THE
DHAMMAPADA
With Explanatory Notes Buddha’s
and a Short Essay on
Buddha’s Thought
T H
E C U N N I N G H A M P R E S S
ALHAMBRA CALIFORNIA
1955
Contents
FOREWORD.............................................
iii
THE
DHAMMAPADA..............................1
NOTES........................................................99
SOME MODERN PERSPECTIVES
ON BUDDHA'S THOUGHT.............115
FOREWORD
AFTER 2500 years, the teachings of Gotama Buddha are being regarded as
“really quite modern,” It would perhaps be less presumptuous and more true to
say that the present growing-tips of Western psychology are now beginning to
touch "The Problem of Man" where Buddha laid gentle but firm hand so long ago.
Throughout the past fifty years, the relevance of perceptions to a “science
of soul” has become increasingly clear. This Indian sage, perhaps more than any
other who has ever lived, provided a meeting-ground for all extremes of
persuasion—gnostics and agnosticism, belief and the skepticism of caution,
appreciation of intuition, and devotion to logic. While the world of the mind is
still quivering from abrupt change—transition from too much other worldly
religion to too much physical science—a man who recognized, as parts of a larger
whole, the valid emphases of each, is a man whose thoughts are worth knowing
today.
In the Dhammapada, while Buddha both affirms and denies some things
with assurance, many verses also contain, in sequence, the converse of
what is first said. We find, therefore, that the sharp delineations
v
THE DHAMMAPADA
between
“good” and “evil” which characterize familiar religious forms, are supplanted by
the establishment of a number of subtle ethical dimensions—presented in the form
of “on the other hands” and “yes, buts.” Now, it is clearly this very quality
of the Buddha’s thought, at once rendering its precepts philosophically valuable
and psychologically sound, which arouses the admiration of Westerners.
A student once under Freud’s personal tutelage has reported that the “father
of psychoanalysis” named Buddha as the greatest psychologist of all time. In any
case, there are logical reasons for the favor Buddha has found among modern
psychotherapists. Four sentences from the last two pages of ‘The Downward
Course” in the Dhammapada provide sufficient explanation:
• . . A blade of kusa grass wrongly
handled cuts the hand; asceticism wrongly practised leads downward, to hell.
• . . They who feel shame when there is
no cause for shame [as well as] they who feel no shame when they ought to be
ashamed—both enter the downward path, following false doctrines.
• . .
They who fear when there is no cause for fear [as
well as] they who do not fear when they ought to fear—both enter the downward
path, following false doctrines.
vi
FOREWORD
They who discern evil where there is no evil [as well as] they who see nothing
evil in what is evil—both enter the downward path, following false doctrines.
In this brief passage we may well feel that the essential key to Buddha’s
outlook stands revealed: To speak of those whose trouble arises from failing to
“discern evil” where there is evil—this is also the talk of church and temple.
To speak of those whose trouble arises from “discerning evil” where there is
no evil, who feel shame where there should be no shame—this is the language
of psychotherapy. Clinicians of our time are still encountering warped psyches
influenced by distorted conceptions of sin; Buddha had his own backlog of
priestly distortion to face, and his “point, counterpoint” method of
instruction, in perfect balance itself, encouraged balance in those who
listened. “Evil” is not to be feared, in other words, but understood,
which can in turn only be accomplished by penetrating beyond traditional
categories of Right and Wrong. Do we, today, really need anything more
desperately than to find a way of retaining ethical awareness while rejecting
categorical morality—and its accompanying self-righteousness?
The Dhammapada is one of the great books of the world. It ranks with
The Bhagavad-Gita, Tao Teh Ching and Verba Christie in the New
Testament.
vii
THE DHAMMAPADA
How
it is a recognized part of the Buddhistic Canon; when it was compiled; why it is
revered as containing authentic words of the Master—and other such scholastic
problems—need not be considered here. Those who are interested in such problems
will find full information in numerous volumes—from Max Müller’s “Introduction”
in Volume X of the Sacred Books of the East (1881) to Dr. S.
Radhakrishnan’s “Introductory Essays” to his Dhammapada (1950).
This is not a new translation. It is only a rendition. Over a score of
translations have been consulted in its compilation and of course our debt of
gratitude to them is large.
The present volume is especially meant for all those who aspire to brighten
their day to day living, and who are seeking for inspiration and enlightenment.
The Dhammapada can bestow this, gift: it has the power to bring to the
heart and the mind of earnest readers “the right perception of existing things,
the knowledge of the non-existent.” There are soothing and comforting and
encouraging verses in The Dhammapada; but, most of all, its sections
awaken the mind and energize the heart and take them to a better way of living.
It offers tonic for self-examination, nourishment for reflection and stimulant
for self-discipline. It raises consciousness from the sentient state to the
viii
FOREWORD
plane
of the Soul. There is peace born of insight, there is contentment born of
understanding, awaiting the student-devotee who follows the foot-falls of Master
Gotama Buddha.
THE
PUBLISHERS
ix
THE
DHAMMAPADA
CHAPTER ONE
THE TWIN VERSES
ALL
that we are is the result of what we have thought: all that we are is founded
on our thoughts and formed of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil
thought, pain pursues him, as the wheel of the wagon follows the hoof of the ox
that draws it.(1)*
All that we are is the result of what we have thought: all that we are is
founded on our thoughts and formed of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with
a pure thought happiness pursue him like his own shadow that never leaves him.
(2)*
“He reviled me, he beat me and conquered and then plundered me,” who
express such thoughts tie their mind with the intention of retaliation. In them
hatred will not cease. (3)
[I]
THE DHAMMAPADA
“He
reviled me, he beat me and conquered and then plundered me,” who do not express
such thoughts, in them hatred will cease. (4)
In this world never is enmity appeased by hatred; enmity is ever appeased
by Love. This is the Law Eternal.*
(5)
The many who know not this also forget that in this world we shall one day
die. They do not restrain themselves. But those who recognize the Law end their
quarrels soon. (6)
Whoso lives pursuing pleasures, his senses unrestrained, immoderate in
eating, indolent, devitalized—him verily doth Mara uproot as a gale a weak tree.
(7)
Who so lives disciplining himself, unmindful of pleasures, his senses
restrained, moderate in eating, full of faith and dauntless energy (Virya)—him
verily Mara doth not overturn as a gale doth not overturn a rocky mountain.
(8) *
[2]
THE TWIN VERSES
He
may display it on himself but he has not merited the yellow robe who is not free
from depravities, who disregards temperance and truth.
(9)
He indeed has merited the yellow robe who has purged away depravities and is
well grounded in virtues, who is regardful of temperance and truth. (10)
Those who live in the pleasure-ground of fancy see truth in the unreal and
untruth in the real. They never arrive at truth.(11)
Those who abide in the world of right thought see truth in the real and
untruth in the unreal. They arrive at truth.(12)
Rains pour into an ill-thatched house; desires pour into an ill-trained
mind. (13)
Rains wet not a well-thatched house; desires enter not the disciplined mind.
(14)
[3]
THE DHAMMAPADA
The
evil doer suffers in this world and he grieves in the next; he mourns in both.
Afflicted he grieves in the visualization of his sinful deeds. (15)
The virtuous rejoices in this world and he rejoices in the next; he rejoices
in both. He rejoices, rejoices exceedingly in the visualization of his pure
deeds.(16)
The evil doer laments here, he laments hereafter. “Evil have I done,” he
soliloquizes. Greater his torment when he is in the place of evil. (17)
The
righteous man is happy here, he is happy hereafter. “I have done well,” he
soliloquizes. Greater is his delight in the blissful place. (18)
He who quotes the Sacred texts but is lazy and will not apply, he is like a
cowherd count-
[4]
THE DHAMMAPADA
ing the
cows of others. He shares not the blessings of the Good Life. (19)
He who forsakes lust, hatred and folly is possessed of true knowledge and a
serene mind, craves nought of this world or of any other, applies to himself the
teachings of the Sacred texts he recites, even though a few in number—such a one
shares in the blessings of the Good Life.(20)
[5]
CHAPTER TWO
VIGILANCE *
1.
Vigilance is the path to Life Eternal. Thoughtlessness is the path to death.
The reflecting vigilant die not. The heedless are already dead.(21)
2. The wise distinctly understand this. Therefore they delight in
wakeful watching. They graze in the pastures of the Aryas, the Noble Ones.(22)
3. Meditative, persevering, ever
strenuous in endeavour, the tranquil ones attain Nirvana, the highest freedom
and happiness. (23)
4. Continually grows the glory of that man who is wakeful and mindful, whose
deeds are pure, whose acts are deliberate, who is self-controlled and who lives
according to Law.(24)
5. By endeavour, by vigilance, by discipline and self-control, let the wise
man make for himself an island which no flood can overwhelm. (25)
[6]
VIGILANCE
6.
Fools and witless persons give themselves to sloth. The wise value vigilance as
their best treasure. (26)
7. Be not a sluggard. Have no dalliance with lust and sense delights. He who
meditates with earnestness attains great joy.
(27)
8. When the prudent man overcomes sloth by vigilance he ascends to the
terrace of wisdom. Sorrowless he surveys the sorrowful crowd. This wise man
regards the foolish as the mountaineer from his high peak looks at those who are
dwelling on the plains.(28)
9. Vigilant among the heedless, awake among the sleepy, the wise one forges
ahead even as a charger outdistances a weak horse. (29)
10. By vigilance did Indra rise to the lordship of the gods. Vigilance
is always praised, heedlessness ever deprecated.(30)
[7]
THE DHAMMAPADA
11.
A Bhikkhu who delights in vigilance, who sees the danger of heedlessness,
advances like a lire consuming fetters, small or large. (31)
12. A Bhikkhu who delights in vigilance, who sees the danger of
heedlessness, will not fall; he is close upon Nirvana. (32)
[8]
CHAPTER THREE
MIND*
1.
Just as a fletcher makes straight his arrow, the wise man makes straight his
crooked thinking. This is difficult to guard. This is hard to restrain.
(33)
2. Like unto a fish snatched from its
watery home and cast on land, the mind trembles and quivers leaving the
dominion of Mara. (34)
3. Thinking is difficult to discipline. Mind is flighty, alighting where it
listeth. Good is to tame it. The tame mind is the bearer of happiness (35)
4. Let a wise man watch his thinking. The mind moves with extreme subtlety
and is not noticed. It seizes whatever it desires. To watch the mind is
conducive to happiness. (36)
5. He who controls his mind escapes the
bondage of Mara. The mind is incorporeal, moves alone, travels far and rests in
the cave of the heart. (37)
6. Wisdom fills not the unsteady mind of
[9]
THE DHAMMAPADA
the man
of ruffled serenity; he is ignorant of the true teaching. (38)
7. Fear there is not for him whose mind
is not burning with desires, and which, having risen above likes and dislikes,
is serene. He is awakened.
(39)
8. Looking upon his body to be fragile as an earthen jar, valuing his mind
as a firm fortress, let a man fight Mara with the sword of wisdom. Let him guard
what he has gained, but let him fight on. (40)
9. Ere long, alas! will this body lie on earth, cast aside, bereft of
consciousness, useless as a burnt faggot. (41)
10. Whatever an enemy may do to an enemy, whatever a hater may do to a
hater, a wrongly directed mind will do to us greater harm.
(42)
11. Not a mother, not a father, not any kindred can do much; a
well-directed mind does us greater service. (43)
[10]
CHAPTER FOUR
FLOWERS
1.
Who shall overcome this earth? And who the sphere of Yama, the god of death? And
who the world of the happy gods? And who shall choose the steps on the Path of
Law even as the gardener culls the choicest blooms? (44)
2. The disciple will overcome this earth. Also Yamaloka. Also the sphere
of the gods. The disciple chooses to take steps on the Path of Law. He is the
expert gardener who culls the choicest blooms.
(45)
*
3. Knowing that this body is like froth, knowing that its nature is that of a
mirage, and breaking the flowery shafts of Mara, the disciple passes untouched
by death. (46)
4. Death bears off the man whose mind is intent on plucking the flowers of
sense, as a flood sweeps away a sleeping hamlet. (47)
[11]
THE DHAMMAPADA
5.
Death overpowers the man who is gathering the
flowers of sense, even before he is satiated in his pleasure. (48)
6. The bee gathers honey without injuring the scent or the colour of the
flower. So should a silent one (Muni) live his life. (49)
7.
Not the unworthy actions of others, nor their sins
of omission and commission, but his own acts of omission and commission should
one regard.(50)
8. Like a flower full of colour but without fragrance are the fair words which bear no fruit in action. (51)
9.
But like a beautiful flower full of colour and fragrance are the fair words
whose fruits
are deeds. (52)
10. Many kinds of garlands can be made From a heap of flowers. Many good works can be gathered by a mortal once he is born. (53)
[12]
FLOWERS
11. The scent of flowers travels not against the wind—be it tagara or mallika or even of the sandalwood tree. But the fragrance of the good wafts even against the wind. But the fragrance of the good man pervades all his ways. (54)
12.
The fragrance of virtue is unsurpassed even among the perfumes of sandalwood,
of but lotus, of tagara, of vassiki.(55)
13. Faint is the scent of tagara or sandalwood. The fragrance of the
virtuous ascends to the heights of the gods. (56)
14. Mara never finds the way to those who possess real virtue, who are
vigilant, who are freed by perfect knowledge. (57)
15-16. From a heap of rubbish on the road-side, a lily blooms, fragrant and pleasing; from a mass of blinded mortals arises the disciple of the truly Wise One, shining with exceeding glory of his own Wisdom. (58-59)
[13]
CHAPTER FIVE
THE FOOL
1.
Long is the night for him who cannot sleep. Long is the yojana (a ten mile
distance) for him who is weary. Long the chain of birth and death for the
foolish who do not know the true law.60)
2. If a wayfarer does not meet his better or his equal, let him
resolutely proceed alone on his journey. There is no companionship with a fool.
(61)
3. The fool worries himself thinking— “Sons have I; wealth have I.” He
himself does not belong to himself. How then sons? How then wealth?(62)
4. The fool aware of his folly is to that extent wise; but a fool who takes
himself to be wise is a fool indeed. (63)
5. A fool associating himself with a
wise man all his life sees not the truth, even as the spoon enjoys not the taste
of the soup.(64)
[14]
THE FOOL
6.
But a thoughtful person associating with a wise man soon perceives the truth,
even as the tongue enjoys the taste of the soup. (65)
7. Fools of little understanding are
their own enemies; they do evil deeds which bear
bitter fruits. (66)
8. Ill done is that deed for which repentance is due; in grief and with
tears a man receives its consequences. (67)
9.
Well done is that deed for which no repentance is
due; in delight and happiness a man receives its consequences. (68)
10. So long as an evil deed does not bear fruit, the fool thinks that it is
sweet as honey; but when it bears fruit, then the fool suffers (69)
11. Though a fool may eat his food month after month with the tip
of a blade of kusa grass, yet will he not be worth the sixteenth part of those
who have truly appraised the doctrine. (70)
[15]
THE DHAMMAPADA
12.
An evil deed, like newly drawn milk, does not turn at once. Smouldering,
like fire covered by ashes, it consumes the fool. (71)
13. Whatever knowledge the fool acquires is not worked to advantage.
That tarnishes his bright share of past merit and throws his head into disarray
as he acts in the present. (72)
14-15. Let the fool wish for false reputation, for precedence among the
mendicants, for lordship in convents and worship from all folk. “Let both the
householders and the monks think that this is done by me. Let them follow my
pleasure in what should be done and what should not be done.” Such is the wish
of the fool and so his desire and pride increase.
(73-74)
16. One is the way that leads to worldly gain; quite another leads to
Nirvana. Let not the Bhikkhu, the follower of the Buddha, having learnt this,
seek mundane praise but strive after wisdom. (75)
[16]
CHAPTER SIX
THE WISE MAN
1-2. If you see an intelligent man who detects faults and blames what
is blameworthy, follow that wise man. Value him as a revealer of hidden
treasure. He will be beloved of the good; by the bad he will be hated. Let such
a man admonish, let him instruct, let him forbid what is improper. (76-77)
3. Do not be friends of evil doers or of
mean men. Do be friends with the good; keep
company with the best of men. (78)
4. He who drinks in the Dhamma with a serene mind lives happily. The wise
man delights in the Dhamma taught by the Noble Ones. (79)
5. Irrigators lead the waters. Fletchers shape the arrows. Carpenters carve
the wood. Wise people discipline themselves.(80)
[17]
THE DHAMMAPADA
6.
Solid rock is not shaken by the gale. The wise man is not moved by praise or
blame. (81)
7. After hearing the Dhamma the wise become tranquil, like a deep lake which
is clear and calm. (82)
8. Good people move onwards whatever befall. They do not prattle, nor yearn
for pleasures. The wise are not elated in their happiness, nor are they
depressed when touched by sorrow.(83)
9. Neither for himself nor for others will the wise man crave sons or wealth
or position. (84)
10-11. A few only reach the farther shore. Most people go their rounds on
this one. Those, however, who listen to the Law and live up to its precepts
cross over to the farther shore. This crossing over the dominion of Mara is
difficult (85-86)
[18]
THE WISE MAN
12-13. Let a man value retirement which is hard to love; let him leave the
householder-state, seeking the homeless one. Let the wise abandon the way of
darkness and follow the light on the path. Leaving behind all sense pleasures,
calling nothing his own, let the wise man cleanse himself from all impurities of
the heart and then enjoy. (87-88)
14. Living in this world they attain the bliss of Nirvana whose
appetites have been conquered, whose minds are well grounded in the elements of
enlightenment* and who cling to nothing but enjoy the freedom of detachment.
(89)*
[19]
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE SAGE
1. He who has thrown off the fetters and freed himself in all ways, he is
free from sorrow; for him there is no suffering; he has completed his journey.
(90)
2. The thoughtful exert themselves. They do not delight in any abode.
They leave their house and home as swans their lake.(91)
3. Those who have no possessions, who
nourish themselves according to knowledge and who realize the goal of freedom by
perceiving that life is empty and transient, their path is hard to trace like
the flight of birds through the sky.(92)
4. He whose appetites are slain and who is indifferent to food, who has
perceived the goal of freedom by realizing that life is empty and transient, his
path is hard to trace like the flight of birds through the sky. (93)
[20]
THE SAGE
5.
Even the gods envy him whose senses are subdued like the horses well tamed by
the charioteer, who is free from pride and free from depravities. (94)
6. He who is patient like the earth, firm like Indra’s bolt, like a lake
free from mud—for him there is no round of births and deaths. (95)
7. Calm in thought, calm in speech, calm
in actions is he who has obtained freedom through true knowledge. He has become
tranquil. He is full of repose. (96)
8. The man who is not credulous, who has
severed all ties, killed all desires, for whom even occasions to act with like
or dislike arise not, who knows the ever-existing uncreate, he indeed is exalted
among men. (97)
9. Delightful is the place where Arhats dwell, be it a village or a forest,
be it by deep waters or by desert-edge. (98)
[21]
THE DHAMMAPADA
10. Delightful are the forests to the Arhat; they charm not the worldly. There the passionless find delight, for they are not allured by sense-life.(99)
[22]
CHAPTER EIGHT
T H E T H 0 U S A N DS
1.
Better than a thousand-word speech of empty words is one pregnant sentence
hearing which one feels peace. (100)
2. Better than a thousand-verse poem of empty sounds is one stanza hearing
which one feels peace. (101)
3. Better than reciting a hundred verses of empty words is the repeating of
a single stanza hearing which one feels peace. (102)
4. Better than a man who conquers in battles a thousand times a thousand men
is he who conquers himself. He indeed is the mightiest of warriors.(103)
5-6. Conquest of self is indeed better than the conquest of others. Neither
a deva (god) nor a gandharva (celestial musician), neither
[23]
THE DHAMMAPADA
Brahma
nor Mara could turn into defeat the victory of one who always practices
self-control. (104-105)
7. Better than a man who offers, month
after month for a hundred years, a thousand sacrifices is that man who pays
homage to one grounded in wisdom. Superior is that homage to a century of formal
sacrifices (106)
8. Better than a man who tends the sacred fire in the forest for a hundred
years is that man who pays homage to one grounded in wisdom. Superior is that
homage to a century of formal sacrifices. (107)
9. Better than a man who offers an oblation and a sacrifice for a whole year
in order to gain merit is that man who pays homage to the righteous. The whole
of the former is not worth a quarter of the latter. (108)
[24]
THE THOUSANDS
10.
Four blessings to the man who respects the elders and practises reverence—length
of days, beauty, happiness and strength. (109)
11. Better than an unrestrained life of a hundred years of wickedness is
the short life of a single day of the virtuous man who meditates. (110)
12. Better than an unrestrained life of a hundred years of ignorance
is the short life of a single day of the wise man who meditates. (111)
13. Better than an idle and a weak life of a hundred years is the short life
of a single day of the man who strenuously endeavors. (112)
14. Better than the life of a hundred years of the man who
perceiveth not the origin and end of things is the short life of a single day of
the man who perceiveth the origin and end of things. (113)
[25]
THE DHAMMAPADA
15. Better than the life of a hundred years of the man who perceiveth not
the deathless state is the short life of a single day of the man who senses that
deathless state.(114)
16. Better than the life of a hundred years of the man who perceiveth not
the highest law is the short life of a single day of the man who perceiveth the
most excellent doctrine.(115)
[26]
CHAPTER NINE
E V I L C 0 N D U C T
1. A man should hasten towards the good; he should restrain his evil thoughts; if he is slack in doing good his mind inclines to delight in evil.(116)
2.
If a man commits sin, let him not continue in it. Let him not set his heart on
it. Painful is the accumulation of evil conduct. (117)
3. If a man does what is good, let him
do it again and again. Let him set his heart on it. Happiness is the outcome of
good conduct.(118)
4. Even an evil doer sees happiness as long as his evil deed has not
ripened; but when his evil deed has ripened, then does the evil doer perceive
the evil.(119)
5. Even a good man, mayhap, suffers evil so long as his good deeds do not
ripen; but when
[27]
THE DHAMMAPADA
his
good deeds ripen, then he perceives the good accruing to him.(120)
6. Think not lightly of evil, saying, “it will not come unto me.” Even a
water-pot is filled by the constant falling of drops of water. A fool becomes
full of evil if he gathers it little by little. (121)
7. Think not lightly of good, saying, “it will not come unto me.” Even a
water-pot is filled by the constant falling of drops of water. A wise man
becomes full of goodness even if he gathers it little by little. (122)
8. As a merchant ill-attended and having much wealth avoids a dangerous way;
as a man who loves to live on avoids poison; so should one shun evil. (123)
9. He whose hand has no wound may touch poison. Poison harms not one who has
no wound. No evil is to him who does no evil.(124)
[28]
E V I L C 0 N D U C T
10.
Whoever wrongs an innocent person, or a pure and sinless one, evil recoils on
that fool, even as fine dust thrown against the wind recoils on the person
throwing it. (125)
11. Some men return, entering the womb; evil doers experience hell; the
good experience heaven; those who have freed themselves from worldly desires
attain Nirvana. (126)
12. Not in the sky, nor in the depths of the sea, nor in mountain clefts
is there a place on earth where a man can be to escape the consequences of his
evil deed. (127)
13. Not in the sky, nor in the depths of the sea, nor in mountain clefts
is there a place on earth where a man can be and death cannot overcome him.
(128)
[29]
CHAPTER TEN
THE ROD OF PUNISHMENT
1.
All men tremble at the rod, all men fear death. Putting oneself in the
place of another, one should neither slay nor cause to slay. (129)
2. All men tremble at the rod; to all men life is dear. Putting oneself
in the place of another, one should neither slay nor cause to slay. (130)
3. He who seeking his own happiness uses on others the rod of punishment
because they seek their own happiness, will not find happiness after death.
(131)
4. He who seeking his own happiness uses not the rod of punishment on others
though they seek their own happiness, will find happiness after death. (132)
5. Speak not harshly to any one; those thus spoken to will retaliate. Since
angry talk is painful, the rod of retaliation may overtake you. (133)
[30]
THE ROD OF PUNISHMENT
6.
If you make yourself still like a broken gong, you have already reached Nirvana,
for anger is not in you. (134)
7. As a cowherd with his staff drives
the cows into pasture-fields, so old age and death drive men to new living.
(135)
8. The fool in doing ill knows not his
folly. His own deeds, like a fire, consume the fool. (136)
9. He who offends the harmless and the innocent soon reaches one of
these ten states: (137)
10-12. He will suffer (1) sharp pain, or (2) disease or (3) bodily
decay or (4) grievous disaster or
(5)
loss of mind or (6) displeasure of the king or (7)
calumny or (8) loss of relations or
(9)
loss of all his wealth or (10) destruction of his
house by lightning or fire. At death, poor fool, he finds rebirth in woe.
(138-140)
[31]
THE DHAMMAPADA
13. Not nakedness, nor matted hair, nor filth, nor lying on the ground, besmearing the body with dust and ashes, nor posture squatting can cleanse the mortal who is full of doubt. (141)
14. But he who is tranquil and serene and calm and lives a tamed and restrained life of holiness and has ceased to injure living things, though richly attired, he is a Brahmana, an ascetic (Samana) and a monk (Bhikkhu). (142)
15.
Is there in this world any man modest enough, humble enough, that he minds
not reproof, as a thoroughbred horse is not stung when touched by a whip? (143)
16. Like a thoroughbred horse, touched by a whip, let a man be ardent and
active. By faith and virtue, energy and mind, by discernment of the Law, endowed
with knowledge, good be-
[32]
THE ROD OF PUNISHMENT
haviour,
concentrated, he will strike off the nor fasting nor great sorrow of earthly
existence.
17. Irrigators lead the water; fletchers make the arrows straight;
carpenters carve the wood; good people discipline themselves. (145)
(33)
CHAPTER ELEVEN
1. Why this
laughter, why this jubilation, virtue of the good never ages. Thus the saintly
when this world is burning, burning? Shrouded in darkness why do you not seek
for light? (146)
2. Behold this painted image, this body full of sores, stuck together,
sickly, and full of many thoughts devoid of permanence and stability. (147)
3. This body is wearing out; it is a nest of diseases; it is frail. This
heap of corruption is breaking to pieces. Life ends in death. (148)
4. What pleasure is there in looking at But now, these bleached bones, like
gourds cast away in the autumn? (149)
5. Of these bones a citadel is made, plastered over with flesh and blood;
therein lurk pride and deceit, decay and death.(150)
[34]
OLD AGE
6. The splendid chariots of kings wear away; the body also comes to old age; but the teach each other. (151)
7. A man who has learnt but little grows old like an ox; his flesh increases, but his knowledge does not grow. (152)
8-9. Many a House of life Hath held me—seeking ever him who wrought These
prisons of the senses, sorrow-fraught; Sore was my ceaseless strife! Thou
Builder of this Tabernacle—Thou!
I know Thee! Never shalt Thou build again These walls of pain, Nor raise
the roof-tree of deceits, nor lay Fresh rafters on the clay;
[35]
THE DHAMMAPADA
Broken
Thy House is, and the ridge-pole split! Delusion fashioned it! Safe pass I
thence—deliverance to obtain.† (153-154)
10. Men who have not lived the disciplined life of a chaste mind, who
have not gathered soul wealth in young age, pine away like old cranes in a lake
without fish. (155)
11. Men who have not lived the disciplined life of a chaste mind,
who have not gathered soul wealth in young age, lie like worn-out bows, sighing
after the past. (156)
————————
† Closing of the Sixth Book of Arnold’s Light of Asia.
[36]
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE SELF
1.
If a man holds himself dear, let him diligently watch himself. The wise man
should keep vigil during one of the three watches. (157)
2. Let each man first establish himself in the way he should go and
then let him teach others. Thus, the wise man will not suffer. (158)
3. Let each man shape himself, ere he teaches others. Subduing himself well
he might indeed subdue others. Very difficult is the subduing of the self. (159)
4. The Self is the Lord of self; what higher Lord could there be? When a
man subdues well his self, he will find a Lord very difficult to find. (160)
5. The evil done by oneself, born of oneself, produced by oneself, crushes
the fool even as the diamond breaks a hard precious stone. (161)
[37)
THE DHAMMAPADA
6.
Maluva creeper entwines a sala tree; just so, he of evil nature; his impiety
reduces himself to the state his enemy wishes for him. (162)
7. Easy it is to do evil; deeds which are harmful to oneself come easy.
Exceedingly hard it is to do that which is beneficial and good. (163)
8. The foolish man reviles the teachings of the holy ones, the noble
and the virtuous; he follows false doctrines which bear fruit to his own
destruction, even like the fruit of the Katthaka reed. (164)
9.
Evil is done by self alone; by self alone is one defiled. By self alone is evil
left undone; by self alone is one purified. Purity and impurity belong to
oneself. No man can purify an other. (165)
10. Let no one neglect his own good work for the sake of another’s
however great. Once
[38]
THE SELF
a man
has discerned his own work let him devote himself to it.† (166)
————————
† This sounds like selfishness; what is implied is that
one cannot do good without self-culture—Atmartha.
[ 39]
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE WORLD
1.
Do not follow the law of evil. Do not live
heedlessly. Do not follow the false doctrine. Do not befriend the ways of the
worldly. (167)
2. Be watchful. Be not heedless. Follow the Law of Virtue. The
virtuous live happily in this world now and also in the hereafter. (168)
3. Follow the Law of Virtue. Do not follow the law of sin. The virtuous live
happily in this world now and also in the hereafter. (169)
4. Look upon the world as a bubble. Look
upon it as a mirage. Death looks not at him who looks upon the world thus. (170)
5. Come, look at this world; it is like a painted, ornate royal chariot. The
foolish are sunk in it; the discerning are not glamoured by it. (171)
[40]
THE WORLD
6.
He who was heedless but who now is restrained and reflective is like the moon
freed from a cloud; he brightens the world. (172)
7. He who by his good deeds transforms his evil acts is like the moon
when freed from a cloud. (173)
8. This world is wrapt in darkness. Only a few can see here. Only a few
birds escape the net. Only a few escape into the heavenly light. (174)
9. The swans take the path of the sun because of their supernormal powers.
So do the wise; having conquered Mara and his hosts they leave the world. (175)
10. There is no evil the man will not do who violates the good law, who
speaks falsely, who scoffs at the existence of another world. (176)
11. Verily the niggardly do not know heavenly bounty. Fools do not
appreciate generosity.
[41]
THE DHAMMAPADA
But
the wise, rejoicing in charity, enjoy that world. (177)
12. To enter the Sotapatti * stream is better is His than world
sovereignty, is better than going to victory nought can undo. None of this world
heaven, is better than lordship over many worlds, can touch that victory. He is
a Seer of limitless (178)
[42]
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
T H E E N L I G H T E N E D 0 N E S
1. By what track can you allure One who is enlightened? Trackless indeed is He. His victory nought can undo. None of this world can touch that victory. He is a Seer of limitless range.(179)
2.
By what track can you allure One who is enlightened? Trackless indeed is He.
No net of desire can catch Him. No craving can entangle Him. He is a Seer of
limitless range. (180)
3. Even the Devas, Shining Gods, aspire to emulate the Enlightened Wise who
are great contemplators, who are the Peaceful Ones, who are steadfast and
tranquil. (181)
4. Difficult it is to obtain birth as a
human being. Difficult it is to live the life of a man. Difficult it is to get
to hear the True Law. Difficult it is to attain to Enlightenment. (182)
[43]
THE DHAMMAPADA
5.
Eschew all evil. Cultivate and establish thyself in good. Cleanse thy mind. So
teach the Buddhas. (183)
6. Enduring patience is the highest tapas; Nirvana is the supreme state—so
teach the Buddhas. He who oppresses another is no recluse; he who harms another
is no ascetic. (184)
7. Revile not, harm not, discipline thyself according to the Law, be
moderate in eating, dwell with solitude, be devoted to higher thought—such is
the teaching of the Buddhas. (185)
8. Lusts are never satisfied, not even by a shower of gold. He who knows
that enjoyment of passion is short-lived and also is the womb of pain is a wise
man. (186)
9. Even in celestial pleasures he finds no delight. The disciple of the
Supremely Enlightened delights in the destruction of craving. (187)
[44]
THE ENLIGHTENED ONES
10-11. Men driven by fear seek refuge on mountains, in forests, under sacred
trees or at shrines. Such refuge is not secure, such refuge is not the best.
Such refuge frees not a man from pain.(188-189)
12-14. He who takes refuge in the Enlightened One, in the Law, in the Order,
perceives clearly the four Noble Truths—suffering; the origin of suffering; the
cessation of suffering; and the Noble Eightfold Path, treading which all
suffering is transcended. That, verily, is the safe refuge, the best refuge; in
that refuge man is free from all pain. (190-192)
15. An exalted man is rare to find. Not anywhere is he born. Wherever a wise
and noble one is born, that household prospers. (193)
16. Blessed is the birth of the Buddha; blessed is the teaching of the
Good Law; blessed is concord in the Order; blessed is the austerity of those who
live in concord. (194)
[45]
THE DHAMMAPADA
17-18. He who pays homage to those who are worthy of homage, be they the Enlightened Ones or Their Disciples—those who have overcome the host of evil and crossed beyond the stream of sorrow—he who pays homage to the Fearless and Peaceful Ones, his merit cannot be measured by any. (195-196)
[46]
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
HAPPINESS
1.
Let us, then, free from hate, live happily among those who hate; among men
who hate let us dwell free from hate. (197)
2. Let us, then, free from the disease of longing, live happily
among those who suffer that disease; among men with disease of longing let us
dwell free from that disease. (198)
3. Let us, then, free from anxiety, live happily among those who are
careworn; among the anxious, let us dwell free from anxiety. (199)
4. Let us, then, live happily, we who possess nothing. Let us live like
the Shining
Ones nourished on joy. (200)
5. Victory breeds hatred; the vanquished dwell in suffering; but the
tranquil man disregarding both victory and defeat lives happily. (201)
[47]
THE DHAMMAPADA
6.
There is no fire like lust; no ill like hatred; there is no sorrow like personal
existence*; there is no peace higher than tranquility. (202)
7. Hunger* is the worst of diseases, personal existence* the worst of
sufferings. To him who has known this truly, Nirvana is the highest bliss. (203)
*
8. Health is the greatest of gifts; contentment is the greatest wealth;
trust is the best of relationships; Nirvana is the highest happiness. (204)*
9. He who has tasted the sweetness of solitude and the flavour of
tranquility, he becomes free from sin and fearless, and enjoys the ambrosia of
the Good Law. (205)
10. Beneficent it is to catch sight of the Noble Ones; to live with them is
continuous happiness. A man is happy if luckily he escapes the sight of fools.
(206)
[48]
HAPPINESS
11.
He who consorts with fools experiences great grief. The company of fools is like
company of enemies—productive of pain. Company of the wise is like meeting of
real kinsfolk—it brings happiness. (207)
12. Therefore, even as the Moon follows its path among the stars, so should
one follow the wise, the discerning, the learned, the steadfast one, the
dutiful, the noble. One should follow such. (208)
[49]
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THE PLEASANT
1. He who gives himself to unbecoming distractions and not to fitting
reflection, gives up his own welfare; going after pleasures, he envies the man
who exerts himself in meditation. (209)
2. Cling not to the pleasant, nor to the unpleasant. Not seeing the pleasant
as to see the unpleasant—both are painful. (210)
3. Therefore do not be attracted to
anything, for loss of a loved object is painful. No fetters exist for him who
neither likes nor dis likes (211)
4. From attachment arises grief; from attachment arises fear. There is no
grief for one who is free from attachment. Whence, then, can there come fear?
(212)
5. From affection arises grief; from affection arises fear. There is no
grief for one who
[50]
THE PLEASANT
is free from affection. Whence,
then, can there come fear? (213)
6. From indulgence arises grief; from indulgence arises fear. There is no
grief for one who is free from indulgence. Whence, then, can there come fear?
(214)
7. From desire arises grief; from desire arises fear. There is no grief for
one who is free from desire. Whence, then, can there come fear? (215)
8. From craving arises grief; from craving arises fear. There is no grief
for one who is free from craving. Whence, then, can there come fear?
(216)
9. All people hold him dear who has both virtue and insight, who is
established in the Law, who is truthful, and fulfills his own Karma. (217)
10. He in whom the desire for the Ineffable has arisen, whose mind is
permeated by that de-
[51]
THE DHAMMAPADA
sire,
whose thoughts are not distracted by lower desires, he is named “Bound
up-stream.” (218)*
11-12. When a man, who has been long away, returns safe from afar and receives a welcome from kinsmen, friends and well-wishers; even so his own good deeds welcome him who leaves the worldly state and attains a higher plane; indeed his good deeds are his kinsmen. (219-220)
[52]
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ANGER
1.
Let a man forsake anger; let him root out pride; let him break all fetters. No
sufferings befall him who clings not to name and form and who calls nothing his
own. (221)
2. He who curbs his rising anger which like a chariot out of track rolls on,
him I call a real charioteer; others but hold the reins. (222)
3. Let a man overcome anger by gentleness; let him overcome evil by good;
let him overcome the niggard by liberality; let him overcome the liar by truth.
(223)
4. Speak the truth; yield not to anger;
if asked give even a little. By these three steps a man reaches the presence of
the gods. (224)
5. The sages who injure none, and who
always control their body attain the changeless
state; therein is no grief. (225)
[53]
THE DHAMMAPADA
6.
All taints disappear when a man is vigilant, studious day and night, and Strives
after
Nirvana. (226)
7. This is an old saying, 0 Atula; it is not of this day only. ‘They blame
him who sits silent, they blame him who talks much, they blame him who speaks
moderately in measured terms.” There is not any one in the world who is not
blamed. (227)
8. There never was, nor will be, nor is there now to be found any one who
stands wholly praised or utterly condemned. (228)
9-10. But the man whom the discerning always praise, because he is without
blemish, wise, endowed with both knowledge and virtue, who would dare to blame
such an one? He is like a coin of gold from the Jambu river. Even the gods
praise him, even by Brahma he is praised. (229-230)
[54]
ANGER
11.
Let a man be watchful of bodily irritation. Let him control his body. Abandoning
the sins of the body let him dwell therein practising virtue. (231)
12. Let a man be watchful of speech-irritation. Let him control his speech.
Abandoning the sins of speech let him practise virtue with his speech. (232)
13. Let a man be watchful of
mind-irritation. Let him control his mind. Abandoning the sins of the mind let
him practise virtue with his mind. (233)
14. Well controlled indeed are the wise; they have mastery over body, tongue
and mind. (234)
[55]
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
IMPURITY
1.
Lo! you are now like a withered leaf. The messengers of Yama (Death) are fast
approaching you. You stand on the threshold of departure. And you have made no
provision for the journey. (235)
2. Be wise. Make for yourself an island. Strive quickly. Purged of stains
and sinless you will be ready for heaven, the world of the elect. (236)
3. Your life has now drawn to a close. You are approaching the King of
Death, Yama. There is no rest-house on the way. And you have made no provision
for the journey. (237)
4. Be wise. Make for yourself an island. Strive quickly. Purged of stains
and sinless you will not return to birth and decay. (238)
5. Let a wise man remove his impurities,
one by one, little by little, day by day, as a smith removes the impurities of
silver. (239
[56]
IMPURITY
6.
As the rust sprung from iron itself corrodes and eats into it, so with the man
who sins. His own deeds bring the sinner to an evil end. (240)
7. Non-repetition taints our prayers.
Non-repair taints the house. Sloth taints our body. Heedlessness taints the
watchman. (241)
8. Unchastity taints a woman. Niggardliness taints a benefactor. Evil deeds
taint us in this world and the next. (242)
9. But there is a taint worse than all taints—ignorance is the worst taint.
0 Bhikkhus, remove that taint and so become taintless. (243)
10. Easily lives one who is shameless, bold after the fashion of a crow, and
is a mischiefmaker, a slanderer, is arrogant and corrupt. (244)
11. Hard is the life to live for one who is modest, who always seeks
for what is pure,
[57]
THE DHAMMAPADA
who is
disinterested, unassuming, chaste and has insight. (245)
12-13. He who destroys life, who speaks
untruth, who, in this world, takes what is not given to him, who consorts with
another man’s wife, who is addicted to intoxicating drinks—he, even in this
world, digs up the very root of his own life. (246-247)
14. Know this, 0 man, “Not easy of restraint are evil things.” Let not
greed and wrongdoing bring you to grief for a long time. (248)
15. Men give according to their faith or according to their pleasure.
Therefore, he who frets about food or drink given to others does not enjoy peace
of mind either by day or by night. (249)
16. But he in whom that feeling is destroyed, rooted out, he enjoys peace of
mind by day and by night. (250)
[58]
IMPURITY
17.
There is no fire like passion; there is no
strangler like hate; there is no net like delusion; there is no torrent like
craving. (251)
18. Easy it is to see the faults of others; difficult it is to see our own.
One winnows others’ faults like chaff, but his own faults he hides even as a
cheat hides a losing throw. (252)
19. He who is given to finding faults in
others and is ever censorious increases his own weaknesses. Far indeed is he
from their destruction (253)
20. There is no path in the sky; there is no true monk outside the Order (Sangha);
mankind delights in worldliness; Buddhas are free from worldliness. (254)
21. There is no path in the sky; there is no true monk outside the Order;
nought survives in the phenomenal world; but the Buddhas are ever the same.
(255)
[59]
CHAPTER NINETEEN
ONE ESTABLISHED IN THE LAW
1.
A man is not righteous who carries out his purpose by force and arbitrarily. He
is wise who distinguishes both right and wrong. (256)
2. He is wise and righteous who guides others not by force and violence but
equitably. He is the guardian of the Law. (257)
3. A man is not a learned pandit simply
because he talks much. He is a real pandit who is tranquil, free from hatred,
free from fear. (258)
4. A man is not a pillar of the Law
because he talks much. He who even though he has heard little of the Law but
himself has discernment, who always considers the Law, he is the Pillar of the
Law, he is established in the Law. (259
[60]
ONE ESTABLISHED IN THE LAW
5.
A man is not an elder simply because his hair is
gray. His age is ripe but he is to be known as “Old-in-vain.” (260)
6. He is called an elder in whom dwell truth, virtue, non-violence,
restraint, and control, and who is free from impurity and is wise. (261)
7-8. Not by mere talk, not by the beauty of the complexion does a man become
saintly when he is envious, greedy and wicked. He in whom these three are
destroyed, removed by the very root and who is free from guilt and is wise is to
be called saintly. (262-263)
9. No tonsure can make an ascetic of one who is undisciplined and given to
lying. How can one who is full of desire and greed be an ascetic? (264)
10. But he who overcomes sinful tendencies, be they small or large, he is
called an ascetic. He has quitted all evil. (265)
[61]
THE DHAMMAPADA
11-12. He is not a Bhikkhu because he carries the begging bowl. Nor even
because he adopts the whole law outwardly. But he who is above good and evil, is
chaste, who comports himself in the world with understanding, he, indeed is
called a Bhikkhu. (266-267)
13-14. He is not a Muni simply because he is silent; he may be foolish and
ignorant. He who weighs in the scale of understanding, accepting the good and
rejecting the evil, he is wise; for that reason he is wise. He who in silence
reflects in the inner and the outer, he is to be called a Muni.
(268-269)
15. A man is not an Ariya, an elect nobleman, when he injures living
creatures. He is the true Ariya, an elect nobleman, who practises ahimsa,
non-violence. (270)
16-17. Not only by discipline of moral principles, nor only by resolutions
and vows; not
[62]
ONE ESTABLISHED IN THE LAW
only by much study, nor even by attainment in meditation, or in seclusion and solitude, do I release myself from bondage unto Bliss. This is not attained by worldlings. 0 Bhikkhu, be not deceived in self-confidence as long as you have not reached the extinction of desire. (271-272)
[63]
CHAPTER TWENTY
THE PATH
1. The best of Paths is the Eightfold Path; the best of Truths are the Four
Noble Ones; the best of states is that of Detachment (Viraga); the best
of men is the Seer. (272,)
2. This is the Path. No other leads to the pure vision. Enter ye this Path.
So shall ye confound Mara. (274)
3. Treading this Path you will end your suffering. It was shown by me as
soon as I learnt how the thorns in the flesh are to be removed (275)
4. You yourself must strive; Buddhas are but sign-posts. Those who enter the
Path and discipline themselves are released from the bondage of Mara. (276)
5. Impermanent are all conditioned beings.” He who knows this ceases to be
in the thrall of grief. This is the Path of Purity. (277)
[64]
THE PATH
6. “Full of pain are all
conditioned beings.” He who knows this ceases to be in the thrall of grief. This
is the Path of Purity. (278)
7. “Unsubstantial are all conditioned beings.” He who knows this ceases
to be in the thrall of grief. This is the Path of Purity.
(279)
8. He who does not rouse himself when it is time to rise and though young
and strong is full of sloth, whose will and thought are weak, that lazy man will
not find the Path of Wisdom. (280)
9. Guarding speech, controlling mind, not doing wrong with the body, a man
keeps the three avenues to action clear and thus finds the Path shown by the
Wise. (281)
10. From discipline of yoga springs Wisdom; from lack of it there is loss of
Wisdom. Knowing this twofold path of progress and de-
[65]
THE DHAMMAPADA
dine
let a man bend his way to the Path of Progress. (282)
11. Cut down the whole forest of desire, not single trees; danger lurks in
that forest. Having cut down trees and uprooted the weeds of desire you are
free, 0 Bhikkhus. (283)
12. So long as the desire, however small, of a man for woman is not
destroyed, so long his mind clings like a suckling calf to its mother. (284)
13. Cut out the love of Self as you would an autumn lily. Then resort to the
Path of Peace, to Nirvana. The Happy One has shown this. (285)
14. “Here shall I pass the monsoon; there shall I dwell in winter and
summer.” This is foolish reflection. He does not consider obstacle of existence.
(286)
[66]
THE PATH
15.
Flood carries off a sleeping village. Death comes and carries off the man
absorbed in cattle and children; he is distracted of mind. (287)
16. Sons are no protection, nor father, nor kinsmen when one is seized by
death. There is no help from relations when death seizes one. (288)
17. Recognizing the significance of this a wise and good man should
straightaway begin to clear the path that leads to Nirvana. (289)
[67]
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
MISCELLANEOUS
1.
If by surrendering a pleasure of little worth one sees a joy worth having, the
wise man will give up the pleasure of little worth and look to securing the deep
joy. (290) *
2. He who wishes for his own happiness and inflicts injury on others for
obtaining it is entangled in the bonds of hatred. He is not free from hatred.
(291)
3. Evil tendencies of the unrestrained and careless go on increasing if they
neglect doing what ought to be done and do that which ought not be done. (292)
4. But in those who are mindful of fleshly activities, who do not do what
should not be done, who steadfastly do what should be done, their evil
tendencies go on decreasing and come to an end. (293)
[68]
MISCELLANEOUS
5.
A true Brahmana goes scatheless though he have
killed father and mother and two kings of the warrior caste and destroyed a
kingdom with all its subjects. (294)*
6. A true Brahmana goes scatheless though he have killed father and mother
and two kings of the priestly caste and as the fifth an eminent man. (295)*
7. The disciples of Gotama who are truly awake always think, by day and by
night, of the Buddha. (296)
8. The disciples of Gotama who are truly awake always think, by day and by
night, of the Dhamma. (297)
9. The disciples of Gotama who are truly awake always think, by day and by
night, of the Sangha. (298)
10. The disciples of Gotama who are truly awake always think, by day and by
night, of the true nature of the body (Kayagata sati).
(299)*
[69]
THE DHAMMAPADA
11.
The disciples of Gotama who are truly awake always think, by day and by night,
of the delights of Ahimsa—Non-violence. (300)
12. The disciples of Gotama who are truly awake always think, by day and by
night, of the delights of Bhavana—Creative Meditation.
(301)*
13. Hard is the life of the recluse, harder to enjoy its discipline. Hard is
the life of the householder, harder to enjoy at home. Painful it is to live with
the unsympathetic. Painful also to be a solitary wanderer. So let him not
wander. Let no one fall into suffering. (302)
14. Wheresoever a man goes who is endowed with faith, with virtue, with fame
and prosperity, even there he is revered. (303)
15. Good people shine from afar like Himalayan peaks; the wicked like arrows
shot in the night vanish unseen. (304)
[70]
MISCELLANEOUS
16. Let one sit alone, sleep alone, act alone and unwearied subdue the self by the Self; he finds delight being out of the forest of desires. (305)
[71]
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
THE DOWNWARD COURSE *
1.
He who reports what happened not goes to hell; also he who, having done a thing
says, “I did not.” The after-death state of both is similar; for that state they
embody their evil deeds. (306)
2. Many who wear the yellow robe are ill-natured and uncontrolled; such evil
men are born of their evil deeds in hell. (307)
3. Better it were to swallow an iron ball, red-hot and flaming, than to live
a wicked and unrestrained life eating the food of the state. (308)
4. Four things befall the reckless man who courts another’s wife—access of
demerit, comfortless sleep, thirdly blame and lastly hell. (309)
5. There is access of demerit and declivity to an evil state for the
short-lived pleasure
[72]
THE DOWNWARD COURSE
of the frightened in the arms of
the frightened. Outwardly is a heavy penalty from the ruler. Therefore let no
man think of the wife of an other (310)
6 A blade of kusa grass wrongly handled cuts the hand; asceticism wrongly
practised leads downward, to hell. (311)
7. An act carelessly done, a vow badly kept, wavering obedience to
discipline—all this
will bear no sweet fruit. (312)
8. If anything is to be done let a man attack it unflinchingly. A lax
ascetic scatters more and more the dust of his passions. (313)
9. An evil deed is better left undone—it causes suffering; a good deed is
better done—it causes no suffering. (314)
10. Guard thyself like a frontier town well guarded, within and without. Do
not let a mo-
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THE DHAMMAPADA
ment
glide by; for they who let slip an opportune moment grieve when in hell. (315)
11. They who feel shame when there is no cause for shame and they who feel
no shame when they ought to be ashamed—both enter the downward path, following
false doctrines. (316)
12. They who fear when there is no cause for fear and they who do not fear
when they ought to fear—both enter the downward path, following false doctrines.
(317)
13. They who discern evil where there is no evil and they who see nothing
evil in what is evil—both enter the downward path, following false doctrines.
(318)
14. They who discern evil as evil and what is not evil as not evil enter the
good path, following the true doctrine. (319)
[74]
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THE ELEPHANT
1.
I shall endure abuse even as the elephant on the battlefield endures the arrows
shot from the bow. The many of this world are ill-natured. (320)
2. A tamed elephant is led on to the battlefield. The king mounts a tamed
elephant. The tamed is the best among men—he who in patience endures hard words.
(321)
3. Good are mules when tamed. Good are Sindhu horses when tamed. Good are
great elephants when tamed. Better than all these is he who has tamed himself.
(322)
4. With such mounts no man can reach the untrodden land called Nirvana. A tamed
man riding on his tamed self arrives there. (323)
5. The elephant Dhanapalaka even in captivity is uncontrollable when, at the
time of rut,
[75]
THE DHAMMAPADA
his
temples are running with a pungent sap. He will not touch food but longs for the
elephant grove. (324)
6. Sluggish and gluttonous, spending time in sleep rolling from side to
side, eating like a hog—such a foolish fellow falls to birth again and again.
(325)
7. Aforetime this mind of mine would
wander as it liked, as it desired, as it pleased. Now I control it completely
even as a rider controls with his hook a rutting elephant. (326)
8. Rejoice in wakefulness. Guard well your thoughts. Draw yourself out of
evil, like an elephant sunk in the mud. (327)
9. If you find a prudent companion,
upright and self-possessed, walk with him, joyfully and mindfully, overcoming
all dangers. (328)
10. If you do not find a prudent companion, upright and self-possessed, then
walk alone like
[76]
THE ELEPHANT
a king
who has renounced his kingdom and his conquests. Be like a free elephant in the
forest. (329)
11. It is better to live alone. There is no companionship with a fool. Let a
man advance alone, committing no sin, like an elephant in the forest. (330)
12. Companions are pleasant in times of need. Enjoyment is pleasant when
shared by others. Merit is pleasant in the hour of death. Giving up of all
sorrow is pleasant. (331)
13. To have a mother in the world is happiness; to have a father in the
world is happiness. To have a recluse in the world is happiness; to have a sage
in the world is happiness. (332)
14. Virtue lasting in old age is happiness. Faith firmly rooted is
happiness. Attainment of Wisdom is happiness. Avoidance of sins is happiness
(333)
[77]
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CRAVING*
1.
The craving of a thoughtless man grows like the Maluva creeper that eats
up the tree on which it fastens. From life to life he is like a monkey seeking
fruits in a forest. (334)
2. Whosoever is overcome by the fierce and poisonous craving
finds his sorrow increase like the abounding Birana grass.
(335)
3. But whoso overcomes in this world the fierce craving difficult to subdue
finds his sorrows fall off like water-drops from a lotus leaf. (336)
4. This I say unto you all who have gathered here—Be blessed! Dig up the
root of craving as one in search of the sweet-scented ushira root digs up
birana grass. Thus Mara will not destroy you even as the stream destroys
the reeds on the banks. (337)
5. As a tree though hewn down grows again when its root is firm and
uninjured, even
[78]
CRAVING
so if
the root of craving is not destroyed the pains of life grow again and again.
(338)
6. The man in whom thirty-six streams run on towards pleasures, with his
thoughts fixed in passion, is himself carried away. He has wrong views. (339)
7. The streams of craving flow everywhere. The creeper of passion sprouts
and stands strong. If you see the creeper springing up cut the very roots by
wisdom. (340)
8. Pleasures and joys run to beings and attract. Hugging those pleasures
men hanker after them. Such of course are subject to old age and rebirth. (341)
9. Driven on by craving men run round like a hunted hare. Fettered and
enshackled they undergo suffering for a long time again and again. (342)
10. Driven on by craving men run round and round like the hunted hare. Let,
therefore, the
[79]
THE DHAMMAPADA
mendicant, wishing for himself freedom from passion, shake off craving. (343)
11. He who having come out of the forest of desires, goes back to it, he who
freed from the forest of desires, runs back to it—look at him, though free he
re-enters bondage. (344)
12-13. Wise people do not call that a
strong fetter which is made of iron, wood or fibre; but jewels and precious
stones, sons and wives form stronger fetters. These latter drag down, and though
they can be overcome they are difficult to undo. Having destroyed such a fetter
let a man renounce the world, let him be free of longing, and having forsaken
the pleasures of the senses, let him not look behind.
(345-346)
14. Slave to their desires men run down the streams just as a spider runs into the net he himself has spun. Steadfast persons retire from the world when they have cut the bond, and leaving all sorrow behind they look not behind. (347)
[80]
CRAVING
15.
Be free from the future; be free of the past; be free in the present; cross to
the yonder shore. With a mind wholly free you will not fall into birth and
death. (348)
16. Craving grows in a disturbed mind, also when passions flourish, and when
yearnings for the pleasant arise. Thus fetters grow strong. (349)
17. He who delights in quieting
his disturbed mind and becomes mindful of the pleasant but undesirable nature of
craving, he will certainly remove, nay destroy, the bondage of
Mara. (350)
18. He who has reached the goal, who is fearless, who is without craving
and without sin, he has removed all thorns of life; this is his last life. (351)
19. He who is free from craving, without attachment, who penetrates
with insight words
[81]
THE DHAMMAPADA
and
texts and knows their orderliness, he is a Sage, a Great Person. This is his
last life. (352)
20. “I have conquered all. I know all. I am free from taint whatever the
living condition. I have renounced all. I am free as all craving is extinct. I
have penetrated Wisdom Supreme. Then, from whom have I learnt?” (353)
[This verse, it is inferred, was spoken by the Buddha in answer to an
enquiry: “Who is your Master?” One authority suggests that the Buddha’s answer
was to the Brahmana Upaka on his way to Benares. The answer is a good example of
the observance of silence and secrecy while full veracity is maintained.]
21. The gift of the Law (Dhamma Danam) excels all gifts. The flavour
of the Law excels all flavours. Delight in the Law excels all delights.
Extinction of craving is the end of pain. (354)
[82]
CRAVING
22.
Riches destroy the foolish, not those who seek the Beyond. By his craving for
possessions the foolish man destroys himself, fancying he is ruining another.
(355)
23. Weeds are the bane of fields. Lusts
are the bane of humankind. Therefore a gift bestowed on those who are free from
lusts brings great reward. (356)
24. Weeds are the bane of fields. Ill-will is the bane of humankind.
Therefore a gift bestowed on those who are free from ill-will brings great
reward. (357)
25. Weeds are the bane of fields. Delusion is the bane of humankind.
Therefore a gift bestowed on those who are free from delusion brings great
reward. (358)
26. Weeds are the bane of fields. Desire is the bane of humankind. Therefore
a gift bestowed on those who are free from desire brings great reward. (359)
[83]
CHAPTER TWENTY-F1VE
THE BHIKKHU
1-2. Restraint in the eye is
good; good is restraint in the ear; restraint in the nose is good; good is
restraint in the tongue; in the body restraint is good; good is restraint in
speech; in the mind restraint is good; good is restraint in all things. A
Bhikkhu who is restrained in all things is free from all pain. (360-361)
3. Call him a Bhikkhu who controls his
hand, also his feet; who controls his speech; who is well controlled; who is
happy within himself; who is collected and full of contentment in the solitary
life. (362)
4. Sweet is the preaching of that
Bhikkhu who guards his tongue in speaking wisdom, who elucidates both the letter
and the spirit of the Law without being puffed up. (363)
5. He who abides in the Law, who delights in the Law, who meditates on the
Law, who re-
[84]
THE BHIKKHU
members well the Law—such a Bhikkhu
does not fall from the sublime Law. (364)
6. Let him not disdain what he has received; let him not envy others; a
Bhikkhu who envies others will not obtain peace in meditation. (365)
7. Even the gods praise that Bhikkhu who disdains not what he has received,
however little, but lives a strenuous and pure life. (366)
8. He indeed is a Bhikkhu who does not identify his soul with his name and form,
his mind and body, and who grieves not for what he does not possess. (367)
9. The Bhikkhu who practises Metta, Compassion, and who abides happily in
the Wisdom of the Buddha, he has stilled conditioned existence and attains of a
surety the blessed state of Peace Supreme. (368)
[85]
THE DHAMMAPADA
10.
Empty the boat, 0 Bhikkhu; when emptied it will go lightly. Cut off lust and
ill-will and then you will reach Nirvana. (369)
11. Cut off the five. Get rid of the five. Cultivate further the five. The
thus fivefold delivered Bhikkhu is named Oghatinna”—“One who has
crossed the flood.” (370) *
12. Meditate, 0 Bhikkhu; do not be heedless. Let not your mind whirl around
the pleasures of the senses. Do not be reckless lest you have to swallow the
iron-ball and then cry not in burning pain, “This is suffering.” (371)
13. Without insight there is no meditation and also without meditation there
is no insight. With both insight and meditation one approaches Nirvana (372)
14. Superhuman is the bliss of that Bhikkhu who has a calm mind and a right
discernment of the Law when he comes to his secluded spot. (373)
[86]
THE BHIKKHU
15. What time, with perfect recollection, he recognizes the rise and fall
of skandhas (origin and destruction of the personal self) joy and
happiness are his. This is life eternal. (374)
16. This is the beginning for a wise Bhikkhu: guarding of the senses;
contentment; discipline according to Patimokha rules; cultivation of friends who
are noble, pure and zealous. (375)
17. Let him be hospitable, kindly and courteous—skilled in the discharge of
his duties. Then his happiness, being profound, his suffering comes to an end.
(376)
18. As the vasika plant sheds its withered flowers, so you, 0 Bhikkhus,
should shed passion and ill-will. (377)
19. The Bhikkhu who is calm in body, calm in speech, calm in mind, who is
firm, and who has thrown out the baits of the world, is named “The Tranquil
One.” (378)
[87]
THE DHAMMAPADA
20.
Rouse your self by your Self, examine your self by your Self. Thus self-guarded
and mindful you will live happily, 0 Bhikkhu. (379)
21. For Self is the lord of self; Self is the refuge of self; therefore curb
yourself, even as
a merchant curbs a fine horse. (380)
22. The Bhikkhu fulfilled of joy and with faith in the teachings of the
Buddha attains the state which is condition-less—the Abode of Peace. (381)
23. Even a young Bhikkhu who applies to himself the teachings of the Buddha,
illuminate this world, like the moon from a cloud released. (382)
[88]
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
THE BRAHAMANA *
1. O Brahamana, be energetic; dam the stream; cut away desires. When you understand how things get disintegrated you will also realize the Uncreate, 0 Brahamana. (383)
2. ‘When a Brahamana reaches the other shore by meditation and insight he attains knowledge and is free of all fetters. (384)
3.
Him I call a Brahamana for whom there is neither this nor the further shore.
Fearless and free, he is beyond both. (385)
4. Him I call a Brahamana who is meditative, stainless, settled; whose duty
is done and
depravities gone; who has attained the highest end. (386)
5. The sun shines by day; the moon lights up the night. The warrior
(Kshatriya) is splendent in his armour; the Brahamana in his (387)
[89]
THE DHAMMAPADA
meditation. But the Buddha shines day and night, radiating his glory.(387)
6.
Because he has driven away sin he is called a Brahamana; because he lives in
serenity he is called a Samana; because he has put away worldliness he is called
Pabbajita. (388) *
7. None should attack a Brahamana; a
Brahamana should not retaliate; woe to him who strikes a Brahamana; more woe to
the Brahamana if he retaliates. (389)
8. It is no slight benefit to a Brahamana when he holds back his mind from
the allurements of life. Moreover, when the intent to harm ceases, then in
direct measure is the cessation of suffering. (390)
9. Him I call a Brahamana who offends not by body, speech or mind; who
is controlled in these three things. (391)
10. Even as a Brahamana worships the sacrificial fire, so should one
reverence him who
[90]
T H E B R A H A M A N A
understands the Law of the fully Enlightened One. (392)
11. Not by matted locks, not by lineage, not by caste does one become a
Brahamana. By his truth and righteousness man becomes a Brahamana. He is
blessed. (393)
12. What avails thy matted hair, 0 fool? What avails thy deer skin?
Outwardly you clean yourself, within you there is ravening. (394)
13-14. Him I call a Brahamana who, alone in a forest, is plunged in
meditation, on whose emaciated body veins stand out and which is covered in old
rags. I call him not a Brahamana because of his origin or his mother. He may be
an affluent and supercilious
Bhovadi.*
He who is detached and possessionless, he is a
Brahamana. 395-396) *
15. Him I call a Brahamana who has destroyed all fetters and has nothing to
fear, who is unshackled and emancipated. (397)
[91]
THE DHAMMAPADA
16.
Him I call a Brahamana who has cut the straps of hatred, and the thong of
craving, and the rope of heresies and its appurtenances of latent tendencies,
who has burst the bar of ignorance and has awakened. (398)
17. Him I call a Brahamana who though innocent of all offence patiently
bears reproach, ill-treatment and confinement. Patience is his force, his own
strength his army. (399)
18. Him I call a Brahamana who is free from anger, devoted to duties,
practises divine virtues, who is without craving and controlled. He wears his
last body. (400)
19. Him I call a Brahamana from whom desires drop like water from a lotus
leaf or mustard seed on the point of an awl. (401)
20. Him I call a Brahamana who, even here, knows the end of his suffering,
who has laid aside his burden and is detached. (402)
[92]
THE BRAHAMANA
21.
Him I call a Brahamana whose wisdom is profound, who knows and discerns the
right way and the wrong and who has attained the highest end. (403)
22. Him I call a Brahamana who is not intimate with householders or monks
and who does not frequent houses and who has but few wants. (404)
23. Him I call a Brahamana who puts away his rod, who kills not, nor causes
others to kill any creature, feeble or strong. (405)
24. Him I call a Brahamana who is friendly among the hostile, mild among the
violent, Ungrasping among the greedy. (406)
25. Him I call a Brahamana from whom lust and ill-will, pride and
ingratitude have fallen away like a mustard seed from the point of an awl. (407)
[93]
THE DHAMMAPADA
26.
Him I call a Brahamana whose speech is truthful,
gentle, instructive, which offends no one. (408)
27. Him I call a Brahamana who takes nothing that is not given to him, be it
long or short, small or large, good or bad. (409)
28. Him I call a Brahamana who has no desire pertaining to this world or the
next, who has no inclinations and is unshackled. (410)
29. Him I call a Brahamana who has no desires, who has destroyed his doubts
by knowledge and has plumbed the depth of the Eternal. (411)
30. Him I call a Brahamana who here is above the bondage of merit and
demerit, who is free from grief, free from passion and who is pure. (412)
31. Him I call a Brahamana who like the moon is stainless, pure, serene
and clear, and who delights not in existence. (413)
[94]
THE BRAHAMANA
32. Him I call a Brahamana who
has gone beyond the miry road of rebirth and delusion difficult to cross and who
has reached the other shore; who is meditative, who is without doubt, without
attachment, who is calm and content. (414)
33-34. Him I call a Brahamana who, in this world, giving up sensual
pleasures, wanders about without a home, in whom all desire for existence is
extinguished. Again, him I call a Brahamana who, in this world, giving up all
craving wanders about without a home, in whom all craving for existence is
extinguished. (415-416)
35. Him I call a Brahamana who has cut off the yoke of attachment to human
things, has risen above attachment to heavenly things, has transcended all
attachments. (417)
36. Him I call a Brahamana who has done with likes and dislikes, who is
cool, who for re-
[95]
THE DHAMMAPADA
newed
existence is seedless; he is the hero who has conquered the worlds. (418)
37. Him I call a Brahamana who knows the mystery of death and rebirth of all
beings, who is free from attachment, who is happy within himself and
enlightened. (419)
38. Him I call a Brahamana whose real state gods (Devas) do not know, nor
Gandharvas* nor men; his depravities destroyed, he is an Arhat. (420)*
39. Him I call a Brahamana who has nothing of his own pertaining to the past,
the present and the future, who is possessionless and detached (421)
40. Him I call a Brahamana who is fearless like a bull, who is preeminent
and of dauntless energy, who is a sage-seer, who has conquered all, even
death—the sinless one, the enlightened (422)
[96]
THE BRAHAMANA
41. Him I call a Brahamana who knows his former lives, who knows heaven and hell, who has reached the end of births, who is a sage of perfect knowledge and who has accomplished all that has to be accomplished. (423)
[97]
NOTES
Note on Verses 1 and 2
The word Dhamma is used; everything and every person expresses his Dhamma, its or his own peculiar property, e.g., water’s dhamma is wetness, etc. In Buddhistic psychology Dhamma not only means Law, Religion, Duty, but also Quality, Phenomenon, Property, etc. [see Nyanatiloka’s Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines), which becomes the forerunner or bearer or herald of mind-action. Dhamma, Mental Nature, is the result of Vignana which is called Manas. So, creatures derive their character from mind. In all, the primal