Four Things Leading to the Welfare and Peacefulness in Future Lives

There are, Byagghapajja, these four (other) things that lead to a Householder’s welfare and peacefulness in future lives.

What four?

(1) Accomplishment in confidence,

(2) accomplishment in virtuous behavior,

(3) accomplishment in generosity, and

(4) accomplishment in wisdom.

And what is accomplishment in confidence?

Here, a Householder is endowed with confidence. He places confidence in the Enlightenment of The Tathāgata thus: The Perfectly Enlightened One is an Arahant, Perfectly Enlightened, accomplished in true wisdom and conduct, fortunate, knower of the world, unsurpassed leader of persons to be tamed, Teacher of heavenly beings and humans, the Fortunate One, The Perfectly Enlightened One.

This is called accomplishment in confidence.

And what is accomplishment in virtuous behavior (moral conduct)?

Here, a Householder abstains from the destruction of life, from taking what is not given, from sexual misconduct, from false speech, and from liquor, wine, and intoxicants (substances that cause heedlessness), the basis for heedlessness.

This is called accomplishment in virtuous behavior.

And what is accomplishment in generosity?

Here, a Householder resides at home with a mind free of the stain of selfishness, freely generous, open-handed, joyful in letting go, one devoted to charity, joyful in giving and sharing.

This is called accomplishment in generosity.

And what is accomplishment in wisdom?

Here, a Householder is wise; he possesses the wisdom that discerns arising and passing away, which is noble and penetrative, and leads to the complete destruction of discontentedness.

This is called accomplishment in wisdom.

These are the four (other) things that lead to the welfare and peacefulness of a Householder in future lives.

(Reference: AN 8.54)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares Teachings that directly relate to the previous Chapter where he guides us in developing “wholesome friendships” with individuals “who are accomplished in confidence, virtuous behavior (moral conduct), generosity, and wisdom”.

This Chapter explains exactly what The Buddha taught regarding what is “accomplishment in confidence, virtuous behavior, generosity, and wisdom” so that we can develop these for our own life practice while also selecting wholesome friends who are doing the same.

Through developing your own life practice to have “accomplishment in confidence, virtuous behavior, generosity, and wisdom”, then, you will be better able to make wise decisions within your own life and be able to make wise decisions of what friends to include in your life. Without a Practitioner understanding these Teachings and then practicing them closely, they would be lost and struggle to make wise decisions in their life and to make wise decisions of which friends to include in their life.

(1) First, “accomplishment in confidence”, is described in this Teaching as having confidence in The Buddha as the Fully Perfectly Enlightened One. In multiple other places within his Teachings, he describes having confirmed confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community. Doing so, a Practitioner will then be able to eliminate the fetter/taint/pollution of “doubt” helping them to move the mind into the first Stage of Enlightenment.

Confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community and elimination of the fetter of doubt is developed through learning, reflecting, and practicing these Teachings to observe the results as the condition of the mind improves. There is no blind faith nor belief in these Teachings.

Instead, a wise Practitioner will seek guidance with a Teacher to investigate The Teachings and then implement them in daily life to experience the results of the condition of the mind gradually improving. The gradual improvement in the condition of the mind is observable by the Practitioner as they once experienced discontent feelings such as anger which then moves to slight annoyance and then eventually no discontent feelings are experienced whatsoever based on the same situation occurring in one’s life. Observing this gradual decrease in strong feelings to the complete elimination of discontentedness, a Practitioner’s confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community increases and all doubts are eliminated.

The fetter/taint/pollution of mind described as “doubt” in The Ten Fetters is then completely eliminated and will no longer arise helping to further liberate the mind.

(2) Second, “accomplishment in virtuous behavior (moral conduct)” is described through The Five Precepts. Household Practitioners will typically learn and practice The Five Precepts as basic moral conduct along with developing The Eight Fold Path in its entirety.

The Eight Fold Path is a central and core Teaching on The Path to Enlightenment as shared by Gotama Buddha. The Five Precepts are integrated into The Eight Fold Path providing expanded content to describe Right Speech and Right Action.

Detailed explanation of The Eight Fold Path and The Five Precepts is available in this same book series found in the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).

(3) Third, “accomplishment in generosity” is an important Teaching on The Path to Enlightenment and a remedy to the unEnlightened mind to eliminate craving/desire/attachment.

The problem that is causing the discontent mind is craving/desire/attachment. This is the cause of all discontent feelings. To eliminate this, The Buddha shares exact remedies to transform the unwholesome qualities of craving/desire/attachment using Breathing Mindfulness Meditation and developing a practice of generosity.

A mind that is unable to give and share time, effort, energy, and resources with others would be unable to attain Enlightenment as the mind is selfish. A Practitioner would instead need to train the mind to “reside at home with a mind free of the stain of selfishness, freely generous, open-handed, joyful in letting go, one devoted to charity, joyful in giving and sharing” so that it can let go of any accumulated selfishness recognizing the interconnectivity of all beings.

A Practitioner can accomplish this through daily sharing in some of the most simple or profound ways based on your own personal choices. Sharing of food, water, clothing, shelter, or medical care with others can help improve the ability of others to sustain their life while giving them the opportunity to learn and practice these Teachings. A Practitioner can share their time, effort, energy, and resources to help others in the community supporting the development of wholesome relationships with those around you. One might even consider sharing a smile or a wave, with those who you come into contact with, as a way of “letting go” and practicing loving-kindness and compassion.

Loving-kindness (Pāli: mettā) is active goodwill towards all beings without judgment. A genuine interest in seeing all beings be well.

Compassion (Pāli: karuṇā) is concern for the misfortunes of others.

Detailed explanation of practicing generosity is available in this same book series found in the book “Generosity” (Volume 13).

(4) Fourth, “accomplishment in wisdom” is the ultimate antidote or remedy to the unEnlightened mind. Through learning, reflecting and practicing these Teachings, a Practitioner gains more clarity and insight into the wisdom of these life changing Teachings.

A Practitioner will need to focus on establishing a well developed practice to include the core and central Teachings shared by The Buddha on The Path to Enlightenment.

Those Teachings are:

A.) The Three Universal Truths

B.) The Four Noble Truths

C.) The Eight Fold Path

D.) The Five Precepts

E.) The Brahma-viharas

F.) The Ten Fetters

G.) The Seven Factors of Enlightenment

H.) Extensive Meditation Training

The Buddha specifically speaks of “the wisdom that discerns arising and passing away” which is The Universal Truth of Impermanence found in The Three Universal Truths. He then goes on to explain that “accomplishment in wisdom” is the wisdom that “leads to the complete destruction of discontentedness”. This requires deep and penetrative understanding through a determined, dedicated, and diligent practice of these Teachings.

(A - H) mentioned in the above are the core and central Teachings that a Practitioner would need to focus on to develop “penetrative wisdom” while seeking guidance from a Teacher. Then, once well established in these Teachings, a Practitioner can gradually move into deepening and expanding their life practice into the full spectrum of Teachings shared by The Buddha. These core and central Teachings will guide a Practitioner in establishing a foundation in these Teachings on The Path to Enlightenment to have “accomplishment in wisdom”.

Lastly, while Gotama Buddha shares that “these are the four (other) things that lead to the welfare and peacefulness of a Householder in future lives”, it should be made clear that the goal of all Practitioners should be to learn and practice these Teachings in such a way that there are no future lives by attaining Enlightenment. While Gotama Buddha shared what would result in the welfare and peacefulness of a Practitioner in future lives, his ultimate goal was to support Practitioners in the attainment of Enlightenment.

While a Buddha is going to explain what would lead to a better and improved rebirth in future lives, their goal is to assist as many beings as possible to attain Enlightenment eliminating The Cycle of Rebirth so that there are no longer any future rebirths. With that goal in mind, a Buddha also understands that not every Practitioner will attain Enlightenment even in learning and practicing these Teachings directly with an actual Buddha. So, it is important to share Teachings on The Path to Enlightenment that lead to Enlightenment while also explaining what leads to an improved rebirth should a Practitioner not attain Enlightenment.

While a Practitioner may decide to learn and practice these Teachings in this life, should they not attain Enlightenment and need to be reborn they will have the confidence that their work and effort will lead to an improved existence in this present life and also in future lives. All the work and effort applied in this life will be directly beneficial in this life and in future lives should one not attain Enlightenment in this present life.