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16<br />
Y%S nqoaO j¾I <strong>2562</strong> - fmdfidka l,dmh ^<strong>2018</strong> cqks - cQ,s&<br />
16<br />
Do you want to live<br />
a blessed life ?<br />
hat are blessings? ‘Blessings’ are<br />
generally understood as words or<br />
acts of well-wishers and it is more<br />
commonly associated with gods, spiritually<br />
developed people, parents, elders or<br />
friends. Another definition of ‘blessings’<br />
is a beneficial thing for which one is<br />
grateful, such as a good family, wealth,<br />
health, beauty etc. When we look at<br />
both these general definitions, we see<br />
something in common. What is that?<br />
We see that both depend on outside<br />
sources. This means ‘‘blessings’<br />
are good things that happen to you<br />
not because of you, but because<br />
of other people and other things’.<br />
Does that mean to be blessed we<br />
need these outside sources, and our<br />
effort has no effect? That does not<br />
sound fair, does it? So, there must be<br />
something wrong about this general<br />
definition. What if we can make our<br />
own blessings by doing things? What<br />
if we do not have to depend on others<br />
and other things to be blessed? What<br />
if we can make showers of blessings<br />
upon ourselves regardless of time<br />
or day? Wouldn’t that be grand? Is<br />
it possible? Yes. In Maha Maṅgala<br />
Sutta, the supremely enlightened<br />
Buddha explicated 38 blessings<br />
that can be generated in our life, by<br />
ourselves, by our own actions.<br />
During the time of the Lord<br />
Buddha, many gods had the problem<br />
of defining what blessings were. One<br />
day, a god came to Lord Buddha and<br />
asked Him to expound what blessings are<br />
to the world. At that moment the most<br />
compassionate teacher of humans and gods,<br />
Lord Buddha, expounded 38 blessings. It is called<br />
the Maha-Maṅgala Sutta. I am sure many of you<br />
are familiar with the Maha-Maṅgala Sutta since<br />
we recite that at home or we hear it on the radio<br />
in the mornings and nights.<br />
The first stanza is said by the god, who<br />
asked the Lord Buddha to expound the ‘highest<br />
blessings’ as gods and humans have pondered on<br />
it for a long time in vain. From the second stanza<br />
on wards, Lord Buddha explains what ‘blessings’<br />
are. Let us learn them one by one.<br />
1. Asevanā ca bālānaṁ - Not to associate with the<br />
foolish<br />
2. Paṅḍitānañ ca sevanā - but to associate with the<br />
wise<br />
These are first two blessings said by the<br />
Lord Buddha. Who is a foolish person–bāla, and<br />
who is a wise person-paṅḍita, is explained in<br />
many suttas. Bāla is also called Asappurisa. He/<br />
she is a person who does not recognize what is<br />
wholesome and what is unwholesome, who does<br />
not know what is good and what is bad. This<br />
person engages in unwholesome actions and<br />
encourages you to do the same. The easiest way to<br />
recognize such a person is this: when you are with<br />
someone if your shame to do wrong vanishes, if<br />
your fear for the results of bad deeds vanishes,<br />
then you are with a foolish person, a bāla.<br />
A wise person, a paṅḍitā is also called a<br />
Sappurisa, a noble-friend, a Kalyāna mitta. They<br />
never encourage you to do wrong things. In fact,<br />
they show you your short-comings and help you<br />
get on the right track. Once, venerable Ananda<br />
thero said that half of the Gautama Buddha’s<br />
dispensation depends on noble friends. At that<br />
moment, the Lord Buddha said, “No Ananda,<br />
you must not say that the whole dispensation<br />
depends on noble friends.” By associating<br />
with noble friends we learn what is right and<br />
what is wrong, we learn Dhamma and with the<br />
encouragement from the noble friend we start<br />
cultivating Dhamma in our lives. By disassociating<br />
from foolish people, we refrain from doing wrong<br />
things. Giving up wrong and embracing right is<br />
what happens when we choose to disassociate<br />
from foolish people and associate with the wise.<br />
And blessings start from that.<br />
3. Pūjā ca pūjanīyānaṁ - honor those worthy of honor<br />
Who are worthy of honor? Maha Sangha is<br />
worthy of honor: bhikkhu sangha and bhikkhuni<br />
sangha. Bhikkhuni sangha are no more in the<br />
world, but there are venerable nuns- Anagarika<br />
meniyo, who have left the lay life and gone forth<br />
as bhikkhuni sangha in the order of the Lord<br />
Buddha. How to honor them? We need to go see<br />
the venerable theros and nuns and pay respect.<br />
When we go to see them, they talk to us, they<br />
teach us the noble Dhamma and encourage us<br />
in the noble path. If we see them, talk to them<br />
and pay respect to them often, then we gain<br />
encouragement to practice the noble<br />
Dhamma. That is how honoring the<br />
noble ones become a blessing to<br />
our life.<br />
4. Patirūpadesavāso ca – to<br />
reside in a suitable locality<br />
What is a suitable locality?<br />
A place where noble Dhamma<br />
is accessible. A place where<br />
the Lord Buddha’s sacred<br />
relics are enshrined. A place<br />
where Bodhi trees are to be<br />
seen.<br />
5. Pubbe ca katapuññatā<br />
- to have performed meritorious<br />
actions in the past<br />
Having done meritorious<br />
actions in the past is a<br />
blessing and is essential<br />
to progress in the noble<br />
path. How to know if we<br />
have done meritorious<br />
actions in the path? If you<br />
are reading this article,<br />
that means you have met<br />
wise people, you live<br />
somewhere where noble<br />
Dhamma is taught and<br />
you are making an effort<br />
to learn more. That is<br />
a result of meritorious<br />
actions performed in<br />
the past. Most of us<br />
have an unfavorable<br />
habit of thinking ‘we<br />
have not done enough<br />
meritorious actions in<br />
the past.’ If you also think<br />
like that, well, ‘do it now’, because<br />
‘now’ becomes the ‘past’ in the next moment. So<br />
observe and protect precepts now, meditate now,<br />
learn Dhamma now, be kind now and tomorrow<br />
you are a person with a meritorious past.<br />
6. Attasammāpaṇīdhi ca - set oneself in the<br />
right direction<br />
What is the right direction? It is the direction<br />
lead by noble Dhamma. Establishing in the noble<br />
Dhamma is a blessing that we can make possible<br />
to ourselves.<br />
7. Bāhusaccañca – well educated in noble Dhamma<br />
This means knowing noble Dhamma<br />
thoroughly. In Nagarupama sutta the Lord Buddha<br />
explains, just as many weapons are stored in a<br />
royal frontier fortress to fight back when enemies<br />
attack, we should have a stock of Dhamma to<br />
fight defilements when they arise. When we learn<br />
many suttas and remember a vast amount of<br />
noble Dhamma we can apply it in our daily life.<br />
For example, when we get angry, if we know how<br />
to get rid of it, according to Dhamma, we can do<br />
it. If we did not know how to tackle this deceiving<br />
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