Lord Buddha preached about the importance of physical, social, mental and spiritual health. Lord Buddha has taught about the characteristics of the four Good friends and the four evil friends. Apart from that, what are the teachings on Buddhism which help somebody to have a good social health, trustworthy friendships etc.? Thanks for any answer in advance!
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Hi Dewmini and welcome to Buddhism SE. We have both a guide and a Ressource page for new users that you might find useful.– user2424Commented Jul 12, 2015 at 19:55
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1Thank you friend, I went through the guide and the resource page! It will help me to answer well and ask more precise questions.– seekerCommented Jul 13, 2015 at 9:41
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Im glad it was of help to you. Feel free to write to Crab Bucket if you have any links that you think might be useful. He will put them into the Ressource tab. You can write the links in this meta-post.– user2424Commented Jul 13, 2015 at 10:19
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Thank you for telling me about the Resource Tab. I believe I may have some important links to send to Crab Bucket.– seekerCommented Jul 14, 2015 at 2:41
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1 Answer
I think the Sangaha Sutta would be helpful here, It gives the following as the basis for the bonds of fellowship
Generosity, kind words, beneficial help, & consistency in the face of events,
Also the Sigalovada Sutta has a lot of advice concerning ones social relationships. Advice is given to 6 groups corresponding to the six directions of worship. The groups are
- North - Friends
- East - Parents
- South - Teachers
- West - Wife
- Down - Workers
- Up - Ascetics
Advice is given for each direction. I think this gives a good coverage of ones social obligations and interactions even today. The text is not too long and gives specific advice on each categories of interaction. Also wikipedia has a useful summary chart.
There is a lot more advice from the Buddha. The book The Buddha's Teachings to Laypeople: Practical Advice for Prosperity and Lasting Happiness is a useful jumping off point if you want to go into more depth. It goes into social relationships, business relationship, conflict etc... and gives the Buddha advice from the Pali canon. It makes one appreciate the depth of the advice the Buddha gave his lay followers in such matters,
answered Jul 12, 2015 at 17:57
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2Thank you for the kind answer. I went through the links you provided and now only I came to know about the Sangaha Sutta. The advice in the sutta broadened my view. And the book also seems to be very useful. Thank you again for the kind and precise answer!– seekerCommented Jul 13, 2015 at 9:50