From: https://youtube.com/watch?v=j3MY8-4pbsc

Context: Throughout this transcript, Bhante Vimalaramsi is the speaker unless otherwise indicated.

[Music]

so today we're going to take it easy

we're talking about delay life

and

so now when you get

uh off of retreat

and uh get back into your daily practice

and daily lives

what kind of life

uh do you want to lead so this is

dignikaiah number

and it's called the advice to lay people

thus have i heard once the lord was

staying at rajagaha at the squirrel's

feeding place in the bamboo grove

and at that time

sigalaka the householder's son

having got up early and gone out of raja

gaha was paying homage with wet clothes

and hair and would join palms to the

different directions

to the east the south the west

the north and

the nadir and

the zenith

so

this was obviously because he had gone

into the river and he had prayed

and now he was praising all of the six

all of the different directions

and the lord having risen early and

dressed took his robe and bowl and went

to rajigaha for alms

and seeing segalaka paying homage to the

different directions he said

householder son

why have you got up early to pay homage

to the different directions

sigalaka responds lord my father when he

was dying told me to do so and so lord

out of respect for my father's words

which i revere honor and hold sacred

i have got up thus early to pay homage

in this way to the six directions

but householder's son

that is not the right way to pay homage

to the six directions according to the

aryan discipline

the aryan discipline means the noble

disciple the noble discipline

that is to say

according to the dharma

well lord how should one pay homage to

the six directions according to the

aryan discipline

it would be good if the blessed one were

to teach me the proper way to pay homage

to the six directions

then listen carefully pay attention and

i will speak

yes venerable sir said

and the lord said

young householder it is by abandoning

the four defilements of action

by not doing evil from the four causes

by not following the six ways of wasting

one's substance

through avoiding these fourteen evil

ways

that the aryan disciple the noble

disciple

covers the six directions

and by such practice becomes a conqueror

of both worlds

so that all will go well

with him in this world and the next

and at the breaking up of the body after

death he will go to a good destination

a heavenly realm

what are the four defilements of action

that are abandoned

what do you guys think that are

those are

the four

defilements of action

first four precepts

taking life is one

taking what is not given is one sexual

misconduct is one

lying speech is one

these are the four defilements of action

that he abandons

thus the blessed one spoke

and having spoken he added

taking life

and stealing lying adultery the wise

reproof

what are the four causes of evil from

which he refrains

so in other words how do these evil

actions these

unwholesome states of mind how do they

arise from where do they arise

so there's i rather i would say how how

do the wholesome actions arise

unwholesome actions arise

they arise through intentions wholesome

or unwholesome

so in the case of unwholesome

actions

you require unwholesome intentions and

there are

these four in particular

it springs from ill will

it springs from folly

it springs

from attachment

it springs from fear

so when we say it springs from

attachment we're saying it springs from

craving

the mindset that says i want this

from ill will that is the mindset that

says

i don't want this

right so we're talking about craving and

aversion

from folly

that is

delusion

taking things personally

identifying with the experience

bringing up the sense of i the sense of

self to the experience

and from fear

so fear is related to ill will

but fear is also

in of itself just that mindset that is

hesitating to do anything

that is

wholesome

so fear can arise from doubt not the

federer of doubt the hindrance of doubt

so i want to clarify for you guys what

is the hindrance of doubt and what is

the

fetter of doubt

the feather of doubt is related to

the doubt in the

dhamma and the sangha

so that kind of doubt doesn't allow you

to actually fully practice the dhamma

because you still have doubts about what

this practice is

that's why having followed the practice

reached its end

and come to the experience of stream

entry

that the federal of doubt goes away

because you realize this is indeed the

path leading to nibana

but what about the hindrance of doubt

the hindrance of doubt is that mind that

says

am i doing this correctly

am i six are incorrectly

am i feeling loving kindness

am i in a wholesome state of mind or

unwholesome state of mind

so that is the perplexity about whether

you're in a wholesome state of mind or

unwholesome state of mind

and that gives rise to a certain kind of

fear

fear in the sense of

am i doing it correctly or am i not

doing it correctly and that can lead to

folly

that can lead to you

having misguided actions

because if you have doubt and you don't

know what is wholesome

or unwholesome

then you might do something that is

unwholesome thinking it is wholesome

now

since they mentioned fear

i also have to mention

being

a huge star wars fan

there's a great quote about fear by

master yoda

he says

fear leads to anger anger leads to hate

hate leads to suffering

that's dependent origination right there

it's this with the arising of this there

is the arising of that with the

cessation of this there is a cessation

of that

anyway that has nothing to do with the

damage just

if the noble disciple does not act out

of attachment ill will folly or fear he

will not do evil from any of those four

causes

so desire and hatred fear and folly he

who breaks the law through these

loses all his fair repute

like the moon at waning time

desire and hatred fear and folly he who

never yields to these

grows in goodness and repute

like the moon at waxing time

so the more you act out of attachment

the more you act from doubt the more you

act from

greed from hatred from delusion

the

more likely it is that you are going to

break a precept

the more likely it is that because you

break a precept you're going to have a

mind that is agitated

this goes back to what we're talking

about yesterday so it comes back to

keeping the precepts

and you keep the precepts by recognizing

is there attachment in the mind

is there fear in the mind is the mind

taking this personally

is there aversion or ill-will in the

mind

recognizing that releasing your

attention from it

relaxing

re-smiling and returning to a wholesome

object

and which are the six ways of wasting

one's substance that he does not follow

addiction to strong drink and sloth

producing drugs

is one way of wasting one's substance so

that's the fifth precept

abstaining

from intoxicants

haunting the streets

at unfitting times is one

[Laughter]

so don't go out to clubs and things like

that right

attending fairs is one

being addicted to gambling is one

keeping bad company is one

habitual idleness is one

there are these six dangers attached to

addiction to strong drink and slot

producing drugs

so now he's going to talk about all of

the different dangers of these different

things

there is the present waste of money

think about it people go out to bars and

clubs to get some drink or

do some drugs or you know they just buy

some drugs

and for what

for a intoxication intoxicated feeling

for a high that lasts maybe all night

long and that's it and then you get a

terrible

terrible hangover after that

whatever kind of drugs you a person

might buy right they're wasting their

money on that

it's creating so much imbalance in the

mind

with the

with the imbalance in terms of your

dopamine levels in terms of your

serotonin levels

and it doesn't produce anything helpful

for you

now i would also include into this

psychedelics

sure psychedelics open up the mind and

you know clear the pathways and show you

certain kinds of insights

but then what happens

there is a tendency for the mind to look

at that psychedelic as the cause of that

and then want it more

and more and more not that they get

addicted to it

but now because they've stayed there

they've experienced extreme amounts of

joy from that

anything else that arises compare

doesn't really compare to it

and some people get stuck in a loop not

that they're addicted but they just make

their whole personality around

you know

they have ayahuasca and shrooms and all

of these other kinds of

psychedelics

and it's not useful

it's not useful at all

it might give you a glimpse into what

you think is reality but then now there

is a sense of self that arises

around that sense of reality

and then you start to take that

personally and then what happens you

make that into a view and you start

clinging to that view

and if that world view of yours

is shattered

then you experience suffering

increased quarreling

yeah i think you might have seen that

when you go to bars

anybody ever been to a bar fight been in

a bar fight

[Laughter]

liability to sickness

so yeah if you had a headache you get a

hangover eventually you get liver

failure and all these other things

loss of good name yeah once you start

once you start getting drunk

what happens you start breaking other

precepts you have misconduct people

start looking at you oh there's that

person

you know who always gets drunk

the drunk

he's the town drunk

indecent exposure of one's person i

don't think i need to explain what that

is

and weakening of the intellect

there are these six dangers attached to

haunting the streets at unfitting times

one is defenseless and without

protection and so are one's family if

you are traveling with your family

and so is one's property

one is suspected of crimes

and false reports are pinned on one

and one encounters all sorts of

unpleasantness

so hunting the streets at unfitting

times

right just

that's no well this is a yeah

this is a maurice walsh translation but

basically going out at odd hours of the

night and

you know that that basically means that

uh

you know you

what are you gonna do at that time of

the night

going out

make trouble there you go that's what

you do

there are these six dangers and attached

to frequenting fares

one is always thinking where is their

dancing where is their singing where are

they playing music

where are they reciting where is their

hand clapping where are the drums

i guess the danger here is your mind

gets fixated around these kinds of

things

right so

here frequenting fair fairs i mean for

example the monastics they're not

allowed to go and see

live shows and dancing and all of these

things because

you know it's just distracting

it agitates the mind

so for lay people does that mean that

they can't go out to watch a movie

of course you can go watch a movie

you always stay home i mean there's

always there's always netflix

there's always netflix right this feels

like concerts

yeah yeah

so the idea is like getting fixated

getting attached to always going out

basically

you know there's nothing wrong with

actually going out as a layperson

you know you earn money and you can

enjoy the fruits of that

but understand what are those fruits and

are there attachment

to those fruits

oh

there are these six dangers attached to

gambling

the winner makes enemies

the loser bewails his loss

one wastes one's present wealth

one's word is not trusted in the

assembly

one is despised by one's friends and

companions

one is not in demand for marriage

because a gambler cannot afford to

maintain a wife

so i guess we have to cancel our trip to

las vegas huh

[Laughter]

there are these six dangers attached to

keeping bad company

okay so this is these are the kinds of

company that you don't want to keep

these are the kinds of social circles

that you probably don't want to hang

around with

gambler

any glutton

any drunkard any cheat

any trickster

any bully

is his friend his companion

so any gambler right because you're

going to get influenced into hey

why don't we go out to the casino

you know play the slot machines see if

we win something

the glutton

so they've gotten somebody who eats in

excess drinks and excess or whatever it

is consumes in excess

the drunkard of for obvious reasons the

cheat and trickster

so the cheat and the trickster

con men like con people

people who try to

you know say hey let's go out here and

then they make you pay for everything

and then

you're footing the bill

and any bully you don't want to hang

around bullies

definitely not

there are these six dangers attached to

idleness

so here's here's an interesting thing

thinking it's too cold one does not work

thinking it's too hot one does not work

thinking it's too early one does not

work thinking it's too late one does not

work thinking i'm too hungry one does

not work thinking i'm too full

one does not work

in other words not doing your work right

having all kinds of excuses

oh the weather isn't so great maybe i

won't go out for walking meditation

you know the temperature is not right

here maybe i just won't do any

meditation right now

it's way too early to meditate let me go

do something else and i'll come back to

it

right procrastinating

that's basically what it is

procrastinating whether it's for

meditation or your work or any kind of

task at hand

and so the teacher added some are

drinking mates and some profess their

friendship to your face

but those who are your friends in need

they alone are friends indeed

sleeping late adultery

picking quarrels doing harm evil friends

and stinginess

these six things destroy a person

one who goes with wicked friends and

spends their time in wicked deeds

in this world and the next as well

that person will come to suffer woe

dicing wenching drinking to dancing

singing daylight sleep

untimely prowling evil friends and

stinginess destroy a person

one plays with dice and drinks strong

drink

and goes with other others well-loved

partners

they take the lower baser course and

fade away like waning moon

the drunkard broke and destitute ever

thirsting as he drinks like stone and

water sinks in depth

soon bereft of all his kin

he who spends his days in sleep and

makes the night his waking time ever

drunk and lecherous cannot keep a decent

home

too cold too hot too late they cry thus

pushing all their work aside till every

chance they might have had of doing good

things

of doing good has slipped away

but he who reckons cold and heat as less

than straws and like a man undertakes

the task in hand his joy will never grow

the less

so i don't know about that last part

like a man that's a little sexist but

okay

householder son there are these four

types who can be seen as foes and

friendly guys

the man who is all take is one

the great talker is one the flatterer is

one and the fellow spend thrift is one

the man who is all take can be seen to

be a false friend for four reasons

he takes everything he wants a lot for

very little

what he must do he does out of fear and

he seeks his own ends

so recognize in your own social circle

circle do you have friends like that

don't keep that kind of company

the great talker can be seen to be a

false friend for four reasons

he talks of favors in the past and in

the future he mouths empty phrases of

good will

and when something needs to be done in

the present he pleads inability owing to

some disaster

right

you need a right to the airport that

person says yeah i'll take i'll give you

a ride to the airport suddenly oh you

know what my car broke down

right

the flatterer can be seen to be a false

friend for four reasons

he ascends to bad actions he descends

from good actions

he praises you to your face

and he disparages you behind your back

the fellow spendthrift can be seen to be

a false friend for four reasons

he is a companion when you indulge in

strong drink

when you haunt the streets at unfitting

times

when you frequent fares and when you

indulge in gambling

and so the tathagath added

the friend who seeks what he can get

the friend who talks but empty words

the friend who merely flatters you the

friend who is a fellow wastrel these

four are really foes not friends the

wise

the wise man recognizing this should

hold himself aloof from them

as from some path of panic fear

householder son there are these four

types

who can be seen to be loyal friends

so pay attention to this who are truly

your friends

the friend who is a helper is one

the friend who is the same in happy and

unhappy times is one the friend who

points out what is good for you is one

and the friend who is sympathetic is one

the helpful friend can be seen to be a

loyal friend in four ways

he looks after you when you are

inattentive

meaning when you're drunk

designated tribe

he looks after your possessions when you

are inattentive

he is a refuge when you are afraid

so you can always

you know talk about your fears to that

friend

you know you're worried about something

and you're kind of restless about this

and thinking about the future and you

can go to them and confide in them and

they'll they'll lend you a year they'll

listen

you know it's very rare in this world

whether it was in the past the present

or the future

to have somebody who will truly listen

to you

actively listening meaning just

listening to a person without trying to

come up with an answer without trying to

come up with some kind of response but

just listening

so that they're they

the other person feels like they're

being heard

that is actually an act of compassion

this is compassion in action being able

to just listen

and when some business is to be done he

lets you have twice what you ask for

that's pretty rare

the friend who is the same in happy and

unhappy times can be seen to be a loyal

friend in four ways

he tells you his secrets

he guards your secrets

he does not let you down in misfortune

he would even sacrifice his life for you

again very rare

the friend who points out what is good

for you can be seen to be a loyal friend

in four ways

he keeps you from wrongdoing

he supports you in doing good

he informs you of what you did not know

and he points out the path to heaven

so in other words this kind of friend is

somebody who looks out for you

they warn you if you are breaking a

precept they warn you if you are going

to be doing something wrong

and he guides you they guide you into

making sure that you are keeping your

precepts

this is another form of spiritual

friendship

kalyana mitta

having a friend like this is rare indeed

the sympathetic friend can be seen to be

a loyal friend in four ways he does not

rejoice at your misfortune he rejoices

at your good fortune

he stops others who speak against you

and he commends others who speak in

praise of you

and so it goes into verse the friend who

is a helper and the friend in times both

good and bad the friend who shows the

way that's right the friend who's full

of sympathy

these four kinds of friends the wise

should know as at their true worth

and he should cherish them with care

just like a mother with her dearest

child

the wise man trained and disciplined

shines out like a beacon fire

he gathers wealth just as the bee

gathers honey and it grows like an ant

hill higher yet

with wealth so gained the layman can

devote it to his people's good

he should divide his wealth in four

now here's the financial advice

he should divide his wealth in four this

will

bring the most advantage

one part

he may enjoy at will

enjoy it as you want to enjoy it

two parts he should put to work

the fourth part he should set aside so

two parts he should put to work what

does that mean

invest

yeah but some

some uh commentaries say that that's the

money you spend to live

oh

i don't think it's invest because the

last part is invest the fourth part he

should set aside that could be saving or

investing yeah

so two parts he should put to work in

other words that's for the for the

household

yeah mortgage electricity

all that other stuff that makes sense it

makes more sense some people will

live very stingy and they'll only put a

little bit yeah and they'll live in a

box yes

and they'll save everything so it's all

so you have to bring it back into

balance yeah and some people won't spend

any money for a party at all right

but it'll all be saved yeah

yeah so some people have like 90 savings

and 10 just

on their lives you know so this is the

balance right he says one part he should

enjoy at will so that's like

going out to restaurants or

buying that car that you wanted or

whatever it might be

two parts to put to work now that makes

sense so that's basically for your

livelihood like in terms of

maintaining that mortgage for example

the electricity bill the groceries all

the basic necessities

and then the fourth part he should set

aside

that could be your rainy day fund

now this is just these are just

guidelines

so that means the fourth part he should

set aside as reserve in times of need so

that's your rainy day fund

but the the way to understand it is you

know you can follow this exactly or you

can create your own ratios whatever

works for you and your lifestyle

some people like to

save some some like some like to invest

some and some people like to

you know use it towards whatever they

need

so the whole point is don't don't just

spend all your money

you know and definitely again

this is uh i'm not a financial advisor

but definitely don't go into debt

right don't go into unnecessary debt

don't become a slave to debt

so

pay off your mortgage pay off whatever

it is you have to pay off and all these

other things

and be smart with your money that's all

the buddha's saying just be smart with

your money

you know there's another suitable where

i i have to find it it's either in the

anguita nikaya or something where the

buddha talks about what makes a good

businessman what makes a good shopkeeper

how does he manage his store

yeah

so the buddha wasn't all about just you

know because ninety percent of it was to

the monastics in terms of meditation and

things like that but to the lay people

he also said there is a way to live in

your life so you have a good life

there's nothing wrong with having a good

life if you're a lay person

and how

householders does the noble disciple

protect the six directions

these six things are to be regarded as

the six directions so now understand the

six directions the reason why

this person was worshiping the six

directions is because his father told

him to it's a process of it's a ritual

that he was doing

but now the buddha is saying okay you're

talking about

paying devotion to these six directions

but there is another way of

understanding it

the east denotes mother and father

the south

denotes teachers

the west denotes wife and children

the north denotes friends and companions

the nether denotes servants

workers and helpers

the zenith denotes ascetics and brahmins

so when it comes to the eastern

direction

there are five ways in which a son or a

daughter should minister their mother

and father as the eastern direction

they should think having been supported

by them i will support them

right paying back

uh the all the good that they've done

for you now obviously in this world that

we live not all parents are that great

some parents are abusive some parents

aren't

really i mean they're just not really

parents

their parents in name only

and in those situations you don't do

anything but you have gratitude for them

still why

because they brought you into this life

with the opportunity to experience

all that life has to offer

including nirvana

i will perform their duties for them i

will keep up the family tradition i will

be worthy of my inheritance

after my parents death i will distribute

gifts on their behalf

meaning i'll see to their will make sure

that their will is executed

there are five ways in which the parents

so minister to by their son or daughter

as the eastern direction will

reciprocate in other words

this is the parents duty to their

children

they will restrain

him or her from evil

support them in doing good

teach them some skill

find them a suitable partner and in due

time and over their inheritance to them

in this way the eastern direction is

covered making it

at peace and free from fear

so really now what the buddha is talking

about is

relationships relationship management in

the lay life

right

how to have a good relationship with

your parents with your elders

and it's not just you have to show

respect to them

but the parents too have a duty to their

children

and so we talked about that

now there are the five ways

in which

pupils or students should minister their

teachers

as the southern direction

you know that's interesting when it says

the south denotes teachers i was reading

the the note on this

so in um

in the uh in in sanskrit

south is dakshin dakshina dakshina

and in pali it's dukkhina

and dakshina also means

dhana to the teacher

so it's a little uh play on words

and so this is how one should minister

their teachers as the southern direction

by rising to greet them by waiting on

them by being attentive

by serving them by mastering the skills

they teach

and now so this is this is the this is

the responsibilities of a student to a

teacher

right

but what about the teacher's

responsibility to the student that's

also very important

and there are five ways in which their

teachers

thus minister to by their students

as the southern direction

will reciprocate

they will give thorough instruction

make sure they have grasped what they

should have

duly grasped

give them a thorough grounding in all

skills

recommend them to their friends and

colleagues so writing letters of

recommendation

and provide them with security in all

directions this is an interesting one

you know in ancient india even during

the time of the buddha but even before

then

there was this

this relationship between the teacher

and the student in ancient india

when a student a student's life actually

was from the age of about let's say

seven or eight to about 25

this was the student's life this was

known as brahmacharya

and the idea was all the students all of

the kids would go to the teacher and the

teacher was known as the guru

and the guru had a gurukul gurukul

that's where the word curriculum comes

from so the gurukul was like the

the place it was like a boarding school

where all the kids came together and

they were learning from the guru but the

guru was responsible for all of the

needs of the students

in terms of their security in terms of

their food in terms of their lodging and

so on so back in ancient india this was

one of the responsibilities of a teacher

maybe we should go to your teachers and

ask them

okay so the next one is

oh before we continue so

in this way the southern direction is

covered making it a piece

and making it at peace and

free from fear

there are five ways

in which a husband should minister to

his wife

i think for today's life

today's world we can upgrade that

basically

a partner should minister to their

partner that could be a husband to a

husband a wife to a wife a husband to a

wife or a wife to a husband

as this western direction

by honoring them by not disparaging them

by not being faith unfaithful to them

by giving authority to them

by

providing them with adornments

[Laughter]

and there are five ways in which a wife

thus ministered to by her husband as the

western direction will reciprocate so

now again this can be in either

direction

by properly organizing

their work by being kind to the servants

by not being unfaithful by protecting

storage meaning protecting

the food protecting all of the stuff

that they own

and by being a skillful by being

skillful and diligent in all they have

to do

in this way the western direction is

covered making it at peace and free from

fear

so now in today's world we have

stay-at-home dads right

we have stay-at-home moms and we have

stay-at-home dads

so

accordingly they will reciprocate

their service to one another

there are five ways in which

a man should minister to his friends and

companions as the northern direction in

other words in general

how do you serve your friends

how do you show respect to your friends

by gifts by kindly words by looking

after their welfare by treating them

like oneself and by keeping your word

and there are five ways in which friends

and companions thus ministered to by one

as the northern direction

will reciprocate

by looking after him when he is

inattentive

again when he's drunk

by looking after his property when he is

inattentive

by being a refuge when he is afraid

by not deserting him when he is in

trouble those are rare friends indeed

and by showing concern for his children

in this way the northern direction is

covered

making it at peace and free from fear

there are five ways in which a master

should minister to his servants and work

people as the nadir

by arranging their work according to

their strength by supplying them with

food and wages by looking after them

when they are ill by sharing special

delica delicacies with them

and by letting them off work at the

right time

so how do you treat your employees

basically

so that means by arranging their work

according to their strength knowing what

responsibilities an employee can fulfill

what kind of roles they can fulfill

by supplying them with food and wages in

today's world that's like having a good

pay giving providing them good pay

by looking after them when they are ill

i think this could translate to

providing health care possibly

mental uh dental and health care

mental too yeah there you go

sharing special delicacies with him

this could be referred to as bonuses

offering bonuses

and by letting them off work at the

right time

and there are five ways in which

servants and work people thus minister

to by their master as a nadir will

reciprocate

they will get up before him go to bed

after him take only what they are given

take only what they are given

do their work properly and be bearers of

his praise and good repute

so this was in the case of people who

were servants like people who were

household staff you get up before the

the person of the house was up you'd

make sure that everything was well taken

care of and then you go to bed after

they go go to bed and all these other

things

take only what they are given so not

stealing from them

do their work properly so just be

diligent in your work and be bearers of

his praise and good repute so

you know be be

be happy when people are happy or praise

the employer

there are five ways in which a man

should minister to ascetics and brahmana

brahmanas as the zenith

by kindness in bodily deed speech and

thought by keeping open house

keeping open house for them by supplying

their bodily needs

so the kindness and bodily deed speech

and thought those are the three

so being kind to them so when we talk

about brahmins and ascetics these are

basically monastics

or any kind of

person who is not in the lay life

by keeping open house for them welcoming

welcoming them to your home

by supplying their bodily needs so

providing them with shelter providing

them with food providing them with

any kind of clothes they require

providing with them with medicines if

they require

so those are the four requisites right

food

robes

shelter and medicine

but there's a fifth one now

wi-fi

[Laughter]

and the aesthetics and brahmins thus

ministered to by him as the zenith will

reciprocate in six ways

they will restrain him from evil

encourage him to do good

be benevolent benevolently compassionate

towards him teach him what he has not

heard clarify what he has heard and

point out to him the way to heaven

okay so let's go over that so they will

restrain them from evil so make sure

that they're keeping their precepts

encourage them to keep the precepts

that's encouraging to do to good to do

good

be benevolently compassionate towards

him

radiating loving-kindness to them

radiating compassion to them

teach them what has not been heard

to teach them new things teach them new

ways of approaching you know meditation

or whatever it might be

clarify what they have already heard so

maybe they have doubts

they have some kind of clarification

required for

certain things that the teacher has

already said

and point out the way

to heaven now this is for lay people

i know that sariputta was admonished by

the buddha at one time for guiding

somebody to the brahmaloka and he said

you could have guided him all the way to

nirvana

in this way the zenith is covered making

it at peace and free from fear

and thus the tadagath said

mother and father are the east teachers

are the southward point

wife and children are the west

or family are the west friends and

colleagues are the north servants and

workers are below ascetics and brahmanas

are above

these directions all should be honored

by a clansman true he who is wise and

disciplined

kindly and intelligent humble free from

pride

such a one may honor

may honor gain

early rising scorning sloth unshaken by

adversity of faultless conduct ready wit

such a one may honor again making

friends and keeping them

welcoming no stingy host a guide

philosopher and friend such a one may

honor gain

giving gifts and kindly speech

a life well spent for others good

even-handed in all things

impartial as each case demands

these things make the world go around

like the chariots axle pin

if such things did not exist

no mother from her son would get any

honor and respect no father either as

their do

but since these qualities are held by

the wise in high esteem

they are given prominence and are

rightly praised by all

at these words sigalaka said to the

blessed one excellent reverend gautama

excellent

it is as if someone were to set up what

had to be knocked down or to point out

the way to one who had lost who had

gotten lost or to bring an oil lamp to a

dark place so that those with eyes could

see what was there just so

master gautama has expounded the dhamma

in various ways

may the master gautama accept me as a

lay follower from this day forth as long

as life shall last

i'm pretty straightforward right

okay good so let's share some merit

may suffering ones be suffering free and

the fear struck fearless be

may the grieving shed all grief and may

all beings find relief

may all beings share this merit that we

have thus acquired for the acquisition

of all kinds of happiness may beings

inhabiting space and earth devas and

nagas of mighty power share the spirit

of ours may they long protect the

buddha's dispensation