Dhammapada
(The Way of Dhamma)
a verse translation by
David Evans
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
A bibliography published in 1975 listed well over thirty renderings of the Dhammapada into English, and I would not have added to the list but for the fact that, when doing some part-time work in prison during the nineteen-eighties, the version previously given to Buddhist convicts was withdrawn and an alternative took some two years to arrive from the East.
The Dhammapada is a very difficult work to translate adequately. It is highly repetitious in at least three different ways. Firstly the same fundamental point tends to be repeated with varying metaphors and phraseology. Secondly one or more lines of successive verses are sometimes identical. Thirdly a particular word may be used several times within a single verse. Added to this there is the problem that, whereas its content suggests a moral and psychological treatise, its actual form is inspirational verse - two attributes which are exceptionally hard to reconcile in a translation. Finally, given that its principal audience was originally the community of Buddhist monks, a level of prior understanding is assumed which may well not be possessed by a modern reader.
The Dhammapada was originally recited as part of an oral tradition, and this
factor coupled to the verse form and the rolling sonorities of Pali make it
a combination of scripture and liturgy. Only a verse translation seemed appropriate
as a means of retaining such features and in the event also proved much more
economical of words than most existing prose versions. Since it was in some
cases the first approach to Buddhism by a prisoner, I have added explanatory
material in the form of preambles to some sections as well as notes immediately
after verses which seemed to need clarification.
Because of the tendency of the Pali text to repeat the same word up to three
times in a single verse it has been necessary to use synonyms in the English
rendering for the sake of variety and sometimes to substitute a pronoun.
Repetition of two or more lines of successive verses has warranted slight abridgement with indication of the variations rather than giving all verses in full. The final section presented a special problem because the line 'I call him a brahman' occurs in over thirty verses, a problem dealt with by linking pairs or trios of verses to form single statements with the above line only occurring once for each of these. Other verses appear without space between them whenever they represent a single connected thought. I have sometimes changed the order of lines for the sake of clarity or versification and have felt free to change singular to plural in some situations so as to avoid a phrase where there existed no singular noun in English e.g. 'the clever' (plural) rather than 'the clever one' (singular).
In conclusion the reader should bear in mind that what looks like the unrelenting puritanism of the Dhammapada needs to be seen in context. As stated above it is mainly addressed to the monastic community and therefore to people who had already opted for the ascetic life. The monk is not so much being asked to condemn the worldly as to remember his own vocation and to earn his almsfood through the firmness and resolution of his self-discipline.
(David Evans, October 1996)
Preamble. The twin verses deal mainly with kamma i.e. activity on the mental, verbal, and physical planes, and stress that it is mental activity that is the source of behaviour.
1. Mind foreshadows all conditions;
Mind presides, through mind they form.
If one speaks or acts with thought corrupted
Because of that an anguish stalks one,
Like a wheel behind an ox-hoof.2. Mind foreshadows all conditions;
Mind presides, through mind they form.
If one speaks or acts with reconciled thought
Because of that a happiness haunts one,
Like a shadow, never parted.3. 'He abused me and he struck me.'
'He overpowered and he robbed me.'
Revenge finds no appeasement
For those who nurse such (thoughts).4. 'He abused me and he struck me.'
'He overpowered and he robbed me.'
Not harbouring such (memories)
Revenge comes to cessation.5. Revengings in revenge find no quiescence
Ever in this world.
Through amity they reach their calming;
This is the perennial dhamma.Note: 'dhamma' - the Buddhist doctrine and lifestyle.
6. Others are heedless
That we must make an end here.
Those who understand that
Terminate their quarrelsNote: Line two - supposedly of a particular quarrel in the primitive monastic community, but possibly also a reference to the way in which death ends all such.
7. Living dwelling on things pleasant
With faculties unguarded;
Without measure in his eating;
Indolent and wanting vigour;
Surely Mara overwhelms him
Like the wind an enfeebled tree.Note: 'Mara' means death but is here personified as the Buddhist tempter.
8. Contemplating things unpleasant
With the faculties controlled;
Moderate in taking food;
Confident and strenuous;
Mara subdues not such a one
Any more than the wind a rugged crag.9. He that wears the yellow robe,
Still not undistracted;
Lacking taming, lacking truth
He dishonours it.Note: 'Distraction' - the Pali word means literally an 'influx' and is reckoned as fourfold i.e. one is distracted by worldly pursuits, by the desire for continuing existence, by views, and by ignorance. Enlightenment involves the rooting out of these biases.
10. Whoever is unsullied,
In conduct composed;
And is tamed, possessed of truth
Deserves (to wear) the yellow robe.11. In the unreal seeking essence;
Seeing essence as unreal;
Those who feed on wrong intention
Do not obtain the pith.12. Knowing essence as essential,
And the unreal's lack of substance,
True aspiration as their pastures;
These it is who find the pith13. As rain penetrates
An ill-thatched house
So does passion
The undeveloped mind.14. As no rain penetrates
A well-thatched house
Neither does passion
The well-developed mind.15. Here he grieves, hereafter he grieves;
In both worlds the villain
Grieves and despairs,
Contemplating his own sullied deeds.
16. Here he is happy, there he is happy;
In both worlds the well-doer
Is happy and glad,
Contemplating his unsullied deeds.17. He is tormented, here and beyond;
In both worlds the villain
Thinks 'evil I did';
When gone to his ruin still more is his woe.18. Here he rejoices, there he rejoices,
In both worlds the well-doer
Thinks 'good did I do';
With happy bourne won, yet greater his joy.19. Though quoting much the Canon
Its follower not, the neglectful man,
A cowherd counting others' cattle,
Does not partake of asceticism.20. Though quoting little from the Canon
The dhamma-follower, in accord;
Rid of passion, hate, delusion
In knowledge true, in mind well freed,
Ungrounded here, or hereafter;
He shares in asceticism.Preamble. The above word refers to Buddhist self-discipline as an attempt to heighten awareness in the individual of all levels of kammic existence and of its effects for himself and others.
21. Alertness tracks the deathless;
Carelessness is the path of death.
The alert do not perish;
The careless are as dead.22. The wise, because of their alertness,
Are mindful as to this difference;
They rejoice in alertness,
Intent upon the ariyan fields.Note: 'ariyan' - often translated 'noble', but really referring to the spiritual ideal of the thousand-year culture of the ariyan peoples in India.
23. They meditate and persevere,
Always of strong endeavour;
Such constant ones find nibbana;
The peerless haven from our struggles.Note: 'nibbana' - the Buddhist ultimate as the end of sorrow and literally meaning (approximately) 'waning' or 'going out', with reference to the three fires of greed, ill-will, and delusion.
24. The strenuous and mindful one;
The pure in deed, considerate;
The self-controlled, living in dhamma;
The alert one - his fame grows ever.
25. Through vigour and alertness;
Through self-control and discipline;
The wise one builds an island
No flood shall overthrow.26. They court carelessness;
The fools, the feckless folk;
The wise one guards alertness
As his brightest treasure.27. Do not court carelessness;
Be not wedded to worldly joys;
For, alertly meditating,
One gains much happiness.28. By alertness casting carelessness away
The sage ascends to wisdom's citadel;
Unsorrowing, constant, there to survey
The sorrowing world, a mountaineer
Among untutored plainsmen.29. Alert among the careless,
Among the sleeping wide awake,
Like a swift steed a feeble horse outpacing
The wise one forges on.30. By alertness Indra
Became the highest god;
Alertness is always praised,
Carelessness condemned.Note: The term 'god' needs to be treated with caution since these are beings which are subject to kamma and to impermanence. They are not therefore strictly immortal and participate in the round of rebirths.
Buddhism was tolerant of the popular beliefs of the time and accommodated them to its world view along the above lines.31. A monk intent on alertness,
Viewing carelessness with fear;
Consuming gross and subtle fetters,
Goes like fire on his way.32. A monk intent on alertness,
Viewing carelessness with fear;
Incapable of falling back,
Is in the presence of nibbana.33. The wavering, fickle mind;
Difficult to guard and hard to check;
The wise one straightens it
As the fletcher the arrow's shaft.34. As a fish on dry land thrown,
Pulled from shelter here and there,
Quivers - so this mind
When Mara's realm is abandoned.35. Hard to restrain and wayward,
Where its pleasure is there does it fly;
Mind's mastery is a virtue,
A tamed mind a source of wellbeing.
36. Barely glimpsed, vastly subtle,
To where its pleasure is flying;
Let the wise one protect it;
A guarded mind brings wellbeing.37. Ranging far, wandering alone,
Bodiless and its own refuge;
They that quell their minds
Break free from Mara's shackles.38. Inconsistent of mind,
Blind to true dhamma,
Of unsteady conviction,
One does not consummate wisdom.39. Whose mind is proofed,
Whose mind is unassailed,
Abandoning both good and bad,
Without fear is that watchful one.40. Seeing this body as a jar, (i.e. as fragile)
Establishing this mind as a stronghold,
Through the furtherance of wisdom fight Mara;
Guard victory, but take hold nowhere.41. Surely soon this body
Shall lie upon the ground;
Rejected, consciousness-deprived,
Like a useless piece of wood.42. Whatever foe to foe may do
Or hater to a hater;
An ill-guided mind may bring
A greater harm upon one.
43. Than that by mother, father wrought,
Or any other kinsman;
Far better yet the mind may do
For one, if well directed.44. Who shall conquer this Earth
And the kingdom of Death with its gods;
Who shall pluck, as an expert a flower,
A sentence of well-taught dhamma.Note: 'Earth' probably alludes to the self as something earthbound, 'expert' to a garland-maker.
45. A learner may conquer this Earth
And this kingdom of death with its gods;
A learner may pluck, as an expert a flower,
A sentence of well-taught dhamma.46. Seeing this body as foam,
A mirage-thing well understood;
Severing Mara's flowered darts
Go unseen past the King of Death.47. Death takes and bears away,
Like the flood a sleeping village,
The man consumed by longing,
Plucking just (temptation's) flowers48. The Destroyer enslaves
The man consumed by longing,
Insatiate in worldly joys,
Plucking just (temptation's) flowers49. As the bee upon the flower
Harms neither hue nor fragrance,
But gathers the taste and then flies off,
So let the sage walk in the village.50. One should not dwell on others' faults,
On what they do or leave undone;
But instead upon one's own
Commissions and omissions.51. Like the flower that's beautiful,
Bright of hue but wanting scent;
Fruitless thus the well-wrought words
Of him that does not act thereon.52. Like the flower that's beautiful
In colour and in fragrance too
Are those words that, spoken true,
Bear fruit in their practitioner.53. Out of a heap of flowers
Are many garlands made;
And so, by means of human birth,
Should much that's good be done54. The scent of flowers goes not against the wind;
Nor sandalwood, nor tagara, nor jasmine;
But the smell of goodness goes against the wind
The virtuous pervade all directions.55. Sandalwood and tagara,
Water-lily and jasmine;
Among all these perfumes
Unmatched is virtue's odour.
56. Slight indeed is this perfume
Of sandalwood and tagara;
Virtue's fragrance blows furthest,
Even among the gods.57. Mara does not find the path
Of those complete in virtue,
Dwelling ever with alertness
And by true knowledge freed.58. As on a refuse dump
Left at the roadside,
A lotus there might grow,
Sweet-smelling and delightful;59. So, amid life's garbage,
A true buddha's disciple
Outshines in wisdom
The uncomprehending masses.Note: 'buddha' - an enlightened being who is also a world teacher. See the further note at commencement of section 14.
60. Long is the night to the sleepless;
Long are the miles to the weary;
Long for the fool each lifelong journey
Without knowledge of true dhamma.61. If the traveller does not find
A better or an equal
Let him firmly walk alone;
A fool is no companion.
62. 'Sons I have and riches I have.'
So saying the fool is yet troubled;
Truly the self is not its own;
How then sons and riches?63. Any fool, perceiving folly,
In that so far is wise;
But a fool pretending wisdom
He indeed is called a fool!64. If a fool for a lifetime
Attends on the wise
He no more grasps dhamma
Than a spoon the soup's flavour.65. Though briefly the clever
Consort with the wise
They quickly learn dhamma
As the tongue the soup's flavour.66. The fools, the witless, go their ways
As enemies to themselves;
Perpetrating that evil deed
The fruit whereof is bitter.67. That deed is ill-done
Which then brings remorse,
Of which tears and crying
Follow the outcome.68. That deed is well done
That brings no regret,
Whence joy and contentment
Welcome the outcome.
69. 'It's like honey' he thinks
Whilst he suffers no evil;
When the evil torments
The fool comes to grief.70. Let the fool take his food
Month after month with a kusa-grass blade;
Yet he does not deserve a sixteenth part
Of those who are dhamma-reckoners.Note: Line two refers to abstemiousness as an ascetic practice.
71. Unlike the milk that flows at once
Is evil action's working;
Smouldering it stalks the fool
Like a fire cloaked by ashes.72. The fool gains knowledge
But to his disadvantage;
It destroys his good fortune
As it breaks apart his head.73. He seeks false reputation,
Precedence among monks,
Dominion over dwellings,
And honour in other households.74. 'Let them contemplate my deeds,
Householders and wanderers both.
Let them defer to me
In every kind of duty.'
Such is the aim of the fool;
His conceit and longing grow.
75. Now the means to wealth is one thing,
The way to nibbana another;
Having perceived it thus
Let the monk, the Buddha's disciple,
Not delight in homage
But cultivate seclusion.76. One should view as like to a treasure
The teacher who, seeing faults,
Intelligently reproves;
Such a sage one should follow;
(Therein) lies good, not ill.77. Let him admonish and advise,
And restrain from what is base;
Beloved is he to the good,
Hateful (only) to the wicked.78. Do not keep bad company,
Nor seek out the worst of men;
Associate with noble friends;
Pursue the best of human kind.79. The joyful in dhamma dwells happy,
And with a mind that is clear;
The wise man ever delights
In the dhamma made known by the ariyans.80. Conduits channel water;
Fletchers bend the arrow-shaft;
Carpenters control the wood;
The wise are tamers of themselves.
81. Just as a solid rock
Unshaken by the wind;
So the wise remain
Unstirred by praise or blame.82. And, like a lake unfathomed.
Limpid, undisturbed;
The wise become unmuddied
When they hear the Word.83. True men renounce entirely;
The good prate not of pleasures;
By pleasure or pain affected
Sages do not show
Elation or depression.84. Not for oneself nor another
Should a son, or wealth, or a realm
Be sought. Not wishing false success
One is virtuous, wise and true.85. Few there are among men
Who go to the further shore;
As for those of lesser breed
They merely roam the (hither) bank.86. Those who make a right accord
With the well-taught dhamma;
Such are the beings that strive to cross
Death's enmiring realm.87. Quitting the darkened state
Let the sage cultivate brightness,
Coming from home to the homeless
Where solitude's hard pleasures lie;
88. There one might seek delight.
Leaving worldly joys without trace
The wise man should cleanse himself
Of mental defilements.Note: '… without trace' - i.e. without residual attachment.
89. Whose minds are well established
In enlightenment's aspects;
Are finished with acquiring,
And set on non-attachment;
(Such) bright ones, emptied of distractions,
Are at peace in this world.Note: The arahant is a person who becomes enlightened under a buddha's tutelage. The literal meaning is 'a worthy one'.
90. At journey's end, freed of sorrow,
His release consummated
And all his bonds broken,
No passion is found.91. In no abode taking pleasure
The mindful depart,
Just as swans leave a lake
They forsake every home.
92. Their tracks hard to follow
As the birds of the air
Are the storeless ones,
Understanding of foods,
Whose sphere is a freedom
That is empty and signless.Note: '… foods' - apart from the material kind there are three others. These are sense data and ideas which 'feed' one's feelings, kamma which feeds rebirth consciousness, and consciousness which feeds conception.
93. His distractions uprooted,
In no nourishment grounded,
His sphere is a freedom
That is empty and signless;
His path hard to follow
As the birds of the air.94. His faculties made calm
Like horses well tamed by the driver;
Distraction-free and purged of pride;
Even gods envy such a one.95. As unobstructed as the Earth,
As firm as Indra's pillar,
For such a one, a mud-free lake
Life's wanderings are no more.Note: 'Indra's pillar' - a column erected before a city gate.
96. Peaceful is the mind,
Peaceful the words and deeds,
Perfect the knowledge
Of him who is freed and composed.97. Beyond faith and knowing the unmade,
A breaker of all ties;
The wishless one, his chance resolved
Is indeed the best of men.98. In the village or the forest,
On mountain or on plain,
Where arahants are dwelling
Agreeable is that place.99. Delightful are the forests
Where worldlings take no sport;
The passion-free there find pleasure,
Not seeking after common joys.100. Better than a thousand empty words
Is one possessed of sense,
On hearing which (a man) grows calm.101. As 100, substituting 'lines' for 'words'.
102. Though one speak a hundred empty lines
Better a single dhamma-word,
On hearing which a man grows calm.
103. A thousand times a thousand men
In battle one might conquer,
But his is the highest conquest
Who wins mastery over himself.104. Better indeed to master self
Than this unstable world of men.
Unchangingly he knows restraint
Who is tamer of himself.105. Neither god nor demi-god
Nor Mara and Brahma
Shall reverse the triumph
Of a person such as this.Note: 'Brahma' - the creator-god of pre-Buddhist India. In Buddhism the name appears to refer to the highest grade of spirit which, though subject to rebirth, can provide a model for human conduct in certain respects. See preamble to section 26.
106. If month by month for a century
One makes offerings by the thousand;
Yet to honour the self-controlled
For even a moment is better.107. If a man for a hundred years
Tends the fire in the forest;
Yet to honour the self-controlled
For even a moment is better.Note: 'Fire' - a reference to the Vedic fire-sacrifice and hence a comment on the value of ritual.
108. Sacrifice or offering in the world
For a year in search of merit -
That is not worth a quarter
Of homage to the upright.109. For one that's used to honouring
And respecting elders
These four things are increased;
Age, beauty, happiness, strength.110. Better to live a single day
Virtuous and absorbed
Than a hundred years
Vicious and unsettled.111/115 Only the second and fourth lines vary from 110 as follows:
111. In wisdom and absorbed/Unwise and uncomposed.
112. Strenuous and resolute/Indolent and sluggish.
113. Aware of rise and fall/Not seeing growth and decay.
114. Seeing the deathless state/Without seeing it.
115. Seeing the highest dhamma/Blind to it.
116. Hasten to do good;
Hold back the mind from evil;
Where virtue is reluctant
Thinking courts corruption.
117. Let not the ill-doer
Make a repetition
Nor turn the will thereto;
(For) evil piles up pain.118. Let the doer of good
Make a repetition
And turn the will thereto;
(For) virtue's growth is blissful.119. Even the villain sees a good (prospect)
As long as his wickedness doesn't bear fruit;
(But) when it comes to fulfilment
Then he surveys the evil outcome.120. Even the benefactor
Knows ill whilst a good deed ripens;
(But) when it comes to fruition
He beholds a happy (result).121. Be not dismissive of evil
Saying 'It will not come to me';
A water-pot is filled
By just drops of water;
And evil fills the fool
By gradual accretion.122. Be not dismissive of good
Saying 'It will not come to me';
A water-pot is filled
By just drops of water;
And goodness fills the sage
Through gradual accretion.
123. A merchant with small escort
But abundant riches
Avoids a perilous path;
The lover of life shuns poison;
So should one turn from evil.124. The unwounded hand
May carry poison
For poison affects it not;
No wrong's to him who no wrong does.125. Like fine dust thrown against the wind
The evil surely will turn back
Upon that fool who wrongs the one
That's guiltless, pure, and uncorrupt.126. Some arise in the womb,
The evil in a place of woe,
The righteous go to a happy state,
The undistracted become cool.127. Not in the air, not in the midst of the waters,
Not in a mountain crevice,
Is there to be found a place in the world
Where (folk) escape (their) wickedness.128. Not in the air, not in the midst of the waters,
Not in a mountain crevice,
Is there to be found a place in the world
Where death may not overwhelm.129. All tremble at punishment;
All have fear of death;
Seeing one's likeness in others
Neither kill nor cause to slay.130. All tremble at punishment;
Everyone holds life dear;
Seeing one's likeness in others
Neither kill nor cause to slay.131. Using force on living things
That desire their own wellbeing
Though seeking happiness oneself
One gets it not hereafter.132. Not using force on living things
That desire their own wellbeing
And seeking happiness oneself
One comes to it hereafter.133. Do not speak harsh words;
Retort may come (in kind);
Quarrelsome talk is painful;
Retribution overtakes one.134. Silencing self
Like a broken gong
Nibbana is attained
And anger is not found.
135. The herdsman drives his cattle
To pasture with a stick;
And so old age and dying
Drive out the life of creatures.136. The fool does not evaluate
His misguided acts;
They torment the stupid
Like a consuming fire.137. Whoever uses force against
The harmless and innocent
Quickly shall find himself
Ine one of these ten states.138. He may undergo
Cruel feelings or accident;
Injury to the body;
Grave illness or madness;
139. Danger from a king;
Dreadful accusation;
Loss of relatives;
Destruction of possessions;
140. His houses are consumed
By a raging fire;
At death this unwise person
Comes to a state of woe.141. Going naked, with matted hair, unclean;
Fasting, or lying on the ground;
Dust or dirt, or squatting; - (none of these)
Set right one that's overcome by doubt.
142. But if, though much adorned, he lives at peace;
Calm, subdued, assured, pursuing good;
Not taking the stick to any being;
Then he is brahman, ascetic, monk.Note: 'brahman' - here meaning one who pursues the good life.
143. Is there in all the world
One held back by conscience,
Who knows as little of censure
As a noble horse of the whip?144. Like a noble horse reconciled to the whip
Be strenuous and aroused;
With faith, virtue, and endeavour;
With concentration, dhamma-wise;
With knowledge and practice, recollecting;
Put aside this great travail.145. Conduits channel water;
Fletchers bend the arrow-shaft;
Carpenters control the wood;
The well-trained master themselves.146. Whence comes laughter, whence comes joy
In a world that's ever burning?
Enveloped in bewilderment
Are you not searching for the light?
147. Look at this tricked-out figure,
A concoction full of sores;
Diseased (yet) ever dwelt on;
Naught of which is stable, naught of which endures.148. Worn out is this form,
A nest of sickness, frail;
The rotting carcase is destroyed;
Truly death sets bounds to life.149. What pleasure can there be
In seeing these bleached bones
Lying all about
Just like gourds in autumn?150. A citadel that's made of bones
Encased in flesh and blood;
Old age and death; conceit and rage
Make this their repository.151. A king's bright chariots wear out;
Even so this body;
But the dhamma of the righteous does not age;
Through men of truth they pass it on.152. The uninformed man
Grows old like the bull;
His muscles swell,
His wisdom not.153. A many-birthed wandering
I passed through, not finding
The sought-for builder of the house.
Painful are repeated births.
154. I have seen you house-maker;
Not again shall you build;
Your rafters are broken;
Your ridgepole is shattered;
With mind divested
Craving's end is achieved.155. Not leading the good life;
In youth gaining no treasure;
Like old herons they brook
In a lake short of fish.156. Not leading the good life;
In youth gaining no treasure;
They lie like broken bows
In lamentation of their past.157. He that holds himself dear
Should guard himself closely;
At each of three watches (i.e. stages of life)
The wise man stands sentinel.158. Make oneself the foremost
In entry to what is right;
Time then to admonish others;
Let the sage be undefiled.159. Put advice to others
To work upon yourself,
Restraining through restraint;
The self is truly hard to tame.
160. Each one his own protector;
Who else could it be?
Through restraint of self
Is gained a refuge that's hard won.161. The evil that you do,
Born and wrought within yourself
Bears down upon the stupid man
As a diamond grinds a gem.162. The creeper chokes the sal-tree;
Just so the much corrupt
Does even to himself
What his foe might wish.163. Easily done is what is bad
And detrimental to oneself;
The beneficial and the good
Are very hard to bring about.164. Relying on wrong view
The stupid man who scorns
The teaching of the worthy,
The dhamma-living ariyans,
Sows, like the kashta grass,
The seed of self-destruction.165. By oneself is evil done;
By oneself is one defiled;
By oneself is evil shunned;
By oneself is one cleansed;
The pure and impure are one's own;
None can purge another's stain.
166. Do not neglect the treasure of self
For a treasure beyond, however great;
Discerning the treasure of self (as such)
Go in pursuit of one's own wellbeing.Note: This verse has been explained in reference to a monk who decided to meditate rather than visit Gotama when the latter was near to death, giving as his reason that his own enlightenment was the best tribute he could pay the Master.
167. Do not cleave to what is base,
Nor abide in carelessness;
Do not follow false ideas,
Nor be one of worldly ways.168. Rouse yourself, be not careless;
Pursue the well-lived dhamma;
In this world, and in the next
The dhamma-goers find their ease.169. Pursue the well-lived dhamma;
Do not go the worthless way;
In this world and in the next
The dhamma-goers find their ease.170. Seeing the world as a bubble;
Seeing the world as a mirage;
Viewing it thus the Lord of Death
Shall not find thee out.
171. Come, behold this world,
A goodly king's carriage,
Where fools become submerged
And the knowing take no hold.172. As the Moon that sheds a cloud
So he lights up this world
Who, neglectful once,
Becomes at length alert.173. As the Moon that sheds a cloud
So he lights up this world
That smothers skilfully
The evil he has wrought.174. Bereft of vision this world;
Few here comprehend;
Like the bird freed from a net
Few go to a happy state.175. Swans fly in the path of the Sun,
(Some) through the air by psychic power;
The wise are transported from the world,
Defeating Mara and his hosts.176. For the person who speaks false,
Rejecting the world beyond,
One norm transgressing -
There is no ill he may not do.177. Misers do not go to heaven,
Nor indeed do fools praise giving;
But the wise, therein rejoicing,
Come at length to happiness.
178. More fruitful is entry to the stream
Than to be the earth's sole monarch,
Or to go to (any) heaven,
Or hold sway o'er every world.Note: '… entry to the stream' - irrevocable commitment.
Preamble. A buddha is an enlightened being who becomes such essentially through his own efforts, thereby blazing a trail for others. Buddhas before and after Gotama are mentioned in the texts. However, rather than seeing these as actual beings, the modern reader can perhaps best view them as a way of dramatizing the decline and renewal of the doctrine across great stretches of time.
179. Along what path wouldst thou entice
That pathless Buddha of endless range,
Whose victory is not reversed
Or matched by any in the world?180. Along what path wouldst thou entice
That pathless Buddha of endless range,
Whom craving, the tenacious witch,
Does not lead to any place?181. The gods themselves view with envy
The perfect buddhas, ever mindful;
Steadfast, set on meditating,
Wedded to renunciation's calm.
182. Hard to get is human birth;
Hard the life of mortal beings;
Hard to hear is the true dhamma;
Difficult is the rise of buddhas.183. Doing no evil,
Undertaking the good,
Cleansing one's mind,
Is the teaching of buddhas.184. The highest abstinence is forbearance,
(And) buddhas proclaim nibbana supreme;
No wanderer he that injures another,
Nor an ascetic who doth oppress.185. Not finding fault, nor doing harm,
Restraining oneself by the Obligations,
Measured in eating,
Dwelling remote,
In pursuit of the mind's ascent;
This is the teaching of the buddhas.Note: 'the Obligations' - the monk's rules of training.
186. Not through a shower of coins
Is found content in worldly joys;
Painful are they, devoid of ease;
The wise man, knowing it so,
187. Takes no delight
Even in joys divine;
The Truly Enlightened One's disciple
Takes pleasure in craving's end (alone).
188. Overcome by fear
Many take refuge
In mountains and woods,
In parks, among trees and shrines.189. Such a refuge is not safe;
This is not the final haven;
There one does not find release
From the entirety of ill.190. Whoever goes for refuge
To Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha;
And sees with true perception
The four ariyan truths
191. (Of) suffering, suffering's basis,
And its transcendence (through)
The ariyan eightfold way
That brings it to quiescence;
192. Here is (safe) refuge;
Here the final haven;
Here (one) finds release;
From the entirety of ill.Note: The four truths - life is suffering, suffering is rooted in desire, nibbana is the end of both, the eightfold way is the means to nibbana: the eightfold way - right understanding and intention (wisdom); right speech, action, and livelihood (morality); right effort, mindfulness, and concentration (concentration).
193. The noble man is hard to come by;
He is not born in every place;
Where such a sage comes to birth
That family will prosper.
194. Happy is the rise of buddhas;
Happy discourse on true dhamm;
Happy concord within the Sangha;
Happy the practice of those at one.Note: 'Sangha' - the community of Buddhist monks.
195. His merit cannot be measured
By anyone as this or that,
+ Who honours the worthy of honour
196. Whether buddhas or their disciples;
That have passed beyond (all) obstacles;
Beyond (all) grief and sorrowing;
And are at peace and naught perturbs.197. Truly happy we live
Unhating among the hostile;
In the vengeful world of men
We dwell without rancour.198. Truly happy we live
Healthy among the ailing;
Midst humanity's disease
We dwell diseaseless.199. Truly happy we live
Without longing midst those who yearn;
Among hankering humans
We dwell unhankering.
200. Truly happy we live
Calling nothing our own;
Feeders of joy shall we be
Like the radiant gods.201. Conquest breeds hatred;
The vanquished know distress;
The peaceful find happiness,
Renouncing victory and defeat.202. There is no fire like passion,
No misfortune like ill-will,
No torment like existence,
No happiness beyond peace.203. The ultimate disease is hunger,
Composite nature the greatest distress,
Knowing this as it really is
(One seeks) nibbana, the final bliss.Note: Hunger is the 'ultimate disease' because it has no 'cure' and continually recurs. 'Composite nature' is the greatest distress because it cannot endure.
204. Health is the best of acquisitions,
Contentment the best of treasures,
Trust is the most excellent kinsman,
Nibbana the greatest happiness.205. Having savoured solitude
And tasted of tranquillity
One dwells without pain and uncorrupt,
Drinking in the dhamma's sweetness.
206. It is good to see the ariyans,
(Whose) company is ever happy;
Always there is pleasure
In not beholding fools.207. Going along with fools
One rues it many a day;
Their company ever irksome
As though with a foe;
(But) consorting with the wise
Is like a meeting with one's kin.208. Track - as the moon the constellations
The sure, and wise, and knowing;
The diligent ariyan yoked to virtue,
The worthy and sagacious one.209. Devoting oneself to what should be shunned;
Not undertaking the burden;
Forsaking one's interest; following one's fancy
One (will) envy those who apply themselves.210. Do not meet with those that are dear,
And never with those that are not;
Painful is the non-beholding
Of dear ones, and seeing the unbeloved.Note: I have assumed that the above verse refers to people but it can equally well be read as loved and unloved states or things. It is addressed of course to those committed to the homeless life.
211. Therefore cherish nothing;
The loss thereof is wretched;
Where liking and disliking
Are not, there are no bonds.212. Sorrow is born of liking;
Anxiety is born of liking;
For whoever is freed therefrom
There is no grief - and whereof fear?213/216 As above substituting 'affection/attachment/wordly joys/craving' for 'liking'.
217. The one the people cherish,
Possessed of virtue and vision,
Is grounded in dhamma, speaking truth,
A meeter of his obligations.218. Willing the undeclared, (i.e. nibbana)
With mind (thus) pervaded,
And not constrained by worldly joys,
One is called an upstream-traveller.219. When a man long abroad
Returns safely from afar
Friends, kinsmen, and well-wishers
Greet his homecoming.220. As kinsmen a loved one's return
So good deeds welcome their doer;
When he passes from this world
Into another.221. Give up anger, abandon pride,
Breaking free of all that fetters;
Distress does not assail one
Who grasps at naught in body or mind.222. Him I call a charioteer
That checks his rising anger
Like a swerving carriage;
Others do but grasp the reins.223. Defeat anger through amity,
The bad through the good,
Meanness by giving,
The liar by truth.224. Speak the truth; yield not to anger;
Give, even from little, to him who asks;
By these three means one may go
Into the presence of the gods.225. Sages free from violence
Always physically restrained -
They go to the deathless state
Where there is no sorrowing.226. The distractions dissolve
Of the ever-watchful ones
Training, night and day,
In pursuit of nibbana.
227. Here is (a saying), Atula,
Not of today but of yore:
'They blame him who sits silent
And him that has much to say;
They blame the one that's of measured speech;
In the world there is none unblamed.'Note: Atula is assumed to be the name of a questioner.
228. There never was, there will not be,
And currently is not found,
One who is (always) blamed
Or one that's (always) praised.229. Who is worthy to blame
+ (The person) that knowing ones praise?
230. Finding that, day after day
He acts without fault, sagaciously;
Settled in (both) wisdom and virtue,
Like to the gold of Jambu's river;
such a one is even extolled
By the gods and by Brahma.231. Beware the body's agitation;
Be controlled in your actions,
Giving up unwholesome ways
And doing what is good.232. Beware of excited speech;
Be controlled in what you say,
Giving up useless talk,
Speaking with good effect.
233. Beware of mental turbulence;
Be disciplined in your thought
Abandoning thoughtless ways,
Following mind's best path.234. The steadfast ones, guarding body,
Restrained in speech,
Governing thought;
Their control is complete.235. Now you are as a withered leaf;
Death's messengers await you;
You are on the point of going;
And yet have no provisions.236. Make for yourself a refuge;
Strive quickly and be wise;
Corruption-cleansed, unsullied,
You shall come to the ariyan's realm divine.237. Now you are at the end of your days,
And shall come into Yama's presence;
There are no lodgings on the way,
And yet you have no provisions.Note: Yama is the god of death.
238. Make for yourself a refuge;
Strive quickly and be wise;
Corruption-cleansed, unsullied
Knowing no more of birth and decay.
239. The intelligent one, successively,
Bit-by-bit and moment-by-moment,
Sheds his own impurities,
A silversmith removing dross.240. As rust born of iron
Arises then destroys it;
So the villain's actions
Lead to (his own) ruin.241. Non-recitation's the stain on a scripture;
Want of vigour the rot in a house;
Indolence tarnishes (every) lustre;
And carelessness the sentinel.242. Misconduct defileth a woman;
Miserliness a giver;
Defilements are pernicious
In this world and the next.243. More defiling that any of these
Is ignorance - the ultimate stain;
Setting aside this blemish
Dwell without blemish, O monks!244. Easy is life for the shameless,
Crowing and self-assertive,
Braggardly and reckless,
Living in corruption.245. Hard is the unassuming life
Seeking ever the uncorrupt;
Sincere and not puffed up;
Clean-living and discerning.
246. He destroys living things;
He speaks the speech of liars;
He takes what none has given;
He goes to others' wives;
247. And he devotes himself
To intoxicating liquors;
Whoever in the world (lives thus)
Undermines his own foundations.248. Take heed of this, O man!
Intemperate states are bad.
Let not greed and errant ways
Bring you to a long torment.249. People give through faith
Or from inclination;
So he that is dissatisfied
With the food and drink provided
Will not, be it night or day,
Acquire concentration.Note: The reference is to the monk's almsround.
250. He that extirpates this (trait),
Tearing it up by the roots,
Whether it be night or day,
He acquires concentration.251. Nothing burns like passion;
Nothing grips (one) like ill-will;
There is no snare like delusion
And no torrent akin to craving.
252. Easily seen are others' faults,
Hard to discern one's own;
One sifts their misdemeanours
Just like (winnowed) chaff,
Whilst cloaking the flaws of self,
Like the cheat his ill-thrown dice.253. Seeing the faults of others,
Ever irritable,
One's distractions grow;
Far they are from waning.254. In the air there is no path,
Outside (this dhamma) no ascetic;
The world delights in what impedes;
Exemplars are unconstrained.Note: 'Exemplars' - another name for buddhas.
255. In the air there is no path;
Outside (this dhamma) no ascetic;
Nothing formed that lasts forever;
No fickleness among the buddhas.256. He is not just
Who judges with haste;
One that is wise
Weighs the right and the wrong.257. The intelligent one, protected by dhamma,
Impartial and fair,
Unhurriedly judging,
Is (truly) called just.258. One is not wise
Through talking much;
The tranquil, kind, and fearless
(Earn that name).259. Proficiency in dhamma
Is not through much talk about it;
He who has heard but little
Yet perceives its substance;
He is versed in dhamma,
He does not neglect it.260. A man is not an elder
Because his head is grey;
He may be mature in years
And yet be called 'grown old in vain'.261. He is rightly called an elder
In whom is truth and justice,
Non-violent, knowingly restrained,
Steadfast and uncorrupt.262. Not through measured speech
Or fairness of complexion
Does a man rate as handsome
Who is envious, selfish, crafty.
263. But whoever cuts these off,
Uprooting them entirely,
Ill-will cast out, intelligent,
He it is who's handsome called.264. No ascetic is there through shaven-head,
If he be unruly, speaking false,
Full of wants and covetings
How can there be such (a one)!265. He is termed ascetic
That shall pacify
All (tendency) to evil,
Be it slight or gross.266. Begging alms from others
Does not make a monk
(Of one who) reeks
With the stench of (harmful) things.267. Truly, he is called a monk
That stands aside from good and ill,
Following the brahma-way,
Proceeding with judgement in the world.Note: 'the brahma-way' - the good life, but here it needs to be contrasted with the search for merit and conventional goodness as specified in the previous line.
268. Silence does not make a sage
+ Of one who is errant and foolish;
269. Whilst seizing on what is good
The wise man spurns the bad,
As though wielding a balance;
Therein lies his sagacity;
He is called a sage
That comprehends both worlds.Note: Some ascetics took a vow of silence.
270. An ariyan there is not
Who injures living things;
He is called an ariyan
That harms not any creature.271. I know renunciation's ease
Beyond the range of common men;
Rest not then content, O monks,
With the distractions yet unwaned;
272. (Just) through following rule or rite,
Or on account of great knowledge,
Nor through concentration gained,
Nor because one dwells remote.273. Of ways the eightfold is the best;
Of truths the four statements;
Dispassion is the best of states;
The clear-seeing one of bipeds.274. This is the way, there is no other
To purity of insight;
Follow it (for) herein
Lies Mara's confusion.
275. Following (it) you shall make
An end of suffering;
Truly I have declared the way,
Knowing the removal of (life's) barbs.276. It is you who must exert yourselves;
Exemplars are (only) teachers;
They break free from Mara's bonds
Who follow the way and are absorbed.277. All things formed are transient;
When this is with wisdom seen
One turns aside from suffering;
This is the way to purity.278. All things formed are (a source of) pain;
When this is with wisdom seen
One turns aside from suffering;
This is the way to purity.279. All states are void of self;
When this is with wisdom seen
One turns aside from suffering;
This is the way to purity.280. At a time for effort unstriving,
Lazy, though young and strong,
Of flagging purpose, laggardly,
The idler finds not wisdom's road.281. Be guarded of speech, of disciplined mind;
Eschew the body's unskilled ways;
Cleanse these three activities;
Attain the path proclaimed by seers.
282. From (dhamma's) yoke springs knowledge;
From unyoking knowledge dies;
Understanding these two routes
Of evolution and regression
May one be established
There where knowledge shall increase.283. Cut down the forest, but not a tree;
Out of the forest emerges fear;
Cutting down both forest and thicket
Dwell unforested, O monks.Note: There is an apparent play on words in this verse, because of the resemblance between the adjective 'nibbana' meaning deforested and the noun 'nibbana' referring to the quenching of passions. The first line seems to have been directed to some monks who had taken the metaphor literally!
284. Whilst even the smallest thicket
Of a man's thirst for women
Is not excised his mind's in bonds,
Like the milch-calf to its mother.285. Break off lust
As with the hand an autumn lily;
Take the peaceful path to nibbana,
Preached by him well-gone (before).286. 'Here I shall live for the rains
Here for the winter and summer';
So imagines the fool
Not thinking of what lies in between.Note: i.e. he forgets life's uncertainties.
287. Death takes and carries off,
Like a torrent a sleeping village,
The man who is pre-occupied
With children and with cattle.288. There are no sons for shelter,
Nor father nor relatives,
When come upon life's ending
Kinsfolk are no refuge.289. Perceiving this outcome,
Controlling his conduct,
The wise one soon clears
The way to nibbana.290. If one sees a great happiness
In renouncing a small one
The man of character
Has regard to (the former).291. Whoever seeks happiness
By inflicting pain on others
Is enmeshed in hatred's tangles
And not released (therefrom).
292. His distractions grow
Who, vain and indifferent,
Scorns his obligations
And does what he ought not.293. His distractions wane
Who, mindful and deliberate,
Undertakes the constant practice
Of bodily awareness,
Avoiding what should not be done
Persevering in his task.294. Unperturbed goes the brahman,
Having slain both mother and father,
Together with two warrior kings
Destroying (both) realm and subjects.Note: A parable - 'mother and father' are craving and pride, 'two warrior kings' the rival views of eternalism and annihilationism (both rejected by Buddhism), 'realm and subjects' the senses and their objects.
295. Unperturbed goes the brahman,
Having slain both mother and father,
Together with two brahman kings,
And fifthly spoiled the tiger's path.Note: Another parable - the symbolism is as in the previous verse apart from 'the tiger's path' which is an allusion to the five hindrances of sensuality, ill-will, sloth and torpor, agitation and worry, and doubt.
296. Well awakened, ever awake,
Are Gotama's disciples;
Always, be it night or day
Mindful of the Buddha.297/301. As above apart from the fourth lines which are as follows:
297. Mindful of the Dhamma
298. Mindful of the Sangha299. Mindful of the body
300. With mind intent on harmlessness
301. With mind intent on growth
302. Hard is the going forth, difficult its joys;
Hard and painful is the household life;
Unpleasant the association of unequals;
Fraught with sorrow the passage through time;
So be not a time-traveller
Subject to sorrow.303. Endowed with faith and virtue,
With repute and possessions,
To whatever place that one resorts
There he is respected.304. The transquil are beheld from afar
Like the Himalaya mountains;
The unpeaceful are unnoticed
Like arrows shot by night.305. The one who sits and rests alone,
And walks alone, unflagging
Winning self-mastery on his own
Shall find enjoyment in the forest.Preamble. States of torment are described in as lurid terms as their Christian counterparts, but none of them are eternal. In Buddhism all actions are finite and have finite outcomes so that any afterlife, whether happy or unhappy, is temporary and will come to an end when the kamma which led to it is exhausted.
306. The liar goes to a state of woe;
And him that, having done, denies it;
These two, at one in their baseness,
Share the same fate hereafter.307. Many that wear the yellow robe
Are ill-natured and intemperate;
They arise in the woeful state
Because of the ill in their bad deeds.308. Better to swallow a hot iron ball
That's like to a blazing fire
Than to have a knavish, unskilled man
Consume the country's alms-food.309. The heedless man, the adulterer;
To him befalls these four states:
Dishonour and his sleep disturbed;
Censure, and a state of woe;
310. Earned is dishonour and a wretched fate;
Fleeting is the pleasure of the fearful pair;
The king inflicts grave punishment;
So let none go to another's wife.
311. Like kusa grass wrongly held
That cuts the hand (that grasps it);
The ascetic's life, badly pursued
Takes one to purgatory.312. The behaviour that is slack;
The practice that's corrupt;
The good life compromised;
These yield but little fruit.313. In doing what is to be done
Go forward with firmness;
The wanderer who is lax
Continually spreads defilement.314. Better not done that ill-deed
That afterwards torments one;
Rather perform that good act
That brings no (cause for) regret.315. Like a border city guarded
Inside and out
Let the self be protected;
Relax not for a moment
For, brought to purgatory,
One grieves when the time is past.316. Feeling shame when they shouldn't;
At the shameful feeling no shame;
Embracing (such) false views (as these)
Beings come to ruin.317. Seeing as fearsome what is not;
Unfearful of what should be feared;
Embracing (such) false views (as these)
Beings come to ruin.318. Seeing as wrong what is not;
Seeing no fault where fault there is;
Embracing (such) false views (as these)
Beings come to ruin.319. Knowing wrong as wrong;
Knowing right as right;
Embracing true perspectives
Beings come to a happy state.320. Like an elephant in battle
Enduring arrows;
So shall I withstand abuse
Indeed the multitude is vicious.321. They lead the trained (elephant) to assembly
(Where) the king mounts upon it.
Best of men is the one who is trained
And who submits to abuse.322. Tame mules are excellent
And the thoroughbred horses of Sindh;
Likewise elephants, the great beasts of state;
(But) better than these is the tamer of self.
323. Not by such means as these
Can you get to the untrodden land
In the way that one subdued may go
By great self-control.Note: 'the untrodden land' - nibbana.
324. The elephant called Dhanapalaka
Is hard to control in the rutting season;
Enchained he eats not even a morsel;
He pines for the elephant-forest.325. That dolt comes evermore to the womb
Who, sluggish and heavy-eating,
Tosses around where he lies in sleep
Like some great hog stuffed with fodder.326. Of yore this mind would wander
At its will, fancy, and pleasure;
But now shall I wholly rein it in
As the mahout the elephant in rut.327. Revel in alertness;
Guard well your mind;
As an elephant mire in mud (pulls free)
Tear yourself from the road to ruin.328. If you find a prudent friend,
A companion true and constant,
You may surmount all troubles
Living mindful and uplifted.
329. If you find no prudent friend,
No compasnion true and constant,
Then, as a king may quit a conquered land,
Go lone as the elephant in the forest.330. To proceed alone is best;
A fool is no companion;
On one's own one does no ill
Like a free and easy forest-tusker.331. It's well to have a friend in the hour of need;
It's well to be contented come what may;
It's well to have done good when death is nigh;
It's well to leave every sorrow behind.332. To honour one's mother is good
And likewise one's father;
To honour ascetics is good
And likewise the (true) brahman.333. Happy is virtue to the end of one's days;
Happy a settled conviction;
Happy is the gain of wisdom;
Happy it is to do no ill.334. Craving grows like the maluva creeper
For the person whose life is careless.
He leaps from one life to another
Like a jungle-monkey in search of fruit.
335. His grief grows like birana weed
In the aftermath of rain
Who in the world is overcome
By this base, obsessive thirst.336. But whoever in the world surmounts
This vile craving, hard to cross,
Sorrows drain away from him
As from a lotus water-drops.337. This I say - good fortune
To all here assembled;
Unearth craving's source
As one might seek birana's root.
Let not Mara always rend you
Like a torrent breaking reeds.338. With its roots unhurt and strong
A felled tree may grow again;
And sorrow ever springs anew
While craving's dregs are yet undrained.339. The flood bears off the misguided
With thoughts anchored in passion
In whom the thirty-six currents
Flow strong towards things pleasant.Note: The thirty-six currents are the five senses plus the mind multiplied by six types of feeling i.e. mental or physical sensation of a pleasant, painful or neutral character.
340. The streams flow everywhere;
The creeper sprouts and persists;
Seeing its germination
Chop off its roots with wisdom.Note: 'The streams' - as above; 'The creeper' - craving.
341. Born in mind and longed for
Are the joys that arise for beings;
Pleasure-bent, in search of ease
Such people come upon birth and decay.342. Worldlings confronted by craving
Run to and fro like captured hares;
Held fast by their fetters
They return many times to (a world of) pain.343. Worldlings confronted by craving
Run to and fro like captured hares;
So a monk should put aside craving
If he seeks release from passion.344. Free of (life's) jungle, intent on the jungle
(Yet) he flies to the jungle (again).
Just look at that man!
He runs (back) to the self-same bondage.Note: The second use of the word 'jungle' is a reference to the life of the ascetic in the forest, the other two to the metaphorical jungle of the householder's preoccupations. Line three alludes to those who return to the household life.
345. That bond is not strong, the wise declare
That is of iron, or wood, or grass;
Devotion to jewellery, and children, and wives
Is a (far greater) attachment.346. This bond is strong, the wise declare
Burdensome, lax, (yet) hard to loose;
They (who) go forth, cut this too
With indifference spurning worldly joys.347. The passion-afflicted follow the current,
Spider(s) in a self-made web;
This too severed the wise proceed
With indifference, rejecting every sorrow.348. Let be what's gone and is to come
And what lies in between;
With mind quite freed, pass beyond;
Come no more to birth and decay.349. Continually the thirsts increase
For the person who's of restless mind;
Of eager passions, seeing just pleasure
Truly he makes his bondage strong.350. Intent on pacifying thoughts
Ever mindful he dwells on things impure;
He it is who makes an end;
He will sever Mara's thongs.351. With goal attained and fearless;
Void of craving and unsullied;
He cuts out life's arrows,
This his final form.
352. Done with craving and with grasping;
Expert in exegesis;
Knowing words -
Their form, their sequence
He is called the final vessel,
Greatly wise, a mighty man.353. All-subduing, all-knowing am I;
By nothing am I tainted;
Rid of all, through craving's ending
Mine own is the gnosis, to whom shall I point?Note: 'to whom shall I point' i.e. as a teacher.
354. The gift of dhamma excels all gifts;
Its flavour surpasses all tastes;
Delight in it transcends all joys;
Craving's end subdues all sorrow.355. Riches destroy the fool,
Not one in search of the further shore;
Through thirst for wealth the witless
Bring self to ruin as though another.356. Weeds are the blight of fields;
Passion's the blight of the world;
So of great fruit is a gift
To those who are passion-free.357. Weeds are the blight of fields;
Ill-will's the blight of the world;
So of great fruit is a gift
To those who are free from ill-will.
358. Weeds are the blight of fields;
Delusion's the blight of the world;
So of great fruit is a gift
To those without delusion.359. Weeds are the blight of fields;
Yearning's the blight of the world;
So of great fruit is a gift
To those who have no yearnings.360. Restraint of the eye is good
(And likewise) of the ear;
Restraint of the nose is good
(And likewise) of the tongue.361. It is well to constrain the body
(And) to control one's words;
It is well to discipline the mind;
In every way restraint is good;
The monk restrained in everything
Is wholly freed from suffering.362. Governing hand, and foot, and speech;
Controlled in the utmost (part);
Inwardly joyful and composed;
Alone and content - he's called a monk.Note: 'the utmost part' - the head and therefore the mind.
363. The monk that guards his tongue,
Measured of speech and not puffed up,
Illuminates both spirit and letter;
Sweet indeed are his words.364. Abiding and joyful in dhamma;
Thereon pondering;
Well remembering it the monk
Does not betray the truth sublime.365. Do not neglect your own advantage
Nor proceed envious of others;
The monk who envies others
Does not become concentrated.366. Though a monk's achievement be slight
Let him not disdain it;
Indeed the gods commend
The pure of life who persevere.367. He is rightly called a monk
For whom there is no (me or) mine
In mind or body anywhere,
And does not pine for absent things.368. The monk who's abode is goodwill,
Pleased with the Buddha's teaching,
Possesses himself of the peaceful way,
The happy quietening of (all) things formed.369. Bale out this ship, O monk!
Emptied you will travel light;
Severing passion and ill-will
You will go to nibbana.
370. Cut off five, forsake five,
A further five develop;
Mastering attachments five
'Flood-crossed' is that monk's name.Note: The first five are - ill-will, sensuality, doubt, the illusion of self, attachment to conventions and rituals; the second five are - attachment to the world of forms and of the formless, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance; the third five are - faith, wisdom, concentration, energy, and mindfulness; the fourth - passion, ill-will, pride, delusion, false views.
371. Meditate monk, be not careless;
Let not your mind roam the sensuous channels;
Nor mindlessly swallow a (hot) metal ball;
Do not cry torment as you burn.372. There is no absorption without wisdom;
There is no wisdom without absorption;
He is truly in nibbana's presence
In whom both (these things) are found.373. For the monk of tranquil mind,
Gone into an empty place;
Who grasps the dhamma thoroughly.
There is a superhuman joy.374. Whenever he reflects
On the rise and fall of the embodiments
He experiences joy and delight
That is the nectar of the knowing.
Note: 'the embodiments' - body, perception, feeling, mental characteristics and structure, and consciousness itself - whether thought of as constituting an individual or the Universe.375. Now for a wise monk
This comes first
Guarding the faculties and contentment;
Restraint in terms of the Obligations;
Companionship with noble friends;
Whose lives are pure and free from sloth.376. Let him be of welcoming ways,
Courteous in his conduct;
Therein will lie great joy (for him);
He'll make an end of suffering.377. Like the jasmine creeper
That sheds its withered leaves
O monks you should abandon
Passion and ill-will.378. Calm in body, calm of speech,
Of tranquil mind and well-composed;
Spewing out the world of the flesh
(Such) a monk is termed 'at peace'.379. Let yourself exhort your self,
And examine it;
Guarding self and mindful
A monk lives happily.
380. You are your own protector;
Who else could it be?
Therefore control yourself
As a merchant does a noble steed.381. The monk who is filled with joy,
Pleased with the Buddha's teaching,
Possesses himself of the peaceful way
The happy quietening of (all) things formed.382. A monk who, though still young,
Is absorbed in Buddha's teaching
Illuminates this world
As the Moon might shed a cloud.Preamble. Brahmans were the priestly caste, often regarding themselves as related to Brahma in a way which set them above and apart from others. This section takes an idealised view of the brahman in non-caste terms.
383. Strive to stem the stream
Expel, O brahman, worldly joys;
Seeing decay in (all that's) formed
Be knower of (a realm) unmade.384. When in two ways
The brahman goes beyond
Then all the fetters
Of that Seer shall break.Note: 'two ways' - calm and insight.
385. I call him a brahman,
Fearless and unbound,
For whom no 'this' or 'other' (world)
Or 'both' are to be found;
386. Sitting faultless and absorbed,
Goal-fulfilled, distraction-free,
Having reached the ultimate.387. By day the Sun doth warm;
At night the Moon (may) shine;
The accoutred warrior gleams;
Bright is the sage absorbed;
But continually, night and day,
The Buddha in splendour glows.388. He is called brahman that wards off evil,
An ascetic termed through an even course;
By expelling imperfections
Is a wanderer (truly) named.389. One should not strike a brahman
Nor the brahman retaliate;
Woe to him that hurts a brahman;
More woe for him that vents (his wrath).390. For a brahman naught is better
Than to curb his instincts;
In turning aside from harming
Suffering is laid to rest.391. I call him a brahman
Who is governed by (these) three states;
(In him) there is no evil
Of body, speech, or mind.
392. Duly honour him
As the brahman the sacred fire
From whom you learn of dhamma
That the Buddha true has preached.393. Not through matted hair nor clan
Is one a brahman, nor through birth;
In whom is truth and dhamma
He's a brahman! He is pure.394. What of your matted hair, you dolt!
What of your cloak of skins!
Within you are entangled;
You groom (just) your outside.395. I call him a brahman
Who, clothed in dust-heap rags,
Lean, with veins protuberant
Alone in the jungle, meditates.396. (Though) born (as such) by womb and mother
(Yet) if he has impediments
I do not call him a brahman;
His is just the mode of speech.Note: 'mode of speech' - an untranslatable phrase in Pali indicating a form of address that treats others as equals or inferiors. Two additional lines indicating the opposite state have been omitted.
397. I call him a brahman
Who has broken every bond;
Who is truly without worry,
Unloosed from every tie;
398. Who cuts the fastening and the strap
Along with the chain and the bridle;
And, lifting the cross-bar, is enlightened.Note: The terms in 398. are metaphors for (in order) - ill-will, craving, heresy, latent tendencies, and ignorance.
399. I call him a brahman
That, uncorrupted, yet endures
Abuse and blows and fetters,
His patient strength a mighty throng;
400. Who's anger-free and dutiful,
Virtuous and without lust,
Is tamed, and wears his last body;
401. Who no more cleaves to worldly lusts
Than water to a lotus leaf,
Or mustard to the point of an awl.402. I call him a brahman
Who, in this world has found
The end of his distress,
And is lightened and unyoked.
403. Who is profound, intelligent,
Versed in the right way and the wrong
And has won the ultimate prize;
404. Who does not congregate
With those gone forth or householders
But, wanting little, homeless goes.405. I call him a brahman
That has laid aside the stick
To beings frail and resolute;
That neither kills nor causes it;
406. Free among the hindered,
Peaceful among the violent,
Ungrasping amid the grasping;
407. For whom passion, ill-will, pride
And hypocrisy are (all) dropped off
Like mustard seed from the point of an awl.408. I call him a brahman
Of urbane, instructive speech;
Whose words are true, and
Gives offence to no one;
409. Who takes nothing that's not given;
Whether it be long or short,
Great or small, fair or foul;
410. In whom are found no longings
For this world or another,
And is unyoked, desireless.411. I call him a brahman
For whom there is no lodging;
His doubts dispelled through gnosis;
Immersed in the deathless;
412. Transcending all adherence,
Whether it be to good or bad;
Unsorrowing, pure, and passionless,
413. Clean and bright as the Moon;
Unagitated and unsullied;
His delight in being waned.414. I call him a brahman who,
Surmounting delusion,
Gets past this swamp, this toilsome ceaseless round
And gone beyond, is one absorbed;
Without desire, with doubts dispelled,
Attached to naught, and wholly quenched.415. I call him a brahman who,
Letting go of worldly joys,
Wanders in the homeless state,
That life of pleasure quite extinct;
416. Who, having set craving aside,
Wanders in the homeless state,
That lust for life gone clean away;
417. And who, discarding human ties,
And transcending those of heaven,
Is unyoked from every yoke.418. Him I call a brahman who,
Surrendering like and dislike.
Dispassionate and ungrounded,
A hero mastering every world,
419. Fully understands of beings
Their passing on and re-arising;
Uncleaving, adept, and enlightened;
420. Whose going is not fathomed
By gods, demi-gods, men;
Distractions waned, ennobled.421. Nothing he retains
Of past, future, or present;
Unkeeping and uncleaving;
422. The bull, the best, the hero;
The great sage and the victor;
The pure - bathed, enlightened
Him I call a brahman.Note: 'bathed' - term applied to a brahman who has completed his studies.
423. I call him a brahman
Who knows his former lives;
Who sees both heaven and hell;
Who makes an end of birth;
A seer attained to gnosis;
Perfecting all perfections.
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