The Dharmapada in a Practical Order - Part I
CW31_No.64
The Buddhist Yogi C. M. Chen
- With impermanence as money,
- Buy the renunciation-soil,
- Build up the sila-wall,
- Sow the Bodhicitta-seeds,
- Irrigate with mercy-water,
- Manured by Dhyana,
- Comes blooming of the wisdom flower,
- Ripening of the Buddha fruit.
The statement of these eight steps on the Path to Full Enlightenment
is a result of my study of four different editions of the Chinese Tripitaka,
and the experience of my twenty years of practice. These eight steps are
now to be taken as the basis of a new classification of the Dharmapada
for the sake of practice, in place of the old one which has neither any
theoretical system nor practical sequence.
1. With Impermanence as Money
"Impermanence", as stated by the great Sage Milarepa, "is the very
gate through which one steps into the field of Right-Dharma." All mankind
worries about how to live well, but cares little about how to die well
and get a holy rebirth. Hence there are many obstacles to the occurrence
of full enlightenment. Readers should take hold of this idea of impermanence
and occupy your whole heart and soul and time with the verses under this
classification until it becomes a strong power which may help you overwhelm
all obstacles and achieve full renunciation. The reader may then read and
meditate upon the verses of the second step of the Dharmapada.
The first number in the following list represents my new order for the
Dharmapadas while the number in parentheses is the traditional number of
that Dharmapada.
l. (135) As a cowherd with his staff drives his cows to pasture, so
do Old Age and Death drive the life of men.
2. (286) "Here I shall dwell in the rain, here in winter and summer,"
thus the fool fancies and does not think of his death.
3. (287) Death comes and carries off that man absorbed in his children
and flocks, his mind distracted, as a flood carries off a sleeping village.
4. (62) "These sons belong to me, and this wealth belongs to me," with
such thoughts a fool is tormented. He himself does not belong to himself,
how much less sons and wealth?
5. (48) Death overpowers a man who is gathering flowers (of sensual
pleasures), and whose mind is distracted, before he is satiated in his
pleasures.
6. (47) Death carries off a man who is gathering flowers (of sensual
pleasures) and whose mind is distracted, as a flood carries off a sleeping
village.
7. (128) Not in the sky, not in the midst of the sea, not if one enters
into the clefts of the mountains, is there known a spot in the whole world
where if a man abide, death could not overcome him.
8. (41) Before long, alas! this body will lie on the ground, despised,
bereft of consciousness, like a useless log.
9. (147) Look at this beautiful image, a mass of sores, a pile-up, infirm,
much thought of, which has nothing lasting or stable!
10. (148) This body is wasted, frail, a nest of disease; this heap of
corruption breaks into pieces, life indeed ends in death.
11. (149) Those bleaching bones, like gourds thrown away in the autumn,
what pleasure is there in looking at them?
12. (150) Of bones is (this) city made, covered with flesh and blood,
and there dwell in it old age and death, pride and deceit.
13. (155) Men who have not led a religious life and have not laid up
treasures in their youth, perish like old herons in a lake without fish.
14. (156) Men who have not lived a religious life, and have not laid
up treasure in their youth, lie like worn-out bows, sighing after the past.
15. (235) You are now like a withered leaf, the messengers of Death
wait on you; you stand on the threshold of decay, and you have no provision
for your journey.
16. (237) Your life has come to an end, you are setting out to the presence
of death, there is no resting place for you on the road, and you have no
provision for your journey.
17. (288) Sons are no help, nor a father, nor relations; there is no
help from kinsfolk for one whom Death has seized.
18.-19. (153,154) I wandered through many a birth in Samsara, seeking
but not finding the builder of this house. Sorrowful is repeated birth.
But now, house-builder, you are seen. You shall build no house again. All
your rafters are broken, your ridge pole is shattered. My mind goes to
dissolution (Nirvana).
20. (126) Some are born in a womb, the wicked are born in hell; the
pious go to heaven, those who are free from all evil propensities gain
Nirvana.
21. (170) Look upon the world as a bubble, look upon it as a mirage;
the king of Death does not see him who thus looks down upon the world.
22. (151) Even the ornamented royal chariots wear out, the body too
approaches old age, but the virtue of good people decays notthus do the
good say to the good.
23. (182) Difficult is birth as man, difficult is the life of mortals,
difficult is the hearing of the Sublime Truth, difficult is the appearance
of a Buddha.
24. (146) What laughter, what exultation when the world is ever burning?
You, who are by darkness surrounded, why will you not seek the light?
25. (289) Understanding this fact let the wise man, restrained by morality,
quickly clear the way that leads to Nirvana.
26. (46) He who knows that this body is like froth and has learned that
it is as insubstantial as a mirage, will break the flower-tipped arrows
of sensual pleasure (Mara), and never see the King of Death.
II. Buy the Renunciation Soil
When you have actually achieved full renunciation, you should keep
and think over in your mind all the verses under this classification. You
must reflect within yourself whether you are only following outward renunciation
or whether you have progressed even with inward renunciation.
27. (75) One is the road that leads to wealth, another the road that
leads to Nirvana; if the monk, the disciple of Buddha, has learnt this
he will not delight in the praise of men, he will strive after separation
from the world.
28. (85) Few are there among men who arrive at the thither shore (become
Arhats); the other people here merely run up and down the shore.
29. (86) But those who act according to the Teaching, when the Law has
been well preached to them, will reach the further shore, crossing the
realm of passion, so hard to traverse.
30. (174) This world is dark, few only can see here: a few only go to
heaven, like birds escaped from the net.
31. (7) He who lives looking for pleasure only, his senses uncontrolled,
immoderate in his food, idle and weak, Mara (the tempter) will surely overthrow,
as the wind throws down a weak tree.
32. (175) Swans travel on the path of the sun; (men) travel through
air by psychic powers. The wise are led away from the world, having conquered
Mara and his host.
33. (335) Whomsoever in this world this base-clinging thirst overcomes,
his sorrows flourish like well-watered Birana grass.
34. (212) From pleasure comes grief, from pleasure comes fear; he who
is free from pleasure neither sorrows nor fears.
35. (213) From affection comes grief, from affection comes fear; he
who is free from affection neither sorrows nor fears.
36. (214) From attachment comes grief, from attachment comes fear; he
who is free from attachment neither sorrows nor fears.
37. (215) From lust comes grief, from lust comes fear; he who is free
from lust neither sorrows nor fears.
38. (216) From craving comes grief, from craving comes fear; he who
is free from craving neither sorrows nor fears.
39. (339) Powerful, lustful thoughts carry off that misunderstanding
man in whom the thirty-six streams (of craving) that flow towards pleasurable
objects are strong.
40. (341) To beings there arise pleasures that rush (towards objects
of sense) and are moistened (with craving). These men bent on pleasure,
seeking happiness, undergo (again and again) birth and decay.
41. (342) Men, entwined in craving, are terrified like the bound hare.
Held fast by fetters and bonds they undergo sorrow again and again.
42. (343) Men, entwined in craving, are terrified like the bound hare.
Therefore a monk who wishes to be free from passions should discard craving.
43. (345) Wise people do not call that a strong fetter which is made
of iron or wood or hemp. Far stronger is the passionate devotion to precious
stones and rings, to sons and wives.
44. (346) Wise people call that bond strong which drags down, and though
yielding, is hard to undo; having cut this (bond) people retire from the
world with no backward glance, leaving behind the pleasures of sense.
45. (349) If a man is agitated by evil thoughts, swayed by strong passions,
and yearning only for what is pleasurable, his craving will grow more and
more and he will indeed make his fetters strong.
46. (355) Riches destroy the foolish, if they look not for the other
shore; by his thirst for riches the foolish man destroys himself as if
he were his own enemy.
47-49. (190,191,192) He who seeks refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma,
and the Sangha, he who sees with right knowledge the Four Noble TruthsSorrow,
the Cause of Sorrow, the Transcending of Sorrow, and the Noble Eightfold
Path which leads to the Cessation of Sorrow; this indeed is refuge secure;
this indeed is refuge supreme. Seeking such refuge one is released from
all sorrow.
50. (61) If a seeker should not find a companion who is his better or
equal, he should resolutely pursue a solitary course. There is no fellowship
with the foolish.
51. (396) I do not call a man a Brahman merely because he is born of
womb or sprung from a Brahman mother, he is supercilious in his mode of
address and in his wealth; but the poor man who is free from attachments,
him I call indeed a Brahman.
52. (8) The man who lives meditating on the "Impurities," with senses
restrained, moderate in his food, with confidence and strenuous effort,
him Mara will certainly not overthrow, any more than the wind throws down
a rock mountain.
53. (89) Those whose minds are well-grounded in the Factors of Enlightenment,
who rejoice in the renunciation of affections and in freedom from attachment,
who are corruption-free and who are full of light, are completely liberated
even in this world.
54. (32) A monk (Bhikshu) who delights in earnestness, who looks with
fear on thoughtlessness, cannot fall away (from his perfect state)he is
close upon Nirvana.
55. (57) Mara never finds the path of those who are full of virtue,
abiding in earnestness and emancipated through true knowledge.
56. (109) If a man has the habit of reverence and ever respects the
aged, four things will increase to him: life, beauty, happiness, power.
57.-58. (104,105) One's own self conquered is better than the conquest
of all other people; not even a god or a demi-god or Mara with Brahma can
change into defeat the victory of a man who has vanquished himself.
59. (90) There is no suffering for him who has finished his journey,
and abandoned grief, who has freed himself on all sides, and thrown off
all fetters.
60. (168) Rouse yourself! Do not be idle! Follow the path of righteousness
and shun transgression. The righteous man rests in bliss, in this world
and in the next.
61. (181) Even the gods envy those who are awakened and mindful, who
are given to meditation, who are steadfast and delight in the peace of
retirement (from the world).
62-63. (271-272) Not merely by discipline and vows, nor again by much
learning, not by entering into meditation, nor yet by sleeping apart do
I earn the bliss of release which no worldling can know. Monk, be not confident
as long as thou hast not attained the extinction of desire.
64. (194) Happy is the birth of a Buddha, Happy is the teaching of the
Noble Doctrine, Happy is the unity of the Sangha, Happy is the asceticism
of the united.
65. (219) Kinsmen, friends, and well-wishers salute a man who has been
long away, and returns safe from afar.
66. (220) In like manner his good works receive him who has done good,
and has gone from this world to the other; as kinsmen receive one who is
dear to them on his return.
67. (290) If by leaving a small pleasure one sees a great pleasure,
let a wise man leave the small pleasure and look to the great.
68. (302) Difficult is renunciation, difficult is to delight therein.
Difficult and painful is household life. Painful is association with unequals.
Pain befalls a wanderer in Samsara. Therefore, do not be a wanderer, do
not be a pursuer of pain.
69. (348) Let go the past, let go the future, let go the present (front,
back, and middle). Crossing to the farther shore of existence, with mind
altogether free, do not again undergo birth and decay.
70. (305) He who, unwearied, sits alone, sleeps alone, and walks alone,
who, alone, subdues himself, will find delight in the outskirts of the
forest.
71. (351) He who has reached the Goal, he who is fearless, devoid of
craving, passionless, has broken all the thorns of life; this will be his
last body.
72. (344) He who, free from desire, gives himself up to desire again;
who, having escaped from this jungle, runs back into itcome behold that
man, though released he runs back into bondage.
73. (347) Those who are immersed in lust, run down the stream (of desires)
as a spider runs down the web which he himself has spun; having cut this
(bond), the steadfast retire from the world, with no backward glance, leaving
all sorrow behind.
74. (352) He who is without craving and without attachment, who understands
the words of the ancient dialect, who knows the order of lettersthose
which are before and which are afteris truly wise; he has received his
last body.
75. (73) The fool will desire undue reputation, precedence amongst monks,
authority in the monasteries, honor among other people.
76. (74) "Let the laymen and the monks both think that this was done
by myself. In every work, great or small, let them refer to me"Such is
the aspiration of the fool, his desires and pride increase.
77. (171) Come, behold this world, like unto an ornamented royal chariot!
Herein fools flounder, but for the wise there is no attraction.
78. (325) When one is torpid, gluttonous, sleepy, rolls himself around
like a great hog fed on pig wash, that fool is born again and again.
79. (334) The craving of a man addicted to careless living grows like
a creeper. He jumps from life to life like a fruit-loving monkey in the
forest.
80. (394) What is the use of your platted hair, O witless man! What
is the use of your antelope garment? Within you are full (of passions),
but the outside you make clean.
81. (12) What is real they deem as real, what is unreal they deem as
unreal; they who abide in the pasture-ground of right thoughts, arrive
at the real.
82. (25) By effort, earnestness, discipline, and self-control, let the
wise man make for himself an island which no flood can overwhelm.
83. (29) Heedful amongst the heedless, wide awake amongst the sleepy,
the wise man advances like a swift horse, leaving behind the hack.
84. (31) The Bhikshu who delights in earnestness, and looks with fear
on negligence, advances like fire, burning all fetters, great and small.
85. (172) He who was formerly slothful and afterwards overcomes his
sloth, brightens up this world, like the moon when freed from clouds.
86.-87. (186, 187) Not by a shower of gold coins does contentment arise
in sensual pleasures. Of little sweetness, but painful, are sensual pleasures.
Knowing this, the wise man finds no delight in heavenly pleasures. The
disciple of the Fully Enlightened One delights only in the destruction
of every craving.
88. (336) Whoso in this world overcomes this base unruly cravingfrom
him sorrows fall away, like water-drops from a lotus-leaf.
89. (367) He who has no "I and me" (conception) whatever towards mind
and body, he who grieves not for that which he has nothe indeed is called
a Bhikshu.
90. (384) When a Brahman has reached the other shore in two states (tranquility
and insight), he is freed from all bonds as a result of his knowledge.
91. (399) He who without anger endures reproach, flogging and punishments,
he whose power, the potent army, is patiencehim I call a Brahman.
92. (353) I have overcome all, I know all; I am detached from all, I
have renounced all; I am wholly absorbed on the "Destruction of Craving"
(Arhatship). Having comprehended all by myself, whom shall I call my teacher?
93. (204) Health is the greatest of blessings, contentment is the greatest
wealth, trust is the best of relationships, Nirvana the highest happiness.
94. (407) Him I call indeed a Brahman from whom lust and hatred, pride
and envy, have dropped like a mustard seed from the point of a needle.
95. (371) Meditate, O Bhikshu! Do not be heedless. Do not let your mind
whirl on sensual pleasures. Do not be careless and swallow a lead-ball
and you need not cry out in the midst of fire, "This is pain."
96. (340) Everywhere flow the floods (cravings). The creeper (of passion)
sprouts and stands. Seeing the creeper that has sprung up, with wisdom,
cut off the root.
97. (337) Therefore this with your kind leave I say unto you, to all
who are assembled here: Dig up the root of craving as one in quest of Birana's
sweet root, lest Mara crush you again and again, even as a stream crushes
the reeds.
98. (397). Him I call indeed a Brahman who has cut off all fetters,
who never trembles, and is unchecked and emancipated.
99. (398) Him I call indeed a Brahman who has cut the strap (hatred),
the thong (craving), and the rope (heresies), together with the appendages
(latent tendencies), he who has raised the cross-bar (ignorance), he who
is enlightened (Buddha).
100. (402) Him I call indeed a Brahman who realizes, here itself, the
destruction of one's sorrow, he who has laid the burden aside and is emancipated.
101. (167) Do not follow the evil law! Do not live on in thoughtlessness!
Do not follow false doctrines! Be not a friend of the world.
102. (415) Him I call indeed a Brahman who, having given up all sensual
pleasures in this world, would renounce and become a homeless one; he who
has destroyed sense-desires and becoming.
103. (404) Him I call indeed a Brahman who keeps aloof from both householders
and the houseless, who wanders about without a home and has but few desires.
104. (210) Seek no intimacy with the beloved, and never with the unbeloved;
not seeing the beloved, and the sight of the unbeloved are both painful.
105. (91) The mindful exert themselves, to no abode are they attached.
Like swans that quit their pools, home after home they abandon (and go).
106. (92) Those who do not accumulate, those who reflect well over their
food, those whose object is the void and unconditional freedom, their course
cannot be traced, like that of birds in air.
107. (93) He whose corruptions are destroyed, who is moderate in food,
he whose object is the Void and unconditional freedom, his path cannot
be traced, like that of birds in air.
108. (95) Such a man who does his duty is tolerant like the earth, like
a stone set in a threshold; he is like a lake without mud; no new births
are in store for him.
109. (98) In hamlet or in a forest, on the sea or on the dry land, wherever
venerable persons (Arhats) dwell, that place is delightful.
110. (208) Therefore one should follow the wise, the intelligent, the
learned, the much enduring, the dutiful, the noble; one should follow a
good and wise man, as the moon follows the path of the stars.
111. (99) Delightful are the forests where worldlings find no joy. There
the passionless will rejoice, (for) they seek no sensual pleasures.
112. (416) Him indeed I call a Brahman who, having forsaken and utterly
eradicated craving, would renounce and become a homeless one; he who has
destroyed craving and becoming.
113. (211) One should not hold anything dear, for separation from the
beloved is painful. Those who hold nothing dear and hate nothing, have
no fetters.
114. (418) Him I call indeed a Brahman who has given up likes and dislikes,
who is cold and free from all germs (of renewed life), the hero who has
conquered all the worlds.
115. (417) Him I call indeed a Brahman who, after casting off bondage
to men, has risen above bondage to the gods, and is free from all and every
bondage.
116. (421 ) Him I call indeed a Brahman who has no clinging to aggregates
that are past, future, or present; who is without clinging and grasping.
117. (410) Him I call indeed a Brahman who fosters no desires for this
world or for the next, who is desireless and emancipated.
118. (327) Delight in earnestness, guard your mind well. Draw yourself
out of the evil way like an elephant sunk in the mire.
119. (329) If a man finds no prudent companion to walk with, no one
who is upright and steadfast, let him walk alone like a king who has left
his conquered country behindlike an elephant in the forest.
120. (207) He who consorts with fools suffers a long journey; company
with fools, as with an enemy, is always painful; company with the steadfast
is pleasant like meeting with kinsfolk.
III. Build up the Sila Wall
If you found out renunciation was very difficult to keep, you must
build up the Sila Wall. All the verses under this classification may help
you attain full purification. The doctrines of Hinayana may then be integrated
into your faithful practice and the foundation of the Arhat position will
then be in your hands.
121. (330) It is better to live alone, there is no companionship with
a fool; You should live alone doing no evil, and with few wishes, like
an elephant in the forest.
122. (55) Sandal-wood, Tagara, lotus, jasmineof all these kinds of
fragrance, the perfume of virtue is by far the best.
123. (236) Make an island unto yourself, strive hard and be wise; purged
of stain, and passionless, you shall enter the celestial plane of the Elect.
124. (238) Make an island unto yourself, strive hard and be wise; purged
of stain, and passionless, you will not come again to birth and decay.
125. (401) Him I call indeed a Brahman who does not cling to the sensual
pleasures any more than water to a lotus leaf, or than a mustard seed to
the point of a needle.
126. (169) Lead a righteous life, not one that is corrupt. The righteous
lives happily both in this world and the next.
127. (1) Mind is the fore-runner of (all evil) conditions. Mind is chief;
and all that we are is mind-made. If a man speaks or acts with an evil
thought, pain follows him, as wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws
the wagon.
128. (2) Mind is the fore-runner of (all evil) conditions. Mind is chief;
and all that we are is mind-made. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought,
happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.
129. (101) Better than a thousand useless stanzas, is a single useful
stanza, hearing which one is pacified.
130. (165) By oneself alone, is evil done, by oneself is one defiled.
By oneself is evil avoided, by oneself alone, is one purified. Purity and
impurity depend on oneself. No one can purify another.
131. (166) One's own welfare should not be neglected because of others'
welfare, howsoever great. Perceiving well one's own welfare be zealous
regarding self interest.
132. (163) Bad deeds and things not beneficial to self are easy to do.
But what is beneficial and good is very, very hard to do indeed.
133. (254) There is no path through the air: no (true) monk is found
outside (the Buddhist Order). Mankind delights in obstacles. The Tathagatas
are free from obstacles.
134. (251) There is no fire like lust, no grip like hate; there is no
net like delusion, no river like craving.
135. (202) There is no fire like lust, no crime like hatred; there is
no ill like the body, no bliss higher than Peace (Nirvana).
136. (234) The wise are restrained in body, speech and mind. Yes, they
are perfectly restrained.
137. (377) As the jasmine creeper sheds its withered flowers, even so,
O bhikshus, should you totally shed lust and hatred.
138. (222) He who holds back rising anger like a rolling chariot, him
I call a real driver; other people are but holding the reins.
139. (132) He who, seeking his own happiness, does not injure or kill
beings who also long for happiness, will find happiness after death.
140. (226) They who are ever vigilant, who train themselves night and
day, who are wholly bent on Nirvanatheir defilements will come to an end.
141. (67) That deed is not well done of which a man must repent and
the fruit of which he reaps crying and with a tearful face.
142. (68) That deed is well done of which a man does not repent and
the fruit of which he reaps gladly and with joy.
143. (292) What ought to be done is neglected, what ought not to be
done is done; the defilements of unruly, heedless people are always increasing.
144. (313) If anything should be done, do it. Promote it with all your
might, for slack asceticism scatters dust (of passions) all the more.
145. (116) Make haste in doing good; check your mind from evil, for
the mind of him who is slow in doing merit delights in evil.
146. (209) He who devotes himself to that which should be shunned and
does not devote himself to that which should be associated with, giving
up the quest and attaching himself to the pleasurable, will come to envy
him who exerts himself.
147. (118) If a man does what is good, he should do it again and again;
he should find pleasure therein: for blissful is the accumulation of good.
148. (117) If a man commits evil, he should not do it again and again;
he should not find pleasure therein: painful is the accumulation of evil.
149. (122) Think not lightly of good, saying in your heart, "It will
not come nigh unto me." Even a water jar is filled by the falling of drops.
Likewise the wise man fills himself with good, gathering little by little.
150. (121) Think not lightly of evil, saying in your heart, "It will
not come nigh unto me." Even a water jar is filled by the falling of drops.
Likewise the fool fills himself with evil, gathering little by little.
151. (123) Just as a merchant with a small escort and great wealth avoids
a perilous way, or just as one desiring to live avoids poison; so should
one shun evil.
152. (124) He who has no wound on his hand may carry poison in it. Poison
does not affect one who is free from wounds. There is no ill for him who
does no wrong.
153. (173) He who by good deeds covers the evil done, illumines this
world like the moon freed from clouds.
154. (312) An act carelessly performed, a broken vow, and a wavering
obedience to religious disciplineall this bears no great fruit.
155. (314) An evil deed is better left undone, for a misdeed torments
one hereafter. A good deed is better done for having done it, one does
not feel remorse.
156. (256) A man is not thereby just because he hastily arbitrates;
the wise man should investigate both right and wrong.
157. (257) The intelligent man who leads others not falsely but lawfully
and impartially and is a guardian of the law is called just.
158. (328) If you find a prudent companion who (is fit) to live with
you, who behaves well and is wise, you should live with him joyfully and
mindfully overcoming all dangers.
159. (291) He who by causing pain to others wishes to obtain happiness
for himself is not released from hatred, being himself entangled in the
tangles of hatred.
160. (252) Easily seen are others' faults but hard indeed to see are
one's own. A man winnows his neighbors' faults like chaff, but hides his
own, even as a dishonest gambler hides a losing throw.
161. (253) He who sees others' faults and is ever irritable, defilements
of such a one grow. He is far from the destruction of defilements.
162. (50) One should not regard the faults of others, what they have
done or left undone, but his own deeds done and undone.
163. (239) Let a wise man blow away his own impurities as a smith blows
away the impurities of silver, one by one, little by little, and from instant
to instant.
164. (240) As rust sprung from iron eats into its own source, so do
the deeds of a transgressor lead him to a state of woe.
165. (242) Lewd conduct is the taint of woman, niggardliness the taint
of a benefactor; tainted are all evil ways in this world and the next.
166. (308) Better to eat a red-hot iron ball like flaring fire, then
to live as an immoral, uncontrolled man eating the alms of people.
167. (243) There is a taint worse than all taintsignorance, the greatest
taint. Abandoning this taint, be taintless, O Bhikshu!
168. (370) Five cut off, five give up, five further cultivate; the Bhikshu
who has gone beyond the five toils is called "One who has crossed the flood."
169. (231) One should guard against misdeeds (caused by) body and be
restrained in body. Leave the sins of the body and practice virtue with
your body.
170. (129) All tremble at punishment, all fear death. Comparing others
with oneself, one should neither kill nor cause others to kill.
171. (130) All tremble at punishment, to all life is dear. Comparing
others with oneself, one should neither kill nor cause others to kill.
172. (131) He who, seeking his own happiness, with a rod molests pleasure-loving
beings, will not find happiness after death.
173. (270) A man is not one of the Noble (Ariya) because he injures
living creatures; he is so called because he refrains from injuring all
living creatures.
174. (389) No one should strike a Brahman, nor should such a Brahman
let himself fly at his aggressor! Shame on him who strikes a Brahman! More
shame on him who gives vent (to his wrath).
175. (241) The taint of Scriptures is non-memorizing, the taint of houses
is ill-repair, the taint of (bodily) beauty is sloth; the taint of a watchman,
lack of vigilance.
176. (409) Him I call indeed a Brahman who takes nothing in the world
that is not given him, be it long or short, small or large, good or bad.
177. (136) A fool does not know when he commits his evil deeds; but
the stupid man is consumed by his own deeds, as if burnt by fire.
178. (71) An evil deed committed does not immediately bear fruit just
as milk does not curdle at once; smouldering like fire covered with ashes,
it follows the fool.
179. (66) Fools of little understanding are their own greatest enemies,
for they do evil deeds which must bear bitter fruits.
180. (232) One should guard against misdeeds (caused by) speech and
be restrained in speech; give up evil conduct in speech and practice virtue
in speech.
181. (6) Others do not know that in this (quarrel) we perish. Those
who realize this, their quarrels cease at once.
182. (133) Speak not harshly to any one; those thus addressed will retort.
Painful indeed is vindictive speech; exchanging blows may touch you.
183. (134) If like a broken gong, you silence yourself; you have already
attained Nirvana. No vindictiveness will be found in you.
184. (230) Who dares blame him who is like refined gold? Even the Devas
praise him, by Brahma too he is praised.
185. (408) Him I call indeed a Brahman who utters gentle, instructive,
true words, so that he offends no one.
186. (176) There is no evil that cannot be done by a lying person who
has transgressed the one law, and who is not concerned with another world.
187. (306) The liar goes to hell; also he who having done a thing says,
"I have not done it." After death both are equal, they are men with evil
deeds in the next world.
188. (363) That Bhikshu who is controlled in tongue, who is moderate
in speech, who is not puffed up, who explains the meaning and the text,
sweet indeed is his speech.
189. (258) A man is not thereby a wise man merely because he speaks
much. He who is secure, friendly, and fearless, is called "wise."
190. (233) One should guard against misdeeds (caused by) mind, one should
be restrained in mind, giving up evil conduct in mind; one should be of
good conduct in mind.
191. (102) Should one recite a hundred useless stanzas, better is a
single stanza, hearing which one is pacified.
192. (103) Though a man should conquer a thousand thousand men in the
battlefield, yet he indeed is the noblest victor who would conquer himself.
193.-194. (87, 88) Going from home to the homeless state, the wise man
should abandon the way of darkness and follow the way of light. He should
seek great delight in Seclusion (Nirvana), so hard to enjoy. Giving up
sensual pleasure, with no impediments, the wise man should cleanse himself
of the defilements of the mind.
195. (72) The knowledge that a fool acquires, so far from profiting
him, destroys his good fortune, nay, it cleaves his head.
196. (245) Hard is the life of a modest man who ever seeks purity, is
detached, humble, clean in life, and intelligent.
197. (30) By earnestness did Sakka (Indra) become the chief of the Gods.
Earnestness is ever praised; wantonness is ever despised.
198. (283) Cut down the whole forest (of lust), not only a single tree!
Danger comes from the forest (of lust); cutting the forest and brushwood
(of lust), be passionless, O Bhikshus!
199. (284) For as long as the brushwood (of lust) of a man towards woman,
even the most temperate, is not cut down, so long is his mind in bondage,
as the calf that drinks milk is to its mother.
200. (356) Weeds are the blemish of fields, lust is the blemish of this
mankind. Hence what is given to those free from lust yields abundant fruit.
201. (357) Weeds are the blemish of fields, hatred is the blemish of
this mankind. Hence what is given to those freed from hatred yields abundant
fruit.
202. (358) Weeds are the blemish of fields; delusion is the blemish
of this mankind. Hence what is given to those freed from delusion yields
abundant fruit.
203. (359) Weeds are the blemish of fields; desire is the blemish of
this mankind. Hence what is given to the desireless yields abundant fruit.
204. (221) One should give up anger, one should renounce pride, one
should overcome all fetters. No suffering befalls him who clings not to
mind and body and is passionless.
205. (244) Easy to live is the life of a shameless one who is as impudent
as a crow, back-biting, forward, arrogant, and corrupt .
206. (365) A man should not despise what he has received, nor should
he envy the gains of others. The Bhikshu who envies (the gains) of others
does not attain Concentration.
207. (366) Although a recipient of little, if a Bhikshu does not disdain
what he has received, even the Gods will praise him who is of pure livelihood
and is not slothful.
208. (400) Him I call indeed a Brahman who is not hateful but is dutiful,
virtuous, not moistened with craving, controlled, and has received his
last body.
209. (413) Him I call indeed a Brahman who is bright like the moon,
who is pure, serene, and clear; who has destroyed craving for Becoming.
210. (316) Beings who are ashamed at what is non-shameful, and who are
unashamed at the shameful, embrace false views and go to a woeful state.
211. (317) Beings who see fear in the non-fearsome and who do not fear
the fearsome, embrace false views and go to a woeful state.
212. (318) Beings who imagine wrong in what is not wrong and view what
is not wrong as wrong, embrace false views and go to a woeful state.
213. (319) Beings who know wrong as wrong, and right as right, embrace
right views and go to a happy state.
214. (127) Neither in the sky nor in mid-ocean, nor in entering a mountain
cave is there found a place on earth where abiding, a man may escape from
(the consequences of) an evil deed.
215. (376) Let him be cordial in his ways and refined in conduct, then
full of joy he will make an end of sorrow.
216. (281) Watchful of speech, well restrained in mind, let a man never
commit any wrong with his body. Let him purify these three ways of action
and win the Path realized by the Sages.
217. (78) Associate not with evil friends, or with mean men. Do associate
with good friends and noble men.
218. (145) Verily the irrigators lead the water, fletchers fashion the
arrow, carpenters bend the wood; the good control themselves.
219. (315) Like a border city, guarded within and without, so guard
yourself. Do not let slip this opportunity for they who allow the right
moment to pass grieve when consigned to hell.
220. (119) Even an evil-doer sees happiness as long as his evil deed
has not ripened; but when it bears fruit, then he sees the evil results.
221. (120) Even a good man sees evil as long as his good deed has not
ripened; but when it bears fruit, then he sees the happy results.
222. (161) The evil done by oneself, self-begotten, self-nursed, crushes
the foolish, even as a diamond grinds a hard gem.
223. (162) Even as a creeper over-spreads (and drags down) a Sal tree,
so a man's wickedness, when it is very great, brings him to that state
where his enemy wishes him to be.
224. (13) Even as rain penetrates an ill-thatched house, so does lust
penetrate an undeveloped mind.
225. (14) Even as rain does not penetrate a well-thatched house, so
does lust not penetrate a well-developed mind.
226. ((15) The evil-doer mourns in this world and he mourns in the next;
he mourns in both. He grieves and perishes, seeing his own impure deed.
227. (16) The virtuous man delights in this world, and he delights in
the next; he delights in both. He delights and rejoices, seeing his own
pure deed.
228. (17) The evil-doer laments in this world and he laments in the
next; he laments in both. He laments when he thinks of the evil he has
done; he laments even more when he has gone to states of woe (in hell).
229. (18) The virtuous man is happy in this world and he is happy in
the next; he is happy in both. He is happy when he thinks of the good he
has done. He is even happier when he has gone to states of bliss (to heaven).
230. (28) When the sagacious one casts away wantonness by earnestness,
this sorrowless wise one ascends the palace of wisdom and beholds the ignorant
sorrowing folks as a mountaineer looks down upon them that stand upon the
plain.
231. (248) Know this, O good man! "Not easy of restraint are evil things."
Let not greed and wickedness drag you to protracted misery.
232.-233. (246, 247) He who in this world destroys life, utters lies,
takes what is not given, goes to others wives, and the man who is addicted
to intoxicating drinks; such a one digs up his own root in this very world.
234. (69) As long as the evil deed done does not bear fruit, the fool
thinks it is like honey; but when it ripens, then he comes to grief.
235. (125) Whosoever offends a harmless man, pure and guiltless, the
evil recoils upon that very fool like fine dust thrown against the wind.
236. (309) Four misfortunes befall a heedless man who commits adultery:
acquisition of demerit, disturbed sleep, blame, and hell.
237. (310) Acquisition of demerit (is) future unhappy birth; brief is
the joy of the frightened man and frightened woman; the king imposes heavy
punishment; hence no man should frequent another's wife.
238. (137) He who inflicts punishments on those that do not deserve,
and offends those that are harmless, soon will come to one of these ten
states:
239-241. (138,139,140) He will incur acute pain, disaster, bodily injury,
or even grievous sickness, or loss of mind; or oppression by the king,
or a heavy accusation, or loss of relatives or the destruction of death,
or a ravaging fire will burn his houses. Upon the dissolution of the body
this unwise man will be born in hell.
242. (294) Having slain mother (craving), father (conceit), two warrior
kings (Views of Eternalism and Nihilism), and having destroyed a country
(sense-avenues and sense-objects) together with its revenue officer (attachment),
ungrieving goes the Brahman.
243. (295) Having slain Mother and Father, two Brahman Kings, and destroyed
the "Perilous fifth" (Hindrances), ungrieving goes the Brahman.
244. (183) Not to do any evil, to cultivate good, to purify one's mindthis
is the advice of the Buddhas.
245. (360) Good is restraint in eye, good is restraint in ear; Good
is restraint in nose, good is restraint in tongue.
246. (185) Not to insult, not to harm, restraint in the Fundamental
Precepts, moderation in food, to sleep and sit alone, with devotion to
lofty thoughtsthis is the advice of the Buddhas.
247. (304) The Good are manifest even from afar like the Himalaya mountains;
although nearby, the wicked are not seen, like arrows shot by night.
248. (223) Overcome anger by loving-kindness, evil by good; Overcome
the stingy by generosity, and liars by truth.
249. (262) A jealous, selfish and deceitful man does not become "respectable"
merely by eloquence or by the beauty of his complexion.
250. (263) But in whom these are wholly cut off, uprooted, and extinctthat
wise man who has cast out hatred is indeed called "respectable."
251. (264) Not by a shaven head does an undisciplined man who utters
lies become an ascetic. How will one be an ascetic who is full of desire
and greed?
252. (265) He who wholly subdues evil, both small and great, is called
an ascetic, because he has overcome all evil.
253. (266) He is not a Bhikshu merely because he begs from others; by
following ill-smelling actions one does not become a Bhikshu.
254. (267) He who has abandoned both merit and demerit, who is holy
and lives with understanding in this world, he indeed is called a Bhikshu.
255.-256. (268, 269) A man is not a sage (muni) because he observes
silence (mona), if he is foolish and ignorant; But the wise man who, as
if grasping a pair of scales, embraces the best and shuns evil, is indeed
a sage, and for that very reason. He who understands both worlds is therefore
called a sage.
257. (9) Whosoever not freed from stain, void of self-control and truth,
should don the yellow robe, is not worthy of it.
258. (10) He who has vomited all impurities, is well-established in
morals and endowed with self-control and truth, is indeed worthy of the
yellow robe.
259. (307) Many on whose shoulders is the yellow robe are ill-natured,
uncontrolled, and wickedthey on account of their evil deeds are born in
hell.
260. (311) Just as Kusa grass, wrongly grasped, cuts that very hand;
even so the ascetic life, wrongly handled, drags one to hell.
261. (361) Good is restraint in body, good is restraint in speech, good
is restraint in mind, good is restraint everywhere. The monk restrained
in everything is freed from all sorrow.
262. (391) Him I call indeed a Brahman who does no evil through body,
speech, or mind, and is restrained in these three respects.
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