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I - Yamakavagga: Pairs
1-2
Phenomena are preceded by the heart,
ruled by the heart,
made of the heart.
If you speak or act
with a corrupted heart,
then suffering follows you —
as the wheel of the cart,
the track of the ox
that pulls it.
Phenomena are preceded by the heart,
ruled by the heart,
made of the heart.
If you speak or act
with a calm, bright heart,
then happiness follows you,
like a shadow
that never leaves.
3-6
'He insulted me,
hit me,
beat me,
robbed me'
— for those who brood on this,
hostility isn't stilled.
'He insulted me,
hit me,
beat me,
robbed me' —
for those who don't brood on this,
hostility is stilled.
Hostilities aren't stilled
through hostility,
regardless.
Hostilities are stilled
through non-hostility:
this, an unending truth.
Unlike those who don't realize
that we're here on the verge
of perishing,
those who do:
their quarrels are stilled.
7-8
One who stays focused on the beautiful,
is unrestrained with the senses,
knowing no moderation in food,
apathetic, unenergetic:
Mara overcomes him
as the wind, a weak tree.
One who stays focused on the foul,
is restrained with regard to the senses,
knowing moderation in food,
full of conviction & energy:
Mara does not overcome him
as the wind, a mountain of rock.
9-10
He who, depraved,
devoid
of truthfulness
& self-control,
puts on the ochre robe,
doesn't deserve the ochre robe.
But he who is free
of depravity
endowed
with truthfulness
& self-control,
well-established
in the precepts,
truly deserves the ochre robe.
11-12
Those who regard
non-essence as essence
and see essence as non-,
don't get to the essence,
ranging about in wrong resolves.
But those who know
essence as essence,
and non-essence as non-,
get to the essence,
ranging about in right resolves.
13-14
As rain seeps into
an ill-thatched hut,
so passion,
the undeveloped mind.
As rain doesn't seep into
a well-thatched hut,
so passion does not,
the well-developed mind.
15-18
Here he grieves
he grieves hereafter.
In both worlds
the wrong-doer grieves.
He grieves, he's afflicted,
seeing the corruption
of his deeds.
Here he rejoices
he rejoices hereafter.
In both worlds
the merit-maker rejoices.
He rejoices, is jubilant,
seeing the purity
of his deeds.
Here he's tormented
he's tormented hereafter.
In both worlds
the wrong-doer's tormented.
He's tormented at the thought,
'I've done wrong.'
Having gone to a bad destination,
he's tormented
all the more.
Here he delights
he delights hereafter.
In both worlds
the merit-maker delights.
He delights at the thought,
'I've made merit.'
Having gone to a good destination,
he delights
all the more.
19-20
If he recites many teachings, but
— heedless man —
doesn't do what they say,
like a cowherd counting the cattle of
others,
he has no share in the contemplative life.
If he recites next to nothing
but follows the Dhamma
in line with the Dhamma;
abandoning passion,
aversion, delusion;
alert,
his mind well-released,
not clinging
either here or hereafter:
he has his share in the contemplative life.
II - Appamadavagga: Heedfulness
21-24
Heedfulness: the path to the Deathless.
Heedlessness: the path to death.
The heedful do not die.
The heedless are as if
already dead.
Knowing this as a true distinction,
those wise in heedfulness
rejoice in heedfulness,
enjoying the range of the noble ones.
The enlightened, constantly
absorbed in jhana,
persevering,
firm in their effort:
they touch Unbinding,
the unexcelled rest
from the yoke.
Those with initiative,
mindful,
clean in action,
acting with due consideration,
heedful, restrained,
living the Dhamma:
their glory
grows.
25
Through initiative, heedfulness,
restraint, & self-control,
the wise would make
an island
no flood
can submerge.
26
They're addicted to heedlessness
— dullards, fools —
while one who is wise
cherishes heedfulness
as his highest wealth.
27
Don't give way to heedlessness
or to intimacy
with sensual delight —
for a heedful person,
absorbed in jhana,
attains an abundance of ease.
28
When the wise person drives out
heedlessness
with heedfulness,
having climbed the high tower
of discernment,
sorrow-free,
he observes the sorrowing crowd —
as the enlightened man,
having scaled
a summit,
the fools on the ground below.
29
Heedful among the heedless,
wakeful among those asleep,
just as a fast horse advances,
leaving the weak behind:
so the wise.
30
Through heedfulness, Indra won
to lordship over the gods.
Heedfulness is praised,
heedlessness censured —
always.
31-32
The monk delighting in heedfulness,
seeing danger in heedlessness,
advances like a fire,
burning fetters
great & small.
The monk delighting in heedfulness,
seeing danger in heedlessness
— incapable of falling back —
stands right on the verge
of Unbinding.
III - Cittavagga: The Mind
33-37
Quivering, wavering,
hard to guard,
to hold in check:
the mind.
The sage makes it straight —
like a fletcher,
the shaft of an arrow.
Like a fish
pulled from its home in the water
& thrown on land:
this mind flips & flaps about
to escape Mara's sway.
Hard to hold down,
nimble,
alighting wherever it likes:
the mind.
Its taming is good.
The mind well-tamed
brings ease.
So hard to see,
so very, very subtle,
alighting wherever it likes:
the mind.
The wise should guard it.
The mind protected
brings ease.
Wandering far,
going alone,
bodiless,
lying in a cave:
the mind.
Those who restrain it:
from Mara's bonds
they'll be freed.
38
For a person of unsteady mind,
not knowing true Dhamma,
serenity
set adrift:
discernment doesn't grow full.
39
For a person of unsoddened mind,
unassaulted
awareness,
abandoning merit & evil,
wakeful,
there is no danger
no fear.
40
Knowing this body
is like a clay jar,
securing this mind
like a fort,
attack Mara
with the spear of discernment,
then guard what's won
without settling there,
without laying claim.
41
All too soon, this body
will lie on the ground
cast off,
bereft of consciousness,
like a useless scrap
of wood.
42-43
Whatever an enemy might do
to an enemy,
or a foe to a foe,
the ill-directed mind
can do to you
even worse.
Whatever a mother, father
or other kinsman
might do for you,
the well-directed mind
can do for you
even better.
IV - Pupphavagga: Blossoms
44-45
Who will penetrate this earth
& this realm of death
with all its gods?
Who will ferret out
the well-taught Dhamma-saying,
as the skillful flower-arranger
the flower?
The learner-on-the-path
will penetrate this earth
& this realm of death
with all its gods.
The learner-on-the-path
will ferret out
the well-taught Dhamma-saying,
as the skillful flower-arranger
the flower.
46
Knowing this body
is like foam,
realizing its nature
— a mirage —
cutting out
the blossoms of Mara,
you go where the King of Death
can't see.
47-48
The man immersed in
gathering blossoms,
his heart distracted:
death sweeps him away —
as a great flood,
a village asleep.
The man immersed in
gathering blossoms,
his heart distracted,
insatiable in sensual pleasures:
the End-Maker holds him
under his sway.
49
As a bee — without harming
the blossom,
its color,
its fragrance —
takes its nectar & flies away:
so should the sage
go through a village.
50
Focus,
not on the rudenesses of others,
not on what they've done
or left undone,
but on what you
have & haven't done
yourself.
51-52
Just like a blossom,
bright colored
but scentless:
a well-spoken word
is fruitless
when not carried out.
Just like a blossom,
bright colored
& full of scent:
a well-spoken word
is fruitful
when well carried out.
53
Just as from a heap of flowers
many garland strands can be made,
even so
one born & mortal
should do
— with what's born & is mortal —
many a skillful thing.
54-56
No flower's scent
goes against the wind —
not sandalwood,
jasmine,
tagara.
But the scent of the good
does go against the wind.
The person of integrity
wafts a scent
in every direction.
Sandalwood, tagara,
lotus, & jasmine:
Among these scents,
the scent of virtue
is unsurpassed.
Next to nothing, this fragrance
— sandalwood, tagara —
while the scent of the virtuous
wafts to the gods,
supreme.
57
Those consummate in virtue,
dwelling in heedfulness,
released through right knowing:
Mara can't follow their tracks.
58-59
As in a pile of rubbish
cast by the side of a highway
a lotus might grow
clean-smelling
pleasing the heart,
so in the midst of the rubbish-like,
people run-of-the-mill & blind,
there dazzles with discernment
the disciple of the Rightly
Self-Awakened One.
V- Balavagga: Fools
60
Long for the wakeful is the night.
Long for the weary, a league.
For fools
unaware of True Dhamma,
samsara
is long.
61
If, in your course, you don't meet
your equal, your better,
then continue your course,
firmly,
alone.
There's no fellowship with fools.
62
'I have sons, I have wealth' —
the fool torments himself.
When even he himself
doesn't belong to himself,
how then sons?
How wealth?
63
A fool with a sense of his foolishness
is — at least to that extent — wise.
But a fool who thinks himself wise
really deserves to be called
a fool.
64-65
Even if for a lifetime
the fool stays with the wise,
he knows nothing of the Dhamma —
as the ladle,
the taste of the soup.
Even if for a moment,
the perceptive person stays with the wise,
he immediately knows the Dhamma —
as the tongue,
the taste of the soup.
66
Fools, their wisdom weak,
are their own enemies
as they go through life,
doing evil
that bears
bitter fruit.
67-68
It's not good,
the doing of the deed
that, once it's done,
you regret,
whose result you reap crying,
your face in tears.
It's good,
the doing of the deed
that, once it's done,
you don't regret,
whose result you reap gratified,
happy at heart.
69
As long as evil has yet to ripen,
the fool mistakes it for honey.
But when that evil ripens,
the fool falls into
pain.
70
Month after month
the fool might eat
only a tip-of-grass measure of food,
but he wouldn't be worth
one sixteenth
of those who've fathomed
the Dhamma.
71
An evil deed, when done,
doesn't — like ready milk —
come out right away.
It follows the fool,
smoldering
like a fire
hidden in ashes.
72-74
Only for his ruin
does renown come to the fool.
It ravages his bright fortune
& rips his head apart.
He would want unwarranted status,
preeminence among monks,
authority among monasteries,
homage from lay families.
'Let householders & those gone forth
both think that this
was done by me alone.
May I alone determine
what's a duty, what's not':
the resolve of a fool
as they grow —
his desire & pride.
75
The path to material gain
goes one way,
the way to Unbinding,
another.
Realizing this, the monk,
a disciple to the Awakened One,
should not relish offerings,
should cultivate seclusion
instead.
VI - Panditavagga: The Wise
76-77
Regard him as one who
points out
treasure,
the wise one who
seeing your faults
rebukes you.
Stay with this sort of sage.
For the one who stays
with a sage of this sort,
things get better,
not worse.
Let him admonish, instruct,
deflect you
away from poor manners.
To the good, he's endearing;
to the bad, he's not.
78
Don't associate with bad friends.
Don't associate with the low.
Associate with admirable friends.
Associate with the best.
79
Drinking the Dhamma,
refreshed by the Dhamma,
one sleeps at ease
with clear awareness & calm.
In the Dhamma revealed
by the noble ones,
the wise person
always delights.
80
Irrigators guide the water.
Fletchers shape the arrow shaft.
Carpenters shape the wood.
The wise control
themselves.
81
As a single slab of rock
won't budge in the wind,
so the wise are not moved
by praise,
by blame.
82
Like a deep lake,
clear, unruffled, & calm:
so the wise become clear,
calm,
on hearing words of the Dhamma.
83
Everywhere, truly,
those of integrity
stand apart.
They, the good,
don't chatter in hopes
of favor or gains.
When touched
now by pleasure,
now pain,
the wise give no sign
of high
or low.
84
One who wouldn't —
not for his own sake
nor that of another —
hanker for
wealth,
a son,
a kingdom,
his own fulfillment,
by unrighteous means:
he is righteous, rich
in virtue,
discernment.
85-89
Few are the people
who reach the Far Shore.
These others
simply scurry along
this shore.
But those who practice Dhamma
in line with the well-taught Dhamma,
will cross over the realm of Death
so hard to transcend.
Forsaking dark practices,
the wise person
should develop the bright,
having gone from home
to no-home
in seclusion, so hard to enjoy.
There he should wish for delight,
discarding sensuality —
he who has nothing.
He should cleanse himself — wise —
of what defiles the mind.
Whose minds are well-developed
in the factors of self-awakening,
who delight in non-clinging,
relinquishing grasping —
resplendent,
their effluents ended:
they, in the world,
are Unbound.
VII – Arahantavagga: Arahants
90
In one who
has gone the full distance,
is free from sorrow,
is fully released
in all respects,
has abandoned all bonds:
no fever is found.
91
The mindful keep active,
don't delight in settling back.
They renounce every home,
every home,
like swans taking off from a lake.
92-93
Not hoarding,
having comprehended food,
their pasture — emptiness
& freedom without sign:
their trail,
like that of birds through space,
can't be traced.
Effluents ended,
independent of nutriment,
their pasture — emptiness
& freedom without sign:
their trail,
like that of birds through space,
can't be traced.
94-96
He whose senses are steadied
like stallions
well-trained by the charioteer,
his conceit abandoned,
free of effluent,
Such:
even devas adore him.
Like the earth, he doesn't react —
cultured,
Such,
like Indra's pillar,
like a lake free of mud.
For him
— Such —
there's no traveling on.
Calm is his mind,
calm his speech
& his deed:
one who's released through right knowing,
pacified,
Such.
97
The man
faithless / beyond conviction
ungrateful / knowing the Unmade
a burglar / who has severed connections
who's destroyed
his chances / conditions
who eats vomit: / has disgorged expectations:
the ultimate person.
98
In village or wilds,
valley, plateau:
that place is delightful
where arahants dwell.
99
Delightful wilds
where the crowds don't delight,
those free from passion
delight,
for they're not searching
for sensual pleasures.
VIII - Sahassavagga: Thousands
100-102
Better
than if there were thousands
of meaningless words is
one
meaningful
word
that on hearing
brings peace.
Better
than if there were thousands
of meaningless verses is
one
meaningful
verse
that on hearing
brings peace.
And better than chanting hundreds
of meaningless verses is
one
Dhamma-saying
that on hearing
brings peace.
103-105
Greater in battle
than the man who would conquer
a thousand-thousand men,
is he who would conquer
just one —
himself.
Better to conquer yourself
than others.
When you've trained yourself,
living in constant self-control,
neither a deva nor gandhabba,
nor a Mara banded with Brahmas,
could turn that triumph
back into defeat.
106-108
You could, month by month,
at a cost of thousands,
conduct sacrifices
a hundred times,
or
pay a single moment's homage
to one person,
self-cultivated.
Better than a hundred years of sacrifices
would that act of homage be.
You could, for a hundred years,
live in a forest
tending a fire,
or
pay a single moment's homage
to one person,
self-cultivated.
Better than a hundred years of sacrifices
would that act of homage be.
Everything offered
or sacrificed in the world
for an entire year by one seeking merit
doesn't come to a fourth.
Better to pay respect
to those who've gone
the straight way.
109
If you're respectful by habit,
constantly honoring the worthy,
four things increase:
long life, beauty,
happiness, strength.
110-115
Better than a hundred years
lived without virtue, uncentered, is
one day
lived by a virtuous person
absorbed in jhana.
And better than a hundred years
lived undiscerning, uncentered, is
one day
lived by a discerning person
absorbed in jhana.
And better than a hundred years
lived apathetic & unenergetic, is
one day
lived energetic & firm.
And better than a hundred years
lived without seeing
arising & passing away, is
one day
lived seeing
arising & passing away.
And better than a hundred years
lived without seeing
the Deathless state, is
one day
lived seeing
the Deathless state.
And better than a hundred years
lived without seeing
the ultimate Dhamma, is
one day
lived seeing
the ultimate Dhamma.
IX - Papavagga: Evil
116
Be quick in doing
what's admirable.
Restrain your mind
from what's evil.
When you're slow
in making merit,
evil delights the mind.
117-118
If a person does evil,
he shouldn't do it again & again,
shouldn't develop a penchant for it.
To accumulate evil
brings pain.
If a person makes merit,
he should do it again & again,
should develop a penchant for it.
To accumulate merit
brings ease.
119-120
Even the evil
meet with good fortune
as long as their evil
has yet to mature.
But when it's matured
that's when they meet
with evil.
Even the good
meet with bad fortune
as long as their good
has yet to mature.
But when it's matured
that's when they meet
with good fortune.
121-122
Don't underestimate evil
('It won't amount to much').
A water jar fills,
even with water
falling in drops.
With evil — even if
bit
by
bit,
habitually —
the fool fills himself full.
Don't underestimate merit
('It won't amount to much').
A water jar fills,
even with water
falling in drops.
With merit — even if
bit
by
bit,
habitually —
the enlightened one fills himself full.
123
Like a merchant with a small
but well-laden caravan
— a dangerous road,
like a person who loves life
— a poison,
one should avoid
— evil deeds.
124
If there's no wound on the hand,
that hand can hold poison.
Poison won't penetrate
where there's no wound.
There's no evil
for those who don't do it.
125
Whoever harasses
an innocent man,
a man pure, without blemish:
the evil comes right back to the fool
like fine dust
thrown against the wind.
126
Some are born in the human womb,
evildoers in hell,
those on the good course go
to heaven,
while those without effluent:
totally unbound.
127-128
Not up in the air,
nor in the middle of the sea,
nor going into a cleft in the mountains
— nowhere on earth —
is a spot to be found
where you could stay & escape
your evil deed.
Not up in the air,
nor in the middle of the sea,
nor going into a cleft in the mountains
— nowhere on earth —
is a spot to be found
where you could stay & not succumb
to death.
X - Dandavagga: The Rod
129-130
All
tremble at the rod,
all
are fearful of death.
Drawing the parallel to
yourself,
neither kill nor get others to kill.
All
tremble at the rod,
all
hold their life dear.
Drawing the parallel to
yourself,
neither kill nor get others to kill.
131-132
Whoever takes a rod
to harm living beings desiring ease,
when he himself is looking for ease,
will meet with no ease after death.
Whoever doesn't take a rod
to harm living beings desiring ease,
when he himself is looking for ease,
will meet with ease after death.
133
Speak harshly to no one,
or the words will be thrown
right back at you.
Contentious talk is painful,
for you get struck by rods in return.
134
If, like a flattened metal pot
you don't resound,
you've attained an Unbinding;
in you there's found
no contention.
135
As a cowherd with a rod
drives cows to the field,
so aging & death
drive the life
of living beings.
136
When doing evil deeds,
the fool is oblivious.
The dullard
is tormented
by his own deeds,
as if burned by a fire.
137-140
Whoever, with a rod,
harasses an innocent man, unarmed,
quickly falls into any of ten things:
harsh pains, devastation, a broken body, grave illness,
mental derangement, trouble with the government,
violent slander, relatives lost, property dissolved,
houses burned down.
At the break-up of the body
this one with no discernment,
reappears in
hell.
141-142
Neither nakedness nor matted hair
nor mud nor the refusal of food
nor sleeping on the bare ground
nor dust & dirt nor squatting austerities
cleanses the mortal
who's not gone beyond doubt.
If, though adorned, one lives in tune
with the chaste life
— calmed, tamed, & assured —
having put down the rod toward all beings,
he's a contemplative
a brahman
a monk.
143
Who in the world
is a man constrained by conscience,
who awakens to censure
like a fine stallion to the whip?
144
Like a fine stallion
struck with a whip,
be ardent & chastened.
Through conviction
virtue, persistence,
concentration, judgment,
consummate in knowledge & conduct,
mindful,
you'll abandon this not-insignificant pain.
145
Irrigators guide the water.
Fletchers shape the arrow shaft.
Carpenters shape the wood.
Those of good practices control
themselves.
XI - Jaravagga: Aging
146
What laughter, why joy,
when constantly aflame?
Enveloped in darkness,
don't you look for a lamp?
147
Look at the beautified image,
a heap of festering wounds, shored up:
ill, but the object
of many resolves,
where there is nothing
lasting or sure.
148
Worn out is this body,
a nest of diseases, dissolving.
This putrid conglomeration
is bound to break up,
for life is hemmed in with death.
149
On seeing these bones
discarded
like gourds in the fall,
pigeon-gray:
what delight?
150
A city made of bones,
plastered over with flesh & blood,
whose hidden treasures are:
pride & contempt,
aging & death.
151
Even royal chariots
well-embellished
get run down,
and so does the body
succumb to old age.
But the Dhamma of the good
doesn't succumb to old age:
the good let the civilized know.
152
This unlistening man
matures like an ox.
His muscles develop,
his discernment not.
153-154
Through the round of many births I roamed
without reward,
without rest,
seeking the house-builder.
Painful is birth
again & again.
House-builder, you're seen!
You will not build a house again.
All your rafters broken,
the ridge pole dismantled,
immersed in dismantling, the mind
has attained to the end of craving.
155-156
Neither living the chaste life
nor gaining wealth in their youth,
they waste away like old herons
in a dried-up lake
depleted of fish.
Neither living the chaste life
nor gaining wealth in their youth,
they lie around,
misfired from the bow,
sighing over old times.
XII - Attavagga: Self
157
If you hold yourself dear
then guard, guard yourself well.
The wise person would stay awake
nursing himself
in any of the three watches of the night,
the three stages of life.
158
First
he'd settle himself
in what is correct,
only then
teach others.
He wouldn't stain his name
: he is wise.
159
If you'd mold yourself
the way you teach others,
then, well-trained,
go ahead & tame —
for, as they say,
what's hard to tame is you
yourself.
160
Your own self is
your own mainstay,
for who else could your mainstay be?
With you yourself well-trained
you obtain the mainstay
hard to obtain.
161
The evil he himself has done
— self-born, self-created —
grinds down the dullard,
as a diamond, a precious stone.
162
When overspread by extreme vice —
like a sal tree by a vine —
you do to yourself
what an enemy would wish.
163
They're easy to do —
things of no good
& no use to yourself.
What's truly useful & good
is truly harder than hard to do.
164
The teaching of those who live the Dhamma,
worthy ones, noble:
whoever maligns it
— a dullard,
inspired by evil view —
bears fruit for his own destruction,
like the fruiting of the bamboo.
165
Evil is done by oneself
by oneself is one defiled.
Evil is left undone by oneself
by oneself is one cleansed.
Purity & impurity are one's own doing.
No one purifies another.
No other purifies one.
166
Don't sacrifice your own welfare
for that of another,
no matter how great.
Realizing your own true welfare,
be intent on just that.
XIII - Lokavagga: Worlds
167
Don't associate with lowly qualities.
Don't consort with heedlessness.
Don't associate with wrong views.
Don't busy yourself with the world.
168-169
Get up! Don't be heedless.
Live the Dhamma well.
One who lives the Dhamma
sleeps with ease
in this world & the next.
Live the Dhamma well.
Don't live it badly.
One who lives the Dhamma
sleeps with ease
in this world & the next.
170
See it as a bubble,
see it as a mirage:
one who regards the world this way
the King of Death doesn't see.
171
Come look at this world
all decked out
like a royal chariot,
where fools plunge in,
while those who know
don't cling.
172-173
Who once was heedless,
but later is not,
brightens the world
like the moon set free from a cloud.
His evil-done deed
is replaced with skillfulness:
he brightens the world
like the moon set free from a cloud.
174
Blinded this world —
how few here see clearly!
Just as birds who've escaped
from a net are
few, few
are the people
who make it to heaven.
175
Swans fly the path of the sun;
those with the power fly through space;
the enlightened flee from the world,
having defeated the armies of Mara.
176
The person who tells a lie,
who transgresses in this one thing,
transcending concern for the world beyond:
there's no evil
he might not do.
177
No misers go
to the world of the devas.
Those who don't praise giving
are fools.
The enlightened
express their approval for giving
and so find ease
in the world beyond.
178
Sole dominion over the earth,
going to heaven,
lordship over all worlds:
the fruit of stream-entry
excels them.
XIV - Buddhavagga: Awakened
179-180
Whose conquest can't be undone,
whose conquest no one in the world
can reach;
awakened, his pasture endless,
pathless:
by what path will you lead him astray?
In whom there's no craving
— the sticky ensnarer —
to lead him anywherever at all;
awakened, his pasture endless,
pathless:
by what path will you lead him astray?
181
They, the enlightened, intent on jhana,
delighting in stilling
& renunciation,
self-awakened & mindful:
even the devas
view them with envy.
182
Hard the winning of a human birth.
Hard the life of mortals.
Hard the chance to hear the true Dhamma.
Hard the arising of Awakened Ones.
183-185
The non-doing of any evil,
the performance of what's skillful,
the cleansing of one's own mind:
this is the teaching
of the Awakened.
Patient endurance:
the foremost austerity.
Unbinding:
the foremost,
so say the Awakened.
He who injures another
is no contemplative.
He who mistreats another,
no monk.
Not disparaging, not injuring,
restraint in line with the Patimokkha,
moderation in food,
dwelling in seclusion,
commitment to the heightened mind:
this is the teaching
of the Awakened.
186-187
Not even if it rained gold coins
would we have our fill
of sensual pleasures.
'Stressful,
they give little enjoyment' —
knowing this, the wise one
finds no delight
even in heavenly sensual pleasures.
He is one who delights
in the ending of craving,
a disciple of the Rightly
Self-Awakened One.
188-192
They go to many a refuge,
to mountains and forests,
to park and tree shrines:
people threatened with danger.
That's not the secure refuge,
not the supreme refuge,
that's not the refuge,
having gone to which,
you gain release
from all suffering & stress.
But when, having gone
to the Buddha, Dhamma,
& Sangha for refuge,
you see with right discernment
the four noble truths —
stress,
the cause of stress,
the transcending of stress,
& the noble eightfold path,
the way to the stilling of stress:
that's the secure refuge,
that, the supreme refuge,
that is the refuge,
having gone to which,
you gain release
from all suffering & stress.
193
It's hard to come by
a thoroughbred of a man.
It's simply not true
that he's born everywhere.
Wherever he's born, an enlightened one,
the family prospers,
is happy.
194
A blessing: the arising of Awakened Ones.
A blessing: the teaching of true Dhamma.
A blessing: the concord of the Sangha.
The austerity of those in concord
is a blessing.
195-196
If you worship those worthy of worship,
— Awakened Ones or their disciples —
who've transcended
objectifications,
lamentation,
& grief,
who are unendangered,
fearless,
unbound:
there's no measure for reckoning
that your merit's 'this much.'
XV - Sukhavagga: Happy
197-200
How very happily we live,
free from hostility
among those who are hostile.
Among hostile people,
free from hostility we dwell.
How very happily we live,
free from misery
among those who are miserable.
Among miserable people,
free from misery we dwell.
How very happily we live,
free from busyness
among those who are busy.
Among busy people,
free from busyness we dwell.
How very happily we live,
we who have nothing.
We will feed on rapture
like the Radiant gods.
201
Winning gives birth to hostility.
Losing, one lies down in pain.
The calmed lie down with ease,
having set
winning & losing
aside.
202-204
There's no fire like passion,
no loss like anger,
no pain like the aggregates,
no ease other than peace.
Hunger: the foremost illness.
Fabrications: the foremost pain.
For one knowing this truth
as it actually is,
Unbinding
is the foremost ease.
Freedom from illness: the foremost good fortune.
Contentment: the foremost wealth.
Trust: the foremost kinship.
Unbinding: the foremost ease.
205
Drinking the nourishment,
the flavor,
of seclusion & calm,
one is freed from evil, devoid
of distress,
refreshed with the nourishment
of rapture in the Dhamma.
206-208
It's good to see Noble Ones.
Happy their company — always.
Through not seeing fools
constantly, constantly
one would be happy.
For, living with a fool,
one grieves a long time.
Painful is communion with fools,
as with an enemy —
always.
Happy is communion
with the enlightened,
as with a gathering of kin.
So:
the enlightened man —
discerning, learned,
enduring, dutiful, noble,
intelligent, a man of integrity:
follow him
— one of this sort —
as the moon, the path
of the zodiac stars.
XVI - Piyavagga: Dear Ones
209
Having applied himself
to what was not his own task,
and not having applied himself
to what was,
having disregarded the goal
to grasp at what he held dear,
he now envies those
who kept after themselves,
took themselves
to task.
210-211
Don't ever — regardless —
be conjoined with what's dear
or undear.
It's painful
not to see what's dear
or to see what's not.
So don't make anything dear,
for it's dreadful to be far
from what's dear.
No bonds are found
for those for whom
there's neither dear
nor undear.
212-216
From what's dear is born grief,
from what's dear is born fear.
For one freed from what's dear
there's no grief
— so how fear?
From what's loved is born grief,
from what's loved is born fear.
For one freed from what's loved
there's no grief
— so how fear?
From delight is born grief,
from delight is born fear.
For one freed from delight
there's no grief
— so how fear?
From sensuality is born grief,
from sensuality is born fear.
For one freed from sensuality
there's no grief
— so how fear?
From craving is born grief,
from craving is born fear.
For one freed from craving
there's no grief
— so how fear?
217
One consummate in virtue & vision,
judicious,
speaking the truth,
doing his own task:
the world holds him dear.
218
If
you've given birth to a wish
for what can't be expressed,
are suffused with heart,
your mind not enmeshed
in sensual passions:
you're said to be
in the up-flowing stream.
219-220
A man long absent
comes home safe from afar.
His kin, his friends, his companions,
delight in his return.
In just the same way,
when you've done good
& gone from this world
to the world beyond,
your good deeds receive you —
as kin, someone dear
come home.
XVII - Kodhavagga: Anger
221
Abandon anger,
be done with conceit,
get beyond every fetter.
When for name & form
you have no attachment
— have nothing at all —
no sufferings, no stresses, invade.
222
When anger arises,
whoever keeps firm control
as if with a racing chariot:
him
I call a master charioteer.
Anyone else,
a rein-holder —
that's all.
223
Conquer anger
with lack of anger;
bad, with good;
stinginess, with a gift;
a liar, with truth.
224
By telling the truth;
by not growing angry;
by giving, when asked,
no matter how little you have:
by these three things
you enter the presence of devas.
225
Gentle sages,
constantly restrained in body,
go to the unwavering state
where, having gone,
there's no grief.
226
Those who always stay wakeful,
training by day & by night,
keen on Unbinding:
their effluents come to an end.
227-228
This has come down from old, Atula,
& not just from today:
they find fault with one
who sits silent,
they find fault with one
who speaks a great deal,
they find fault with one
who measures his words.
There's no one unfaulted in the world.
There never was,
will be,
nor at present is found
anyone entirely faulted
or entirely praised.
229-230
If knowledgeable people praise him,
having observed him
day after day
to be blameless in conduct, intelligent,
endowed with discernment & virtue:
like an ingot of gold —
who's fit to find fault with him?
Even devas praise him.
Even by Brahmas he's praised.
231-234
Guard against anger
erupting in body;
in body, be restrained.
Having abandoned bodily misconduct,
live conducting yourself well
in body.
Guard against anger
erupting in speech;
in speech, be restrained.
Having abandoned verbal misconduct,
live conducting yourself well
in speech.
Guard against anger
erupting in mind;
in mind, be restrained.
Having abandoned mental misconduct,
live conducting yourself well
in mind.
Those restrained in body
— the enlightened —
restrained in speech & in mind
— enlightened —
are the ones whose restraint is secure.
XVIII - Malavagga: Impurities
235-238
You are now
like a yellowed leaf.
Already
Yama's minions stand near.
You stand at the door to departure
but have yet to provide
for the journey.
Make an island for yourself!
Work quickly! Be wise!
With impurities all blown away,
unblemished,
you'll reach the divine realm
of the noble ones.
You are now
right at the end of your time.
You are headed
to Yama's presence,
with no place to rest along the way,
but have yet to provide
for the journey.
Make an island for yourself!
Work quickly! Be wise!
With impurities all blown away,
unblemished,
you won't again undergo birth
& aging.
239
Just as a silver smith
step by
step,
bit by
bit,
moment to
moment,
blows away the impurities
of molten silver —
so the wise man, his own.
240
Just as rust
— iron's impurity —
eats the very iron
from which it is born,
so the deeds
of one who lives slovenly
lead him on
to a bad destination.
241-243
No recitation: the ruinous impurity
of chants.
No initiative: of a household.
Indolence: of beauty.
Heedlessness: of a guard.
In a woman, misconduct is an impurity.
In a donor, stinginess.
Evil deeds are the real impurities
in this world & the next.
More impure than these impurities
is the ultimate impurity:
ignorance.
Having abandoned this impurity,
monks, you're impurity-free.
244-245
Life's easy to live
for someone unscrupulous,
cunning as a crow,
corrupt, back-biting,
forward, & brash;
but for someone who's constantly
scrupulous, cautious,
observant, sincere,
pure in his livelihood,
clean in his pursuits,
it's hard.
246-248
Whoever kills, lies, steals,
goes to someone else's wife,
& is addicted to intoxicants,
digs himself up
by the root
right here in this world.
So know, my good man,
that bad deeds are reckless.
Don't let greed & unrighteousness
oppress you with long-term pain.
249-250
People give
in line with their faith,
in line with conviction.
Whoever gets flustered
at food & drink given to others,
attains no concentration
by day or by night.
But one in whom this is
cut through
up- rooted
wiped out —
attains concentration
by day or by night.
251
There's no fire like passion,
no seizure like anger,
no snare like delusion,
no river like craving.
252-253
It's easy to see
the errors of others,
but hard to see
your own.
You winnow like chaff
the errors of others,
but conceal your own —
like a cheat, an unlucky throw.
If you focus on the errors of others,
constantly finding fault,
your effluents flourish.
You're far from their ending.
254-255
There's no trail in space,
no outside contemplative.
People are smitten
with objectifications,
but devoid of objectification are
the Tathagatas.
There's no trail in space,
no outside contemplative,
no eternal fabrications,
no wavering in the Awakened.
XIX - Dhammatthavagga: The Judge
256-257
To pass judgment hurriedly
doesn't mean you're a judge.
The wise one, weighing both
the right judgment & wrong,
judges others impartially —
unhurriedly, in line with the Dhamma,
guarding the Dhamma,
guarded by Dhamma,
intelligent:
he's called a judge.
258-259
Simply talking a lot
doesn't mean one is wise.
Whoever's secure —
no hostility,
fear —
is said to be wise.
Simply talking a lot
doesn't maintain the Dhamma.
Whoever
— although he's heard next to nothing —
sees Dhamma through his body,
is not heedless of Dhamma:
he's one who maintains the Dhamma.
260-261
A head of gray hairs
doesn't mean one's an elder.
Advanced in years,
one's called an old fool.
But one in whom there is
truth, restraint,
rectitude, gentleness,
self-control —
he's called an elder,
his impurities disgorged,
enlightened.
262-263
Not by suave conversation
or lotus-like coloring
does an envious, miserly cheat
become an exemplary man.
But one in whom this is
cut through
up- rooted
wiped out —
he's called exemplary,
his aversion disgorged,
intelligent.
264-265
A shaven head
doesn't mean a contemplative.
The liar observing no duties,
filled with greed & desire:
what kind of contemplative's he?
But whoever tunes out
the dissonance
of his evil qualities
— large or small —
in every way
by bringing evil to consonance:
he's called a contemplative.
266-267
Begging from others
doesn't mean one's a monk.
As long as one follows
householders' ways,
one is no monk at all.
But whoever puts aside
both merit & evil and,
living the chaste life,
judiciously
goes through the world:
he's called a monk.
268-269
Not by silence
does someone confused
& unknowing
turn into a sage.
But whoever — wise,
as if holding the scales,
taking the excellent —
rejects evil deeds:
he is a sage,
that's how he's a sage.
Whoever can weigh
both sides of the world:
that's how he's called
a sage.
270
Not by harming life
does one become noble.
One is termed noble
for being gentle
to all living things.
271-272
Monk,
don't
on account of
your precepts & practices,
great erudition,
concentration attainments,
secluded dwelling,
or the thought, 'I touch
the renunciate ease
that run-of-the-mill people
don't know':
ever let yourself get complacent
when the ending of effluents
is still unattained.
XX - Maggavagga: The Path
273
Of paths, the eightfold is best.
Of truths, the four sayings.
Of qualities, dispassion.
Of two-footed beings,
the one with the eyes
to see.
274-276
Just this
is the path
— there is no other —
to purify vision.
Follow it,
and that will be Mara's
bewilderment.
Following it,
you put an end
to suffering & stress.
I have taught you this path
having known
— for your knowing —
the extraction of arrows.
It's for you to strive
ardently.
Tathagatas simply
point out the way.
Those who practice,
absorbed in jhana:
from Mara's bonds
they'll be freed.
277-279
When you see with discernment,
'All fabrications are inconstant' —
you grow disenchanted with stress.
This is the path
to purity.
When you see with discernment,
'All fabrications are stressful' —
you grow disenchanted with stress.
This is the path
to purity.
When you see with discernment,
'All phenomena are not-self' —
you grow disenchanted with stress.
This is the path
to purity.
280
At the time for initiative
he takes no initiative.
Young, strong, but lethargic,
the resolves of his heart
exhausted,
the lazy, lethargic one
loses the path
to discernment.
281
Guarded in speech,
well-restrained in mind,
you should do nothing unskillful
in body.
Purify
these three courses of action.
Bring to fruition
the path that seers have proclaimed.
282
From striving comes wisdom;
from not, wisdom's end.
Knowing these two courses
— to development,
decline —
conduct yourself
so that wisdom will grow.
283-285
Cut down
the forest of desire,
not the forest of trees.
From the forest of desire
come danger & fear.
Having cut down this forest
& its underbrush, monks,
be deforested.
For as long as the least
bit of underbrush
of a man for women
is not cleared away,
the heart is fixated
like a suckling calf
on its mother.
Crush
your sense of self-allure
like an autumn lily
in the hand.
Nurture only the path to peace
— Unbinding —
as taught by the One Well Gone.
286-287
'Here I'll stay for the rains.
Here, for the summer & winter.'
So imagines the fool,
unaware of obstructions.
That drunk-on-his-sons-&-cattle man,
all tangled up in the mind:
death sweeps him away —
as a great flood,
a village asleep.
288-289
There are no sons
to give shelter,
no father,
no family
for one seized by the Ender,
no shelter among kin.
Conscious
of this compelling reason,
the wise man, restrained by virtue,
should make the path pure
— right away —
that goes all the way to Unbinding.
XXI - Pakinnakavagga: Miscellany
290
If, by forsaking
a limited ease,
he would see
an abundance of ease,
the enlightened man
would forsake
the limited ease
for the sake
of the abundant.
291
He wants his own ease
by giving others dis-ease.
Intertwined in the inter-
action of hostility,
from hostility
he's not set free.
292-293
In those who
reject what should,
& do what shouldn't be done
— heedless, insolent —
effluents grow.
But for those who
are well-applied, constantly,
to mindfulness immersed in the body;
don't indulge
in what shouldn't be done
& persist
in what should
— mindful, alert —
effluents come to an end.
294-295
Having killed mother & father,
two warrior kings,
the kingdom & its dependency —
the brahman, untroubled, travels on.
Having killed mother & father,
two learned kings,
&, fifth, a tiger —
the brahman, untroubled, travels on.
296-301
They awaken, always wide awake:
Gotama's disciples
whose mindfulness, both day & night,
is constantly immersed
in the Buddha.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Gotama's disciples
whose mindfulness, both day & night,
is constantly immersed
in the Dhamma.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Gotama's disciples
whose mindfulness, both day & night,
is constantly immersed
in the Sangha.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Gotama's disciples
whose mindfulness, both day & night,
is constantly immersed
in the body.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Gotama's disciples
whose hearts delight, both day & night,
in harmlessness.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Gotama's disciples
whose hearts delight, both day & night,
in developing the mind.
302
Hard is the life gone forth,
hard to delight in.
Hard is the miserable
householder's life.
It's painful to stay with dissonant people,
painful to travel the road.
So be neither traveler
nor pained.
303
The man of conviction
endowed with virtue,
glory, & wealth:
wherever he goes
he is honored.
304
The good shine from afar
like the snowy Himalayas.
The bad don't appear
even when near,
like arrows shot into the night.
305
Sitting alone,
resting alone,
walking alone,
untiring.
Taming himself,
he'd delight alone —
alone in the forest.
XXII - Nirayavagga: Hell
306
He goes to hell,
the one who asserts
what didn't take place,
as does the one
who, having done,
says, 'I didn't.'
Both — low-acting people —
there become equal:
after death, in the world beyond.
307-308
An ochre robe tied 'round their necks,
many with evil qualities
— unrestrained, evil —
rearise, because of their evil acts,
in hell.
Better to eat an iron ball
— glowing, aflame —
than that, unprincipled &
unrestrained,
you should eat the alms of the country.
309-310
Four things befall the heedless man
who lies down with the wife of another:
a wealth of demerit;
a lack of good sleep;
third, censure;
fourth, hell.
A wealth of demerit, an evil destination,
& the brief delight of a
fearful man with a
fearful woman,
& the king inflicts a harsh punishment.
So
no man should lie down
with the wife of another.
311-314
Just as sharp-bladed grass,
if wrongly held,
wounds the very hand that holds it —
the contemplative life, if wrongly grasped,
drags you down to hell.
Any slack act,
or defiled observance,
or fraudulent life of chastity
bears no great fruit.
If something's to be done,
then work at it firmly,
for a slack going-forth
kicks up all the more dust.
It's better to leave a misdeed
undone.
A misdeed burns you afterward.
Better that a good deed be done
that, after you've done it,
won't make you burn.
315
Like a frontier fortress,
guarded inside & out,
guard yourself.
Don't let the moment pass by.
Those for whom the moment is past
grieve, consigned to hell.
316-319
Ashamed of what's not shameful,
not ashamed of what is,
beings adopting wrong views
go to a bad destination.
Seeing danger where there is none,
& no danger where there is,
beings adopting wrong views
go to a bad destination.
Imagining error where there is none,
and seeing no error where there is,
beings adopting wrong views
go to a bad destination.
But knowing error as error,
and non-error as non-,
beings adopting right views
go to a good
destination.
XXIII - Nagavagga: Elephants
320
I — like an elephant in battle,
enduring an arrow shot from a bow —
will endure a false accusation,
for the mass of people
have no principles.
321
The tamed is the one
they take into assemblies.
The tamed is the one
the king mounts.
The tamed who endures
a false accusation
is, among human beings,
the best.
322-323
Excellent are tamed mules,
tamed thoroughbreds,
tamed horses from Sindh.
Excellent, tamed tuskers,
great elephants.
But even more excellent
are those self-tamed.
For not by these mounts could you go
to the land unreached,
as the tamed one goes
by taming, well-taming, himself.
324
The tusker, Dhanapalaka,
deep in rut, is hard to control.
Bound, he won't eat a morsel:
the tusker misses
the elephant wood.
325
When torpid & over-fed,
a sleepy-head lolling about
like a stout hog, fattened on fodder:
a dullard enters the womb
over &
over again.
326
Before, this mind went wandering
however it pleased,
wherever it wanted,
by whatever way that it liked.
Today I will hold it aptly in check —
as one wielding a goad, an elephant in rut.
327
Delight in heedfulness.
Watch over your own mind.
Lift yourself up
from the hard-going way,
like a tusker sunk in the mud.
328-330
If you gain a mature companion —
a fellow traveler, right-living, enlightened —
overcoming all dangers
go with him, gratified,
mindful.
If you don't gain a mature companion —
a fellow traveler, right-living, enlightened —
go alone
like a king renouncing his kingdom,
like the elephant in the Matanga wilds,
his herd.
Going alone is better,
there's no companionship with a fool.
Go alone,
doing no evil, at peace,
like the elephant in the Matanga wilds.
331-333
A blessing: friends when the need arises.
A blessing: contentment with whatever there is.
Merit at the ending of life is a blessing.
A blessing: the abandoning of all suffering
& stress.
A blessing in the world: reverence to your mother.
A blessing: reverence to your father as well.
A blessing in the world: reverence to a contemplative.
A blessing: reverence for a brahman, too.
A blessing into old age is virtue.
A blessing: conviction established.
A blessing: discernment attained.
The non-doing of evil things is
a blessing.
XXIV - Tanhavagga: Craving
334
When a person lives heedlessly,
his craving grows like a creeping vine.
He runs now here
& now there,
as if looking for fruit:
a monkey in the forest.
335-336
If this sticky, uncouth craving
overcomes you in the world,
your sorrows grow like wild grass
after rain.
If, in the world, you overcome
this uncouth craving, hard to escape,
sorrows roll off you,
like water beads off
a lotus.
337
To all of you gathered here
I say: Good fortune.
Dig up craving
— as when seeking medicinal roots, wild grass —
by the root.
Don't let Mara cut you down
— as a raging river, a reed —
over & over again.
338
If its root remains
undamaged & strong,
a tree, even if cut,
will grow back.
So too if latent craving
is not rooted out,
this suffering returns
again
&
again.
339-340
He whose 36 streams,
flowing to what is appealing, are strong:
the currents — resolves based on passion —
carry him, of base views, away.
They flow every which way, the streams,
but the sprouted creeper stays
in place.
Now, seeing that the creeper's arisen,
cut through its root
with discernment.
341
Loosened & oiled
are the joys of a person.
People, bound by enticement,
looking for ease:
to birth & aging they go.
342-343
Encircled with craving,
people hop round & around
like a rabbit caught in a snare.
Tied with fetters & bonds
they go on to suffering,
again & again, for long.
Encircled with craving,
people hop round & around
like a rabbit caught in a snare.
So a monk
should dispel craving,
should aspire to dispassion
for himself.
344
Cleared of the underbrush
but obsessed with the forest,
set free from the forest,
right back to the forest he runs.
Come, see the person set free
who runs right back to the same old chains!
345-347
That's not a strong bond
— so say the enlightened —
the one made of iron, of wood, or of grass.
To be smitten, enthralled,
with jewels & ornaments,
longing for children & wives:
that's the strong bond,
— so say the enlightened —
one that's constraining,
elastic,
hard to untie.
But having cut it, they
— the enlightened — go forth,
free of longing, abandoning
sensual ease.
Those smitten with passion
fall back
into a self-made stream,
like a spider snared in its web.
But, having cut it, the enlightened set forth,
free of longing, abandoning
all suffering & stress.
348
Gone to the beyond of becoming,
you let go of in front,
let go of behind,
let go of between.
With a heart everywhere let-go,
you don't come again to birth
& aging.
349-350
For a person
forced on by his thinking,
fierce in his passion,
focused on beauty,
craving grows all the more.
He's the one
who tightens the bond.
But one who delights
in the stilling of thinking,
always mindful
cultivating
a focus on the foul:
He's the one
who will make an end,
the one who will cut Mara's bond.
351-352
Arrived at the finish,
unfrightened, unblemished, free
of craving, he has cut away
the arrows of becoming.
This physical heap is his last.
Free from craving,
ungrasping,
astute in expression,
knowing the combination of sounds —
which comes first & which after.
He's called a
last-body
greatly discerning
great man.
353
All-conquering,
all-knowing am I,
with regard to all things,
unadhering.
All-abandoning,
released in the ending of craving:
having fully known on my own,
to whom should I point as my teacher?
354
A gift of Dhamma conquers all gifts;
the taste of Dhamma, all tastes;
a delight in Dhamma, all delights;
the ending of craving, all suffering
& stress.
355
Riches ruin the man
weak in discernment,
but not those who seek
the beyond.
Through craving for riches
the man weak in discernment
ruins himself
as he would others.
356-359
Fields are spoiled by weeds;
people, by passion.
So what's given to those
free of passion
bears great fruit.
Fields are spoiled by weeds;
people, by aversion.
So what's given to those
free of aversion
bears great fruit.
Fields are spoiled by weeds;
people, by delusion.
So what's given to those
free of delusion
bears great fruit.
Fields are spoiled by weeds;
people, by longing.
So what's given to those
free of longing
bears great fruit.
XXV - Bhikkhuvagga: Monks
360-361
Restraint with the eye is good,
good is restraint with the ear.
Restraint with the nose is good,
good is restraint with the tongue.
Restraint with the body is good,
good is restraint with speech.
Restraint with the heart is good,
good is restraint everywhere.
A monk everywhere restrained
is released from all suffering & stress.
362
Hands restrained,
feet restrained
speech restrained,
supremely restrained —
delighting in what is inward,
content, centered, alone:
he's what they call
a monk.
363
A monk restrained in his speaking,
giving counsel unruffled,
declaring the message & meaning:
sweet is his speech.
364
Dhamma his dwelling,
Dhamma his delight,
a monk pondering Dhamma,
calling Dhamma to mind,
does not fall away
from true Dhamma.
365-366
Gains:
don't treat your own with scorn,
don't go coveting those of others.
A monk who covets those of others
attains
no concentration.
Even if he gets next to nothing,
he doesn't treat his gains with scorn.
Living purely, untiring:
he's the one
that the devas praise.
367
For whom, in name & form
in every way,
there's no sense of mine,
& who doesn't grieve
for what's not:
he's deservedly called
a monk.
368
Dwelling in kindness, a monk
with faith in the Awakened One's teaching,
would attain the good state,
the peaceful state:
stilling-of-fabrications ease.
369
Monk, bail out this boat.
It will take you lightly when bailed.
Having cut through passion, aversion,
you go from there to Unbinding.
370
Cut through five,
let go of five,
& develop five above all.
A monk gone past five attachments
is said to have crossed the flood.
371
Practice jhana, monk,
and don't be heedless.
Don't take your mind roaming
in sensual strands.
Don't swallow — heedless —
the ball of iron aflame.
Don't burn & complain: 'This is pain.'
372
There's no jhana
for one with no discernment,
no
discernment
for one with no jhana.
But one with both jhana
&
discernment:
he's on the verge
of Unbinding.
373-374
A monk with his mind at peace,
going into an empty dwelling,
clearly seeing the Dhamma aright:
his delight is more
than human.
However it is,
however it is he touches
the arising-&-passing of aggregates:
he gains rapture & joy:
that, for those who know it,
is deathless,
the Deathless.
375-376
Here the first things
for a discerning monk
are guarding the senses,
contentment,
restraint in line with the Patimokkha.
He should associate with admirable friends.
Living purely, untiring,
hospitable by habit,
skilled in his conduct,
gaining a manifold joy,
he will put an end
to suffering & stress.
377
Shed passion
& aversion, monks —
as a jasmine would,
its withered flowers.
378
Calmed in body,
calmed in speech,
well-centered & calm,
having disgorged the baits of the world,
a monk is called
thoroughly
calmed.
379
You yourself should reprove yourself,
should examine
yourself.
As a self-guarded monk
with guarded self,
mindful, you dwell at ease.
380
Your own self is
your own mainstay.
Your own self is
your own guide.
Therefore you should
watch over yourself —
as a trader, a fine steed.
381
A monk with a manifold joy,
with faith in the Awakened One's teaching,
would attain the good state,
the peaceful state:
stilling-of-fabrications ease.
382
A young monk who strives
in the Awakened One's teaching,
brightens the world
like the moon set free from a cloud.
XXVI - Brahmanavagga: Brahmans
383
Having striven, brahman,
cut the stream.
Expel sensual passions.
Knowing the ending of fabrications,
brahman,
you know the Unmade.
384
When the brahman has gone
to the beyond of two things,
then all his fetters
go to their end —
he who knows.
385
One whose beyond or
not-beyond or
beyond-&-not-beyond
can't be found;
unshackled, carefree:
he's what I call
a brahman.
386
Sitting silent, dustless,
absorbed in jhana,
his task done, effluents gone,
ultimate goal attained:
he's what I call
a brahman.
387
By day shines the sun;
by night, the moon;
in armor, the warrior;
in jhana, the brahman.
But all day & all night,
every day & every night,
the Awakened One shines
in splendor.
388
He's called a brahman
for having banished his evil,
a contemplative
for living in consonance,
one gone forth
for having forsaken
his own impurities.
389
One should not strike a brahman,
nor should the brahman
let loose with his anger.
Shame on a brahman's killer.
More shame on the brahman
whose anger's let loose.
390
Nothing's better for the brahman
than when the mind is held back
from what is endearing & not.
However his harmful-heartedness
wears away,
that's how stress
simply comes to rest.
391
Whoever does no wrong
in body,
speech,
heart,
is restrained in these three ways:
he's what I call
a brahman.
392
The person from whom
you would learn the Dhamma
taught by the Rightly
Self-Awakened One:
you should honor him with respect —
as a brahman, the flame for a sacrifice.
393-394
Not by matted hair,
by clan, or by birth,
is one a brahman.
Whoever has truth
& rectitude:
he is a pure one,
he, a brahman.
What's the use of your matted hair,
you dullard?
What's the use of your deerskin cloak?
The tangle's inside you.
You comb the outside.
395
Wearing cast-off rags
— his body lean & lined with veins —
absorbed in jhana,
alone in the forest:
he's what I call
a brahman.
396
I don't call one a brahman
for being born of a mother
or sprung from a womb.
He's called a 'bho-sayer'
if he has anything at all.
But someone with nothing,
who clings to no thing:
he's what I call
a brahman.
397
Having cut every fetter,
he doesn't get ruffled.
Beyond attachment,
unshackled:
he's what I call
a brahman.
398
Having cut the strap & thong,
cord & bridle,
having thrown off the bar,
awakened:
he's what I call
a brahman.
399
He endures — unangered —
insult, assault, & imprisonment.
His army is strength;
his strength, forbearance:
he's what I call
a brahman.
400
Free from anger,
duties observed,
principled, with no overbearing pride,
trained, a 'last-body':
he's what I call
a brahman.
401
Like water on a lotus leaf,
a mustard seed on the tip of an awl,
he doesn't adhere to sensual pleasures:
he's what I call
a brahman.
402
He discerns right here,
for himself,
on his own,
his own
ending of stress.
Unshackled, his burden laid down:
he's what I call
a brahman.
403
Wise, profound
in discernment, astute
as to what is the path
& what's not;
his ultimate goal attained:
he's what I call
a brahman.
404
Uncontaminated
by householders
& houseless ones alike;
living with no home,
with next to no wants:
he's what I call
a brahman.
405
Having put aside violence
against beings fearful or firm,
he neither kills nor
gets others to kill:
he's what I call
a brahman.
406
Unopposing among opposition,
unbound among the armed,
unclinging among those who cling:
he's what I call
a brahman.
407
His passion, aversion,
conceit, & contempt,
have fallen away —
like a mustard seed
from the tip of an awl:
he's what I call
a brahman.
408
He would say
what's non-grating,
instructive,
true —
abusing no one:
he's what I call
a brahman.
409
Here in the world
he takes nothing not-given
— long, short,
large, small,
attractive, not:
he's what I call
a brahman.
410
His longing for this
& for the next world
can't be found;
free from longing, unshackled:
he's what I call
a brahman.
411
His attachments,
his homes,
can't be found.
Through knowing
he is unperplexed,
has come ashore
in the Deathless:
he's what I call
a brahman.
412
He has gone
beyond attachment here
for both merit & evil —
sorrowless, dustless, & pure:
he's what I call
a brahman.
413
Spotless, pure, like the moon
— limpid & calm —
his delights, his becomings,
totally gone:
he's what I call
a brahman.
414
He has made his way past
this hard-going path
— samsara, delusion —
has crossed over,
has gone beyond,
is free from want,
from perplexity,
absorbed in jhana,
through no-clinging
Unbound:
he's what I call
a brahman.
415-416
Whoever, abandoning sensual passions here,
would go forth from home —
his sensual passions, becomings,
totally gone:
he's what I call
a brahman.
Whoever, abandoning craving here,
would go forth from home —
his cravings, becomings,
totally gone:
he's what I call
a brahman.
417
Having left behind
the human bond,
having made his way past
the divine,
from all bonds unshackled:
he's what I call
a brahman.
418
Having left behind
delight & displeasure,
cooled, with no acquisitions —
a hero who has conquered
all the world,
every world:
he's what I call
a brahman.
419
He knows in every way
beings' passing away,
and their re-
arising;
unattached, awakened,
well-gone:
he's what I call
a brahman.
420
He whose course they don't know
— devas, gandhabbas, & human beings —
his effluents ended, an arahant:
he's what I call
a brahman.
421
He who has nothing
— in front, behind, in between —
the one with nothing
who clings to no thing:
he's what I call
a brahman.
422
A splendid bull, conqueror,
hero, great seer —
free from want,
awakened, washed:
he's what I call
a brahman.
423
He knows his former lives.
He sees heavens & states of woe,
has attained the ending of birth,
is a sage who has mastered full-knowing,
his mastery
totally mastered:
he's what I call
a brahman.

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