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The User Guide To Life... The Moral Diet
The User Guide To Life... The Moral Diet
By
Supawan P. Panawong Green
The User Guide to Life...The Moral Diet
ISBN 978-974-8092-10-2
I first met Sue at her Tai Chi class held locally. I didn’t
really know what I was looking for at that time, something
vaguely about relaxation and something that might help me
cope with the stresses of everyday life. I had no fixed idea on
what to expect. Within the first half-hour of being in her class,
I knew I had found something special and someone unique.
I can always remember her words. She said she could deliver
mental peace, inner calm there and then, not next week or
after years of practice, but actually at that moment. True to her
word as the class progressed, by slowing down my Tai chi
movements, observing my sensations and watching the thoughts
and feelings passing through my mind, I achieved a state of
peace that I had not previously known. From that first class I
was hooked! If this could happen in the first hour, what yet
could be achieved?!
Juliet Banyard
Rednal
Birmingham, UK
9 February 2001
Contents
Introduction 13
My Eureka Experience
Words of agreement
1
Please know that the four foundations of mindfulness (awareness),
vipassana and ‘bringing our mental self back home’ have exactly the
same meaning. I will, however, use the term vipassana for short writing
in this book.
Mental journey
Mental tourist!
We, then, tell our children with plain words that moral
is the step ladder to achieve that goal so that we can reach real
harmony. Teach them the five basic moral principles and show
them how to climb that moral ladder by being their role
models. Theoretically, it means parents, priest, teachers,
Government ministers along with all the respectable career
people have to behave themselves to make the moral
mechanism works. Oops…catch 22 again!
How will people get fed if no one kills animals for food?
Don’t worry; there are always people who will do this job,
plenty of them, in fact. My words won’t make an iota of
difference in our present killing industry, trust me. Even the
Buddha couldn’t stop his family from killing one another. So
if you are worried that no one is going to do the necessary
killing business, please don’t. There will always be people
He then got up and walked to see the pig he had tied up.
The pig looked at him with sad eyes. The butcher, by now,
became mellow and said, “If I kill you today, this kamma will
have to be paid off and when is it going to end? I have decided
not to kill you today, but what should I do with you then?”
They didn’t eat the meat with joy and pleasure but
with a repentant feeling for the sole purpose of survival. There
was indeed a real life drama which was similar to this story:
The above story should be the way you eat meat. Having
said that, there is no need to be dramatic about it. It should be
done very quietly in your mind so that no one else knows about
your intention. Otherwise, it could be a mocking issue among
people with whom you live. There is no need to create an
unnecessary atmosphere. Apart from that, in keeping it quiet
Hui Neng
Hui Neng story had coined a phrase neg pee chai, (Tia
Chew dialect) which means, ‘vegetable by meat’. My mother
first told me this true story and taught me to practise neg
pee chai when I had to. Although people nowadays are quite
open to vegetarianism and there is no reason why a vegetarian
Split view
2
Bhikkhu means Buddhist monk. This is the term that the Buddha used
to address his disciples.
Don’t steal
This moral precept means that you don’t take what does
not belong to you. The principle is the same as with the first
precept. Just follow your instincts and avoid anything that you
know for certain is wrong.
3
Devadhatt was the equivalent to Judas in Christianity. He was jealous
of the Buddha and made a few attempts to kill the worthy one but to
no avail.
There was a father who had two sons. The eldest son
was well off and the other was poor. Although the father was
living with the elder son, he was not very happy because the
son was very careful and tight with his money. The father had
a very small allowance from his wealthy son each month, and
the poor brother received nothing. The father had to limit his
own spending so that he could give some of his monthly
allowance to his other son who had to struggle to get by. Out
of self-respect, the father would not ask for more money
no matter how short he was at times.
“Had you practised your filial piety and not been too
stingy with your own father, he would have been happy to live
with you and felt free to talk and discuss anything with you.
Your father was forced to steal from you because you didn’t
practice your filial duty. You deserve to be punished.”
Don’t do it again
Reward
Midlife crisis
If you value love more than sex, you will stick with your
marriage vow until death us do part. Unfortunately, judging
from the shocking divorce statistic which has shaken the
backbone of our family institution, it can only point to one
thing – people haven’t understood love well enough.
When you reach the state and age where sex is less or
not at all involved, and when you look at your partner’s wrinkled
face, you can still see the beauty through those age-lines and
you can naturally express your moral emotions without realising
it, this is when you can truly claim that you know love. And
you are a very lucky person indeed because by doing all those
Maternal instinct
Equal share
Traditional family
4
All mothers instinctively have a close bond with their babies. Societies
that have more mothers abandon their babies show the sickness of that
society. This event is on the increase in our society. In the end, we have
to come back to blame the cause that makes mothers break away from
that fundamental powerful instinct; they mainly stem from political,
financial and social reasons. Female infanticide in China is purely politics.
It means that something has gone very wrong in that society. In the end,
we have to talk about the right kind of culture (enlightening culture)
which can help to maintain the balance of nature.
Nature’s will
5
The enlightening culture has been elaborated in my book called
A Handful of Leaves
6
By Anthony O’Hear, Daily Mail, page 10 Monday, May 8, 2000
Bypass sex
7
Daily Mail. Monday, May 8, 2000
Self respect
Compatibility
Nothing is perfect
Sirima
8
The money currency used in the Buddha’s time was called gahapana
but I use pounds sterling here just for the sake of easy writing and
understanding.
9
Bikkhus means monks
Don’t lie
Truth hurts
If the other party do not want your help, you might need
to back off, let go for now and know that it is their loss. At
least, you have done your best. Apologise if you must and end
the matter in a friendly term. There is no definite formula of
how to do it; you just have to use your own judgement to work
it out. Make sure you have all the facts right first.
3) If you are the one who has to face the truth yourself,
listen carefully and face it with great courage. If it isn’t true
because the fact isn’t right, do not get angry; explain in a calm
manner and end the matter in a peaceful way. Don’t make the
other party feel guilty and awkward. Smile and remain friendly.
If the criticism is true, be thankful and have gratitude
towards that person who has good intentions towards you.
Regard that person as someone who points out a hidden
Virtuous lies
Ar Peng
This story was told by the late teacher Tang Mor Seing.
It happened in ancient China.
Ar Peng answered:
The old woman opened the letter and found that it was
written by her son. In the letter, the son said sorry to his mother,
his wife and son that he hadn’t been able to get in touch for
The old woman shared the good news with her daughter-
in-law and they were elated with great relief that they would
have enough money to pay back the debt and tie them over for
some time. They both said thank you to Ar Peng for bringing
them the good news and never suspected anything.
The preparation
For this reason, the moral ladder on the left hand side is
to prepare you to have at least the basic level of self-
consciousness. This can be achieved only when you abstain
Soberness is a must
Social protocol
Summary
Giving
Apart from the five basic moral codes, giving is also yet
another factor, which can boost your mental journey to find
your true self. When I talked about the enlightening culture
in ‘A Handful of Leaves’, I also talked about the spirit of giving
among the Thai people. In this chapter I will however put
more stress on the aspect of how giving can help you to excel
along this path.
Selfishness hurts
1. Break the word ‘selfish’ up; you will see that ‘self ’
is fishy and smelly. Being selfish doesn’t make you smell good!
I heard this story from the late teacher, Tang Mor Sieng.
Being tight-fisted can haunt you to your deathbed. You will
certainly take along this bad quality to the beyond.
When his two sons reached the right age to get married,
he tried to find brides through matchmakers but the
arrangements often fell through one after another. He couldn’t
agree on the requested dowry from the woman’s side. Deep
down he was prepared to give next to nothing away. Those
who knew his tight-fisted reputation did not wish to relate
On the last day of his life, his servant, who had served
this household for many years, was serving him some water,
but he refused to take it. For some reason, he kept on sticking
his two fingers up. The servant quickly fetched the mistress to
see her husband, assuming that the master might want to say
something before he died. The wife came and sat beside him.
The dying man looked at his wife and raised his two fingers
again.
I also heard this story from the late teacher, Tang Mor
Sieng.
Once there was an old master who lived with his young
disciple in a temple. One day, the old monk had to go out early
to see someone in the nearby village. Having practised
meditation until he had gained super-knowledge, the master
could foresee the future. Before he left the temple, he told
his young novice:
When she reached the temple gate, she could see the
young novice stretching his neck looking past her as if he was
trying to find someone in the distance. It was only fifteen
minutes before the offering time ended. (Monks are not
supposed to eat after midday). It was obvious to the old lady
that the young monk looked a bit impatient and restless. She
approached the young novice who still did not pay much
attention to her and said gently with a smile:
“Is the old master in? Could you please let him know
that I have come to offer alms today because it is my birthday?”
The disciple then looked at the old lady with a bowl of
rice porridge in her hand. The bowl was not covered and by the
time it reached the temple, bits of dirt and small leaves had
fallen into the bowl and mixed with some floating damaged
rice on the surface of the water. It looked rather unappetising
to the young monk especially as he had been looking forward
to the glorious and delicious food from a rich lady as he was
told. Having waited all morning for someone who had not
turned up, the young monk became more and more agitated
and restless when it dawned on him that he might have to eat
this bowl of porridge if the rich lady did not turn up in that
short time. He answered the old lady with an abrasive tone of
voice.
In one life, this old lady was born into a rich family and
she was married to a rich man who was a devout Buddhist but
died before he could reach his old age. With the bitterness and
anger she took with her from her previous life, the wife was
10
Only the Buddhists have the tradition in passing on the result of their
good deeds (called ‘boon’ in Thai) to the beings in other realms. This is
a way to help and reduce the suffering of those who have bad rebirth.
I will clarify this concept in my next book: The User Guide to Life…
The Law of Karma, which will be released in due course.
His face was red and filled with anger. Then, silence crept
in and spread from that small area to the outer circle. Everyone
stared at the mean master and tried to understand the situation.
Suddenly, the great heavenly being, Indra, appeared right in the
middle of the crowd before anyone could say anything. The
king of the heaven still appeared to look the same as the mean
master. Indeed, both of them were standing facing each other.
The silence pierced even deeper when the crowd saw the two
From then on, the kind master, which was his new
name, regularly gave to the poor. He had finally joined other
kind millionaires in town and become a proper philanthropist.
He was well loved and respected by his family, servants and
people. He had never had another visit from the great king again.
Misconception
This is not the case as far as mental self and ego are
concerned. Mental self can grow from size zero to the other
end of the spectrum – whatever that is! – yet, the owner
doesn’t even have a clue how egoistic one has become due to
its invisibility. For this reason, it is very important for you to
set your goal crystal clear first and widely open your heart for
all these painful truths such as: confronting your moral
impediment and accepting your egotism. Only then, can you
accept the radical change in your life.
The master sat calmly with the tea set in front of him
and observed the young scholar as he entered the room, paid
his respects and asked the questions. The wise teacher serenely
listened to the young scholar talking about his Buddhist
interest and then the questions. The master nodded his head as
a gesture that he understood what the student had said. Instead
of answering his questions, the master began to fill his tea pot
with water and pour the tea into the cup. The young man
looked at what the master was doing while he kept on talking
to fill the silence, hoping that the master would interject with
answers. Despite his attempt, the teacher did not correspond
to his wishful thought. Instead, he slowly nodded his head and
kept on pouring water into the tea cup until it was overflowing
into the tray. The young student, by now, felt rather uneasy.
He could not handle the awkward silence. So, he kept on talking
and tried to reassure the teacher even more that he had great
interest in Buddhism and really wanted to learn from him.
The master finally put the tea pot down, looked at the
young scholar, smiled gently and said:
“Well, how do you like my answer to your questions?”
The young man was surprised and intrigued by the
master’s questions.
The master tried to tell the young scholar that his head
was already full of knowledge and could not absorb any more,
which was like the overflowing cup of tea. Basically, the wise
man tried to take away the young man’s self-importance which
barred him from learning.
Tragic death
11
In reducing the contents of the original edition of The User Guide to
Life, I have decided to carry the whole contents about the law of karma
and the cycle of rebirth to the successive book titled: The User Guide
to Life…The Law of Karma, which will be released soon. You may
find out the updates on my website.
The way that those old ladies talked about death was
amazingly natural. They had no fear and were totally relaxed
The old ladies’ attitude was very much the same as those
of my parents. Many years ago, my father, in his late seventies,
sent me some photographs. It looked like a day of a big family
outing: my dad, my brother, his wife and their children. In
the letter my dad told me that the photograph was taken on the
day when they went to view a place for his burial ground!
The Chinese are very fussy about their burial place, it must
have good Feng Shui so that the family will be guaranteed
of their good fortune.12
12
Feng shui is an ancient Chinese belief that the way your house is built
and the way you arrange objects affect your success, health and
happiness. Family tomb especially must have good feng shui.
Titanic
Euthanasia
13
Daily mail Saturday December 2, 2000
Hypocritical attitude
ICU culture
Misconception
I will not confuse you at this stage; you will find out
more in my next book that physical death is really nothing
to worry about.
Facing death
So, let’s suppose here first that there is truly a soul which
survives physical death and you (your true self) have to move
on to the next dimension – whatever you want to call it. Let’s
assume further that there were indeed heaven and hell waiting
to greet you. If we can agree on this, I just want to make sure
that you can, at least, go to a good place, heaven perhaps. I
don’t think anyone wants to go to hell unless they are forced to.
Death drill
Getting ready
Visakha
14
Yojana is the measure of the length of distance in ancient India. One
yojana is equivalent to 10 miles or 16 kilometres