live with those who are higher than us in morality and wisdom. This is very important because it will be easy for this to literally rub off on us, like the fragrance of flowers.
Twin parrots birth story
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| Where the F are we going? - Speak nicely, Polly. |
One bird is raised by a gang of thieves, the other by hermit ascetics. The king comes across both parrots at different times. The first encounter is the evil parrot who speaks of stealing and killing, while the other speaks of kindness. The king is moved by the difference between the two.
This story my seem hard to believe, but we can find examples of parrots on YouTube that point out this difference very well. Believe it or not, many parrots are in need of shelter. Just enter “parrot + a location” into a search engine and see the many organizations looking for new nests. Above is the video about a rescued bird who lived with bad people that witnessed its owner's death.
This parrot witnessed the murder of its owner. It was a key witness at the trial. Likewise, there are numerous channels with loving parrots who obviously had loving owners. Here's one.
This post is dedicated to my cousin, Les Brodie, who died recently. He had a well trained talking bird and told me about what a joy it was to have it. It had its own bike, and the bird would often pick up the house phone with its claw on the first ring and imitate his voice, “Hello? Uhuh...ummm...yes...uhuh…”
Apparently, sometimes his friends would have conversations with the bird without Les knowing it. He was a very special person, and so was his bird. If we are parents, our children are our parrots.
Moreover, we are all talking bird parroting whomever we follow and associate with. Our associates rub off on us like leaves wrapped around smelly fish or fragrant flowers. Let us be wise in our associations.
Avoiding fools and
Associating with the wise.
Giving respect to the deserving.
This is life’s highest blessing.
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