Blessing Sixteen:
Dhamma Practice
Dhamma Practice
C. PURE PRACTICE
A second facet of Dhamma Practice is behaving in accordance with purity. This means particularly in our decision-making we must establish our thinking in ‘purity’ and not allow impure things like defilements and temptation to interfere with what we know is good and fair. Pure practice instills respect for the human dignity of yourself and others. It includes:
• refraining from bias (see @C.1 below);
• avoiding the six roads to ruin (see Blessing 19);
• fulfilling one’s duties in the six directions mentioned under the relevant blessing topic:
- a child’s duties to their parents (see Blessing 11, @C.4);
- a parent’s duty to their child (see Blessing 12, @B.3);
- a student’s duties to their teacher (see Blessing 7, @E.1);
- a teacher’s duties to their students (see Blessing 7@, E.1);
- a husband’s duty to their wife (see Blessing 13, @C.2.3);
- a wife’s duty to their husband (see Blessing 13, @C.2.4);
- friends’ duties to each other (see Blessing 2, @D.2);
- an employer’s duties to their employees (see Blessing 18, @D.1);
- an employee’s duties to their employer (see Blessing 18, @D.2);
- a congregation member’s duties to their clergy (see Blessing 15, @E.1);
- a clergyman’s duty to the congregation (see Blessing 3, @C.2);
C.1 Lack of Bias
The four forms of bias comprise:
1. Bias because of desire [chandāgati]: e.g. parents who don't love their children equally because of bias based on desire, may treat their children unfairly;
2. Bias because of hatred [dosāgati]: e.g. teachers suffering from bias based on hatred or anger will behave unfairly towards annoying students, perhaps awarding them less than their due grades;
3. Bias because of ignorance [mohāgati]: e.g. someone who suffers from bias because of ignorance may take decisions based on his own stupidity or lack of information or put someone wicked or stupid in a position of responsibility;
4. Bias because of fear [byāgati].e.g. someone who is biased because of his fears might bear false witness against someone he knows is innocent because someone he is afraid of told him to do so.
All forms of bias cause us to trample the dignity of the innocent. Trampling dignity through bias starts with trampling one’s own dignity, by twisting the truth in one’s own heart and mind. Such bias in our minds then twists the things we say and do to deviate from what is righteous and appropriate. Such behaviours are all the sign of a cowardly and wicked person who has no love of justice — and who neither respects his own human dignity or that of others.
Anyone who knows that they have been maltreated by someone else as a result of that person’s bias cannot help but feel sad, angry or vengeful — and with the progressive accumulation of such negative emotions in the mind — might eventually lead him to act wickedly himself towards the person in question in any of the four categories already discussed above in the Four Defilements of Action. Thus we can see how one person’s bias might undermine another’s responsibility for the human dignity of others.
Thus we can conclude that bias undermines a person’s responsibility towards human dignity whether it remains unexpressed in a person’s mind, or whether it causes resentment in another in response to an unjust action.
Bias is very damaging to the cultivation of virtue because the best of intentions such as giving a gift out of “gratitude” can become interpreted as something base like nepotism or corruption if there is even the slightest suspicion of bias. If one can be sure that no-one involved in any situation is subject to bias — one can cultivate good deeds to the full.
Anyone who can abstain from the Four Forms of Bias is someone who abides in justice. They will be someone who follows strictly the guidelines of all that is fair.
C.2 The Ten Virtues of a Ruler
The Buddha taught the Ten Virtues of a Ruler [rājadhamma] as guidelines for the conduct of those in a position of power (J.v.378):
1. generosity [dāna];
2. self-discipline [sīla];
3. self-sacrifice [pariccāga];
4. integrity [ājjava];
5. gentleness [maddava];
6. austerity [tapa];
7. non-anger [akkodha];
8. non-violence [avihiṃsa];
9. patience [khanti];
10. non-deviation from righteousness [avirodhana].
Thus whoever you are, you should not infringe the rights of others, twist the truth or bear false witness. You should follow social laws and regulations consistently — not intentionally breaking the law. One should neither slip into the Four Defilements of Action nor pressurize others into such behaviour. Even the simple adherence to consistent honesty, avoiding breaking social laws and traditions by protecting oneself from bias will stop one from stirring society into unrest. Thus anyone who abstains from the Four Forms of Bias can also be considered, to a slightly greater extent, to be a person with social responsibility.
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