How to read this book

This book is for Anna, who is seven, and for other children of about that age. A child can read it alone, or an older person can read it aloud, a chapter at a time.

It tells about ten good things. The Buddha made each of them perfect, in many, many lives, before he became the Buddha. The old books call them the ten pāramī (perfections).

Where this book began. This book was inspired by The Perfections Leading to Enlightenment by Sujin Boriharnwanaket, translated by Nina van Gorkom, a book about the ten perfections for grown-ups. Her book draws on the old Pali books, and this one goes to the same old books for its stories and its Pali lines. There is a bigger book for older children, The Ten Perfections for Young Readers, that follows her book closely.

Pali words. The Buddha’s words were kept in a language called Pali. Some Pali words are in this book. Every time one comes, its English is next to it in brackets, like this: dāna (giving). You do not have to remember the Pali to understand the page. But if you do remember some, you will know real words from the Buddha’s own books.

Saying the words. A line over a letter makes it long. ā sounds like the “a” in “father”. ī sounds like the “ee” in “see”. ū sounds like the “oo” in “moon”. A dot under a letter (ṭ, ḍ, ṇ) means the tongue curls back a little. ñ sounds like the “ny” in “canyon”. ṃ sounds like “ng”. So paññā is said “pan-nyaa” and mettā is said “met-taa”.

The lines under the pictures. Under every picture there is a line in Pali from the Buddha’s own books, and after it the meaning in plain English. The Pali is exactly as it stands in the old books. The English was written for this book, and the name of the old book is given at the end of the line.

Hard words. Some English words in this book are hard. The first time a hard word is met in a chapter it has a small number after it, like this: hermit³. Its meaning is given at the end of the chapter, under “Hard words in this chapter”, and all the hard words are listed together at the back, after the word list. In the web edition, tapping or clicking on the word shows its meaning.

Quizzes. After every two chapters there is a short quiz.

Where the stories come from. All the stories are old. The story of Sumedha comes from the Buddhavaṃsa (the Story of the Buddhas). The other stories come from the Jātaka (birth stories) and the Cariyāpiṭaka (Basket of Conduct). All three are books of the Tipiṭaka (the Three Baskets), the oldest collection of the Buddha’s teaching. The Buddha told these stories himself. In each one he is the Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be), the one who is working, life after life, to become a Buddha. The last pages of this book say where each story is found.

Introduction. Sumedha finds the ten

Long, long ago there was a young man named Sumedha. He was very rich. But he saw that everyone gets old, everyone gets ill, and everyone dies. He did not want to go round and round in that for ever. So he gave away all his riches and went to live in the mountains. There he trained his mind until it was calm and strong.

At that time there was a Buddha in the world. His name was Dīpaṅkara. One day Sumedha heard that the Buddha Dīpaṅkara was coming to a town nearby. The people were making the road smooth for him. Sumedha asked for a piece of the road to make smooth too. But before he had finished, the Buddha came.

There was still mud on Sumedha’s piece of road. So Sumedha lay down in the mud. He spread his long hair over it. He thought: let the Buddha and his monks¹a man who has left home to follow the Buddha’s rule of life walk over me, so that their feet do not touch the mud.

As he lay there, Sumedha knew that he could end all his own troubles that very day, if he wished. But he thought: what good is it to cross over alone? I will become a Buddha myself, and I will carry the whole world across.

The Buddha Dīpaṅkara stood by his head. He said to the people: this man will become a Buddha. His name will be Gotama.

The ten. Then Sumedha asked himself: what does a person need, to become a Buddha? He looked, and he found ten things. He found them one by one, and for each one he thought of a picture. The first was dāna (giving). Then came sīla (good conduct), nekkhamma (letting go), paññā (wisdom), viriya (energy²effort; the strength that keeps on going), khanti (patience), sacca (truthfulness³always telling the truth and keeping to it), adhiṭṭhāna (determination⁴making up one’s mind firmly and keeping to it), mettā (loving-kindness⁵wishing others well; friendliness to everyone) and upekkhā (even-mindedness⁶having a mind that stays level and calm whatever happens). These are the ten pāramī (perfections⁷a good quality made as full and strong as it can be). This book has one chapter for each of them, and each chapter tells Sumedha’s picture for it.

A pāramī (perfection) is a good thing made as big and as strong as it can be. The Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) made all ten perfect. It took him a time so long that nobody can count it: four uncountable ages and a hundred thousand ages more.

The old teachers also say that the word pāramī (perfection) makes people think of a river. On this side of the river are the troubles of the mind: lobha (wanting), dosa (anger) and moha (ignorance⁸not knowing; not understanding what is really there). On the far side is nibbāna (the end of all troubles). The ten perfections carry a person across.

Mind moments. The Pali word for the mind is citta (mind). A citta (mind) lasts one moment. There is a moment of seeing. It goes. There is a moment of hearing. It goes. There is a moment of thinking. It goes. A citta (mind) can be kusala (good) or akusala (bad). All ten perfections are kusala (good) moments of mind.

What Anna says. Anna is seven. She knows three Pali words that the Buddha said: sabbe dhammā anattā (all things are not self). What does that mean?

Think of a cart. A cart has wheels, a floor and a pole for the ox. Take away the wheels. Take away the floor. Take away the pole. Where is the cart? There is no cart left over. “Cart” is only a name for the parts when they are together. A nun⁹a woman who has left home to follow the Buddha’s rule of life named Vajirā, who had learnt from the Buddha, said that a person is like that. A person is a body and a mind. And the mind is one moment after another. “Anna” is a name for all of that. There is no little Anna inside who stays the same and owns it all. That is anattā (not self).

This matters for the perfections. When there is giving, nobody inside does the giving. There is a good moment of mind. It gives, and then it is gone. The old teachers say that a perfection is giving, or patience, or any of the ten, that is not spoilt by wanting, by pride, or by the wrong idea of a self. The Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) did good without thinking “I am the good one”. Every chapter in this book ends by looking at that.

Chapter 1. Dāna (giving)

Dāna (giving) means giving something away to help someone else. It can be food. It can be a toy. It can be a kind word, or a bit of time. When there is giving, the mind lets go. For that one moment there is no holding on.

Sumedha’s picture. Sumedha thought of a water pot. When a full pot is turned upside down, all the water pours out. The pot keeps none of it back. Sumedha said: give like that pot. Give to everyone who asks, the great and the small and the ones in between, and keep nothing back.

The story of the wise hare. Once the Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) was born as a hare. He lived in a forest by a river. He had three friends: a monkey, a jackal and an otter. The hare was wise, and the three friends listened to him. He told them: do no harm, and give to those who ask.

One evening the hare looked up at the moon. It was full. He told his friends that the next day was the uposatha (the holy day), and that if anyone came asking for food, they should give him their own food before they ate.

The next day the otter found seven fish. The jackal found some meat and a pot of milk curds. The monkey found ripe mangoes. They put their food by and waited. The hare had nothing but grass, and nobody eats grass. He thought: if someone comes asking, I will give him my own body.

Sakka, the king of the devas (heavenly beings¹any living creature: a person, an animal, a heavenly being), knew that thought. He wanted to see if it was real. So he came down to the forest dressed as a brahmin²a man of the priestly class in ancient India (a priest), and he went from one friend to the next, asking for food. The otter offered his fish. The jackal offered his meat and curds. The monkey offered his mangoes. Each time the brahmin said he would eat later, and went on. Then he came to the hare.

The hare was glad. He told the brahmin to light a fire. The brahmin did. Then the hare shook himself three times, so that any tiny creatures in his fur could get away and not be burnt. And he jumped into the fire.

But the fire did not burn him. It felt cool, like cold water. The hare looked round and asked the brahmin why. Then Sakka showed who he really was. He said he had come to test the hare, and that the hare’s gift would be known for ever. He squeezed a mountain in his hand, and with its juice he drew a hare on the moon. The old books say the hare is there still.

Three sizes of giving. The old teachers say giving has three sizes. Giving a thing is the small size. Giving a part of one’s own body is the middle size. Giving one’s own life, as the hare did, is the biggest size of all.

Anna gives. Anna has two sweets. Her friend has none. Anna gives one away. That is dāna (giving). It is small. But it is the same kind of thing the hare did. Giving starts small, and it grows every time it is done.

No one inside. Who gave the sweet? Anna, people say. But look closer. There was a good moment of mind. It saw the friend. It let go of the sweet. It moved the hand. Then that moment was gone, and a new one came. There was no little Anna inside the moment, doing the giving. The giving was done by a kusala citta (good mind). Anna says: sabbe dhammā anattā (all things are not self). And the good deed³something done; an act, good or bad is not lost. It is kamma (a deed), and kamma (a deed) brings its fruit later, as a seed brings a fruit.

Chapter 2. Sīla (good conduct)

Sīla (good conduct) means not hurting anyone by what one does or says. The Buddha gave five rules for it:

1. not to kill any living being¹any living creature: a person, an animal, a heavenly being, not even an ant
2. not to take what is not given
3. not to do wrong with someone else’s husband or wife
4. not to tell lies
5. not to drink alcohol

Two helpers. Two things in the mind keep the rules. One is hiri (shame): the mind does not want to do a dirty thing. The other is ottappa (fear of doing wrong): the mind sees what a bad deed²something done; an act, good or bad brings later, and draws back. When these two are there, the rules are kept without any trouble.

Sumedha’s picture. Sumedha thought of a yak. A yak is a big mountain ox with a long, beautiful tail. If its tail gets caught in a bush, the yak will not pull. It would rather die there than tear its tail. Sumedha said: guard good conduct like that, in every life, as the yak guards its tail.

The story of the elephant who looked after his mother. Once the Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) was born as a great white elephant. He lived in the forest with his mother. His mother was blind. Every day the elephant brought her sweet fruit and lotus³a water flower that grows up from the mud and opens clean above the water roots, and he found her cool water.

One day a man got lost in the forest. He cried and cried. The elephant heard him and led him out to the road. But the man was not grateful. He went to the king and said: in the forest there is a splendid elephant, fit for a king. The king sent his elephant trainers to catch it.

The elephant saw the men coming with ropes. He was very strong. He could have crushed them all. But he thought: if I fight, I will hurt them, and my sīla (good conduct) will be broken. So he stood still and let them tie him up.

They took him to the king’s city and put him in a fine stable with sweet food. He would not eat. The king came and asked him why. The elephant said that his mother was blind and alone in the forest, and that nobody was there to feed her. The king was moved. He said: set this great elephant free, who cares for his mother.

The elephant went straight back. He filled his trunk with water and sprinkled it over his mother. She thought it was rain. Then he spoke, and she knew that her son had come home.

Anna and the ant. There is an ant on the table. Anna could squash it. She does not. She lets it walk away. That is sīla (good conduct). And the ant gets a gift too: it is safe. The Buddha said that a person who does not kill gives safety to every living being.

No one inside. Who kept the rule? There was a moment of mind with hiri (shame) and ottappa (fear of doing wrong) in it. It did not move the hand. Then it was gone. Nobody inside Anna keeps the rules in a box. The rules are kept one moment at a time. When the next moment comes, they have to be kept again.

Quiz 1 (chapters 1 and 2)

Click an answer. Each question tells you at once whether it is right. For the written ones, show the answer and mark yourself.

Chapter 3. Nekkhamma (letting go)

Nekkhamma (letting go) means not chasing after nice things all the time: nice sights, nice sounds, nice smells, nice tastes, nice things to touch. It means being happy with enough. A monk¹a man who has left home to follow the Buddha’s rule of life lets go of his home. A child can let go of a second piece of cake.

Sumedha’s picture. Sumedha thought of a man locked in a prison for a long time. The man does not love the prison. He does not want to stay. He only looks for the way out. Sumedha said: see every life like that prison, and look for the way out.

The story of Prince Yudhañjaya. Once the Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) was a prince named Yudhañjaya. He was the king’s eldest son, and one day he would be king. He had everything a prince could want.

One morning he drove out early to the park. The sun was just coming up. On every blade of grass and on every spider’s web there hung drops of dew. They shone like pearls. The prince looked at them and was happy.

Then the sun rose higher. The dewdrops grew smaller. One by one they were gone. The prince looked, and his heart was shaken. He thought: these drops were here, and now they are not. Everything is like that. My own life is like that.

He went to his mother and father and bowed to them. He asked to leave the palace and live in the forest as a hermit²a person who lives alone, away from other people. They cried. The whole city begged him to stay and be king. But the prince let the kingdom go. He was not angry with his parents, and he did not hate the palace. He only wanted something better than all of it: to become a Buddha. His younger brother went with him, and the two of them lived in the Himalaya mountains.

Anna and the second piece. There is cake. Anna has had one piece. It was lovely. There is one piece left. Her mouth wants it. But she is full. She leaves it. That is nekkhamma (letting go). It is a tiny bit of what the prince did.

No one inside. The wanting that came for the cake was lobha (wanting). It came. It went. It was not Anna. It was a visitor. When lobha (wanting) is seen as a visitor that comes and goes, it is easier to let it go. Anna says: sabbe dhammā anattā (all things are not self).

Chapter 4. Paññā (wisdom)

Paññā (wisdom) means seeing things as they really are. Without it, the other nine cannot do their work well. The Buddha said that wisdom is the light in the world. A lamp in a dark room shows what is there. Wisdom is like that lamp.

Sumedha’s picture. Sumedha thought of a monk¹a man who has left home to follow the Buddha’s rule of life on his morning walk for food. The monk goes to every house, big or small, rich or poor. He passes none of them by. So he gets enough to eat. Sumedha said: go to wise people like that, everywhere and always, and ask them questions. That is how wisdom grows.

The story of the boy Mahosadha. Once the Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) was born as a boy named Mahosadha. When he was seven years old he was already so wise that people came to him with their quarrels. Here is one of them.

A woman went to a pond to wash, and laid her baby down on the bank. A yakkhinī (a wicked spirit) saw the baby and wanted to eat it. She came in the shape of a woman and offered to hold the baby while the mother washed. Then she ran off with it. The mother ran after her and caught her. Each of them said: this is my child.

They came to Mahosadha. He listened. Then he drew a line on the ground and laid the baby across it. He told the yakkhinī (the wicked spirit) to take the baby’s hands and the mother to take its feet, and he said: pull. Whoever pulls the baby over the line can have it.

They pulled. The baby cried out in pain. The mother could not bear to hurt her child. She let go, and stood there weeping. The yakkhinī (the wicked spirit) held on and kept pulling.

Mahosadha asked the people: whose heart is soft for a child, the mother’s or a stranger’s? They said: the mother’s. He said: then this one is the mother. He gave her the baby. And he showed everyone that the other was a yakkhinī (a wicked spirit): her eyes were red and did not blink, and she had no shadow. He made her promise to keep the five rules, and sent her away.

Mahosadha was not at the pond. He did not see what happened there. But he knew what a mother’s love is like, and he knew how to make it show itself. That is paññā (wisdom): seeing what is really so.

Anna learns. Anna cannot see inside her mind with her eyes. But she can learn what is there. Seeing is one thing. Hearing is another. Liking is another. Anger is another. Learning to tell them apart is the beginning of paññā (wisdom). It comes from listening and asking, just as Sumedha said.

No one inside. Paññā (wisdom) is not a person either. It is a good quality that comes up with a moment of mind, sees, and goes. The clearest thing it sees is this: there is no self in here. There are only moments, coming and going. Anna says: sabbe dhammā anattā (all things are not self).

Quiz 2 (chapters 3 and 4)

Click an answer. Each question tells you at once whether it is right. For the written ones, show the answer and mark yourself.

Chapter 5. Viriya (energy)

Viriya (energy¹effort; the strength that keeps on going) means effort. It is the strength in the mind that keeps going, and does not give up, and does not get lazy. The Buddha said that by energy a person gets past suffering²pain and trouble; anything that cannot give lasting happiness.

Sumedha’s picture. Sumedha thought of a lion. Whether the lion sits, or stands, or walks, it is never slack. Its mind is always awake. Sumedha said: keep up firm energy like the lion, in every life.

The story of Prince Mahājanaka. Once the Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) was a prince named Mahājanaka. His father had been a king, but his uncle took the kingdom, and the prince grew up far away with his mother. When he was grown, he wanted to win the kingdom back. So he got on a ship with goods to sell, to earn money for it.

In the middle of the ocean the ship broke apart. The people on it screamed and wept. Mahājanaka did not scream. He ate until he was full, so that he would have strength. He rubbed oil on his body, so that the water would not make him cold. Then he climbed the mast and jumped as far out as he could, away from the sinking ship and the hungry fish. And he began to swim.

He swam all day. He swam all night. He swam for seven days. There was no land anywhere.

A goddess of the sea named Maṇimekhalā saw him. She asked him who he was, swimming in the middle of the ocean with no shore in sight, and what the use of it was. She said he would die before he reached land.

Mahājanaka answered that a person should do what a person can do. Someone who makes an effort has nothing to be sorry for, even if he fails. And he said: I will go on striving, as far as I can and as hard as I can.

The goddess was pleased. She lifted him out of the water and carried him through the air to his own country. She laid him down, asleep, in a mango grove. In the end he became king there.

Energy for good and energy for bad. Energy is in bad moments too. A person can work very hard to grab something he wants, or to get back at someone. That is not the perfection³a good quality made as full and strong as it can be. The perfection of viriya (energy) is effort for kusala (good).

Anna keeps going. Anna is tidying her room. She is tired. She wants to stop. She puts away one more thing. Then one more. That is viriya (energy). The prince swam for seven days. Anna puts away one more thing. Both are the same kind of thing.

No one inside. Who swam? Mahājanaka, the story says. But the arm moves because a moment of mind with viriya (energy) in it moves the arm. Then that moment is gone. The next moment has to have energy too, or the arm stops. Nobody inside pushes. There is energy, moment after moment, and each moment helps the next one to come.

Chapter 6. Khanti (patience)

Khanti (patience) means putting up with things without getting angry. Hot weather. Cold weather. A long wait. A mosquito. Someone being unkind. The Buddha said that patience is the highest tapa (burning away). It burns away the dirt in the mind.

Sumedha’s picture. Sumedha thought of the earth. People throw clean things on the earth, and dirty things too. The earth bears them all. It is never angry. Sumedha said: bear honour and insult from everyone, like the earth.

The story of the buffalo and the monkey. Once the Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) was born as a great buffalo. He was big and strong, with wide horns. He lived in the forest, and he had a favourite place under a tree, where he stood and where he slept.

A monkey lived in that tree. The monkey was rude and naughty. He jumped on the buffalo’s back. He sat on his shoulder, and on his forehead, and even between his horns. He pulled his ears and swung on his horns. He made a mess all over him. Not once. Day after day.

A yakkha (a spirit) who lived in the tree saw it all. He said to the buffalo: why put up with this? Kill him. One push with the horns, one stamp with a foot, and he is gone.

The buffalo answered: this monkey is small and weak and silly. If I were angry with him, I would be lower than he is. My sīla (good conduct) would break, and wise people would blame me. It is better to be laughed at and keep a clean mind than to hurt another to save my own life. And he said: if I put up with him, I will get what I am hoping for. What he was hoping for was to become a Buddha.

So the buffalo stood still. Later the monkey tried the same tricks on another buffalo, a fierce one, and that buffalo killed him. But the Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) never hurt him.

Anna and the mosquito. It is a hot night. A mosquito whines by Anna’s ear. She wants to shout. She does not. She waves it away gently. That is khanti (patience). It is small, as the buffalo’s patience was big.

No one inside. When anger comes, it feels like “I am angry”. But anger is dosa (anger), a visitor, like wanting. It comes up with one moment of mind, and it goes. The moment that was angry is already gone. There is nobody who has to stay angry. When that is seen, patience comes more easily. Anna says: sabbe dhammā anattā (all things are not self).

Quiz 3 (chapters 5 and 6)

Click an answer. Each question tells you at once whether it is right. For the written ones, show the answer and mark yourself.

Chapter 7. Sacca (truthfulness)

Sacca (truthfulness¹always telling the truth and keeping to it) means telling the truth and keeping one’s word. The Buddha said that truth is the sweetest of all tastes. The old books say that in some lives the Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) broke other rules, but he never once told a lie.

Sumedha’s picture. Sumedha thought of the morning star. In every season, in rain or in sun, the morning star keeps to its path across the sky. It never strays from it. Sumedha said: never stray from the path of truth.

The story of the little quail. Once the Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) was born as a baby quail. He lay in a nest on the ground. He was tiny. His wings had no feathers yet, so he could not fly. His legs were weak, so he could not walk. His mother and father fed him from their beaks.

One hot day a fire started in the forest. It came roaring and crackling, nearer and nearer. All the birds flew away. The quail’s mother and father were afraid. They flew away too, and left the baby in the nest.

The little quail thought: I have wings, but I cannot fly. I have feet, but I cannot run. My mother and father have gone. What can I do?

Then he thought: there is truth in the world. There is goodness. The Buddhas of long ago had it. By that truth I will make an act of truth.

And he said: I have wings, but they cannot fly. I have feet, but they cannot walk. My mother and father have gone away. Fire, go back!

The fire stopped. It turned back, as if it had run into water. It went out all round the nest. The old books say that nothing has burnt on that spot ever since, and nothing will, for the whole age of the world.

That is called saccakiriyā (an act of truth). When someone says a thing that is really true about himself, and calls on that truth, the truth has power. The quail had never told a lie, and he had never harmed anything.

Anna and the cup. Anna knocks a cup off the table. It breaks. Nobody saw. She could say she does not know how it happened. She says: I did it. That is sacca (truthfulness). It is hard for a moment. Then it is over, and the mind is clean.

No one inside. The deepest truth is the truth about the mind. There was seeing. There was a thought. There was fear. There was a true word. Each one came and went. No Anna inside did them all. Being truthful about that, moment by moment, is the beginning of the wisdom the Buddha taught.

Chapter 8. Adhiṭṭhāna (determination)

Adhiṭṭhāna (determination¹making up one’s mind firmly and keeping to it) means making up one’s mind to do good and not letting go of it, even when it is very hard, and even when it takes a very long time.

Sumedha’s picture. Sumedha thought of a mountain made of rock. The strongest wind blows. The mountain does not move. It stays in its own place. Sumedha said: be like that mountain in determination, always.

The story of Prince Temiya. Once the Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) was born as a prince named Temiya. His father was the king of Kāsi. The king had waited a long time for a son, and he loved the baby very much.

When Temiya was one month old, the king held him on his lap while he judged four robbers. The king gave them terrible punishments. The baby heard it, and he was frightened. He remembered that long ago he had been a king himself, and that after that life he had gone to niraya (hell) because of the things he had done as king. He thought: I do not want to be king.

A deva (a heavenly being²any living creature: a person, an animal, a heavenly being) who lived in the royal umbrella had been his mother in a past life. She told him what to do: pretend to be a child who cannot walk, cannot hear and cannot speak. Then nobody will make him king.

So Temiya made up his mind. He lay still. He did not speak. He did not seem to hear. He did not walk.

His parents could not believe it. They tested him for sixteen years. They gave him no milk for a whole day: he did not cry. They gave him sweets and toys: he did not reach for them. They made loud noises: he did not jump. They let a big elephant come close: he did not run. They lit a fire near him: he did not move. Sixteen years. He never once let go of his plan.

At last the king gave up. He said: this boy brings bad luck. Take him to the forest and bury him.

The charioteer³the driver of a chariot drove Temiya to the forest and began to dig a hole. Then Temiya thought: now is my time. He stretched his arms. He stretched his legs. He stood up. He was so strong that he lifted the chariot⁴a cart with two wheels pulled by horses, used in old times for war and travel with one hand, as a boy lifts a toy. The charioteer was amazed. Temiya told him everything, and said that he would stay in the forest and live as a hermit⁵a person who lives alone, away from other people.

The king and the queen came to see him. When they found him well and happy, and heard him teach, they too gave up the palace and lived in the forest.

Wishing is not deciding. A wish is light. It blows away. Adhiṭṭhāna (determination) is heavy, like the mountain.

Anna makes up her mind. Anna decides to say a kind word to everyone in her class, every day, for a week. On the third day she is tired and grumpy. She says the kind word anyway. That is adhiṭṭhāna (determination).

No one inside. Sixteen years is a long time. But Temiya did not have one self that stayed the same for sixteen years. There was a moment of firm, good mind. Then another. Then another. Each one was helped by the one before it. That is how determination works: not one big self holding on, but good moments following good moments, like steps along a road. Anna says: sabbe dhammā anattā (all things are not self).

Quiz 4 (chapters 7 and 8)

Click an answer. Each question tells you at once whether it is right. For the written ones, show the answer and mark yourself.

Chapter 9. Mettā (loving-kindness)

Mettā (loving-kindness¹wishing others well; friendliness to everyone) means wishing others to be well and happy. All of them. Friends, and people who are not friends. People, and animals. When there is mettā (loving-kindness) in the mind, there is no anger in it at all. The Buddha said: as a mother would guard her only child with her own life, so let a mind of kindness go out to all beings²any living creature: a person, an animal, a heavenly being, without end.

Sumedha’s picture. Sumedha thought of water. Water cools a good person and a bad person just the same. It washes the dust off both. Sumedha said: have mettā (loving-kindness) like that, the same for those who help and for those who harm.

The story of Sāma. Once the Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) was born as a boy named Sāma. His skin was golden, so people called him Suvaṇṇasāma, Golden Sāma. He lived in the forest with his mother and father, who were hermits³a person who lives alone, away from other people. When Sāma was small, an angry snake breathed poison into his parents’ eyes, and they both went blind. From then on Sāma looked after them. He brought them fruit. He fetched water from the river. He washed them, and he led them by the hand.

Sāma was full of mettā (loving-kindness), and the animals of the forest felt it. Deer walked beside him. Lions and tigers did not hurt him. Nobody was afraid of him, and he was afraid of nobody. When he went to the river, the deer went with him, and he hung his water pots on a deer’s back.

One day a king was hunting by the river. He saw a golden boy among the deer. He did not know what he was looking at. He shot an arrow with poison on it, and Sāma fell.

Even then Sāma was not angry. He asked the king one thing: who will look after my blind mother and father now? The king was sorry. He went to the parents and told them what he had done. They did not hate the king. They came to their son, and they made an act of truth on his goodness. A goddess who lived in the forest did the same. The poison left Sāma’s body, and he stood up well. And his parents’ eyes could see again. Then Sāma taught the king, and the king went home and ruled kindly.

Anna and the new girl. A new girl comes to Anna’s class. Nobody knows her. Anna smiles at her and shows her where to sit. That is mettā (loving-kindness). Real mettā (loving-kindness) is the same for a stranger as for a friend. That is how to tell that it is real.

No one inside. Anna’s kindness is not Anna. It is mettā (loving-kindness), a good thing that comes up with a moment of mind, warms it, and goes. And the new girl is not one solid thing either. She is body and mind moments too, coming and going, just like Anna. There is no one inside Anna who loves, and no one inside the girl who is loved. There are moments of kindness, going out to a being who is also only moments. The Buddha taught that this is how it really is.

Chapter 10. Upekkhā (even-mindedness)

Upekkhā (even-mindedness¹having a mind that stays level and calm whatever happens) means a mind that stays level. Winning does not lift it up. Losing does not throw it down. Praise and blame are both only sounds in the ear. The Buddha said: as a solid rock is not moved by the wind, so the wise are not moved by blame or by praise.

Sumedha’s picture. Sumedha thought of the earth again. Clean things and dirty things are thrown on it. The earth does not love the one and hate the other. It is the same to both. Sumedha said: be like that in happiness and in pain, level, like a pair of scales.

The story of the man who slept among the bones. Once the Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) was a man who wanted to make upekkhā (even-mindedness) perfect. He went about in old clothes, and he let people think he was a fool.

He came to a village and went to the burial ground. He lay down there, and he put a dead man’s bone under his head for a pillow. The village children found him. They were rough. They spat on him. They threw dirt at him. They poked grass into his ears and laughed at him.

Other people came too, wise people. They were sorry for him. They brought him flowers and sweet-smelling oils and good food.

He was the same to all of them. He was not angry with the children. He did not love the kind people more. He said afterwards that those who gave him pain and those who gave him joy were all the same to him. In pain and in happiness, in honour and in shame, he was like a pair of scales that stays level.

Even-mindedness is not the same as not caring. The man among the bones cared about everyone. His mind was level, and it was kind.

Anna comes last. There is a race. Anna comes last. Some children laugh. Anna’s face goes hot. Then she remembers the man among the bones. Coming last is only coming last. Laughing is only a sound. She smiles and goes to get a drink of water. That is a little upekkhā (even-mindedness).

No one inside. A laugh is a sound. Hearing hears it. Then the hearing is gone. Then a thought comes: they are laughing at me. But there is no “me” in the sound, and no “me” in the hearing. When that is seen, the sound has nothing to hit. The mind stays level. Anna says: sabbe dhammā anattā (all things are not self).

Quiz 5 (chapters 9 and 10)

Click an answer. Each question tells you at once whether it is right. For the written ones, show the answer and mark yourself.

All ten together

Sumedha found the ten. The Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) made them perfect, life after life, for a time that nobody can count. Here they are, with Sumedha’s pictures and the stories.

In every story the Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) was not thinking “I am the good one”. He was doing good. The ten are done by good moments of mind, one after another. Nobody owns them. And still they grow, and still they carry a person across the river.

The Buddha said: if a person does good, let him do it again and again. Let him find joy in it. Happy is the piling up of good.

And Anna says: sabbe dhammā anattā (all things are not self).

Word list

Every Pali word in this book, with the English used for it. The words are in the order of the English alphabet, ignoring the marks on the letters.

Hard words

Every hard English word in this book has a small number after it the first time it is met in a chapter, and its meaning is given at the end of that chapter. Here are all of them together, in alphabetical order.

• being: any living creature: a person, an animal, a heavenly being
• brahmin: a man of the priestly class in ancient India
• chariot: a cart with two wheels pulled by horses, used in old times for war and travel
• charioteer: the driver of a chariot
• deed: something done; an act, good or bad
• determination: making up one’s mind firmly and keeping to it
• energy: effort; the strength that keeps on going
• even-mindedness: having a mind that stays level and calm whatever happens
• hermit: a person who lives alone, away from other people
• ignorance: not knowing; not understanding what is really there
• lotus: a water flower that grows up from the mud and opens clean above the water
• loving-kindness: wishing others well; friendliness to everyone
• monk: a man who has left home to follow the Buddha’s rule of life
• nun: a woman who has left home to follow the Buddha’s rule of life
• perfection: a good quality made as full and strong as it can be
• suffering: pain and trouble; anything that cannot give lasting happiness
• truthfulness: always telling the truth and keeping to it

Where the stories come from

Everything in this book comes from the Tipiṭaka (the Three Baskets), the oldest collection of the Buddha’s teaching, and from the old commentaries that explain it. Nothing has been made up. The stories are told here in short, plain words for children, and the Pali lines under the pictures are given exactly as they stand in the old books, with a plain English rendering made for this book.

Sumedha and the ten pictures. The Buddhavaṃsa (the Story of the Buddhas), chapter 2, the story of Sumedha. The ten pictures (the water pot, the yak, the prisoner, the monk, the lion, the earth, the morning star, the mountain, water, and the earth again) are Sumedha’s own, in that chapter. The commentaries say the time he took was four uncountable ages and a hundred thousand ages. The old teachers’ saying that a perfection is good conduct not spoilt by wanting, pride or the idea of a self comes from the commentary on the Cariyāpiṭaka (Basket of Conduct).

The stories, by chapter.

1. The wise hare: Sasapaṇḍita Jātaka (birth story 316) and Cariyāpiṭaka 1.10.
2. The elephant who looked after his mother: Mātuposaka Jātaka (455) and Cariyāpiṭaka 2.1.
3. Prince Yudhañjaya: Yudhañjaya Jātaka (460) and Cariyāpiṭaka 3.1.
4. The boy Mahosadha and the baby: Mahā-ummagga Jātaka (546), among the cases he judged as a child of seven.
5. Prince Mahājanaka in the sea: Mahājanaka Jātaka (539).
6. The buffalo and the monkey: Mahiṃsa Jātaka (278) and Cariyāpiṭaka 2.5.
7. The little quail: Vaṭṭaka Jātaka (35) and Cariyāpiṭaka 3.9.
8. Prince Temiya: Mūgapakkha Jātaka (538) and Cariyāpiṭaka 3.6.
9. Sāma: Sāma Jātaka (540) and Cariyāpiṭaka 3.13.
10. The man who slept among the bones: Cariyāpiṭaka 3.15 and its commentary, with the Lomahaṃsa Jātaka (94).

The cart. The nun Vajirā’s words about the cart and the person are in the Saṃyutta Nikāya (the Connected Sayings) 5.10. The Buddha’s words that a person who does not kill gives safety to all beings are in the Aṅguttara Nikāya (the Numbered Sayings), the Book of Eights.

The lines under the pictures, and the Buddha’s words in the chapters. Dhammapada (the Verses of the Teaching) 81, 118, 184 and 279; Suttanipāta (the Collection of Discourses) 1.8 and 1.10; Saṃyutta Nikāya 1.80; Buddhavaṃsa chapter 2; the Jātaka verses of stories 35, 316, 455 and 539; and the Cariyāpiṭaka verses of the stories above. The Pali follows the Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana text.

The book that inspired this one. The Perfections Leading to Enlightenment by Sujin Boriharnwanaket, translated from the Thai by Nina van Gorkom (Zolag, London, 2007), which can be read free of charge on abhidhamma.org.

Where the old books and modern writers differ, this book follows the old books.