The second example of practical guidance occurs in the Sutra of Good Fortune, which explains the maximum happinesses to which men can attain and suggests practical ways they can be achieved. This sutra is recited daily by the faithful in lands where Southern (Theravada) Buddhism prevails.

Once when Shakyamuni was in the Jetavana Monastery, a deity of surpassing beauty approached him and said, “Many gods and men have longed for various blessings and have sought the highest blessing. World-honored One, tell me what the highest blessing is.” And Shakyamuni answered with the following precepts:

1. Not to associate with fools but to associate with wise men and to revere people who are worthy of reverence. This is the highest blessing.
2. To live in a suitable place, to have accumulated merits and virtues in previous lives, and to have correct wishes. This is the highest blessing.
3. To be learned and skillful, to be trained and to have studied much, and to speak words of good teachings. This is the highest blessing.
4. To care for parents, to provide well for wife and children, and to have a way of making a living that is pure and correct. This is the highest blessing.
5. To give alms, to perform correct actions, to care lovingly for and to protect relatives, and to do nothing that is blameworthy. This is the highest blessing.
6. To take no pleasure in wickedness and to refrain from evil acts, to control one’s own consumption of intoxicants, and to be selfless in all things. This is the highest blessing.
7. To respect others, to be humble, to know what is sufficient, to be grateful for what others do, and from time to time to hear the Law taught. This is the highest blessing.
8. To be forbearing, to speak gently, to meet with people of religion and occasionally to discuss the Law and teachings. This is the highest blessing.
9. To make efforts, to be trained in the Buddha’s way, to comprehend the Noble Truths, and to find enlightenment in nirvana. This is the highest blessing.
10. To remain unshaken by contact with the things of the secular world, to be free of anxiety, to be undefiled, and to be tranquil. This is the highest blessing.

Those who do these things are undefeated in all things, prosperous in all things, and theirs is the highest blessing. (Page 194-195)