"With what virtue,
what behavior,
nurturing what actions,
would a person become rightly based
and attain the ultimate goal?"
"One should be respectful
of one's superiors
[1]
& not envious;
should have a sense of the time
for seeing teachers
[2];
should value the opportunity
when a talk on Dhamma's in progress;
should listen intently
to well-spoken words;
should go at the proper time,
humbly, casting off stubbornness,
to one's teacher's presence;
should both recollect & follow
the Dhamma, its meaning,
restraint, & the holy life.
Delighting in Dhamma,
savoring Dhamma,
established in Dhamma,
with a sense of how
to investigate Dhamma,
one should not speak in ways
destructive of Dhamma,
[3]
should guide oneself
with true, well-spoken words.
Shedding
laughter, chattering,
lamentation, hatred,
deception, deviousness,
greed, pride,
confrontation, roughness,
astringency, infatuation,
one should go about free
of intoxication,
steadfast within.
Understanding's the heartwood
of well-spoken words;
concentration, the heartwood
of learning & understanding.
When a person is hasty & heedless
his discernment & learning
don't grow.
While those who delight
in the doctrines taught by the noble ones,
are unexcelled
in word, action, & mind.
They, established in
calm,
composure, &
concentration,
have reached
what discernment & learning
have as their heartwood."
[4]