Lesson Eight: Sow Good Seeds and Reap The Harvest

Whether one wishes to have wealthand beauty
whether one wishes to rule, to gaina birth in
the celestial realms, or perhaps to have the
wisdom to pass beyond all birth and death
(Nibbana), allis got by the grace of merits.

4.Ten Meritorious Deeds

The ten meritorious deeds are:

A. Generosity

B. Morality

C. Mental Culture

D. Respect & Reverence

E. Service

F. Sharing merits

G. Rejoicing in others

good deeds

H. Teaching Dhamma

I. Listening to Dhamma

J. Straightening one's views

A. Generosity (Dana)

Generosity is basic to -the practice of Dhamma.
Worldliness is concerned with getting and
accumulating, whereasgenerosity is concerned
with sharing for the weal of others. One can
give food to the hungry, medicine to the sick,
and money to the poor. Tothe monks the four
requisites are given: robes, almsfood, shelter
and medicine.

There can also be the gift of education which is
highly esteemed in Buddhist tradition. It is
hardly surprising that the first universities in the
world were the Buddhist monasteries of North
India. Not killing other beings is the gift of
fearlessness which can be freely given byeven
the poorest man.

B. Morality (Sila)

By observing the precepts and leading a
harmless life, a person grows in compassion and
wisdom. A Buddhist does not observe the
precepts out of fear of punishment by some
power outside him. To him, the benefit from
virtue is immediate: an upright man enjoys
many more blessings and advantages over a
crooked man, here and now.

The precepts established by theBuddha are for
training the mind so that it becomes wise, and

for training the heart so that it is loving and

compassionate.

C. Mental Culture (Bhavana)

Mental culture or meditation aims at

developing insight and the growth of wisdom.

One meditates to calm the grosser mental

defilements and to cultivate the spiritual

experience into the real nature of things. This

wisdom leads to Nibbana.

A thorough discussion of generosity, morality

and mental culture will be made in Lessons 10

and 11 - The Unlosable Treasure Store.

D. Respect and Reverence (Apacayana)

The man who practices respect and reverence

develops and purifies his mind by replacing

pride with humility. The humble man has a

flexible and adaptable mind which is never too

proud to learn.

Reverence runs through a Buddhist society in

many ways. Children respect adults; the

subjects respect their king; the lay people

respect the Sangha. Everyone respects the

Buddha as the Great Teacher, as well as the

Dhamma and the Sangha.

E. Service (Veyyavacca)

Helping others is another way of making merit.

If compassion were limited only to the thinking

of kind thoughts, it would be a rather

insignificant exercise. True expression of

compassion means that one willingly performs

service for the welfare of other beings.

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