Blessing Twenty:
Restraint from Drinking Intoxicants
Restraint from Drinking Intoxicants
D. BENEFITS OF NOT DRINKING ALCOHOL
The Buddha taught that if we donât drink alcohol, it will pave the way for the higher blessings ahead on the path â with advantages such as:
âĒ knowing events in the past, present and future without delay
âĒ mindfulness in all situations (rather than the mind wandering continuously)
âĒ non-recklessness
âĒ lack of envious enemies
âĒ respect from others
âĒ happiness
âĒ appreciating the virtue of others [kataÃąÃąÅŦ]
âĒ repaying oneâs debt of gratitude to others [katavedÄŦ]
âĒ generosity
âĒ purity of precepts
âĒ wisdom
âĒ worldly wealth
âĒ heavenly wealth
âĒ the ability to be a true refuge to oneself
âĒ the wealth of Nirvana
Furthermore the purity by which we can avoid the Tenfold Path of Unwholesomeness will be avoided together with the Subtle Defilements of mind. We will have less tendency to engage in:
âĒ lies
âĒ malicious gossip
âĒ insults or swearing
âĒ idle chatter
âĒ deviousness
âĒ ill-temperedness
âĒ lack of shame of evil [hiri]
âĒ lack of fear of (the retribution) of evil [ottappa]
âĒ wrong view
