Friends:
The Good
Friend can show one the Right Way even to Eternal Bliss!!!
At Savatthi the Blessed Buddha
once said:
Bhikkhus, as dawn is the
initiator and messenger of the rising sun, exactly & even so too,
Bhikkhus, is
Good Friendship the forerunner and originator for the arising
of the
Noble Eightfold Way, since when a Bhikkhu has a good friend,
it is to be expected that he will develop, cultivate & complete
this Noble Eightfold Way...
And how does a Bhikkhu develop,
cultivate & perfect this Noble Eightfold Way...
A Bhikkhu first develops
Right View, which
is based upon seclusion, disillusion, ceasing, and culminating in
release....Then he develops
Right Motivation, which is based upon seclusion,
disillusion, ceasing, and culminating in release.... Then he
develops
Right Speech, which is based upon seclusion,
disillusion, ceasing, and culminating in release.... Then he
develops
Right Action, which also is based upon seclusion,
disillusion, ceasing, and culminating in release.... Then he also
develops
Right Livelihood, which is based upon seclusion,
disillusion, ceasing, & culminating in release. Then he develops
Right Effort, which is based upon seclusion,
disillusion, ceasing, and culminating in release. Then he develops
Right Awareness, which is based upon seclusion,
disillusion, ceasing, and culminating in release.... Finally he
develops
Right Concentration, which is based upon seclusion,
disillusion, ceasing, and culminating in mental release.... It is
in this way, Bhikkhus, that a Bhikkhu, who has a good & mentally
beautiful friend develops, cultivates & consummates this supreme
Noble Eightfold Way!
Source (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha.
Samyutta Nikaya. Book V [30] 45: The Way. Magga. Good
& Beautiful
Friendship. Kalyānamittatā
244.
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=948507
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/index.html
With good will for the
entire cosmos,
cultivate a boundless & infinite mind,
Above, below, across & all around,
unobstructed, freed of irritation & hate.
Sutta Nipata I, 8
The friend who is a
helpmate,
the friend in happiness and woe,
the friend who gives good counsel,
the friend who sympathizes too --
these four as friends the wise behold
and cherish them devotedly
as does a mother her own child.
Digha Nikaya 31
Who is hospitable, and friendly,
Tolerant, generous and unselfish,
A guide, an instructor, a leader,
Such a one to honour may attain.
Digha Nikaya 31
One is not wise just
because one speaks much.
He who is peaceable, friendly & fearless
is called wise.
Dhammapada 258
If you find a wise and clever friend
who leads a good and pure life,
you should, overcoming all obstacles,
keep his company joyously and aware.
Dhammapada 328
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