Meditation for BeginnersThe benefits from studying on True Friend characteristicsWe should set a good example by exemplifying the characteristics of true friends.1. From the sixteen characteristics of true friends identified by the Lord Buddha, we learn that True Friends have all the opposite qualities of the False Friend:1. The mercenary [annadatthuhara]2. The Man of Empty Promises [uaciparama]3. The Flatterer [anuppiyabhani]4. The Man who Leads you down the Roads to Ruins [apayasahaya]2. Knowing the Sixteen Virtuous Characters of True Friends, we avail ourselves of a second standard by which to identify true friends.3. The most important thing we need to do, now that we know the way to select True Friends is to see if how we treat our own friends measures up to these criteria. It we don’t have all sixteen of the signs of a true friend, we still have room for improvement-we still have traces of false friendship which we need to rid ourselves of together with developing the signs of a True Friend that we don’t already developing the signs of a True Friend that we don’t already have. In the meantime we should avoid letting any of our signs of false friendship rub off on others. We should set a good example by exemplifying the characteristics of true friends. Little by little, we will start to be a good influence on people of our community. We should get close to those who possess these characteristics and interact with them respectfully. We should learn from them, follow in their footsteps, and try to absorb their goodness-because they are not only our True Friends, but they also will be the people who we can trust and rely upon whole-heartedly. The Lord Buddha taught:we should sincerely associate with them with good manners and respect.“…the wise man [pandita] knows four kinds of True Friends well. They are: The Helpful Friend [upakaraka], the Constant Friend [samanasukhadukkha], the Friend of Wise Counsel [samanasukhadukkha], The Friend of Wise Counsel [atthakkhayi], and The Sympathetic Friend [anukampaka]. Knowing who are True Friends, you should associate with them with reapect as if they were your own mother.”As we can see, the Lord Buddha gave True Friends the highest praise by comparing them to our mother, because true friends are very hard to find. They would be a good influence on us. They can bring us goodness and help us develop our virtue. Those who have had such a True Friend, but have been unable to keep them, should feel sorry for themselves.The Lord Buddha highly praised True Friends and putting them on an equivalent level with our own mother. Hence having true friends, we should sincerely associate with them with good manners and respect. We should learn and follow their good behaviours and characteristics meanwhile discuss with them questions about their teaching respectfully. If we can follow this advice, we will live happily with goodness in society as the Lord Buddha stated in the Dutiya Sekha Sutta that:“People need to have True Friends to be able to extract themselves from unwholesomeness and to succeed in bringing wholesomeness into being.”
The benefits from studying on True Friend characteristics
“…the wise man [pandita] knows four kinds of True Friends well. They are: The Helpful Friend [upakaraka], the Constant Friend [samanasukhadukkha]
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