Luang Por Liem: The Ways of the Peaceful - Wat Pah Nanachat

Gentleness,
Humbleness and Patience
Advice given to monks from Wat Pah Nanachat asking
for dependence on Luang Por at the beginning of their
stay at Wat Nong Pah Pong on Jan 28 th , 2006.
You need to train to bring forth an attitude of gentleness and
humbleness. The words “gentle” and “humble” describe what is
good conduct for Sangha members – something that we need to
practice by ourselves and develop in ourselves. With these
qualities, the Sangha is well accepted by society. Anyone who
behaves gently and humbly will always be well respected, even by
the devas 17 . The devas praise a gentle and humble demeanour.
Whatever it is, our prostrations, or the way we raise our hands to
greet 18 , all these are expressions of good manners that all of us in
our Sangha should practice.
This practice and training is like the ornamaent of a samana. It
makes him beautiful and enriches him. Whenever a samana
interacts within a society, he will never provoke feelings of
aversion, irrespective of the social status of the people he meets.
A samana is well accepted by society. It is worth noticing that
those leaders of society who take the “Ten Dhamma Qualities for
a Ruler” 19 seriously also need to develop the quality of gentleness
17
deva (Pali): heavenly beings, angels, gods.
18
añjali in Pali or wai in Thai.
19
the ten Raja-Dhamma (Jataka 378): dana (generosity), sila (virtue),
pariccaga (selfless work and sacrifice), ajjava (honest work), maddava
(deporting oneself with gentleness and congeniality), tapa (austerity), akkodha
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