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Should one a man of wisdom see
Who points out faults and gives reproof,
As though revealing treasure bid-
One should consort with such a sage.
For while one lives with one like him,
Better it is, never for worse.
Let him then exhort, instruct
And check one from all evil things,
Dear indeed is he to the true,
But to the false he is not dear.
Restrained in body are the wise,
Then in speech they are restrained,
In mind they are restrained as well,
They are indeed perfectly restrained.
Not others' opposition
Nor what they did and did not;
But in oneself should be sought
Things done and left undone.
One should be hospitable
And skilled in good behavior,
Thereby, greatly joyful
One will make an end of dukkha.

(Dhp. 76-77, 234, 50, 376)

Today the Discourse on Dhamma to be delivered will concern the subject of Pavarana, or the Request for Admonition and the Receiving of Forgiveness, which is to be held in this temple on the evening of the 29th of this month, (October 4 for this year, 1998) this ceremony signaling the conclusion of the three months of Rains Retreat kept by all Buddhist monks throughout the Kingdom. Before explaining the principles of Pavarana and how they may be applied to the life of lay people, something of the history of this event may be related.

The ceremony of Pavarana, which was instituted by Lord Buddha, has its beginnings in this way. Some Bhikkhus, that is, Buddhist monks, decided to pass their Rains Retreat in a residence in the Kosala country while Lord Buddha passed his Retreat at Savatthi in the Jeta Grove. These Bhikkhus thought: "Now by what means can we, altogether, on friendly terms and harmonious, spend a comfortable Rains Retreat?" The solution, which they arrived at was by refraining to speak to one another and thus maintaining silence for the period of three months. At the end of their Retreat it was the custom for Bhikkhus to go and see Lord Buddha, so those Bhikkhus having packed away their requisites for lodging and taking their bowls and robes, set out for Savatthi.

Having reached Savatthi, and having greeted the Lord and told him that they had passed a comfortable Rains Retreat, on friendly terms and harmonious, they were questioned by him as to their way or method in which their time had been spent. When they told him that their time had been spent in silence, He strongly censured them, calling their practice "Communion like beasts ... communion in indolence . . . how, Bhikkhus, can these foolish men observe an observance of other sects, that is the practice of silence?"

This rebuke was because talk on Dhamma can be very beneficial and can stimulate striving both in oneself as well as in others. Besides, lay supporters who wished to hear Dhamma, would not, if this practice prevailed, have any opportunity to do so. After the censure of their unbecoming conduct, Lord Buddha went on to lay down the correct procedure whereby even if offences had been committed, Bhikkhus might, at the end of the Rains Retreat, have an opportunity to request admonition in respect of these and to receive forgiveness.

The rule was laid down by Lord Buddha that Bhikkhus should make this request in the following way: "Venerable Sirs, I request admonition from the Sangha (Buddhist Order) in respect of what has been seen, heard or suspected. Let the Venerable Ones speak to me out of compassion, seeing (the offence spoken of) I will make amends." This request is made three times to those Bhikkhus senior to oneself being carried out first by the most senior Bhikkhus, in due order coming at last to those most recently ordained. This ceremony has been carried out now for two thousand five hundred years and more, and is one of the factors which ensures harmony and has preserved unity within the Sangha. The verses chosen for this Discourse are all concerning the same themes as those seen in Pavarana. These Dhammapada verses will be the ground for the explanation of the principles underlying Pavarana and how these are actually of significance to all people everywhere, whether Buddhist or not.

The first verse to which we shall refer reads,

"Restrained in body are the wise,
Then in speech they are restrained,
In mind they are restrained as well,
They are indeed perfectly restrained."

Traditionally, this verse is one of several addressed by Lord Buddha to some Bhikkhus who disturbed others by going about in wooden-soled sandals. Our actions too, if they are not restrained, considerate, courteous and so forth, may give rise to unsatisfactory experience in others. Certainly actions, which involve body or speech, will do so. Unrestrained mental actions harm only ourselves.

Thus one may consider here two aspects of the Dhamma. One is that we cannot expect to avoid being unrestrained if we do not train ourselves with Mindfulness-or sati.

And the other very important consideration is contained in the passage, which says:

"I am the owner of my kamma,
The heir to my kamma,
Born of my kamma,
Related to my kamma,
Abide supported by my kamma.
Whatever kamma I shall do,
Whether good or evil,
Of that shall I be heir."

Kamma is volition, or intentional action and in Buddhist Teaching, such actions will surely bear fruit, either immediately, after some period in this life, or in some future existence. Hence, one should look to one's actions and make sure that these are not evil, that is, neither hurtful to others nor to one's own mental level, while cultivating wholesome actions beneficial to others and making for one's own mental development and therefore the happiness of all. However, one can hardly inspect oneself and the actions performed through body, speech and mind unless one is possessed of Mindfulness for only then can one become aware, either before one does something, or else during its commission; or if mindfulness is weak but still present, the action may be viewed retrospectively with the idea of having greater restraint in future, should the kamma be unwholesome; or else of the active cultivation of that kamma where it has been wholesome. Thus it is only with mindfulness that one can cultivate restraint, and it is only the restrained who are called "wise" in this verse of Lord Buddha.

Now if one has restraint, what is wholesome increases in one's character which means that happiness increases and as a result one becomes dear to others, a person with loyal friends. On the other hand, unwholesomeness decreases so that Greed, Hatred and Delusion with all their army of unwholesome subordinates, are less manifest in one's character, this being a great advantage for oneself since unhappy mental states decrease and one is thereby able to associate happily and well with others in society. When this change takes place in oneself through one's own self-training, then the chances that one will annoy others, be inconsiderate to them greatly decrease, while one will not then feel guilty nor feel called upon to apologize. This restraint, rooted in Mindfulness and an understanding of the principles of Kamma or intentional action, will prevent the arising of a whole chain of unsatisfactory experiences both to oneself and to others. But it is inevitable that, not being Arahants as yet, our Mindfulness is not always perfect and therefore that our deeds will sometimes be tainted by Greed, Hatred and Delusion arising in our minds. When, through some slip of mindfulness we have brought about a situation unpleasant for others, then we should be willing to make amends, Likewise, the injured party should be ready, actually very happy, to receive our admission of a fault. In this respect, Lord Buddha says, where neither is a fault confessed nor the apology received: "O Bhikkhus, there are these two fools. Which two? He who sees not his fault as a fault, and he who does not pardon, as he should the fault confessed by another, These are the two fools. But Bhikkhus, there are these two wise ones. Which two? He who sees his fault as a fault and he who pardons as he should the fault confessed by another. These are the two wise ones."

Among the wise there is therefore harmony and unity but among those who are either too proud to confess a fault or else too resentful to receive an apology well presented, among such people there will ever be disharmony and hatred.

The advice of Lord Buddha is therefore seen to be good when he says:

"Should one a man of wisdom see
Who points out faults and gives reproof,
As though revealing treasure bid-
One should consort with such a sage.
For while one lives with one like him,
Better it is, never for worse."

"Let him then exhort, instruct
And check one from all evil things,
Dear indeed is he to the true,
But to the false he is not dear."

Advice of this sort is not only for Bhikkhus since lay people, whatever their religion, may also undertake retreats for the purpose of intensive training. The custom of temporary ordination, in this land so widespread, is just for this purpose, so that one has the opportunity to resort to a sage even temporarily and, undertaking the training, learn about the workings of kamma, learn some degree of mindfulness, becoming thereby restrained in bodily, verbal and mental actions. One learns as well in such training what it is to be humble, to open one's heart to the admonitions of others and to receive their words as a help for one's own training. One whose mind possesses humility can really make progress but another who is proud, is bound in the bonds of his own pride. It is this injured pride, an injured self-esteem, which makes it difficult for some to accept others' apologies, however sincere. And "pride" is of course one of the most difficult of the mental stains to remove since it is a prime supporter of the feeling "I am" and therefore of the idea of self. Only the Arahant destroys this perverted view of self but we may all make an attempt at beginning upon this task, which is for the great happiness of ourselves and would be, if accomplished, for the immense benefit of others.

Now, the tendency common among humanity is unfortunately just to inspect others' faults and not to want to recognize one's own.

As a famous Dhammapada verse of Lord Buddha relates:

"The faults of others are easy to see,
Hard indeed to see are one's own;
And so one winnows just like chaff
The faults of other people, while
Hiding indeed those of one's own;
As a crafty cheat the losing throw."

(Dhp 252)

Buddhist training here, as in other respects, goes against the stream of ignorance and craving and teaches that it is very important to see just one's own weak spots so that they may be mended. There is little use in winnowing others' faults, which is the happy but very unwholesome and trouble-making occupation of the gossip.

One cannot change others by pulling them to pieces, indeed as the following Dhammapada verse reads:

"Who so sees others' faults,
Taking offence, censorious,
For one like this the taints increase,
One is far from destroying them."

(Dhp. 253)

One should see one's own faults, and should not see those of others, unless in some way they directly affect oneself.

This is forcefully expressed in one of the verses chosen to illustrate this subject, another of Lord Buddha's utterances:

"Not others' opposition
Nor what they did and did not;
But in oneself should be sought
Things done and left undone."

But when another, of his own accord, brings his offence, which has been in some way un-pleasurable to oneself, to one's notice, then is he not only striving to make amends but also giving oneself a chance to make very wholesome kamma. There is nobility in the person who receives, a confession of a fault with no trace of ill-will, showing thereby that he has not harbored resentment in his heart. This non-harboring of resentment is really fundamental to true forgiveness. It is to be seen every time one Bhikkhu has occasion to ask the forgiveness of another after having wittingly or unwittingly through a fault in his practice brought discomfort upon the other.

The formula of confession used reads:

"Venerable Sir, whatever I have done with carelessness through the three doors (of body, speech and mind); for all offences please forgive me."

The Venerable one so addressed then replies:

"I forgive (you); even so you should forgive me."

To which there is the answer:

"Sir, I forgive (you)."

This is the way of harmony, of bringing about peace; it is the way beyond the false humility of an insincerely proffered apology and beyond the pride and haughtiness of an apology wrongly accepted. It is just one small example of the practical wisdom of Lord Buddha in his formulation of the Vinaya or Code of Discipline for Bhikkhus. It is true that Lord Buddha did not try legislating in such a way for lay disciples because He knew of the changeableness of lay-life as contrasted with the relative stability of the monastic life within the Sangha. If he had attempted to formulate elaborate values of conduct in such matters as this benefit of lay people, changing conditions of lay life would sooner or later have rendered them obsolete, as we see in the case of some other religious systems. Instead, we find that He taught the basic fundamentals among the virtues, which can never become obsolete.

While the Dhammapada verses are one source for the instruction of lay people, another and very popular one is the Mangala Sutta, or the Discourse on (true) Auspicious Signs. Therein one may find mentioned the 38 auspicious qualities, sometimes called Blessings, many of which have a direct bearing on the present subject. In the first verse of this Discourse giving instruction, we find, "Association with the wise", to which desirable action we have referred before. Later there occurs the phrase, "Well-trained in discipline" and though the word "vinaya" is used here, this should not be construed as referring only to the monastic discipline. Every Buddhist lay person who undertakes the Training seriously knows how great are the efforts one has to make even though the precepts are few. How necessary indeed are these efforts in the present time !

Next we see, "Being of well-spoken speech", that is never uttering lies, slander, harsh words or idle babble. How much more harmony there would be among human beings if just this simple teaching was observed!

"Righteous conduct", that is conducting oneself according to the standard of Dhamma-and at least of human Dhamma, which means living as a true human being for all of one's life instead of for part of it-will certainly cause no dissensions here!

"Blameless action" of kamma will always lead to peace. This Blessing includes all forms of making merit, that is the promotion within oneself of what is wholesome, or morally beautiful-and though there may be found some to blame this, it will be their unwholesome kamma!

Then comes "To loath evil and to abstain from it" followed by its complementary "Heedfulness in virtues" all such will aid one in living a life blameless and beneficial. Later we come to "Patience and gentleness" endowed with which we shall make no enemies and live with tranquility.

Such teachings as these, expanded in thousands of Dhamma instructions, and found elaborated with many stories in hundreds of books, are the material for the molding of one's life so that it conforms to Dhamma. This conformity with Dhamma, seen for instance in pardon properly requested and rightly received, is the secret of happiness. To those who rely upon outside stimulation for their happiness this will indeed be a secret. But it is not that kind of "mystery", the secretiveness of rituals and ceremonies, or of initiations, for to think that happiness lies in these is also a fallacy. The secret is in one's own continuum of mind-and-body, and one has only oneself to blame if it long remains a secret to oneself. To live in harmony and peace with others in this world one has to have a measure of peace in one's own heart. This means that one has to turn one's attention there and discover what is really going on there. Understanding oneself, one knows how wise it is to be at peace with oneself and this in turn leads one to value the peace and happiness of others.

The Dhamma was sometimes compared to a vehicle, and the Buddha observed that it was truly a perfectly pure vehicle, one that went, for those who boarded it, in the direction of happiness. Indeed, this vehicle of great happiness awaits anyone who will board it. Like other vehicles one has something to pay for one's voyage and the amount is according to the stage where one wishes to alight. The payment for us to deposit is effort, but the journey is one of many joys and the cooling drink of happiness in the Dhamma available at every stop. There is for this vehicle of great happiness a destination, just as lesser cars and lorries have, and all may make the full journey if they are willing to pay the full fare. Like everything else, how far one goes is one's own concern but as one is traveling along the road of Dharma, only happiness greets the resolute traveler. It is true that the Way may sometimes be stony and ill surfaced, but what is that when the goal comes into view, as it will, from time to time. This goal is called Nibbana or the Sublime Happiness.

Therefore has it been said by the Lamp illumining the Three Worlds, our Great Teacher:

"One should be hospitable
And skilled in good behavior,
Thereby, greatly joyful
One will make an end of dukkha."

EVAM

Thus indeed it is.