The Qualities That Make Us Fully Human

We should consider having taken birth as humans most dignifying, since we generally regard humans as highly cultivated and superior beings.

However, most people’s minds are not yet truly human. There are billions of people living in the world and a great many, despite their human bodies, do not possess minds that make them worthy of being called human. Instead they behave more like fiends from hell. They go about their lives robbing, mugging, harming and killing each other. Some will go as far as to be violent towards their parents, and some are even prepared to harm an arahant or the Lord Buddha himself.

This is more like the behaviour of demons, ghosts, animals or some kind of being from hell; with all the ruthless competing, violence and killing in their lives, they’re not human at all!

If our minds are to possess the qualities that will make us fully human, we must observe the five precepts. These precepts civilize humans by making our hearts good and wholesome. However, if we want to possess the mind state of a devatā (celestial being), not only must we maintain the five precepts, but we will also need to cultivate a sense of moral conscience and a wholesome fear of the consequences of bad actions.

We must also regularly practise generosity. For those who wish to develop their minds further so that they possess the qualities of a Brahma god, it is necessary to cultivate both concentration and the four Brahma Vihāras, the sublime states of abiding. These four states are kind-heartedness and goodwill (mettā), compassion (karunā), sympathetic joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekkhā).

When we develop these qualities we will have goodwill and friendliness towards our fellow humans and all other sentient beings. Within our hearts there will be a feeling of compassion and the aspiration to find ways to be truly helpful to others. We will also delight with other people when they experience success and happiness in their lives.

And if it happens that we are unable to offer any real assistance to other people who are in need, we will let our hearts rest equanimously. Even we ourselves may feel distressed and uneasy, in which case we also have to learn to bring our mind to an equanimous state.

This reflection by Luang Por Akaradej Thiracitto Bhikkhu (Ajahn Dtun) is from the book Sacred Equation, (pdf) pp. 15-17.