Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammā-sambuddhassa
Living in a civilized land,
having made merit in the past,
directing oneself rightly:
This is the highest protection.
or
"To reside in a suitable locality, to have performed meritorious actions in the past, and to set oneself in the right direction — this is the highest blessing.
Patirūpadesavāso ca pubbe ca katapuññatā
Attasammāpaṇīdhi ca etaṃ maṅgalamuttamaṃ.
To Reside At A Favourable Place Is Bliss.
People whether they reside in a village, town or country, should always live amongst good and friendly neighbours, i.e. good and virtuous men.
If the people in a village are upright and strictly observe the precepts, then that place will be peaceful, safe and prosperous. Everybody in the village will always strive for each other’s welfare and any work will be peaceful and harmoniously conducted. Whereas, on the other hand, if the people of the village are unprincipled and corrupt, then sorrow and trouble will spring up naturally. There will always be quarrels and discontent, the strong ones will be aggressive to their weaker neighbours, and life and property will never be safe. Therefore we should always choose our surroundings before we decide to stay, because to reside among good and virtuous peoples is bliss.
To reside in suitable location' is the greatest blessing. We cannot meet the good friend in Dhamma in just any place; wise people are rare in the world. It is a great blessing to live in a country where Dhamma is taught and practised, so that we have an opportunity to know the Buddha's teachings. There are many things that have to coincide in order that we meet the right person. It not by mere chance that we meet him; it is conditioned by kamma.
When we meet a wise person we may not be ready to receive Dhamma. It may not be the right time for us to listen to Dhamma; we may not be capable yet of 'wise consideration' of the teachings. Accumulations of wholesome deeds are very helpful for making us ready for the receiving of Dhamma. 'To have done meritorious deeds in the past' is the greatest blessing. We read in the 'Thera-Therī-gatha' that the men and women in the Buddha's time who attained enlightenment had accumulated meritorious deeds for aeons and that they had listened to Dhamma preached by Buddhas of former times. We read about Subha (Commentary to the 'Therī-gatha,' Canto XII, 70, Subbha, Paramattha-Dipani Thera-Therī-gatha Atthakatha):
"Auch sie, die ihren Entschluß unter vorhergegangenen Buddhas getan und Gutes für lange Zeit ergiebig angehäuft und die Grundlage für die Befreiung zusammengetragen hatte, wurde in diesem Buddha-Zeitalter in Rājagaha geboren..."
When we see the many conditions necessary for wisdom to reach maturity we will be less inclined to think that it is self who develops the eightfold Path. When we read about the accumulated good 'of age-enduring efficacy' of men and women in the Buddha's time and when we consider how they had listened time and again to Dhamma preached by former Buddhas, before they met the Buddha Gotama and attained enlightenment, we are reminded not to be heedless at the present time.