Sayings of Buddha




Dhammapada - Sayings of the Buddha (Translated by S. Beck)

1. The Twin-Verses
What we are is the result of what we have thought,
is built by our thoughts, is made up of our thoughts.
If one speaks or acts with an impure thought,
suffering follows one,
like the wheel of the cart follows the foot of the ox.

What we are is the result of what we have thought,
is built by our thoughts, is made up of our thoughts.
If one speaks or acts with a pure thought,
happiness follows one,
like a shadow that never leaves.

"They insulted me; they hurt me;
they defeated me; they cheated me."
In those who harbor such thoughts,
hate will never cease.

"They insulted me; they hurt me;
they defeated me; they cheated me."
In those who do not harbor such thoughts,
hate will cease.

For hate is never conquered by hate.
Hate is conquered by love.
This is an eternal law.
Many do not realize that we must all come to an end here;
but those who do realize this, end their quarrels at once.

Whoever lives only for pleasures,
with senses uncontrolled,
immoderate in eating, lazy, and weak,
will be overthrown by Mara,
like the wind throws down a weak tree.

Whoever lives not for pleasures,
with senses well controlled,
moderate in eating, has faith and the power of virtue,
will not be overthrown by Mara,
any more than the wind throws down a rocky mountain.

Whoever would put on the yellow robe
without having cleansed oneself from impurity,
disregarding self-control and truth,
is not deserving of the yellow robe.

But whoever has cleansed oneself from impurity,
is well grounded in all the virtues,
and is possessed of self-control and truth,
is deserving of the yellow robe.

Those who imagine truth in untruth
and see untruth in truth
never arrive at truth but follow vain desires.
Those who know truth as truth and untruth as untruth
arrive at truth and follow true desires.

As rain makes its way into a badly roofed house,
so passion makes its way into an unreflecting mind.
As rain does not make its way into a well roofed house,
so passion does not make its way into a reflecting mind.

Wrong-doers grieve in this world,
and they grieve in the next; they grieve in both.
They grieve and are afflicted
when they see the wrong they have done.

The virtuous find joy in this world,
and they find joy in the next; they find joy in both.
They find joy and are glad
when they see the good they have done.

Wrong-doers suffer in this world,
and they suffer in the next; they suffer in both.
They suffer when they think of the wrong they have done.
They suffer even more when going on the wrong path.

The virtuous are happy in this world,
and they are happy in the next; they are happy in both.
They are happy when they think of the good they have done.
They are even happier when going on the good path.

Even if the thoughtless can recite many of the scriptures,
if they do not act accordingly,
they are not living the holy life,
but are like a cowherd counting the cows of others.

Even if the faithful can recite
only a few of the scriptures,
if they act accordingly,
having given up passion, hate, and folly,
being possessed of true knowledge and serenity of mind,
craving nothing in this world or the next,
they are living the holy life.

2. Awareness
Awareness is the path of immortality;
thoughtlessness is the path of death.
Those who are aware do not die.
The thoughtless are as if dead already.

The wise having clearly understood this,
delight in awareness
and find joy in the knowledge of the noble ones.
These wise ones, meditative, persevering,
always using strong effort,
attain nirvana, the supreme peace and happiness.

If a person is awake, aware, mindful, pure, considerate,
self-restrained, and lives according to duty,
that person's glory will increase.
By awakening, by awareness, by restraint and control,
the wise may make for oneself
an island which no flood can overwhelm.

Fools follow after vanity, are ignorant and careless.
The wise keep awareness as their best treasure.
Do not follow after vanity
nor after sensual pleasure nor lust.

Whoever meditates with awareness obtains great joy.
When the wise conquer thoughtlessness by awareness,
climbing the terraced heights of wisdom,
free from sadness viewing the sad crowd below,
they gaze upon the fools, like one on the mountain peak
gazes upon those standing on the plain.

Aware among the thoughtless, awake among the sleepy,
the wise advances, like a racehorse leaves behind the slow.
By awareness Indra rose to become chief of the gods.
People praise awareness; thoughtlessness is always blamed.

A mendicant who finds joy in awareness,
who looks with fear on thoughtlessness,
moves about like fire,
burning all restrictions, small or large.
A mendicant who finds joy in awareness,
who looks with fear on thoughtlessness,
cannot fall away, but is close to nirvana.

3. Thought
As fletchers make their arrows straight,
the wise make straight their wavering and unsteady thought,
which is difficult to guard and difficult to restrain.
Like a fish taken from its watery home
and thrown on the dry ground,
our thought quivers all over
in order to escape the dominion of Mara.

It is good to control the mind,
which is difficult to restrain, fickle, and wandering.
A tamed mind brings happiness.
Let the wise guard their thoughts,
which are difficult to perceive, tricky, and wandering.
Thoughts well guarded bring happiness.
Those who restrain their mind,
which travels far alone without a body, hiding in a cave,
will be free from the restrictions of death.

If a person's mind is unsteady,
if it does not know the true path,
if one's peace of mind is troubled,
wisdom is not perfected.

There is no fear for the one whose thought is untroubled,
whose mind is not confused,
who has ceased to think of good and bad,
who is aware.

Knowing that this body is like a jar,
and making one's thought strong as a fortress,
attack Mara with the weapon of wisdom,
protect what is conquered and stay always aware.
Before long, unfortunately, this body will lie on the earth,
rejected, without consciousness, like a useless log.

Whatever an enemy may do to an enemy,
or a hater to a hater,
a wrongly directed mind will do greater harm.
Neither a mother nor a father
nor any other relative will do so much;
a well-directed mind will do us greater service.

4. Flowers
Who shall conquer this world
and the world of death and the gods?
Who shall find the clear path of truth,
as a skillful person finds the flower?

The wise student will conquer this world
and the world of death and the gods.
The wise student will find the clear path of truth,
as a skillful person finds the flower.

Whoever knows that this body is like foam
and has learned that its nature is a mirage,
will break the flourishing arrows of Mara
and never see the king of death.

Death carries off a person who is gathering flowers,
whose mind is distracted,
like a flood carries off a sleeping village.
Death terminates a person who is gathering flowers,
whose mind is distracted,
before one is even satiated in pleasures.

As the bee collects nectar and departs
without harming the flower or its color or scent,
so let the sage live in a village.
Not the faults of others
nor their errors of commission or omission,
but one's own errors and omissions should the sage consider.

Like a beautiful flower, full of color, but without scent,
are the fine but fruitless words
of those who do not act accordingly.
But like a beautiful flower, full of color and full of scent,
are the fine and fruitful words
of those who do act accordingly.

As many kinds of garlands
can be made from a heap of flowers,
so many good works may be achieved by a mortal after birth.
The scent of flowers does not travel against the wind,
not even that of sandalwood, rose-bay or jasmine,
but the fragrance of good people
travels even against the wind.
A good person pervades everywhere.

Sandalwood or rose-bay or lotus or jasmine---
among these perfumes, the perfume of virtue is unsurpassed.
Limited is the scent of rose-bay or sandalwood;
but the perfume of the virtuous
rises up to the gods as the highest.

Mara never crosses the path of those who are virtuous,
who live without thoughtlessness,
and who are liberated by true knowledge.
Just as on a heap of rubbish thrown upon the highway

the lotus will grow sweetly fragrant, delighting the soul,
so also among those who are like rubbish
the wise student of the truly enlightened Buddha
shines brightly with wisdom above the blinded crowd.

5. The Fool
Long is the night to one who is awake.
Long is ten miles to one who is tired.
Long is the cycle of birth and death
to the fool who does not know the true path.

If a traveler does not meet with one who is better or equal,
let one firmly travel alone;
there is no companionship with a fool.

"These sons belong to me, and this wealth belongs to me;"
with such thoughts a fool is tormented.
One does not belong to oneself;
how much less sons and wealth?

The fool who knows one's own folly,
is wise at least to that extent;
but the fool who thinks oneself wise is really a fool.

If a fool is associated with a wise person all one's life,
the fool will not perceive the truth,
any more than a spoon will taste the soup.

If an intelligent person is associated with a wise person
for only one minute, one will soon perceive the truth,
just as the tongue does the taste of soup.

Fools of little understanding are their own worst enemies,
for they do wrong deeds which bear bitter fruits.
That action is not well done, which having been done,
brings remorse, whose result one receives crying with tears.
But that action is well done, which having been done,
does not bring remorse,
whose result one receives gladly and cheerfully.

As long as the wrong action does not bear fruit,
the fool thinks it is like honey;
but when it bears fruit, then the fool suffers grief.

Let a fool month after month
eat food with the tip of kusha grass;
nevertheless one is not worth one-sixteenth
of those who have understood the truth.

A wrong action, like newly drawn milk, does not turn soon;
smoldering, like fire covered by ashes, it follows the fool.
When the wrong action, after it has become known,
turns to sorrow for the fool,
then it destroys one's brightness and splits the head.

Let the fool wish for reputation,
for precedence among the mendicants,
for authority in the convents,
for veneration among the people.

"Let both the householders and the mendicants
think that this is done by me.
Let them always ask me
what should be done and what should not be done."

Such is the wish of the fool
of increasing desire and pride.
One road leads to wealth; another road leads to nirvana.
Let the mendicant, the disciple of Buddha, learn this,
and not strive for honor but seek wisdom.

6. The Wise
If you see a wise person who shows you your faults,
who shows what is to be avoided,
follow that wise person
as you would one who reveals hidden treasures;
you will be better not worse for following that one.
Let one admonish; let one teach; let one forbid the wrong;
and one will be loved by the good and hated by the bad.

Do not have wrong-doers for friends;
do not have despicable people for friends;
have virtuous people for friends;
have for friends the best people.

Whoever drinks in the truth
lives happily with a serene mind.
The wise are joyful in the truth
revealed by the noble ones.

Engineers of canals guide the water;
fletchers make the arrow straight;
carpenters shape the wood;
the wise mold themselves.

As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind,
so the wise are not shaken by blame and praise.
As a deep lake is clear and calm,
so the wise become tranquil after they listened to the truth.

Good people walk on regardless of what happens to them.
Good people do not babble on about their desires.
Whether touched by happiness or by sorrow,
the wise never appear elated or depressed.

Whoever for one's sake or for another's,
does not wish for a son or wealth or power,
and if one does not wish for success by unfair means,
that one certainly is virtuous, wise, and holy.

Few are those people who reach the farther shore;
the other people here run along this shore.
But those who, when the truth has been taught to them,
follow the truth, will pass over the dominion of death,
however difficult to cross.

Leaving behind the path of darkness
and following the path of light,
let the wise person go from home to a homeless state,
in retirement looking for enjoyment
where enjoyment seemed difficult.
Letting go of all pleasures, calling nothing one's own,
let the wise cleanse oneself
from all the troubles of the mind.

Those whose minds are well grounded
in the elements of enlightenment,
who without clinging to anything
find joy in freedom from attachment,
whose appetites have been conquered,
and who are full of light,
they are free in this world.

7. The Saint
There is no suffering for the one
who has completed the journey,
who is freed from sorrow,
who has freed oneself on all sides,
who has thrown off all chains.

The thoughtful exert themselves;
they do not delight in a home;
like swans who have left their lake,
they leave their house and home.

Those who have no accumulations, who eat properly,
who have perceived release and unconditioned freedom,
their path is difficult to understand,
like that of birds in the sky.

Those whose passions are stilled,
who are indifferent to pleasure,
who have perceived release and unconditioned freedom,
their path is difficult to understand,
like that of birds in the sky.

Even the gods admire one whose senses are controlled,
like horses well tamed by the driver,
who is free from pride and free from appetites.
Such a dutiful one who is tolerant like the earth,
who is firm like a pillar,
who is like a lake without mud:
no new births are in store for this one.

One's thought is calm;
calm is one's word and one's action
when one has obtained freedom by true knowledge
and become peaceful.
The one who is free from gullibility,
who knows the uncreated, who has severed all ties,
removed all temptations, renounced all desires,
is the greatest of people.

In a village or in a forest, in a valley or on the hills,
wherever saints live, that is a place of joy.
Forests are delightful; where others find no joy,
there the desireless will find joy,
for they do not seek the pleasures of the senses.

8. The Thousands
Better than a thousand meaningless words
is one sensible word if hearing it one becomes peaceful.
Better than a thousand meaningless verses
is one word of verse if hearing it one becomes peaceful.
Better than reciting one hundred verses of meaningless words
is one poem if hearing it one becomes peaceful.

If a person were to conquer in battle
a thousand times a thousand people,
if another conquers oneself,
that one is the greatest conqueror.

Conquering oneself is better than conquering other people;
not even a god, a spirit, nor Mara with Brahma,
could turn into a defeat the victory
of one who always practices the discipline of self-control.

If a person month after month for a hundred years
should sacrifice with a thousand offerings,
and if but for one moment that person paid reverence
to one whose soul is grounded in knowledge,
better is that reverence than a hundred years of sacrifices.

If a person for a hundred years
should worship Agni in the forest,
and if but for one moment that person paid reverence
to one whose soul is grounded in knowledge,
better is that reverence than a hundred years of worship.

Whatever a person sacrifices in this world
as an offering or as an oblation
for a whole year in order to gain merit,
the whole of it is not worth a quarter.
Reverence shown to the virtuous is better.
To the one who always reveres and respects the aged,
four things increase: life, health, happiness, and power.

Better than a hundred years
lived in vice and unrestrained
is living one day if a person is virtuous and contemplative.
Better than a hundred years
lived in ignorance and unrestrained
is living one day if a person is wise and contemplative.

Better than a hundred years
lived in idleness and weakness
is living one day if a person courageously makes effort.

Better than a hundred years
of not perceiving how things arise and pass away
is living one day if a person
does perceive how things arise and pass away.

Better than a hundred years
of not perceiving immortality
is living one day if a person does perceive immortality.

Better than a hundred years
of not seeing the supreme path
is living one day if a person does see the supreme path.

9. Good and Bad
A person should hurry toward the good
and restrain one's thoughts from the bad.
If a person is slow in doing good,
one's mind will find pleasure in wrong.

If a person does what is wrong, let one not do it again.
Let one not find pleasure in wrong.
Painful is the accumulation of bad conduct.

If a person does what is good, let one do it again.
Let one find joy in it.
Happiness is the result of good conduct.

Even a wrong-doer sees happiness
as long as one's wrong action does not ripen;
but when the wrong action has ripened,
then does the wrong-doer see bad.

Even a good person sees bad
as long as one's good action does not ripen;
but when one's good action has ripened,
then the good person sees the good.

Let no one underestimate evil,
thinking, "It will not come near me."
Even a water-pot is filled by the falling of drops of water.
A fool becomes full of evil
even if one gathers it little by little.

Let no one underestimate good,
thinking, "It will not come near me."
Even a water-pot is filled by the falling of drops of water.
A wise person becomes full of goodness
even if one gathers it little by little.

Let a person avoid wrong actions, as a merchant,
who has few companions and carries much wealth,
avoids a dangerous road;
as a person who loves life avoids poison.

Whoever has no wound on one's hand
may touch poison with that hand;
poison does not affect one who has no wound;
nor does evil one who does no wrong.

Whoever does wrong to an innocent person
or to one who is pure and harmless,
the wrong returns to that fool
just like fine dust thrown against the wind.

Some people are born again in the womb;
wrong-doers go to hell;
the good go to heaven;
those free from worldly desires attain nirvana.

Neither in the sky nor in the middle of the ocean
nor by entering the caves of mountains
is there known a place on earth
where a person can escape from a wrong action.

Neither in the sky nor in the middle of the ocean
nor by entering the caves of mountains
is there known a place on earth
where a person can escape from death.

10. Punishment
Everyone trembles at punishment; everyone fears death.
Likening others to oneself,
one should neither kill nor cause killing.

Everyone trembles at punishment; everyone loves life.
Likening others to oneself,
one should neither kill nor cause killing.

Whoever seeking one's own happiness
inflicts pain on others who also want happiness
will not find happiness after death.

Whoever seeking one's own happiness
does not inflict pain on others who also want happiness
will find happiness after death.

Do not speak anything harsh.
Those who are spoken to will answer you.
Angry talk is painful, and retaliation will touch you.
If you make yourself as still as a broken gong,
you have attained nirvana, for anger is not known to you.

Just as a cowherd with a staff
drives the cows into the pasture,
so old age and death drive the life of living beings.

A fool committing wrong actions does not know
that the stupid person burns through one's own deeds,
like one burned by fire.

Whoever inflicts punishment
on those who do not deserve it
and offends against those who are without offense
soon comes to one of these ten states:
cruel suffering, infirmity, injury of the body, fearful pain,
or mental loss, or persecution from the ruler,
or a fearful accusation, loss of relations,
or destruction of possessions,
or lightning fire burning one's houses,
and when one's body is destroyed the fool goes to hell.

Neither nakedness nor matted hair nor mud
nor fasting nor lying on the ground
nor rubbing with dust nor sitting motionless
purify a mortal who is not free from doubt and desire.

Whoever though dressed in fine clothes, lives peacefully,
is calm, controlled, restrained, pure,
and does not hurt any other beings,
that one is holy, an ascetic, a mendicant.

Is there in the world anyone
who is so restrained by modesty
that they avoid blame like a trained horse avoids the whip?
Like a trained horse when touched by a whip,
be strenuous and eager, and by faith, by virtue, by energy,
by meditation, by discernment of the truth
you will overcome this great sorrow,
perfected in knowledge, behavior, and mindfulness.

Engineers of canals guide the water;
fletchers make the arrow straight;
carpenters shape the wood;
good people mold themselves.

11. Old Age
Why is there laughter, why is there joy
while this world is always burning?
Why do you not seek a light,
you who are shrouded in darkness?

Consider this dressed-up lump covered with wounds,
joined with limbs, diseased, and full of many schemes
which are neither permanent nor stable.
This body is wearing out, a nest of diseases and frail;
this heap of corruption falls apart; life ends in death.

What pleasure is there
for one who sees these white bones
like gourds thrown away in the autumn?
A fortress is made out of the bones,
plastered over with flesh and blood,
and in it lives old age and death, pride and deceit.

The glorious chariots of the kings wear out;
the body also comes to old age;
but the virtue of good people never ages;
thus the good teach each other.

People who have learned little grow old like an ox;
their flesh grows, but their knowledge does not grow.

I have run through a course of many births
looking for the maker of this dwelling and did not find it;
painful is birth again and again.
Now you are seen, the builder of the house;
you will not build the house again.
All your rafters are broken; your ridgepole is destroyed;
your mind, set on the attainment of nirvana,
has attained the extinction of desires.

People who have not practiced proper discipline
who have not acquired wealth in their youth,
pine away like old cranes in a lake without fish.
People who have not practiced proper discipline,
who have not acquired wealth in their youth,
lie like broken bows, sighing after the past.

12. Self
If a person holds oneself dear,
let one watch oneself carefully.
The wise should be watchful
during at least one of the three watches.

Let each person first direct oneself to what is right;
then let one teach others; thus the wise will not suffer.
If a person makes oneself as one teaches others to be,
then being well-controlled, that one might guide others,
since self-control is difficult.

Self is the master of self;
who else could be the master?
With self well-controlled
a person finds a master such as few can find.

The wrong done by oneself, born of oneself,
produced by oneself, crushes the fool,
just as a diamond breaks even a precious stone.
The one whose vice is great brings oneself down
to that condition where one's enemy wishes one to be,
just as a creeper overpowers the entangled sala tree.
Bad actions and actions harmful to ourselves are easy to do;
what is beneficial and good, that is very difficult to do.

The fool who scorns the teaching of the saintly,
the noble, and the virtuous, and follows wrong ideas,
bears fruit to one's own destruction,
like the fruits of the katthaka reed.

By oneself is wrong done; by oneself one suffers;
by oneself is wrong left undone; by oneself is one purified.
Purity and impurity come from oneself;
no one can purify another.

Let no one neglect one's own duty
for the sake of another's, however great;
let a person after one has discerned one's own duty,
be always attentive to this duty.

13. The World
Do not follow a bad law.
Do not live in thoughtlessness.
Do not follow wrong ideas.
Do not be attached to the world.

Arise; do not be thoughtless.
Follow the path of virtue.
The virtuous rest in bliss in this world and in the next.
Follow the path of virtue; do not follow the wrong path.
The virtuous rest in bliss in this world and in the next.

Look upon the world as a bubble;
look on it as a mirage.
Whoever looks thus upon the world
is not seen by the sovereign of death.
Come, look at this world resembling a painted royal chariot.
The foolish are immersed in it,
but the wise are not attached to it.

The one who formerly was thoughtless
and afterwards became conscientious
lights up this world like the moon when freed from a cloud.
The one whose wrong actions are eradicated by good conduct
lights up this world like the moon when freed from a cloud.

This world is blinded; only a few can see here.
Like birds escaped from the net, a few go to heaven.
The swans go on the path of the sun;
miraculously they fly through the sky.
The wise are led out of this world,
when they have conquered Mara and the tempter's armies.

Whoever violates the one law, who speaks lies,
and scoffs at another world,
there is no wrong that one will not do.

Misers do not go to the world of the gods;
only fools do not praise liberality;
the wise find joy in generosity,
and because of it become blessed in the other world.

Better than sovereignty over the earth,
better than going to heaven,
better than dominion over all the worlds
is the reward of reaching the stream.

14. The Awakened
The one whose conquest cannot be conquered again,
into whose conquest no one in this world enters,
by what track can you lead that one,
the awakened, the omniscient, the trackless?

The one whom no desire
with its snares and poisons can lead astray,
by what track can you lead that one,
the awakened, the omniscient, the trackless?

Even the gods emulate those who are awakened and aware,
who are given to meditation, who are wise,
and who find joy in the peace of renunciation.

It is difficult to be born as a human being;
difficult is the life of mortals;
difficult is the hearing of the true path;
difficult is the awakening of enlightenment.

Not to do wrong, to do good, and to purify one's mind,
that is the teaching of the awakened ones.
The awakened call patience the highest sacrifice;
the awakened declare nirvana the highest good.

The one who strikes others is not a hermit;
one is not an ascetic who insults others.
Not to blame, not to strike,
to live restrained under the law,
to be moderate in eating, to live alone,
and to practice the highest consciousness---
this is the teaching of the awakened ones.

There is no satisfying lusts,
even by a shower of gold pieces.
Whoever knows that lusts have a short taste
and cause pain is wise.
Even in heavenly pleasures one finds no satisfaction;
the disciple who is fully awakened
finds joy only in the destruction of all desires.

People driven by fear go for refuge
to mountains and forests, to sacred groves and shrines.
That is not a safe refuge; that is not the best refuge.
After having got to that refuge,
a person is not delivered from all pains.

Whoever takes refuge with the awakened one,
the truth, and the community,
who with clear understanding perceives the four noble truths:
namely suffering, the origin of suffering,
the cessation of suffering, and the eightfold holy way
that leads to the cessation of suffering,
that is the safe refuge; that is the best refuge;
having gone to that refuge,
a person is delivered from all pains.

A person of true vision is not easy to find;
they are not born everywhere.
Wherever such a sage is born, the people there prosper.
Blessed is the arising of the awakened;
blessed is the teaching of the truth;
blessed is the harmony of the community;
blessed is the devotion of those who live in peace.

Whoever gives reverence to those worthy of reverence,
whether the awakened or their disciples,
those who have overcome the army
and crossed the river of sorrow,
whoever gives reverence to such as have found deliverance
and are free of fear,
their merit cannot be measured by anyone.

15. Joy
Let us live in joy, not hating those who hate us.
Among those who hate us, we live free of hate.
Let us live in joy,
free from disease among those who are diseased.
Among those who are diseased, let us live free of disease.
Let us live in joy, free from greed among the greedy.
Among those who are greedy, we live free of greed.
Let us live in joy, though we possess nothing.
Let us live feeding on joy, like the bright gods.

Victory breeds hate, for the conquered is unhappy.
Whoever has given up victory and defeat
is content and lives joyfully.

There is no fire like lust, no misfortune like hate;
there is no pain like this body;
there is no joy higher than peace.

Craving is the worst disease;
disharmony is the greatest sorrow.
The one who knows this truly
knows that nirvana is the highest bliss.

Health is the greatest gift;
contentment is the greatest wealth;
trusting is the best relationship;
nirvana is the highest joy.

Whoever has tasted the sweetness
of solitude and tranquillity
becomes free from fear and sin
while drinking the sweetness of the truth.
The sight of the noble is good;
to live with them is always joyful.

Whoever does not see fools will always be happy.
Whoever associates with fools suffers a long time.
Being with fools, as with an enemy, is always painful.

Being with the wise, like meeting with family, is joyful.
Therefore, one should follow the wise, the intelligent,
the learned, the patient, the dutiful, the noble;
one should follow the good and wise,
as the moon follows the path of the stars.

16. Pleasure
Whoever gives oneself to distractions
and does not give oneself to meditation,
forgetting true purpose and grasping at pleasure,
will eventually envy the one who practices meditation.

Let no one cling to what is pleasant or unpleasant.
Not to see what is pleasant is painful,
as it is to see what is unpleasant.
Therefore do not become attached to anything;
loss of what is loved is painful.
Those who have neither likes nor dislikes have no chains.

From pleasure comes grief; from pleasure comes fear.
Whoever is free from pleasure knows neither grief nor fear.

From attachment comes grief; from attachment comes fear.
Whoever is free from attachment knows neither grief nor fear.

From greed comes grief; from greed comes fear.
Whoever is free from greed knows neither grief nor fear.

From lust comes grief; from lust comes fear.
Whoever is free from lust knows neither grief nor fear.

From craving comes grief; from craving comes fear.
Whoever is free from craving knows neither grief nor fear.

Whoever has virtue and insight,
who is just, truthful, and does one's own work,
the world will love.

The one in whom a desire for the ineffable has arisen,
whose mind is satisfied
and whose thoughts are free from desires
is called one who ascends the stream.

Family, friends, and well-wishers welcome a person
who has been away long and returns safely from afar.
Similarly, one's good actions receive the good person
who has gone from this world to the other,
as family receive a friend who is returning.

17. Anger
Give up anger; renounce pride;
transcend all worldly attachments.
No sufferings touch the person
who is not attached to name and form,
who calls nothing one's own.
Whoever restrains rising anger like a chariot gone astray,
that one I call a real driver;
others merely hold the reins.

Overcome anger by love; overcome wrong by good;
overcome the miserly by generosity, and the liar by truth.
Speak the truth; do not yield to anger;
give even if asked for a little.
These three steps lead you to the gods.

The wise who hurt no one, who always control their body,
go to the unchangeable place,
where, once they have gone, they suffer no more.
Those who are always aware, who study day and night,
who aspire for nirvana, their passions will come to an end.

This is an old saying, Atula, not just from today:
"They blame the person who is silent;
they blame the person who talks much;
they also blame the person who talks in moderation;
there is no one on earth who is not blamed."
There never was, nor ever will be, nor is there now
anyone who is always blamed or anyone who is always praised.

But the one whom those who discriminate praise
continually day after day as without fault,
wise, rich in knowledge and virtue,
who would dare to blame that person,
who is like a gold coin from the Jambu river?
That one is praised even by the gods, even by Brahma.

Be aware of bodily anger and control your body.
Let go of the body's wrongs
and practice virtue with your body.

Be aware of the tongue's anger and control your tongue.
Let go of the tongue's wrongs
and practice virtue with your tongue.

Be aware of the mind's anger and control your mind.
Let go of the mind's wrongs
and practice virtue with your mind.

The wise who control their body,
who control their tongue,
the wise who control their mind are truly well controlled.

18. Impurity
You are now like a withered leaf;
the messengers of death have come near you.
You stand at the threshold of your departure.
Have you made provision for your journey?

Make yourself an island; work hard; be wise.
When your impurities are purged and you are free from guilt,
you will enter into the heavenly world of the noble ones.

Your life is coming to an end;
you are in the presence of death.
There is no rest stop on the way,
and you have made no provision for your journey.

Make yourself an island; work hard; be wise;
when your impurities are purged and you are free from guilt,
you will not again enter into birth and old age.

As a smith removes the impurities from silver,
so let the wise remove the impurities from oneself
one by one, little by little, again and again.

Just as rust from iron eats into it
though born from itself,
so the wrong actions of the transgressor
lead one to the wrong path.

Dull repetition is the impurity of prayers;
lack of repair is the impurity of houses;
laziness is the impurity of personal appearance;
thoughtlessness is the impurity of the watcher.
Bad conduct is the impurity of a woman;
stinginess is the impurity of the giver;
wrong actions are the impurity of this world and the next.
The worst impurity of all is the impurity of ignorance.
Mendicants, throw off that impurity
and become free of all impurities.

Life seems easy for one who is shameless,
who is a crowing hero, a mischief-maker,
an insulting, impudent, and corrupt person.
But life seems difficult for one who is modest,
who always looks for what is pure,
who is detached, quiet, clear, and intelligent.

Whoever destroys life, whoever speaks falsely,
whoever in this world takes what is not given to them,
whoever goes to another person's spouse,
and whoever gives oneself to drinking intoxicating liquors,
even in this world they dig up their own roots.
Know this, human, that the unrestrained are in a bad way.
Do not let greed and wrong-doing bring you long suffering.

People give according to their faith
or according to their pleasure.
Thus whoever worries about food and drink given to others
will find no peace of mind day or night.
Whoever destroys that feeling, tearing it out by the root,
will truly find peace of mind day and night.

There is no fire like lust, no chain like hate;
there is no snare like folly, no torrent like craving.
The faults of others are easy to see;
our own are difficult to see.
A person winnows others' faults like chaff,
but hides one's own faults,
like a cheater hides bad dice.
If a person is concerned about the faults of others
and is always inclined to be offended,
one's own faults grow and one is far from removing faults.

There is no path in the sky;
one does not become an ascetic outwardly.
People delight in worldly pleasures;
the perfected ones are free from worldliness.

There is no path in the sky;
one does not become an ascetic outwardly.
No creatures are eternal,
but the awakened ones are never shaken.

19. The Just
Whoever settles a matter by violence is not just.
The wise calmly considers what is right and what is wrong.
Whoever guides others by a procedure
that is nonviolent and fair
is said to be a guardian of truth, wise and just.

A person is not wise simply because one talks much.
Whoever is patient, free from hate and fear,
is said to be wise.

A person is not a supporter of justice
simply because one talks much.
Even if a person has learned little,
whoever discerns justice with the body
and does not neglect justice is a supporter of justice.

A person is not an elder
simply because one's head is gray.
Age can be ripe, but one may be called "old in vain."
The one in whom there is truth,
virtue, nonviolence, restraint, moderation,
whoever is free from impurity and is wise,
may be called an elder.

Mere talk or beauty of complexion does not make
an envious, greedy, dishonest person become respectable.
The one in whom all these are destroyed,
torn out by the very root,
who is free from hate and is wise, is called respectable.

Not by a shaven head does one who is undisciplined
and speaks falsely become an ascetic.
Can a person be an ascetic
who is still enslaved by desire and greed?
Whoever always quiets wrong tendencies, small or large,
is called an ascetic, because of having quieted all wrong.

A person is not a mendicant
simply because one begs from others.
Whoever adopts the whole truth is a mendicant,
not the one who adopts only a part.
Whoever is above good and bad and is chaste,
who carefully passes through the world in meditation,
is truly called a mendicant.

A person does not become a sage by silence,
if one is foolish and ignorant;
but the wise one, who, holding a scale,
takes what is good and avoids what is bad,
is a sage for that reason.
Whoever in this world weighs both sides
is called a sage because of that.

A person is not a noble,
because one injures living beings.
One is called noble,
because one does not injure living beings.

Not only by discipline and vows,
not only by much learning,
nor by deep concentration nor by sleeping alone
do I reach the joy of release which the worldly cannot know.
Mendicant, do not be confident
until you have reached the extinction of impurities.

20. The Path
Best of the paths is the eightfold,
best of the truths the four;
best of the virtues is freedom from attachment;
best of the people is the one who sees.
This is the path;
there is no other that leads to the purifying of insight.

Follow this path, and Mara will be confused.
If you follow this path, you will end your suffering.
This path was preached by me
when I became aware of the removal of the thorns.
You yourself must make the effort.
The perfected ones are only preachers.
Those who enter the path and practice meditation
are released from the bondage of Mara.

"All created things perish."
Whoever realizes this transcends pain;
this is the clear path.

"All created things are sorrow."
Whoever realizes this transcends pain;
this is the clear path.

"All forms are unreal."
whoever realizes this transcends pain;
this is the clear path.

Whoever does not rise when it is time to rise,
who, though young and strong, is lazy,
who is weak in will and thought,
that lazy and idle person will not find the path of wisdom.

Watching one's speech, restraining well the mind,
let one not commit any wrong with one's body.
Whoever keeps these three roads of action clear,
will make progress on the path taught by the wise.

Through meditation wisdom is gained;
through lack of meditation wisdom is lost.
Whoever knows this double path of progress and decline,
should place oneself so that wisdom will grow.

Cut down the forest of desires, not just a tree;
danger is in the forest.
When you have cut down the forest and its undergrowth,
then, mendicants, you will be free.

As long as the desire, however small,
of a man for women is not destroyed,
so long is his mind attached,
like a sucking calf is to its mother.

Cut out the love of self,
like an autumn lotus, with your hand.
Cherish the path of peace.
Nirvana has been shown by the Buddha.

"Here I shall live in the rain,
here in winter and summer."
Thus thinks the fool, not thinking of death.
Death comes and carries off that person
who is satisfied with one's children and flocks,
whose mind is distracted,
like a flood carries off a sleeping village.

Sons are no help, nor a father, nor relations;
for one who is seized by death, there is no safety in family.
Understanding the meaning of this, the wise and just person
should quickly clear the path that leads to nirvana.

21. Miscellaneous
If by giving up a small pleasure,
one sees a great pleasure,
the wise will let go of the small pleasure
and look to the great one.

Whoever by causing pain to others
wishes to obtain pleasure for oneself,
being entangled in the bonds of hate,
is not free from hate.

By neglecting what should be done
and doing what should not be done,
the desires of the unrestrained and careless increase.
But those whose awareness is always alert to the body,
who do not follow what should not be done,
who firmly do what should be done,
the desires of such aware and wise people come to an end.

A holy person goes unscathed,
though having killed father and mother and two noble kings
and destroyed a kingdom with all its subjects.

A holy person goes unscathed,
though having killed father and mother
and two holy kings and an eminent person also.

The disciples of Gautama are always well awake;
their thought is always, day and night, set on the Buddha.

The disciples of Gautama are always well awake;
their thought is always, day and night, set on the truth.

The disciples of Gautama are always well awake;
their thought is always, day and night, set on the community.

The disciples of Gautama are always well awake;
their thought is always, day and night, set on the body.

The disciples of Gautama are always well awake;
their mind, day and night, finds joy in abstaining from harm.

The disciples of Gautama are always well awake;
their mind, day and night, finds joy in meditation.

It is hard to leave the world as a recluse
and hard to enjoy the world.
It is also hard to live at home as a householder.

Living with the unsympathetic is painful.
The life of a wanderer is painful.
Therefore do not be a wanderer and be free of suffering.

A person of faith,
who is virtuous, well-known, and successful,
is respected wherever one may be.
Good people shine from far away, like the Himalaya mountains,
but the bad are not seen, like arrows shot at night.

Whoever can sit alone, rest alone,
act alone without being lazy, and control oneself alone
will find joy near the edge of the forest.

22. The Downward Course
Whoever says what is not goes to hell,
also whoever having done something says, "I did not do it."
After death both are equal,
being people with wrong actions in the next existence.

Many who wear the yellow robe
are ill-behaved and unrestrained.
Such wrong-doers by their wrong actions go to hell.
It would be better for a bad, unrestrained person
to swallow a ball of red-hot iron
than to live off the charity of the land.

A reckless person who wants another's wife
gains four things:
fault, bad sleep, thirdly blame, and finally hell.
There is fault and the wrong path;
there is brief pleasure
of the frightened in the arms of the frightened,
and heavy penalty from the ruler.
Therefore do not run after another's wife.

As a blade of grass wrongly handled cuts the hand,
so also asceticism wrongly practiced leads to hell.
An act carelessly performed, a broken vow,
unwilling obedience to discipline---
all these bring no great reward.
If anything is to be done, let one do it vigorously.
A careless recluse only bespatters oneself
with the dust of desires.

A wrong action is better left undone,
for a wrong action causes suffering later.
A good action is better done,
for it does not cause suffering.

Like a frontier fort
that is well guarded inside and outside,
so guard yourself.
Not a moment should escape,
for those who allow the right moment to pass
suffer pain when they are in hell.

Those who are ashamed of
what they should not be ashamed of
and are not ashamed of
what they should be ashamed of,
such people, following false doctrines, enter the wrong path.

Those who fear what they should not fear
and do not fear what they should fear,
such people, following false doctrines, enter the wrong path.

Those who discern wrong where there is no wrong
and see nothing wrong in what is wrong,
such people, following false doctrines, enter the wrong path.

Those who discern wrong as wrong
and what is not wrong as not wrong,
such people, following true doctrines, enter the good path.

23. The Elephant
I shall endure painful words
as the elephant in battle endures arrows shot from the bow;
for most people are ill-natured.
They lead a tamed elephant into battle;
the king mounts a tamed elephant.

The tamed are the best of people,
who endure patiently painful words.
Mules are good, if tamed,
and noble Sindhu horses and elephants with large tusks;
but whoever tames oneself is better still.
For with these animals no one reaches the untrodden country
where a tamed person goes on one's own tamed nature.

The elephant called Dhanapalaka is hard to control
when his temples are running with pungent sap.
He does not eat a morsel when bound;
the elephant longs for the elephant grove.

If one becomes lazy and a glutton,
rolling oneself about in gross sleep,
like a hog fed on grains,
that fool is born again and again.

This mind of mine used to wander
as it liked, as it desired, as it pleased.
I shall now control it thoroughly,
as the rider holding the hook controls the elephant in rut.

Do not be thoughtless; watch your thoughts.
Extricate yourself from the wrong path,
like an elephant sunk in the mud.

If you find an intelligent companion
who will walk with you,
who lives wisely, soberly, overcoming all dangers,
walk with that person in joy and thoughtfulness.

If you find no intelligent companion
who will walk with you,
who lives wisely and soberly,
walk alone like a king who has renounced a conquered kingdom
or like an elephant in the forest.

It is better to live alone;
there is no companionship with a fool.
Let a person walk alone with few wishes, committing no wrong,
like an elephant in the forest.

Companions are pleasant when an occasion arises;
sharing enjoyment is pleasant.
At the hour of death it is pleasant to have done good.
The giving up of all sorrow is pleasant.

Motherhood is pleasant in this world;
fatherhood is pleasant.
Being an ascetic is pleasant;
being a holy person is pleasant.

Virtue lasting to old age is pleasant;
faith firmly rooted is pleasant;
attainment of wisdom is pleasant;
avoiding wrong is pleasant.

24. Craving
The craving of a thoughtless person grows like a creeper.
That one runs from life to life,
like a monkey seeking fruit in the forest.

Whoever is overcome by this fierce poisonous craving
in this world has one's sufferings increase
like the spreading birana grass.

Whoever overcomes this fierce craving,
difficult to control in this world,
sufferings fall off, like water drops from a lotus leaf.

This beneficial word I tell you, "Do you,
as many as are gathered here, dig up the root of craving,
as one digs up the birana grass to find the usira root,
so that Mara may not destroy you again and again,
just as the river crushes the reeds."

As a tree, even though it has been cut down,
grows again if its root is strong and undamaged,
similarly if the roots of craving are not destroyed,
this suffering returns again and again.

The one whose thirty-six streams
are flowing strongly towards pleasures of sense,
whose thoughts are set on desires,
the waves carry away that misguided person.

The streams flow everywhere;
the creeper of craving keeps springing up.
If you see that creeper springing up,
cut its root by means of wisdom.

The pleasures of creatures
are wide-ranging and extravagant.
Embracing those pleasures and holding on to them,
they undergo birth and decay again and again.

Driven by lust, people run around like a hunted hare;
bound in chains they suffer for a long time again and again.

Driven by lust, people run around like a hunted hare;
therefore let the mendicant wishing to conquer lust
shake off one's own craving.

Whoever having got rid of the forest of desires,
gives oneself over to that forest-life,
and who, when free from the forest runs back into the forest,
look at that person, though free, running back into bondage.

Wise people do not call that a strong chain
which is made of iron, wood, or rope,
stronger is the attachment to jewelry, sons, and a wife.

Wise people call strong this chain
which drags down, yields, and is difficult to undo;
after having cut this, people renounce the world,
free from cares, leaving pleasures of sense behind.

Those who are slaves to desires follow the stream,
as a spider the web it has made for itself.
Wise people when they have cut this,
go on free from care leaving all sorrow behind.

Give up what is in front; give up what is behind;
give up what is in the middle,
passing to the farther shore of existence.
When your mind is completely free,
you will not again return to birth and old age.

If a person is disturbed by doubts,
full of strong desires,
and yearning for what is pleasurable,
craving will grow more and more,
and one makes one's chains stronger.

Whoever finds joy in quieting one's thoughts,
always reflecting, dwelling on what is not pleasurable,
will certainly remove and cut the chains of death.
Whoever has reached the goal, who is fearless,
who is without craving and without wrong,
has broken the thorns of existence;
this body will be their last.

Whoever is without craving, without greed,
who understands the words and their meanings,
who knows the order of letters
is called a great sage, a great person.
This is their last body.

"I have conquered all; I know all;
in all conditions of life I am free from impurity.
I have renounced all,
and with the destruction of craving I am free.
Having learned myself, whom shall I indicate as teacher?"

The gift of truth surpasses all gifts;
the sweetness of the truth surpasses all sweetness;
joy in the truth surpasses all pleasures;
the destruction of craving overcomes all sorrows.
Riches destroy the foolish, not those who seek beyond.
By craving for riches the fool destroys oneself,
as one destroys others.

Weeds harm the fields; lusts harm humanity;
offerings given to those free from lusts bring great reward.

Weeds harm the fields; hate harms humanity;
offerings given to those free from hate bring great reward.

Weeds harm the fields; vanity harms humanity;
offerings given to those free from vanity bring great reward.

Weeds harm the fields; desire harms humanity;
offerings given to those free from desire bring great reward.

25. The Mendicant
Control of the eye is good; good is control of the ear;
control of the nose is good; good is control of the tongue.
Control of the body is good; good is control of speech;
control of thought is good; good is control of all things.
A mendicant controlled in all things is freed from sorrow.

Whoever controls one's hand, whoever controls one's feet,
whoever controls one's speech, whoever is well-controlled,
whoever finds inner joy, who is collected,
who is alone and content they call a mendicant.

The mendicant who controls one's tongue,
who speaks wisely and calmly, who is not proud,
who illuminates the meaning of the truth,
that one's words are sweet.

Whoever lives in the truth, who finds joy in the truth,
meditates on the truth, follows the truth,
that mendicant does not fall away from the truth.

Let one not despise what one has received
nor envy others.
A mendicant who envies others does not find peace.
A mendicant, who, though receiving little,
does not despise what one has received,
even the gods praise, if one's life is pure and not lazy.

Whoever never identifies with name and form
and whoever does not grieve from not having anything
is called a mendicant.

The mendicant who lives in friendliness
with confidence in the doctrine of the Buddha
will find peace, the blessed place where existence ends.

Empty the boat, mendicant;
when emptied it will go quickly.
Having cut off desire and hate, you will go to freedom.

Cut off the five; get rid of the five; master the five.
A mendicant who has freed oneself from the five chains
is called "one who has crossed the flood."

Meditate, mendicant; do not be careless.
Do not think of pleasures
so that you may not for your carelessness
have to swallow the iron ball,
so that you may not cry out when burning, "This is painful!"
There is no meditation for one without wisdom,
no wisdom for one without meditation;
whoever has wisdom and meditation is close to nirvana.

A mendicant who with a peaceful heart
has entered an empty house,
has more than human joy when seeing the truth clearly.
When one has comprehended
the origin and destruction of the elements of the body,
one finds happiness and joy
which belong to those who know the eternal.

This is the beginning here for a wise mendicant:
control of the senses, contentment,
living according to the moral law,
associating with friends
who are noble, pure, and not lazy.

Let one live in love;
let one be adept in one's duties;
then joyfully one will see the end of sorrow.
As the jasmine sheds its withered flowers,
people should shed desire and hate, mendicants.

A mendicant is said to be calm
who has a calm body, calm speech, and a calm mind,
who has mastered oneself
and rejected the baits of the world.

Lift up your self by yourself;
examine your self by yourself.
Thus self-protected and attentive
you will live joyfully, mendicant.
For self is the master of self;
self is the refuge of self.
therefore tame yourself,
like a merchant tames a noble horse.

Joyful and faithful in the doctrine of the Buddha,
the mendicant finds peace,
the joy of ending natural existence.
Whoever, even as a young mendicant,
applies oneself to the path of the Buddha
illuminates this world,
like the moon when free from clouds.

26. The Holy One
Cut off the stream energetically, holy one;
leave desires behind.
Knowing the destruction of all that is created,
you know the uncreated, holy one.
When the holy one has reached the other shore
in meditation and contemplation,
all bonds vanish for the one who knows.

For the one I call holy
there is neither this shore nor that shore nor both,
who is free from fear and free from shackles.
The one I call holy is thoughtful, detached, settled,
accomplished, desireless, and has attained the highest goal.

The sun shines by day; the moon lights up the night;
the warriors shine in their armor;
the holy one shines in meditation;
but the awakened shines radiantly all day and night.

Because a person has put aside wrong, one is called holy.
Because one lives serenely, one is called an ascetic.
Because one gets rid of impurities, one is called a pilgrim.

No one should hurt a holy one,
but no holy one should strike back.
Woe to the one who hurts a holy one;
more woe to the one who strikes back.

It is no small gain to a holy one
if one holds one's mind back from the pleasures of life.
The sooner the wish to injure disappears,
the sooner all suffering will stop.
The one I call holy does not hurt by body, speech, or mind,
and is controlled in these three things.

Whoever has understood the law of justice
as taught by the well awakened one,
should revere the teacher,
as the priest worships the sacrificial fire.

Not by matted hair, not by lineage,
not by caste does one become holy.
One is holy in whom there is truth and virtue;
that one is blessed.

What is the use of matted hair, fool?
What is the use of clothes of goat-skins?
Inside you are full of craving; the outside you make clean.
The one I call holy wears thrown-away clothes,
is lean with veins showing,
and meditates alone in the forest.

I do not call one holy because of one's family or mother.
If one has property, one is called superior.
The one I call holy is free of property and all attachment.
The one I call holy has cut all chains, never trembles,
has passed beyond attachments and is independent.
The one I call holy has cut the strap, the thong,
and the chain with all their encumbrances,
has removed the bar and is awakened.

The one I call holy, though having committed no offense,
patiently bears reproach, ill-treatment, and imprisonment,
has endurance for one's force and strength for one's army.

The one I call holy is free from anger, faithful to vows,
virtuous, free from lust, controlled,
and has received one's last body.

The one I call holy does not cling to pleasures,
like water on a lotus leaf
or a mustard seed on the point of a needle.

The one I call holy
even here knows the end of suffering,
has laid down one's burden, and is detached.

The one I call holy has deep wisdom and knowledge,
discerns the right way and the wrong,
and has attained the highest end.

The one I call holy
keeps away from both householders and the homeless,
rarely visits houses, and has few desires.

The one I call holy
does not hurt any creatures, weak or strong,
and neither kills nor causes death.

The one I call holy is tolerant with the intolerant,
peaceful with the violent,
and free from greed among the greedy.

The one I call holy
has let go of anger, hate, pride, and hypocrisy,
like a mustard seed falls from the point of a needle.

The one I call holy speaks true words
that are useful and not harsh so that no one is offended.

The one I call holy
does not take anything in the world
that is not given one,
be it long or short, small or large, good or bad.

The one I call holy
has no desires for this world or the next,
is free from desires and is independent.

The one I call holy has no longings,
in knowledge is free from doubt,
and has reached the depth of the eternal.

The one I call holy here
has passed beyond the attachments of good and bad,
is free from sorrow, free from desire, free from impurity.

The one I call holy is bright like the moon,
pure, serene, undisturbed,
in whom pleasure is extinguished.

The one I call holy
has gone beyond this muddy road of rebirth and delusion,
so difficult to pass,
has crossed over and reached the other shore,
is thoughtful, not agitated,
not doubting, not attached, and calm.

The one I call holy in this world,
giving up all desires, travels around without a home,
in whom all desire for existence is extinguished.

The one I call holy in this world,
giving up all craving, travels around without a home,
in whom all craving for existence is extinguished.

The one I call holy,
letting go of attachment to humans,
rises above attachment to gods,
and is independent from all attachments.

The one I call holy
gives up what is pleasurable and what is not pleasurable,
is cool and free from any seeds of renewal,
the hero who has conquered all the worlds.

The one I call holy
knows the destruction and the return of beings everywhere,
is free from attachment, living well, and is awakened.

The one I call holy,
whose path is not known by gods nor spirits nor humans,
whose desires are extinct, is a saint.

The one I call holy calls nothing one's own,
whether it be in front, behind, or between,
is poor and free from attachment.

The one I call holy is fearless, noble, heroic,
all-wise, ever-pure, all-conquering,
has accomplished the goal and is awakened.

The one I call holy knows one's former lives,
perceives heaven and hell,
has reached the end of births,
is a sage whose knowledge is perfect,
having accomplished complete perfection.



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