THE ANUD¢PAN¢
interest of my friend.‛
(6) One is angry in relation to one's friends, thinking: ‚He will cause damage to the
interest of my friend.‛
(7) One is angry in relation to one's enemies, thinking: ‚He has promoted the interest of
my enemies.‛
(8) One is angry in relation to one's enemies, thinking: ‚He is promoting the interest of my
enemies.‛
(9) One is angry in relation to one's enemies, thinking: ‚He will promote the interest of
my enemies.‛
—— A~guttara PÈli, Navaka NipÈta, 1-PannÈsaka. 3-Vagga. 9-Suits ——
Irrational Anger (AÔÔhÈna kopa)
In addition to the above nine causes of anger, one can also become angry if it is raining
too heavily or too windy or too hot, etc. Losing temper over matters about which one
should not get angry is called irrational anger (
aÔÔhÈna kopa
). It is the mental factor of ill-
will (
dosa cetasika
) which arises mostly in those having no reasoning ability. To restrain
such irrational anger (
aÔÔhÈna kopa
) is to remain without anger (
akkodha
).
Eight Kinds of Power (Bala)
In a list of eight kinds of power of the noble and virtuous is included Forbearance.
(A~guttara PÈli, Atthaka HipÈta
,
1-PaÓnÈsaka, 3-Gahapati Vagga, 7-Sutta). The eight kinds
of power are:
(1) crying is the power of children
(2) anger is the power of women
(3) weapon is the power of robbers
(4) sovereignty over wide territories is the power of kings
(5) finding fault with others is the power of fools
(6) careful scrutiny is the power of the wise
(7) repeated consideration is the power of the learned
(8) tolerance to wrongs done by others is the power of
samaÓas
and
brÈhmanas
.
SamaÓas and BrÈhmanas
With reference to the terms
SamaÓas
and
BrÈhmanas
in no. (8) of the above list, it may
be asked whether
samaÓas
are of equal status.
Outside of the Teaching, ‘
SamaÓa
’ means a recluse. Within the Teaching, it is understood
as a
bhikkhu
, a member of the Order, a son of the Buddha. The term ‘
SamaÓa
’ is thus well
known and needs no further explanation.
What requires elaboration is the word ‘
BrÈhmaÓa
’. The AggaÒÒa Sutta of the PÈthika
Vagga
,
DÊgha NikÈya, gives an account of how this appellation ‘
BrÈhmana
’ comes to be
used first.
At the beginning of the world, (after humans had lived on earth for aeons) evil ways had
appeared amongst them and they elected a certain individual to rule over them as ‘the Great
Elect’, King MahÈ Sammata. At that time, some people saying: ‚The world is being
overwhelmed by forces of evil; we do not wish to live in association with people who are
so corrupted as to be governed by a king. We will repair to the forest and drive away, wash
away these evil ways,‛ went to the forest and stayed there meditating and being absorbed in
jhÈna
. Because they lived in this manner they were called ‘BrÈhmanas’.
‘
BrÈhmaÓa
’ is a PÈli word which means ‘one who has done away with evil’.
BrÈhmanas
did not cook their own food; they lived on fruits which had fallen from trees or on alms-
food collected from towns and villages. They were called ‘
BrÈhmaÓa
’ because they led a
pure, holy life in keeping with the literal meaning of the PÈli word ‘
BrÈhmaÓa
’. They were