ABHIDHAMMA IN DAILY LIFE - Abhidhamma.com

Having followers - Yasa and Ayasa
Teachers, leaders and great men ought to have a retinue of followers. Followers are like a fence
protecting a building it encloses, so followers usually protect their leaders and render service to
them. In turn, leaders should reward their followers. Generosity brings in a large number of
followers; and they should be treated with due respect. Leaders must have the good will to
enhance the life of the followers. Even servants and menials should be treated like co-workers
and friends. As a result, they will give full protection and good service. If, in spite of one's
goodwill, one has few or no followers, there is no need to be worried. On the other hand, when
one is surrounded by many followers one should not be conceited and haughty.
Fame is an asset not only in this one life but also in the future in lives. Only persons of great
fame and quality can accomplish great and noble tasks.
Being blamed or praised - Ninda and Pasamsa
Envious and jealous persons and faultfinders are in abundance everywhere. In this life, therefore,
it is very difficult to be praised and very easy to be blamed. Nevertheless, one should try to live
righteously by means of mindfulness. No one is immune from blame.
However, those who blame others should ask themselves "Are we free from faults Are we
flawless" No one is flawless like the Bodhisatta Mahosadha, King Vessantara, Venerable
Kassapa, Venerable Sariputta, or Venerable Ananda. In the case of women they are far from
being faultless like Amara, Kinnari, Maddi, and Sambula, the four exemplary ladies.
Example - In a village, a young boy told his father that a neighbor falters in speech. He stuttered:
"Oh father! Our neighbor . . . ah.. . .ah, has..... has..... fal....ter....ing.. spe.. .ech. He was probably
oblivious of the fact that he himself had the same defect.
Some faultfinders cover up their own faults and conceal their shortcomings. They are hypocrites
who do steal but pretend to be innocent, like a wily cat.
Sometimes, due to envy and jealousy, people blame others but usually they emulate their ways.
Gossips slander a young girl when a young man frequently visits her but these gossips actually
want the young man to visit them.
Those who are afraid of ghosts dare not go into the dark; when they do, they might see a treestump
and yell "Ghost! Ghost!" Since their minds entertain the fear of ghosts constantly, they
imagine that ghosts are chasing them.
Happiness and Suffering – Sentient beings are bound to confront with the vicissitudes in life –
some happiness and some suffering. Summing up, among the eight worldly circumstances, four
are desirable and others undesirable. This is the law of nature that we all must face.
Since time immemorial all sentient beings had done good and bad deeds in countless past lives,
they all will have good and bad effects, or difficulties, in this life. Situations desirable and
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