1
00:00:03,187 --> 00:00:06,892
Hello and welcome back to our study of the Dhammapada.

2
00:00:06,912 --> 00:00:12,539
Today we begin the Balavagga, the chapter on fools.

3
00:00:13,901 --> 00:00:23,513
So all the verses in here, in this chapter will be, have something to do with fools or foolishness.

4
00:00:25,956 --> 00:00:30,342
Verse 61, today which reads as follows,

5
00:00:32,347 --> 00:00:48,229
Which means,

6
00:00:50,217 --> 00:01:09,087
If one doesn't find, if when wandering or faring through samsara one doesn't find someone who is one's equal or better, better or at least equal to oneself.

7
00:01:09,067 --> 00:01:32,982
One should then fare on alone with steadfast resolution for there is no association with fools.

8
00:01:37,957 --> 00:01:52,437
So the story behind this verse goes that when the Buddha was dwelling in Savatthi, Maha Kasapa was staying in his cave above Rajgaha, which you can still see today if you go there.

9
00:01:53,499 --> 00:01:58,586
Apparently they have a place that they pinpointed as his cave.

10
00:01:59,347 --> 00:02:01,450
Anyway, you can still go into Rajgaha.

11
00:02:03,691 --> 00:02:33,580
up on the mountain above Rajgaha and he would go every day down the mountain into the city for alms and at the time he had two students, two novices staying with him and they would attend upon him and one of them was a good student and one of them was a rather recalcitrant student

12
00:02:34,420 --> 00:02:40,974
lazy in performing his duties and in practicing the Dhamma.

13
00:02:40,994 --> 00:02:52,277
And so how it would go is the one student who was quite diligent and faithful and obedient and so on,

14
00:02:54,603 --> 00:03:11,768
He would prepare the elder's water in the morning and his tooth brushing sticks and he would wait upon his elder and perform all these duties and he would heat up water for the elder's bath and leave the water out in the morning.

15
00:03:13,115 --> 00:03:31,625
And the other disciple would watch or would sleep in and then would come out when everything was done and look and see that everything was done and go to tell the elder, Venerable Sir, the toothpicks have been put out and water has been put out for washing and for bathing.

16
00:03:32,406 --> 00:03:38,937
Please come and it's time to do your morning routine.

17
00:03:38,917 --> 00:03:52,977
And so the elder, as a result, got to thinking that this student who kept coming to tell him and to invite him to use the things that had been set out for him, had performed duties himself.

18
00:03:53,530 --> 00:04:06,832
And the other student, who had actually done all the work, sat back and watched, and after some time realized what this other student was doing, that he was taking credit for the work that he hadn't done, he said, well, I know what to do then.

19
00:04:07,273 --> 00:04:17,850
And so he, in the morning, when it was time for the elder's bath, he went to the room where they boil the water,

20
00:04:17,830 --> 00:04:23,319
And he put just a little bit of water in the bottom of the big pot, the big cauldron for boiling bath water.

21
00:04:24,140 --> 00:04:25,082
And he did that.

22
00:04:26,304 --> 00:04:29,249
And so just you could see the steam coming up, but there was very little water in it.

23
00:04:29,349 --> 00:04:34,918
And then the other novice, when he came over and saw the steam coming out, he said, Oh, I must have put out the water.

24
00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,285
And he went to the elder, Venerable sir, your bath water is ready.

25
00:04:39,405 --> 00:04:40,307
Come and take your bath.

26
00:04:41,208 --> 00:04:44,293
And the elder went into the bathroom and said, OK, bring out the water.

27
00:04:44,273 --> 00:05:02,635
And the novice went into the boiling room and looked in the cauldron and realized that there was just a very little bit of water and got very angry and shouted and he said, that scoundrel, he only put a very little bit of water in and then so he rushed off to the river to get more water.

28
00:05:04,157 --> 00:05:07,901
Wherever the river was, rushed off to get water from wherever they kept the water.

29
00:05:10,084 --> 00:05:12,947
Maybe he must have had to gone down into Rajgah to get the water.

30
00:05:14,564 --> 00:05:23,655
And the elder watched him go and when he came back, the elder said, what did you mean by that?

31
00:05:23,695 --> 00:05:28,981
Are you saying that you didn't do any of this and you've been taking credit for this all the time?

32
00:05:29,041 --> 00:05:34,808
And the elder scolded him and said, that's not how a monk should behave.

33
00:05:34,908 --> 00:05:37,051
One should not take credit for something that one hasn't done.

34
00:05:38,673 --> 00:05:43,238
And the novice got very angry and went off in a huff.

35
00:05:45,108 --> 00:05:48,175
and began to develop a grudge against the elder.

36
00:05:49,578 --> 00:06:03,370
The next day or on subsequent days, when they went off for alms, I guess the next day when they went for alms, as a result he decided not to go on alms with the elder.

37
00:06:05,290 --> 00:06:16,378
And so when the elder and the other novice went off for alms, they went alone and the disobedient novice, he stayed back and was just sulked at the kuti, at the cave.

38
00:06:17,801 --> 00:06:20,869
And the elder went with his other novice.

39
00:06:20,849 --> 00:06:34,264
And then when they were gone, he went off to one of the elder's supporters' houses, went down into Raja Gahan on his own and went to one of the elder's supporters and said to them that the elder was sick.

40
00:06:34,885 --> 00:06:35,746
They said, oh, where's the elder?

41
00:06:35,766 --> 00:06:36,406
Why are you coming alone?

42
00:06:36,427 --> 00:06:39,510
He said, oh, he's sick, but he needs some special food.

43
00:06:40,351 --> 00:06:45,777
Please give him very delicate and...

44
00:06:46,145 --> 00:06:59,361
good tasting food and so on so he can he can recover from his sickness and so they gave him all this special food prepared all this special food for him and he took it back and ate it himself and

45
00:07:00,623 --> 00:07:21,047
the elder went on alms round with the other novice and happened to get a full set of robes, new nice robes from one family, and so he gave them to the novice that went with him, and the novice changed out of his old set and put on this new set of robes, and they went back to the monastery.

46
00:07:22,129 --> 00:07:23,290
On yet another day,

47
00:07:24,147 --> 00:07:32,497
the elder went to see, happened to go to see this supporter who had been tricked, and they said to the elder, oh, venerable sir, how are you doing?

48
00:07:32,517 --> 00:07:42,310
We heard that you were sick, but we gave food to the novice when he came, hope the food helped you to get better.

49
00:07:42,350 --> 00:07:48,958
And the elder just stood there, didn't say anything, and received food from him and went off.

50
00:07:49,879 --> 00:07:52,382
And he went back to the monastery and he confronted this novice.

51
00:07:53,898 --> 00:07:56,261
And he said to him, is it true that you've been going around?

52
00:07:56,281 --> 00:08:03,108
Is it true that you went to these people and told them that I was sick and convinced them to give you all this special food?

53
00:08:03,728 --> 00:08:05,310
And he said, what do you mean?

54
00:08:08,574 --> 00:08:12,338
He scolded him, Maha Kasaba scolded him and said, that's not something that a monk should do.

55
00:08:13,299 --> 00:08:16,802
And the novice was totally fed up at this point.

56
00:08:16,822 --> 00:08:21,087
He said, over a little bit of water the elder gets upset and then he gets upset about a little bit of food.

57
00:08:21,877 --> 00:08:26,373
And on top of that, he gives a full set of robes to the other novice.

58
00:08:26,393 --> 00:08:29,102
So this novice got very, very angry.

59
00:08:29,142 --> 00:08:30,587
And then he said, I know what I'm going to do.

60
00:08:32,035 --> 00:08:45,634
And the next morning when the elder went off on alms round, he went around the cave and broke up all the pots and everything, just tore up everything and ripped up everything, all the bedding and everything, and then set the whole place on fire.

61
00:08:46,775 --> 00:08:47,516
And then he ran off.

62
00:08:48,277 --> 00:08:52,423
And I think ended up in hell as a result.

63
00:08:53,635 --> 00:09:00,284
The elder came back and saw all this and fixed it all up as best he could and of course went on with his life.

64
00:09:01,906 --> 00:09:08,855
So this is a story of these two novices, one who was a good companion and the other was a bad companion.

65
00:09:09,015 --> 00:09:10,898
And eventually the story got back to the Buddha.

66
00:09:10,958 --> 00:09:19,930
One of the monks from Rajagaha wandered all the way to Savatthi and Buddha asked him, how is Maha Kasaba doing?

67
00:09:19,910 --> 00:09:25,496
And he said, oh, he's doing fine, but he happened to have these two students.

68
00:09:25,576 --> 00:09:33,665
And one of them was very, very good and followed the elder's instruction and advice and practiced the elder's teachings.

69
00:09:34,206 --> 00:09:37,710
But the other one was an evil scoundrel.

70
00:09:38,651 --> 00:09:45,158
And not only did he not practice, but he also ended up destroying the elder's residence.

71
00:09:48,057 --> 00:09:52,805
And the Buddha said, oh, yes, yes, the elder is better off without this novice.

72
00:09:52,825 --> 00:09:55,450
And he told a story of the past.

73
00:09:55,470 --> 00:10:00,098
This is the introduction to one of the Jataka stories where he was a monkey and he tore up this bird's nest.

74
00:10:00,659 --> 00:10:01,461
I'm not going to tell the story.

75
00:10:01,501 --> 00:10:02,202
It's not much to it.

76
00:10:02,262 --> 00:10:06,049
But he said, basically, this novice, this is the way he was.

77
00:10:07,987 --> 00:10:09,949
And he said, better off without him.

78
00:10:10,130 --> 00:10:12,192
He said, there's no association with fools.

79
00:10:12,633 --> 00:10:18,841
If the only people you can hang out with and rely upon are fools, well, you're better off without them.

80
00:10:20,242 --> 00:10:21,184
And then he told this verse.

81
00:10:22,205 --> 00:10:30,535
So a simple story, a story that I'm sure we can all relate to, us all living in caves, having novices attend upon us.

82
00:10:30,635 --> 00:10:36,643
No, all of us having good friends and bad friends, people who we can rely upon and people who we shouldn't rely upon.

83
00:10:36,623 --> 00:10:40,388
people who help us up and people who drag us down.

84
00:10:41,530 --> 00:10:52,706
And so as meditators, one of the most important aspects of our practice is the association with good people.

85
00:10:53,627 --> 00:10:56,992
The Buddha said it's all of the holy life, all of the spiritual life.

86
00:10:57,573 --> 00:11:04,943
The spiritual life is all about associating with the right people, having a good friend, having someone to guide you and teach you and raise you up.

87
00:11:07,336 --> 00:11:14,429
In many places he said that friends are, good friends are most valuable and to not associate with fools.

88
00:11:15,792 --> 00:11:24,568
Of course, there's the famous, the Mangala Sutta, the first thing that the Buddha says is, not associating with fools, this is the greatest blessing.

89
00:11:26,658 --> 00:11:28,080
So how does this go?

90
00:11:28,100 --> 00:11:36,369
The verse is broken down quite well by the commentary, so I'll go through that first and then talk a little bit about how it relates to meditation particularly.

91
00:11:38,291 --> 00:11:50,185
First of all, the word charang, which means to fare or to wander or to travel, to move about, to live your life basically.

92
00:11:50,165 --> 00:11:55,833
The commentary says it doesn't refer to moving about with your body.

93
00:11:55,853 --> 00:12:02,061
It refers to the movements of the mind or the way of the mind.

94
00:12:02,482 --> 00:12:04,885
So it has nothing to do with being close to someone.

95
00:12:05,186 --> 00:12:09,912
It's not like you shouldn't sit on the subway next to someone unless you're sure they're a wise person.

96
00:12:09,892 --> 00:12:16,643
It also doesn't necessarily mean that you can't work or live or cohabitate with such people.

97
00:12:17,144 --> 00:12:23,254
So it says, which means the faring of the mind.

98
00:12:23,795 --> 00:12:25,578
Don't let them into your heart, basically.

99
00:12:26,038 --> 00:12:33,891
Don't take their counsel or take them up as your intimate associates.

100
00:12:36,740 --> 00:13:05,667
and then what is meant by saiyam sadhisamatanos and what is meant by one who is greater than you or one who is equal to you the commentary says it's specifically in regards to sila samadhi panya morality, concentration and wisdom so if someone has greater morality than you if there's someone who is practicing higher morality for instance monks who are practicing celibacy and poverty and who are taking themselves um

101
00:13:07,604 --> 00:13:23,150
taking themselves out of all of the distracting activities that lay people will engage in, then it's something that can help us to cultivate concentration ourselves if we associate with such people.

102
00:13:23,210 --> 00:13:30,422
If we are around people who are equal to us, then

103
00:13:30,402 --> 00:13:33,845
our morality will not fade away.

104
00:13:33,885 --> 00:13:39,971
If we're around people with greater concentration, then their concentration will be a support for us.

105
00:13:40,011 --> 00:13:41,232
It will be an example for us.

106
00:13:41,932 --> 00:13:49,940
It will be something that we can rely upon or we can emulate to cultivate concentration ourselves.

107
00:13:50,000 --> 00:14:00,409
If we hang around people who have wisdom, greater wisdom than us, then it will be something that inspires us and teaches us, of course.

108
00:14:00,389 --> 00:14:20,147
So the best thing is to hang out with someone, to associate with people who are greater than you, because you will develop the good qualities of morality, concentration, wisdom, will increase if we're around people who are of greater morality, concentration and wisdom than us.

109
00:14:20,989 --> 00:14:23,173
And if we are around people who are of equal

110
00:14:23,153 --> 00:14:38,191
at an equal level to us, then we can be assured that we at least won't fall away from our morality, concentration, wisdom, and as a result through our own practice we'll be able to develop.

111
00:14:38,912 --> 00:14:41,155
The point is that the people around us won't drag us down.

112
00:14:41,675 --> 00:14:43,778
If you're around people who are inferior

113
00:14:44,281 --> 00:14:56,454
to you and if you rely upon them and if you emulate them and cultivate their qualities then you will fall away from your own morality and concentration.

114
00:14:56,494 --> 00:14:59,998
It comes under attack if you let them in too close.

115
00:15:02,861 --> 00:15:11,210
Now if you can't find someone who is greater or someone who is equal to you, the Buddha said actually it's preferable to hang out on your own.

116
00:15:11,270 --> 00:15:13,512
Now the

117
00:15:15,567 --> 00:15:23,994
The key word here is dalhang because dalhang means steadfast or resolute and the point is that you actually need resolution if you're on your own.

118
00:15:24,875 --> 00:15:29,599
Many people are contacting us constantly.

119
00:15:29,619 --> 00:15:37,707
We get these emails from people saying that they're all alone and they need some guidance and bemoaning the fact that they're not able to find a Sangha community.

120
00:15:38,567 --> 00:15:43,512
And the Buddhists give reassurance and we should reassure such people that you can practice on your own.

121
00:15:43,532 --> 00:15:44,933
You don't really need

122
00:15:44,913 --> 00:15:48,739
so much guidance, it just takes more resolution.

123
00:15:49,320 --> 00:16:02,162
Because if you're not surrounded by examples or people who are reminding you of what you're doing, reminding you of the cultivation of greater morality, concentration of wisdom, it's easier for yourself to fall away.

124
00:16:02,142 --> 00:16:21,188
a plant or a young tree that requires a cage or some kind of support to keep it from falling over, to keep it from breaking in the wind and so on, that support is helpful unless the tree itself is able to maintain its own strength and grow on its own.

125
00:16:21,889 --> 00:16:24,252
So this, the

126
00:16:25,463 --> 00:16:32,698
The benefit of having a good companion is that they support you through your growth.

127
00:16:32,758 --> 00:16:38,370
Why is it that we should stay on our own if we can't find such a person?

128
00:16:39,212 --> 00:16:42,679
Because there is no association with fools.

129
00:16:42,659 --> 00:17:06,625
The meaning being that none of the good things that come from associating with good people, morality, concentration, wisdom, all of the good kathavatthu, the ten types of profitable speech, all of the dhutanga practices, all of the vipassana insight and even the attainment of nibbana is

130
00:17:06,605 --> 00:17:11,313
difficult, becomes difficult and becomes threatened by fools.

131
00:17:11,734 --> 00:17:31,887
If you're surrounded by people who are distracting you, who are talking about useless things and who are indulging in harmful pursuits, killing and stealing and lying and cheating and so on, all of these things will drag you down, will make it more difficult for you to practice and will even cause you to fall away from the practice.

132
00:17:33,183 --> 00:17:49,420
So this is the, you know, it's quite a simple meaning, but specifically in regards to the meditation practice, it says, the point is that people will distract us and people will sully or will be a cause for us to sully our minds.

133
00:17:49,400 --> 00:18:15,441
the the question that always comes up is whether or not whether or not this means that we should ignore people who are in trouble morally or have poor concentration people who are on the wrong path shouldn't we help such people and of course this is the exception the Buddha said anyatra anudaya anyatra anukampa which means and you shouldn't hang out

134
00:18:17,159 --> 00:18:36,316
ētāṃ puriṣa nasevitabhaṃ Such a person should not be associated with, except in the case of pity or compassion.

135
00:18:36,457 --> 00:18:45,765
So the commentary explains, which is exactly how it should be explained, that if out of compassion for someone,

136
00:18:45,745 --> 00:19:06,302
it's possible or not even you know we should have the compassion so if you think that a person is capable and you think you're able to to help them then you should you should hang out with them and you should try to support their practice and you should help them to cultivate if you're not able to if it if you try and you fail and it seems like this person is not going to

137
00:19:06,282 --> 00:19:17,876
not going to develop themselves, then, of course, then you should stay away from them actually, and you should go your own way, because they will drag you down.

138
00:19:19,018 --> 00:19:31,413
So in meditation this is especially important, and this is why, because meditation is the direct cultivation of wholesome mental states.

139
00:19:32,354 --> 00:19:33,876
So if you're constantly

140
00:19:34,970 --> 00:19:47,005
If you're distracted or led astray by other people, then your mind, it becomes impossible to cultivate wholesome states of mind.

141
00:19:47,866 --> 00:20:01,703
This is why the Buddha often talks about staying alone, even away from good friends, because even wholesome talk, if

142
00:20:04,028 --> 00:20:11,220
if engaged in over much, can lead to distraction as well.

143
00:20:13,964 --> 00:20:30,171
Because meditation is the cultivation of the mind, our environment and our engagement with the environment and with the world around us is a

144
00:20:31,940 --> 00:20:34,663
is of utmost importance.

145
00:20:34,743 --> 00:20:38,327
So we have to be careful how we engage with the world around us.

146
00:20:38,347 --> 00:20:47,558
So for a meditator, even good people we should only engage in in moderation and much less, much more so.

147
00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:56,007
We should be careful when we associate or

148
00:20:58,180 --> 00:21:00,663
relate to or interact with foolish people.

149
00:21:01,524 --> 00:21:02,405
They will distract us.

150
00:21:02,485 --> 00:21:05,589
They take away our focus of mind.

151
00:21:05,629 --> 00:21:07,151
They take away our clarity of mind.

152
00:21:08,053 --> 00:21:11,036
They stop us from seeing things as they are.

153
00:21:11,096 --> 00:21:15,963
We're not able to stay in the present because such people are constantly in the past or in the future.

154
00:21:16,543 --> 00:21:21,049
We're not able to stay in reality because such people are always talking about concepts and

155
00:21:21,029 --> 00:21:32,501
we're not able to stay with what is important because such people are always engaged and concerned with and intend upon what is unimportant, what is unessential.

156
00:21:33,382 --> 00:21:43,694
So, unless we can help such people and unless we can help such people easily without interrupting our own practice, we should be very careful to stay on our own.

157
00:21:43,734 --> 00:21:46,817
So for many people this is, I think, an important reminder

158
00:21:46,797 --> 00:21:52,606
If you can't find someone who can lead you, who can help you, who can support your practice, stay on your own.

159
00:21:53,187 --> 00:22:05,105
You're better off on your own because just having friends isn't, just the fact that you have friends alone isn't necessarily a useful or a good thing, something that leads to your happiness.

160
00:22:05,185 --> 00:22:06,026
You need good friends.

161
00:22:06,367 --> 00:22:15,741
You need friends who lead you to good things, friends who help you, who support you, who encourage you in your own spiritual development.

162
00:22:15,721 --> 00:22:22,610
So simple teaching but one that we should all keep in mind and a very important aspect of our life is who we associate with.

163
00:22:22,670 --> 00:22:24,738
So that's the teaching for tonight.

164
00:22:24,819 --> 00:22:29,699
Thank you all for tuning in and wish you all peace, happiness and freedom from suffering.

165
00:22:29,719 --> 00:22:30,000
Thank you.