Advice to Sigālaka

Siṅgālasutta—Bhikkhu Sujato

The Buddha encounters a young man who honors his dead parents by performing rituals. The Buddha recasts the meaningless rites in terms of virtuous conduct. This is the most detailed discourse on ethics for lay people.

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground. Now at that time the householder’s son Sigālaka rose early and left Rājagaha. With his clothes and hair all wet, he raised his joined palms to revere the various quarters—east, south, west, north, below, and above.

Then the Buddha robed up in the morning and, taking his bowl and robe, entered Rājagaha for alms. He saw Sigālaka revering the quarters and said to him, “Householder’s son, why are you revering the quarters in this way?”

“Sir, on his deathbed my father said to me: ‘My dear, please revere the quarters.’ Honoring, respecting, and venerating my father’s words, I rose early and left Rājagaha and, with my clothes and hair all wet, raised my joined palms to revere the various quarters—east, south, west, north, below, and above.”

1. The Six Directions

“Householder’s son, that’s not how the six directions should be revered in the training of the Noble One.”

“But sir, how should the six directions be revered in the training of the Noble One? Sir, please teach me this.”

“Well then, householder’s son, listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.”

“Yes, sir,” replied Sigālaka. The Buddha said this:

“Householder’s son, a noble disciple gives up four corrupt deeds, doesn’t do bad deeds on four grounds, and avoids six drains on wealth. When they’ve left these fourteen bad things behind they have the six directions covered. They’re practicing to win in both worlds, and they succeed in this world and the next. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.

2. Four Corrupt Deeds

What four corrupt deeds have they given up? Killing living creatures, stealing, sexual misconduct, and lying: these are corrupt deeds. These are the four corrupt deeds they’ve given up.”

That is what the Buddha said. Then the Holy One, the Teacher, went on to say:

“Killing, stealing, telling lies, and committing adultery: astute people don’t praise these things.”

3. Four Grounds

“On what four grounds do they not do bad deeds? One does bad deeds prejudiced by favoritism, hostility, stupidity, and cowardice. When a noble disciple is not prejudiced by favoritism, hostility, stupidity, and cowardice, they don’t do bad deeds on these four grounds.”

That is what the Buddha said. Then the Holy One, the Teacher, went on to say:

“If you act against the teaching out of favoritism, hostility, cowardice, or stupidity, your fame shrinks, like the moon in the waning fortnight. If you don’t act against the teaching out of favoritism, hostility, cowardice, and stupidity, your fame swells, like the moon in the waxing fortnight.”

^(💡  First we learned what the bad deeds where, now we learn why people do them.)

4. Six Drains on Wealth

“What six drains on wealth do they avoid? Habitually engaging in the following things is a drain on wealth:

  1. drinking alcohol
    1. immediate loss of wealth
    2. promotion of quarrels
    3. susceptibility to illness
    4. disrepute
    5. indecent exposure
    6. weakened wisdom
  2. roaming the streets at night
    1. you’re left unguarded
    2. your partners and children are all unguarded
    3. your property is unguarded
    4. you’re suspected of bad deeds
    5. untrue rumors spread about you
    6. you’re at the forefront of many things that entail suffering
  3. frequenting festivals - you’re always thinking:
    1. where’s the dancing?
    2. where’s the singing?
    3. where’s the music?
    4. where are the stories?
    5. where’s the applause?
    6. where are the kettledrums?
  4. gambling
    1. victory breeds enmity
    2. the loser mourns their money
    3. there is immediate loss of wealth
    4. a gambler’s word carries no weight in public assembly
    5. friends and colleagues treat them with contempt
    6. no one wants to marry a gambler, for they think: ‘This individual is a gambler—they’re not able to support a partner.’
  5. bad friends - you become friends and companions with those who are:
    1. addicts
    2. carousers
    3. drunkards
    4. frauds
    5. swindlers
    6. thugs
  6. laziness - you don’t get your work done because you think:
    1. it’s too cold
    2. it’s too hot
    3. it’s too late
    4. it’s too early
    5. i’m too hungry
    6. i’m too full"

That is what the Buddha said. Then the Holy One, the Teacher, went on to say:

“Some are just drinking buddies, some call you their dear, dear friend, but a true friend is one who stands by you in need.

Sleeping late, adultery, making enemies, harmfulness, bad friends, and avarice: these six grounds ruin a person.

With bad friends, bad companions, bad behavior and alms-resort, a man falls to ruin in both this world and the next.

Dice, women, drink, song and dance; sleeping by day and roaming at night; bad friends, and avarice: these six grounds ruin a person.

They play dice and drink liquor, and consort with women loved by others. Associating with the worse, not the better, they diminish like the waning moon.

A drunkard, broke, and destitute, thirsty, drinking in the bar, drowning in debt, will quickly lose their way.

When you’re in the habit of sleeping late, seeing night as time to rise, and always getting drunk, you can’t keep up the household life.

‘Too cold, too hot, too late,’ they say. When the young neglect their work like this, riches pass them by.

But one who considers heat and cold as nothing more than blades of grass— he does his duties as a man, and happiness never fails.”

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The teaching continues further, you can read it in full over here: https://suttacentral.net/dn31.

Purification of ethical conduct is the first training guideline that the Buddha shares for gradually cultivating right view. The above teaching covers an extensive set of recommended practices that the Buddha shares for purification of ethical conduct for a lay practitioner.

One would need to practice the following for gradually building up right view:

  • Purification of ethical conduct (you’re reading this)
  • Apply sense restraint
  • Moderation in eating
  • Dedication to wakefulness
  • Apply situational awareness
  • Cultivation of jhānas in seclusion

See the outline of the practices here: https://www.reddit.com/r/WordsOfTheBuddha/comments/18hc1cb/gradual_training_gradual_practice_and_gradual/

See how to cultivate sense restraint, moderation in eating and dedication to wakefulness here: https://www.reddit.com/r/WordsOfTheBuddha/comments/191ac7z/practices_that_cant_fail_an_316/

One would build up these practices as habit formations: starting with one until it becomes easy, automatic, second nature; and then going to the next.