Everyman's
Ethics
Four
Discourses of the Buddha
Adapted from the
translations of Narada Thera
The Wheel
Publication No. 14
Courtesy of Dharma Net
For free
distribution only, as a gift of dhamma.
Contents
The Layman's Code of Discipline
Blessings
Downfall
Conditions of Welfare
These translations are adapted
from the translations and notes in "The Light of the
Dhamma" by the Venerable Narada Thera.
The introductory notes to the last
three texts have been supplied by the editor of this series.
Sigala was the son of a Buddhist
family residing at Rajagaha. His parents were devout followers of
the Buddha, but the son was indifferent to religion. The pious
father and mother could not by any means persuade their son to
accompany them to visit the Buddha or his disciples and hear the
noble Doctrine. The son thought it practically useless to pay
visits to the Sangha, as such visits may entail material loss. He
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 monks. Paying homage to them
would make my back ache, and my knees stiff. I should have to sit
on the ground and soil and wear out my clothes. And when, at the
conversations with them, after so sitting, one gets to know them,
one has to invite them and give them offerings, and so one only
loses by it."
Finally as the father was about to
die, he called his son to his deathbed, and enquired whether he
would at least listen to his parting advice. "Most
assuredly, dear father, I shall carry out any order you may be
pleased to enjoin on me," he replied. "Well then, dear
son, after your morning bath worship the six quarters." The
father asked him to do so hoping that one day or other, while the
son was so engaged, the Buddha or his disciples would see him,
and make it an occasion to preach an appropriate discourse to
him. And since deathbed wishes are to be remembered, Sigala
carried out his father's wish, not, however, knowing its true
significance.
Now it was the custom of the
Buddha to rise from his sleep at four o'clock and after
experiencing Nibbanic Bliss for an hour to pervade the whole
world with his boundless thoughts of loving-kindness. It is at
this hour that he surveys the world with his great compassion to
find out what fellow being he could be of service on that day.
One morning Sigala was caught in the net of the Buddha's
compassion; and with his vision the Buddha, seeing that Sigala
could be shown a better channel for his acts of worship, decided:
"This day will I discourse to Sigala on the layman's Vinaya
(code of discipline). That discourse will be of benefit to many
folk. There must I go." The Buddha thereon came up to him on
his way for alms to Rajagaha; and seeing him engaged in his
worship of the six quarters, delivered this great discourse which
contains in brief, the whole domestic and social duty of the
layman.
Commenting on this Sutta, the
Venerable Buddhaghosa says, "Nothing in the duties of a
householder is left unmentioned. This Sutta is called the Vinaya
of the householder. Hence in one who practices what he has been
taught in it, growth is to be looked for, not decay." And
Mrs. Rhys Davids adds: "The Buddha's doctrine of love and
goodwill between man and man is here set forth in a domestic and
social ethics with more comprehensive detail than elsewhere. And
truly we may say even now of this Vinaya or code of discipline,
so fundamental are the human interests involved, so sane and wide
is the wisdom that envisages them, that the utterances are as
fresh and practically as binding today and here as they were then
at Rajagaha. 'Happy would have been the village or clan on the
banks of the Ganges where the people were full of the kindly
spirit of fellow-feeling, the noble spirit of justice which
breathes through these naive and simple sayings.' Not less happy
would be the village, or the family on the banks of the Thames
today, of which this could be said."
Digha
Nikaya 31: Sigalovada Sutta
Blessings
Maha Mangala
Sutta
This famous text, cherished highly
in all Buddhist lands, is a terse but comprehensive summary of
Buddhist ethics, individual and social. The thirty-eight
blessings enumerated in it, are an unfailing guide on life's
journey. Rightly starting with "avoidance of bad
company" which is basic to all moral and spiritual progress,
the Blessings culminate in the achievement of a passion-free
mind, unshakable in its serenity. To follow the ideals set forth
in these verses, is the sure way to harmony and progress for the
individual as well as for society, nation and mankind.
"The Maha-Mangala Sutta shows
that the Buddha's instructions do not always take negative forms,
that they are not always a series of classifications and
analysis, or concerned exclusively with monastic morality. Here
in this sutta we find family morality expressed in most elegant
verses. We can imagine the happy blissful state household life
attained as a result of following these injunctions." (From The
Ethics of Buddhism by S. Tachibana, Colombo 1943, Bauddha
Sahitya Sabha).
Maha Mangala Sutta, Sutta Nipata II.4
While the Mangala Sutta deals with
the way of life conducive to progress and happiness, the
Parabhava Sutta supplements it by pointing out the causes of
downfall. He who allows himself to become tarnished by these
blemishes of conduct blocks his own road to worldly, moral and
spiritual progress and lowers all that is truly noble and human
in man. But he who is heedful of these dangers keeps open the
road to all those thirty-eight blessings of which human nature is
capable.
Parabhava Sutta, Sutta Nipata I.6
In this sutta, the Buddha
instructs rich householders how to preserve and increase their
prosperity and how to avoid loss of wealth. Wealth alone,
however, does not make a complete man nor a harmonious society.
Possession of wealth all too often multiplies man's desires, and
he is ever in the pursuit of amassing more wealth and power. This
unrestrained craving, however, leaves him dissatisfied and
stifles his inner growth. It creates conflict and disharmony in
society through the resentment of the underprivileged who feel
themselves exploited by the effects of unrestrained craving.
Therefore the Buddha follows up on
his advice on material welfare with four essential conditions for
spiritual welfare: confidence (in the Master's enlightenment),
virtue, liberality and wisdom. These four will instill in man a
sense of higher values. He will then not only pursue his own
material concern, but also be aware of his duty towards society.
To mention only one of the implications: a wisely and generously
employed liberality will reduce tensions and conflicts in
society. Thus the observing of these conditions of material and
spiritual welfare will make for an ideal citizen in an ideal
society.
Anguttara Nikaya VIII.54: Vyagghapajja Sutta