Dhammapada

Sorrow and fear are born of things beloved. From things beloved set free, How canst thou sorrow? fearful how canst be?

From things held dear, sorrow and fear are born. Set free from things held dear, How canst thou sorrow have? how canst have fear?

Sorrow and fear are children of desire. From all desire set free, How canst thou sorrow? fearful how canst be?

Upright and Norm-abiding, speaking truth, Who minds his own affair, That is the man whom every one holds dear.

In whom is longing for the Nameless born, Whose mind It hath enthralled, Whose thoughts no longer are by passion torn, That man "a Climber of the Stream" is called.

As when a dweller in some far-off land Safe home returns at last, Kin, friends and lovers waiting to greet him stand;

So, when a man on earth good deeds hath done, When he hath passed beyond, All his good deeds like kin, await that one.

Conquer anger, banish pride; Every fetter cast aside; Clinging not to Name and Form, Him who calleth nought his own Sorrow never shall betide.

He who rising wrath restrains, As one checks a whirling team, Him a driver true I deem; Others only hold the reins.

Wrath with kindliness allay, To the stingy freely give; Conquer lying words with truth; Evil deeds with good repay.

Speak the truth nor vexed be; Give, however scantily. Following these maxims three, Thou the blessed gods shalt see.

Sages harm no living thing; Self-restraint accomplishing Such men reach the Deathless Lot, Where all sorrow is forgot.

Ever watchful, night and day Learning wisdom never cease; In the one who strives for Peace All the cravings die away.

There is a saying, Atula, Of old, not of to-day: "They blame the man who silent sits, Or whose tongue wags alway; And blame the man who keeps the mean; None in the world is blameless seen."

There never was, nor will be, sure, Nor lives now among men, A being blamed exclusively, Nor one entirely praised.

'Gainst angry deeds be on thy guard; In body be composed; All bodily misdeeds discard; With body tread the Way.

In body sages are controlled; In thoughts as well as speech; And they are Sages truly called Who are controlled in each.

Lo! Thou art now a pale and withered leaf; Death's messengers are close at hand; Thou in the very gate of Death dost stand, And yet hast no provision for the way.

Then make thyself an island of defence; Strive quick; be wise; when all the taints Of dirt and dust are blown away, the saints Shall greet thee entering the Happy Land.

Thy life has run its course; thou art come nigh The King of Death; for thine abode Thou hast no resting-place upon the road, And yet hast no provision for the way.

Then make thyself an island of defence; Strive quick; be wise; blow off the dust And stains of travel; wipe away the rust; So shalt thou see no more birth and decay.

The wise and thoughtful man attacks his faults One after other, momently, In order due, and rubs them all away, E'en as a smith blows off the silver's dross,

Just as the iron rust accumulates Self born; and eats itself away; So with the man who sinneth; day by day His own deeds to destruction lead him on,

The taint of woman is impurity, And gifts by stinginess are spoiled, And mortal man by oft transgression soiled Finds ruin here, loss in the life to come.

Yet there's a taint far worse than any other. What is that taint? 'tis ignorance. Make yourselves free from this, O mendicants! Wipe off this stain and be ye undefiled.

Life seems an easy thing to him that lives Wanton and shameless as a crow, A fault-finder, who through this life doth go Immodest, insolent, and full of sins.

O man I know this: "Not easy of control Are evil ways." Let not thy greed And wickedness (of misery the seed) Become thy masters, lest thou suffer long.

According to their trust and faith men give. Whoso regards with discontent And jealousy the food for others meant Cannot get peace of mind by night or day.

But whoso disregards what others get, Whose heart of jealousy is void, In whom the root of envy is destroyed, He gaineth peace of mind by night and day.

There is no fire that burneth like desire; No beast like hatred can devour; No snare like folly to entrap hath power; No river-flood can carry off like greed.

'Tis easy to perceive another's faults; Hard are one's own faults to descry; A man will winnow others' faults like chaff; But as the cheating gambler hides the die, His own faults he conceals right carefully.

Whoso is watchful for another's faults, Testy and quick to take offence, In him his passions will increase, and thence Further is he from cleansing of his sins.

The sky-path shows no tracks; no outward signs The treader of the Path betray; The multitude in outward shows delay; They who have won the Goal are free from all.

The sky-path shows no tracks; no outward signs The treader of the Path betray; Nought lasts; all things embodied pass away; But nought can shake the All-Awakened Ones.

He is not just who arbitrates by will. He who by weighing right and wrong decides. He is a just man called.

One is not wise because his speech is long. Long-suffering and harmless, free from fear, He is a wise man called.

Not by much talk doth one uphold the Norm. Who sees the Norm in action, tho' he be Of little learning, strenuous in the Norm, 'Tis he upholds the Norm.

Grey hairs do not a man an elder make. Tho' ripe in years, if all his age be vain, He may be dotard called.

True, virtuous, harmless, moderate, restrained, Wise and washed clean of all impurities, He is an elder called.

Not by mere talk nor beauty of his form, If he be grudging, greedy, fraudulent, Is any reverend called.

In whom these faults are cut down, rooted out, Who hath cast off his sins, who meditates, That man is reverend called.

But if he calm his faults, both great and small, Since he all evil ways hath quieted, He is a Samana.

He is no mendicant who begs his food. Not he who begs but he who keeps the Norm, He is a mendicant.

He who hath good and evil laid aside, Who wisely in this world walks righteously, He is a mendicant.

He is no Muni who refrains from speech, If he be foolish and have wandering wits. But he who holds the balance, grasps the real, Who's wise to choose the good and leave the bad, Who in this world sees both sides, is thereby A Muni truly called.

Best is the Eightfold Path: of truths, the four; Dispassion in the best of states sublime. Blest is he of human beings, who hath eyes to see.

Tread ye this Path, and make an end of sorrow. Tread ye this Path for I myself have shown it. Shown it after learning how to pluck away the thorns.

"All things compounded are impermanent"; Whoso sees this with opened inner eye Wearies soon of sorrow. 'Tis the Path of Purity.

"All things compounded are of sorrow made"; Whoso sees this with opened inner eye, Wearies soon of sorrow. 'Tis the Path of Purity.

"All states compounded are without a self"; Whoso sees this with opened inner eye, Wearies soon of sorrow. 'Tis the Path of Purity.

Whoso strives not when it is time to strive, Tho' young and strong, to sloth and folly prone, Weak in will and thought, to knowledge never finds the way.

Who guardeth speech and mind, who doth no wrong With body, making pure the triple way, He shall tread the Path of Wisdom by the sages shown.

Wisdom is born of meditation deep, But lost by mind's distraction; knowing these Two paths of loss and gain, so let him live, Let him so direct his life that wisdom may increase.

Cut down trees and undergrowth, and from desire be free! For from this jungle fear of danger's born; Cut it down, O mendicants, and from desire be free!

If but a trace there be, however small, Of lust of man for woman, as a calf Clingeth to its dam, the mind in bondage will be held.

Pluck out the love of self with thine own hand, Just as the hand an autumn lily plucks; Tread the Way of Peace declared by Him who hath it trod.

"Here in the rainy season will I dwell; And here in heat and cold." So thinks the fool, Little recking of the dangers that may him befall.

Care-stricken, with his thoughts of sons and flocks, Attached to life, Death comes and seizes him, As a sleeping village by a flood is swept away.

Not all his sons have power to guard that man; No sire, no kinsman can protect him now; How can kinsmen aught avail him in the grasp of Death?

The wise man, when he sees the truth of this, Restrained by righteous living in the Norm, Soon will clear the path that leadeth unto Perfect Bliss.

If in giving up slight pleasure Thou a greater bliss discern, Leave the lesser gain and wisely To the greater profit turn.

He who causeth pain to others, Seeking his own selfish bliss, By the bonds of hate encumbered Hatred never can dismiss.

Slaying father, slaying mother, With two kings of warrior fame, And a realm with all its subjects, Brāhmana's go free from blame.

Slaying father, slaying mother, With two kings of saintly name, And a fifth pre-eminent, Brāhmana's go free from blame.

They who, watchful night and day, On the Buddha meditate, Are followers of Gotama.

They who watchful night and day, On the Dhamma meditate, Are followers of Gotama.

They who, watchful night and day, On the Sangha meditate, Are followers of Gotama.

They who, watchful night and day, On the body meditate, Are followers of Gotama.

They who, watchful night and day, Take delight in harmlessness, Are followers of Gotama.

They who, watchful night and day, Take delight in ecstasy, Are followers of Gotama.

O 'tis hard to give the world up, Yet the lonely life is hard; Painful 'tis to dwell in houses With the uncongenial; Painful travelling to and fro; Cease to be a traveller. Cease to be beset with pain!

Holy saints are far-resplendent Like the peaks Himalayan; Like the shaft that flies in darkness, Wicked men are never seen.

Lonely sitting, lying lonely, Act alone and strenuous; Taming self alone, rejoice thee In the ending of desire.

And many a one the yellow gown who wears, Wicked and uncontrolled, By reason of his evil deeds in hell appears.

Better for him who lives unworthily A red-hot ball to swallow, Than eat the food the country gives in charity.

Four states of ill to reckless men I tell Who seek the wives of others - Ill-luck, a restless bed, an evil name and hell.

Ill-luck, the Evil Way, short-lived delight Of fearful man with timid woman spent, And from the king a grievous punishment - Let these four evils all adulterers affright.

Just as a blade of grass not handled well Will cut the hand that grasps, So doth the ascetic's life ill-handled lead to hell.

Act thou with energy, if act thou must: The careless mendicant Doth but stir up a denser cloud of passion's dust.

Leave evil deeds which afterwards bring pain; Better to do the good; For when 'tis done that deed no sorrow brings again.

Just as a frontier town that's guarded well, Which ramparts well defend on every side, So guard thyself, let not a moment slide; Time-wasters suffer sorrow when consigned to hell.

They who feel fear, where fear there should be none, Fearless, when they should fear, Embracing doctrines false, down the Ill Path have gone.