Dhammapada

Verse 3

“They abused me, they hit me!
They beat me, they robbed me!”
For those who bear such a grudge,
hatred is never laid to rest.

Verse 4

“They abused me, they hit me!
They beat me, they robbed me!”
For those who bear no such grudge,
hatred is laid to rest.

Verse 6

When others do not understand,
let us, who do understand this,
restrain ourselves in this regard;
for that is how conflicts are laid to rest.

Verse 7

Those who contemplate the beautiful,
their faculties unrestrained,
immoderate in eating,
lazy, lacking energy:
Māra strikes them down
like the wind, a feeble tree.

Verse 8

Those who contemplate the ugly,
their faculties well-restrained,
eating in moderation,
faithful and energetic:
Māra cannot strike them down,
like the wind, a rocky mountain.

Verse 9

One who, not free of stains themselves,
would wear the robe stained in ocher,
bereft of self-control and truth:
they are not worthy of the ocher robe.

Verse 10

One who’s purged all their stains,
steady in ethics,
possessed of self-control and of truth,
they are truly worthy of the ocher robe.

Verse 11

Thinking the inessential is essential,
seeing the essential as inessential;
they don’t realize the essential,
for wrong thoughts are their habitat.

Verse 12

Having known the essential as essential,
and the inessential as inessential;
they realize the essential,
for right thoughts are their habitat.

Verse 13

Just as rain seeps into
a poorly roofed house,
lust seeps into
an undeveloped mind.

Verse 14

Just as rain doesn’t seep into
a well roofed house,
lust doesn’t seep into
a well developed mind.

Verse 15

Here they grieve, hereafter they grieve,
an evildoer grieves in both places.
They grieve and fret,
seeing their own corrupt deeds.

Verse 16

Here they rejoice, hereafter they rejoice,
one who does good rejoices in both places.
They rejoice and celebrate,
seeing their own pure deeds.

Verse 17

Here they’re tormented, <j>hereafter they’re tormented,
an evildoer is tormented in both places.
They’re tormented <j>thinking of bad things they’ve done;
when gone to a bad place, <j>they’re tormented all the more.

Verse 18

Here they delight, hereafter they delight,
one who does good delights in both places.
They delight thinking of good things they’ve done;
when gone to a good place, they delight all the more.

Verse 19

Much though they may recite scripture,
if a negligent person does not apply them,
then, like a cowherd who counts the cattle of others,
they miss out on the blessings of the ascetic life.

Verse 20

Little though they may recite scripture,
if they live in line with the teaching,
having given up greed, hate, and delusion,
with deep understanding and heart well freed,
not grasping to this life or the next,
they share in the blessings of the ascetic life.

Verse 21

Heedfulness is the state free of death;
heedlessness is the state of death.
The heedful do not die,
while the heedless are like the dead.

Verse 22

Understanding this distinction
when it comes to heedfulness,
the astute rejoice in heedfulness,
happy in the noble ones’ domain.

Verse 23

They who regularly meditate,
always staunchly vigorous;
the attentive realize extinguishment,
the supreme sanctuary from the yoke.

Verse 24

For the hard-working and mindful,
pure of deed and attentive,
restrained, living righteously, and diligent,
their reputation only grows.

Verse 25

By hard work and diligence,
by restraint and by self-control,
a smart person would build an island
that the floods cannot overflow.

Verse 26

Fools and simpletons
devote themselves to negligence.
But the wise protect diligence
as their best treasure.

Verse 27

Don’t devote yourself to negligence,
or delight in erotic intimacy.
For if you’re diligent and meditate,
you’ll attain abundant happiness.

Verse 28

When the astute dispel negligence
by means of diligence,
ascending the palace of wisdom,
sorrowless, they behold this generation of sorrow,
as an attentive one on a mountain top
beholds the fools below.

Verse 29

Heedful among the heedless,
wide awake while others sleep—
a true sage leaves them behind,
like a swift horse passing a feeble.

Verse 30

Maghavā became chief of the gods
by means of diligence.
People praise diligence,
while negligence is always deplored.

Verse 31

A mendicant who loves diligence,
seeing fear in negligence—
advances like fire,
burning up fetters big and small.

Verse 32

A mendicant who loves diligence,
seeing fear in negligence—
such a one can’t decline,
and has drawn near to extinguishment.

Verse 33

The mind quivers and quakes,
hard to guard, hard to curb.
The discerning straighten it out,
like a fletcher an arrow.

Verse 34

Like a fish pulled from the sea
and cast upon the shore,
this mind flounders about,
trying to throw off Māra’s dominion.

Verse 35

Hard to hold back, flighty,
alighting where it will;
it’s good to tame the mind;
a tamed mind leads to bliss.

Verse 36

So hard to see, so subtle,
alighting where it will;
the discerning protect the mind,
a guarded mind leads to bliss.

Verse 37

The mind travels far, wandering alone;
incorporeal, it lies hidden in the heart.
Those who will restrain the mind
are freed from Māra’s bonds.

Verse 38

Those of unsteady mind,
who don’t understand the true teaching,
and whose confidence wavers,
do not perfect their wisdom.

Verse 39

One whose mind is not festering,
whose heart is undamaged,
who’s given up right and wrong,
alert, has nothing to fear.

Verse 40

Knowing this body breaks like a pot,
and fortifying the mind like a citadel,
attack Māra with the sword of wisdom,
guard your conquest, and never settle.

Verse 41

All too soon this body
will lie upon the earth,
bereft of consciousness,
tossed aside like a worthless log.

Verse 42

A wrongly directed mind
would do you more harm
than a hater to the hated,
or an enemy to their foe.

Verse 43

A rightly directed mind
would do you more good
than your mother or father
or any other relative.

Verse 44

Who bestirs this earth,
and the Yama realm with its gods?
Who sets out the well-taught word of truth,
as an expert a flower?

Verse 45

A trainee bestirs this earth,
and the Yama realm with its gods.
A trainee sets out the well-taught word of truth,
as an expert a flower.

Verse 46

Knowing this body’s like foam,
realizing it’s all just a mirage,
and cutting off Māra’s blossoming,
vanish from the King of Death.

Verse 47

As a mighty flood sweeps off a sleeping village,
death steals away a man
even as he gathers flowers,
his mind caught up in them.

Verse 48

The terminator gains control of the man
who has not had his fill of pleasures,
even as he gathers flowers,
his mind caught up in them.

Verse 49

A bee takes the nectar
and moves on, doing no damage
to the flower’s beauty and fragrance;
and that’s how a sage should walk in the village.

Verse 50

Don’t find fault with others,
with what they’ve done or left undone.
You should only watch yourself,
what you’ve done or left undone.

Verse 51

Just like a glorious flower
that’s colorful but lacks fragrance;
eloquent speech is fruitless
for one who does not act on it.

Verse 52

Just like a glorious flower
that’s both colorful and fragrant,
eloquent speech is fruitful
for one who acts on it.

Verse 53

Just as one would create many garlands
from a heap of flowers,
when a person has come to be born,
they should do many skillful things.

Verse 54

The fragrance of flowers doesn’t spread upwind,
nor sandalwood, pinwheel, or jasmine;
but the fragrance of the good spreads upwind;
a true person’s virtue spreads in every direction.

Verse 55

Among all the fragrances—
sandalwood or pinwheel
or lotus or jasmine—
the fragrance of virtue is supreme.

Verse 56

Faint is the fragrance
of sandal or pinwheel;
but the fragrance of the virtuous
floats to the highest gods.

Verse 57

For those accomplished in ethics,
meditating diligently,
freed through the highest knowledge,
Māra cannot find their path.

Verse 58

From a heap of trash
discarded on the highway,
a lotus might blossom,
fragrant and delightful.

Verse 59

So too, among those thought of as trash,
a disciple of the perfect Buddha
outshines with their wisdom
the blind ordinary folk.

Verse 60

Long is the night for the wakeful;
long is the league for the weary;
long transmigrate the fools
who don’t understand the true teaching.

Verse 61

If while wandering you find no partner
equal or better than yourself,
then firmly resolve to wander alone—
there’s no fellowship with fools.

Verse 62

“Sons are mine, wealth is mine”—
thus the fool frets.
For even your self is not your own,
let alone your sons or wealth.

Verse 63

The fool who thinks they’re a fool
is wise at least to that extent.
But the true fool is said to be one
who imagines that they are wise.

Verse 64

Though a fool attends to the wise
even for the rest of their life,
they still don’t understand the teaching,
like a spoon the taste of the soup.

Verse 65

If a clever person attends to the wise
even just for an hour or so,
they swiftly understand the teaching,
like a tongue the taste of the soup.

Verse 66

Fools and simpletons behave
like their own worst enemies,
doing wicked deeds
that ripen as bitter fruit.

Verse 67

It’s not good to do a deed
that plagues you later on,
for which you weep and wail,
as its effect stays with you.

Verse 68

It is good to do a deed
that doesn’t plague you later on,
that gladdens and cheers,
as its effect stays with you.

Verse 69

The fool imagines that evil is sweet,
so long as it has not yet ripened.
But as soon as that evil ripens,
they fall into suffering.

Verse 70

Month after month a fool may eat
food from a grass-blade’s tip;
but they’ll never be worth a sixteenth part
of one who has appraised the teaching.

Verse 71

For a wicked deed that has been done
does not curdle quickly like milk.
Smoldering, it follows the fool,
like a fire smothered over with ash.

Verse 72

Whatever fame a fool may get,
it only gives rise to harm.
Whatever good features they have it ruins,
and blows their head into bits.

Verse 73

They’d seek the esteem that they lack,
and status among the mendicants;
authority over monasteries,
and honor among other families.

Verse 74

“Let both layfolk and renunciants think
the work was done by me alone.
In anything at all that’s to be done,
let them fall under my sway alone.”
So thinks the fool,
their greed and pride only growing.

Verse 75

For the means to profit and the path to quenching
are two quite different things.
A mendicant disciple of the Buddha,
understanding what this really means,
would never delight in honors,
but rather would foster seclusion.

Verse 76

Regard one who sees your faults
as a guide to a hidden treasure.
Stay close to one so intelligent and astute
who curbs you when you need it.
Sticking close to such an impartial person,
things get better, not worse.

Verse 77

Advise and instruct;
curb wickedness:
for you shall be loved by the good,
and disliked by the bad.

Verse 78

Don’t mix with bad friends,
nor with the worst of men.
Mix with spiritual friends,
and with the best of men.

Verse 79

Through joy in the teaching you sleep at ease,
with clear and confident heart.
An astute person always delights in the teaching
proclaimed by the Noble One.

Verse 80

While irrigators guide water,
fletchers bend arrows straight,
and carpenters bend timber straight,
the astute tame themselves.

Verse 81

As the wind cannot stir
a solid mass of rock,
so too blame and praise
do not affect the wise.

Verse 82

Like a deep lake,
clear and unclouded,
so clear are the astute
when they hear the teachings.

Verse 83

True persons give up everything,
they don’t cajole for the things they desire.
Though touched by sadness or happiness,
the astute appear neither depressed nor elated.

Verse 84

Never wish for success by unjust means,
for your own sake or that of another,
desiring children, wealth, or nation;
rather, be virtuous, wise, and just.

Verse 85

Few are those among humans
who cross to the far shore.
The rest just run around
on the near shore.

Verse 86

When the teaching is well explained,
the people who practice accordingly
will cross over
Death’s dominion so hard to pass.

Verse 87

Rid of dark qualities,
an astute person would develop the bright.
Having left home for homelessness
in seclusion, where joy is hard,

Verse 88

they’d long for satisfaction there.
Forsaking sensual pleasures, owning nothing,
an astute person would cleanse themselves
of mental corruptions.

Verse 89

And those whose minds are rightly developed
in the awakening factors;
who, letting go of attachments,
delight in not grasping:
with defilements ended, brilliant,
they are quenched in this world.

Verse 90

At journey’s end, rid of sorrow;
everywhere free,
all ties given up,
no fever is found in them.

Verse 91

The mindful apply themselves;
they delight in no abode.
Like a swan gone from the marsh,
they leave home after home behind.

Verse 92

Those with nothing stored up,
who have understood their food,
whose domain is the liberation
of the signless and the empty:
their path is hard to trace,
like birds in the sky.

Verse 93

One whose defilements have ended;
who’s not attached to food;
whose domain is the liberation
of the signless and the empty:
their track is hard to trace,
like birds in the sky.

Verse 94

Whose faculties have become serene,
like horses tamed by a charioteer,
who has abandoned conceit and defilements;
the unaffected one is envied by even the gods.

Verse 95

Undisturbed like the earth,
true to their vows, steady as Indra’s pillar,
like a lake clear of mud;
such a one does not transmigrate.

Verse 96

Their mind is peaceful,
peaceful are their speech and deeds.
Such a one is at peace,
rightly freed through enlightenment.

Verse 97

Lacking faith, a house-breaker,
one who acknowledges nothing,
purged of hope, they’ve wasted their chance:
that is indeed the supreme person!

Verse 98

Whether in village or wilderness,
in a valley or the uplands,
wherever the perfected ones live
is a delightful place.

Verse 99

Delightful are the wildernesses
where no people delight.
Those free of greed will delight there,
not those who seek sensual pleasures.

Verse 100

Better than a thousand
meaningless sayings
is a single meaningful saying,
hearing which brings you peace.

Verse 101

Better than a thousand
meaningless verses
is a single meaningful verse,
hearing which brings you peace.

Verse 102

Better than reciting
a hundred meaningless verses
is a single saying of Dhamma,
hearing which brings you peace.

Verse 103

The supreme conqueror is
not he who conquers a million men in battle,
but he who conquers a single man:
himself.

Verse 104

It is surely better to conquer oneself
than all those other folk.
When a person has tamed themselves,
always living restrained,

Verse 105

no god nor centaur,
nor Māra nor divinity,
can undo the victory
of such a personage.

Verse 106

Rather than a thousandfold sacrifice,
every month for a full century,
it’s better to honor for a single hour
one who has developed themselves.
That offering is better
than the hundred year sacrifice.

Verse 107

Rather than serve the sacred flame
in the forest for a hundred years,
it’s better to honor for a single hour
a personage who has developed themselves.
That offering is better
than the hundred year sacrifice.

Verse 108

Whatever sacrifice or offering in the world
a seeker of merit may make for a year,
none of it is worth a quarter
of bowing to the sincere.

Verse 109

For one in the habit of bowing,
always honoring the elders,
four blessings grow:
lifespan, beauty, happiness, and strength.

Verse 110

Better to live a single day
ethical and absorbed in meditation
than to live a hundred years
unethical and lacking immersion.

Verse 111

Better to live a single day
wise and absorbed in meditation
than to live a hundred years
witless and lacking immersion.

Verse 112

Better to live a single day
energetic and strong,
than to live a hundred years
lazy and lacking energy.

Verse 113

Better to live a single day
seeing rise and fall
than to live a hundred years
blind to rise and fall.

Verse 114

Better to live a single day
seeing the state free of death
than to live a hundred years
blind to the state free of death.

Verse 115

Better to live a single day
seeing the supreme teaching
than to live a hundred years
blind to the supreme teaching.

Verse 116

Rush to do good,
shield your mind from evil;
for when you’re slow to do good,
your thoughts delight in wickedness.

Verse 117

If you do something bad,
don’t do it again and again,
don’t set your heart on it,
for piling up evil is suffering.

Verse 118

If you do something good,
do it again and again,
set your heart on it,
for piling up goodness is joyful.

Verse 119

Even the wicked see good things,
so long as their wickedness has not ripened.
But as soon as that wickedness ripens,
then the wicked see wicked things.

Verse 120

Even the good see wicked things,
so long as their goodness has not ripened.
But as soon as that goodness ripens,
then the good see good things.

Verse 121

Think not lightly of evil,
that it won’t come back to you.
The pot is filled with water
falling drop by drop;
the fool is filled with wickedness
piled up bit by bit.

Verse 122

Think not lightly of goodness,
that it won’t come back to you.
The pot is filled with water
falling drop by drop;
the attentive one is filled with goodness
piled up bit by bit.

Verse 123

Avoid wickedness,
as a merchant with rich cargo and small escort
would avoid a dangerous road,
or one who loves life would avoid drinking poison.

Verse 124

You can carry poison in your hand
if it has no wound,
for poison does not infect without a wound;
nothing bad happens unless you do bad.

Verse 125

Whoever wrongs a man who has done no wrong,
a pure man who has not a blemish,
the evil backfires on the fool,
like fine dust thrown upwind.

Verse 126

Some are born in a womb;
evildoers go to hell;
the virtuous go to heaven;
the undefiled are fully extinguished.

Verse 127

Not in midair, nor mid-ocean,
nor hiding in a mountain cleft;
you’ll find no place on the planet
to escape your wicked deeds.

Verse 128

Not in midair, nor mid-ocean,
nor hiding in a mountain cleft;
you’ll find no place on the planet
where you won’t be vanquished by death.

Verse 129

All tremble at the rod,
all fear death.
Treating others like oneself,
neither kill nor incite to kill.

Verse 130

All tremble at the rod,
all love life.
Treating others like oneself,
neither kill nor incite to kill.

Verse 131

Creatures love happiness,
so if you harm them with a stick
in search of your own happiness,
after death you won’t find happiness.

Verse 132

Creatures love happiness,
so if you don’t harm them with a stick
in search of your own happiness,
after death you will find happiness.

Verse 133

Don’t speak harshly,
they may speak harshly back.
For aggressive speech is painful,
and the rod may spring back on you.

Verse 134

If you still yourself
like a broken gong,
you reach extinguishment
and know no conflict.

Verse 135

As a cowherd drives the cows
to pasture with the rod,
so too old age and death
drive life from living beings.

Verse 136

The fool does not understand
the evil that they do.
But because of those deeds, that simpleton
is tormented as if burnt by fire.

Verse 137

One who violently attacks
the peaceful and the innocent
swiftly falls
to one of ten bad states:

Verse 138

harsh pain; loss;
the breakup of the body;
serious illness;
mental distress;

Verse 139

hazards from rulers;
vicious slander;
loss of kin;
destruction of wealth;

Verse 140

or else their home
is consumed by fire.
When their body breaks up, that witless person
is reborn in hell.

Verse 141

Not nudity, nor matted hair, nor mud,
nor fasting, nor lying on bare ground,
nor wearing dust and dirt, or squatting on the heels,
will cleanse a mortal not free of doubt.

Verse 142

Dressed up they may be, but if they live well—
peaceful, tamed, committed to the spiritual path,
having laid aside violence toward all creatures—
they are a brahmin, an ascetic, a mendicant.

Verse 143

Can a person constrained by conscience
be found in the world?
Who shies away from blame,
like a fine horse from the whip?

Verse 144

Like a fine horse under the whip,
be keen and full of urgency.
With faith, ethics, and energy,
immersion, and investigation of principles,
accomplished in knowledge and conduct, mindful,
give up this vast suffering.

Verse 145

While irrigators guide water,
fletchers bend arrows straight,
and carpenters bend timber straight,
those true to their vows tame themselves.

Verse 146

What is joy, what is laughter,
when the flames are ever burning?
Swathed in darkness,
would you not seek a light?

Verse 147

See this fancy puppet,
a body built of sores,
diseased, obsessed over,
in which nothing lasts at all.

Verse 148

This body is decrepit and frail,
a nest of disease.
This foul carcass falls apart,
for life ends in death.

Verse 149

These dove-grey bones
are tossed away like
dried gourds in the autumn—
what joy is there in such a sight?

Verse 150

In this city built of bones,
plastered with flesh and blood,
old age and death are stashed away,
along with conceit and contempt.

Verse 151

Fancy chariots of kings wear out,
and even this body gets old.
But the truth of the good never gets old—
so the good proclaim to the good.

Verse 152

A person of little learning
ages like an ox—
their flesh grows,
but not their wisdom.

Verse 153

Transmigrating through countless rebirths,
I’ve journeyed without reward,
searching for the house-builder;
painful is birth again and again.

Verse 154

I’ve seen you, house-builder!
You won’t build a house again!
Your rafters are all broken,
your roof-peak demolished.
The mind, set on demolition,
has reached the end of cravings.

Verse 155

When young they spurned the spiritual path
and failed to earn any wealth.
Now they brood like old cranes
in a pond bereft of fish.

Verse 156

When young they spurned the spiritual path
and failed to earn any wealth.
Now they lie like spent arrows,
bemoaning over things past.

Verse 157

If you knew your self as beloved,
you’d look after it so well.
In one of the night’s three watches,
an astute person would remain alert.

Verse 158

The astute would avoid being corrupted
by first grounding themselves
in what is suitable,
and then instructing others.

Verse 159

If one were to treat oneself
as one instructs another,
the well-tamed indeed would tame:
for the self, it seems, is hard to tame.

Verse 160

One is indeed the lord of oneself,
for who else would be one’s lord?
By means of a well-tamed self,
one gains a lord that’s rare indeed.

Verse 161

For the evil that is done by oneself,
born and produced in oneself,
grinds down a simpleton,
as diamond grinds a lesser gem.

Verse 162

One choked by immorality,
as a sal tree by a creeper,
does to themselves
what a foe only wishes.

Verse 163

It’s easy to do bad things
harmful to oneself,
but good things that are helpful
are the hardest things to do.

Verse 164

On account of wicked views—
scorning the guidance
of the perfected ones,
the noble ones living righteously—
the idiot begets their own self’s demise,
like the bamboo bearing fruit.

Verse 165

For it is by oneself that evil’s done,
one is corrupted by oneself.
It’s by oneself that evil’s not done,
one is purified by oneself.
Purity and impurity are personal matters,
no one can purify another.

Verse 166

Never neglect what is good for yourself
for the sake of another, however great.
Knowing well what is good for yourself,
be intent upon your heart’s goal.

Verse 167

Don’t resort to lowly things,
don’t abide in negligence,
don’t resort to wrong views,
don’t perpetuate the world.

Verse 168

Get up, don’t be heedless,
live by principle, with good conduct.
For one of good conduct sleeps at ease,
in this world and the next.

Verse 169

Live by principle, with good conduct,
don’t conduct yourself badly.
For one of good conduct sleeps at ease,
in this world and the next.

Verse 170

Look upon the world
as a bubble
or a mirage,
then the King of Death won’t see you.

Verse 171

Come, see this world decked out
like a fancy royal chariot.
Here fools founder,
but the discerning are not chained.

Verse 172

He who once was heedless,
but turned to heedfulness,
shines upon this world
like the moon freed from clouds.

Verse 173

Someone whose bad deed
is supplanted by the good,
shines upon this world,
like the moon freed from clouds.

Verse 174

Blind is the world,
few are those who clearly see.
Only a handful go to heaven,
like a bird freed from a net.

Verse 175

Swans fly by the sun’s path,
psychic sages fly through space.
The attentive leave the world,
having vanquished Māra with his legions.

Verse 176

When a personage, spurning the hereafter,
transgresses in just one thing—
lying—
there is no evil they would not do.

Verse 177

The miserly don’t ascend to heaven,
it takes a fool to not praise giving.
The attentive celebrate giving,
and so find happiness in the hereafter.

Verse 178

The fruit of stream-entry is better
than being the one king of the earth,
than going to heaven,
than lordship over all the world.

Verse 179

He whose victory may not be undone,
a victory unrivaled in all the world;
by what track would you trace that Buddha,
who leaves no track in his infinite range?

Verse 180

Of craving, the weaver, the clinger, he has none:
so where can he be traced?
By what track would you trace that Buddha,
who leaves no track in his infinite range?

Verse 181

The attentive intent on absorption,
who love the peace of renunciation,
the Buddhas, ever mindful,
are envied by even the gods.

Verse 182

It’s hard to gain a human birth;
the life of mortals is hard;
it’s hard to hear the true teaching;
the arising of Buddhas is hard.

Verse 183

Not to do any evil;
to embrace the good;
to purify one’s mind:
this is the instruction of the Buddhas.

Verse 184

Patient acceptance is the ultimate fervor.
Extinguishment is the ultimate, say the Buddhas.
No true renunciate injures another,
nor does an ascetic hurt another.

Verse 185

Not speaking ill nor doing harm;
restraint in the monastic code;
moderation in eating;
staying in remote lodgings;
commitment to the higher mind—
this is the instruction of the Buddhas.

Verse 186

Even if it were raining money,
you’d not be sated in sensual pleasures.
An astute person understands that sensual pleasures
offer little gratification and much suffering.

Verse 187

Thus they find no delight
even in celestial pleasures.
A disciple of the fully awakened Buddha
delights in the ending of craving.

Verse 188

So many go for refuge
to mountains and forest groves,
to shrines in tended parks;
those people are driven by fear.

Verse 189

But such refuge is no sanctuary,
it is no supreme refuge.
By going to that refuge,
you’re not released from all suffering.

Verse 190

One gone for refuge to the Buddha,
to his teaching and to the Saṅgha,
sees the four noble truths
with right understanding:

Verse 191

suffering, suffering’s origin,
suffering’s transcendence,
and the noble eightfold path
that leads to the stilling of suffering.

Verse 192

Such refuge is a sanctuary,
it is the supreme refuge.
By going to that refuge,
you’re released from all suffering.

Verse 193

It’s hard to find a thoroughbred man:
they’re not born just anywhere.
A family where that attentive one is born
prospers in happiness.

Verse 194

Happy, the arising of Buddhas!
Happy, the teaching of Dhamma!
Happy is the harmony of the Saṅgha,
and the striving of the harmonious is happy.

Verse 195

When a person venerates the worthy—
the Buddha or his disciple,
who have transcended proliferation,
and have left behind grief and lamentation,

Verse 196

quenched, fearing nothing from any quarter—
the merit of one venerating such as these,
cannot be calculated by anyone,
saying it is just this much.

Verse 197

Let us live so very happily,
loving among the hostile.
Among hostile humans,
let us live with love.

Verse 198

Let us live so very happily,
healthy among the ailing.
Among ailing humans
let us live healthily.

Verse 199

Let us live so very happily,
content among the greedy.
Among greedy humans,
let us live content.

Verse 200

Let us live so very happily,
we who have nothing.
We shall feed on rapture,
like the gods of sublime luminosity.

Verse 201

Victory breeds enmity;
the defeated sleep badly.
The peaceful sleep at ease,
having left victory and defeat behind.

Verse 202

There is no fire like greed,
no crime like hate,
no suffering like the aggregates,
no bliss beyond peace.

Verse 203

Hunger is the worst illness,
conditions are the worst suffering.
When one has known this as it is,
extinguishment is the ultimate happiness.

Verse 204

Health is the ultimate blessing;
contentment, the ultimate wealth;
trust is the ultimate family;
extinguishment, the ultimate happiness.

Verse 205

Having drunk the nectar of seclusion
and the nectar of peace—
free of stress, free of evil,
drink the joyous nectar of truth.

Verse 206

It’s good to see the noble ones,
staying with them is always good.
Were you not to see fools,
you’d always be happy.

Verse 207

For one who consorts with fools
grieves long.
Painful is living with fools,
like being stuck with your enemy.
Happy is living with an attentive one,
like meeting with your kin.

Verse 208

Therefore:
An attentive one, wise and learned,
a behemoth of virtue, true to their vows, noble:
follow a true and intelligent person such as this,
as the moon tracks the path of the stars.

Verse 209

Applying yourself where you ought not,
neglecting what you should be doing,
forgetting your goal, you cling to what you hold dear,
jealous of those devoted to their heart’s goal.

Verse 210

Don’t ever get too close
to those you like or dislike.
For not seeing the liked is suffering,
and so is seeing the disliked.

Verse 211

Therefore don’t hold anything dear,
for it’s bad to lose those you love.
No ties are found in they who
hold nothing loved or loathed.

Verse 212

Sorrow springs from what we hold dear,
fear springs from what we hold dear;
one free from holding anything dear
has no sorrow, let alone fear.

Verse 213

Sorrow springs from attachment,
fear springs from attachment;
one free from attachment
has no sorrow, let alone fear.

Verse 214

Sorrow springs from relishing,
fear springs from relishing;
one free from relishing
has no sorrow, let alone fear.

Verse 215

Sorrow springs from desire,
fear springs from desire;
one free from desire
has no sorrow, let alone fear.

Verse 216

Sorrow springs from craving,
fear springs from craving;
one free from craving
has no sorrow, let alone fear.

Verse 217

One accomplished in virtue and vision,
firmly principled, and truthful,
doing oneself what ought be done:
that’s who the people love.

Verse 218

One eager to realize the ineffable
would be filled with awareness.
Their mind not bound to pleasures of sense,
they’re said to be heading upstream.

Verse 219

When a man returns safely
after a long time spent abroad,
family, friends, and loved ones
celebrate his return.

Verse 220

Just so, when one who has done good
goes from this world to the next,
their good deeds receive them there,
as family welcomes home one they love.

Verse 221

Give up anger, get rid of conceit,
and escape every fetter.
Sufferings don’t befall one who has nothing,
not clinging to name and form.

Verse 222

When anger surges like a lurching chariot,
keep it in check.
That’s what I call a charioteer;
others just hold the reins.

Verse 223

Defeat anger with kindness,
villainy with virtue,
stinginess with giving,
and lies with truth.

Verse 224

Speak the truth, do not be angry,
and give when asked, if only a little.
By these three means,
you may enter the presence of the gods.

Verse 225

Those harmless sages,
always restrained in body,
go to the state that does not pass,
where there is no sorrow.

Verse 226

Always wakeful,
practicing night and day,
focused only on extinguishment,
their defilements come to an end.

Verse 227

It’s always been this way, Atula,
it’s not just today.
They blame you when you’re silent,
they blame you when you speak a lot,
and even when you speak just right:
no one in the world escapes blame.

Verse 228

There never was, nor will be,
nor is there today,
someone who is wholly praised
or wholly blamed.

Verse 229

If, after watching them day in day out,
discerning people praise
that sage of impeccable conduct,
endowed with ethics and wisdom;

Verse 230

like a pendant of Black Plum River gold,
who is worthy to criticize them?
Even the gods praise them,
and by the Divinity, too, they’re praised.

Verse 231

Guard against ill-tempered deeds,
be restrained in body.
Giving up bad bodily conduct,
conduct yourself well in body.

Verse 232

Guard against ill-tempered words,
be restrained in speech.
Giving up bad verbal conduct,
conduct yourself well in speech.

Verse 233

Guard against ill-tempered thoughts,
be restrained in mind.
Giving up bad mental conduct,
conduct yourself well in mind.

Verse 234

An attentive one is restrained in body
restrained also in speech,
in thought, too, they are restrained:
they are restrained in every way.

Verse 235

Today you’re like a withered leaf,
Yama’s men await you.
You stand at the departure gates,
yet you have no supplies for the road.

Verse 236

Make an island of yourself!
Swiftly strive, learn to be wise!
Purged of stains, flawless,
you’ll go to the heavenly realm of the noble ones.

Verse 237

You’ve journeyed the stages of life,
and now you set out to meet Yama.
Along the way there’s nowhere to stay,
yet you have no supplies for the road.

Verse 238

Make an island of yourself!
Swiftly strive, learn to be wise!
Purged of stains, flawless,
you’ll not come again to rebirth and old age.

Verse 239

A smart person would purge
their own stains gradually,
bit by bit, moment by moment,
like a smith smelting silver.

Verse 240

It is the rust born on the iron
that eats away the place it arose.
And so it is their own deeds
that lead the overly-ascetic to a bad place.

Verse 241

Not rehearsing is the stain of hymns.
The stain of houses is neglect.
Laziness is the stain of beauty.
A guard’s stain is negligence.

Verse 242

Misconduct is a woman’s stain.
A giver’s stain is stinginess.
Bad qualities are a stain
in this world and the next.

Verse 243

But a worse stain than these
is ignorance, the worst stain of all.
Having given up that stain,
be without stains, mendicants!

Verse 244

Life is easy for the shameless.
With all the rude courage of a crow,
they live pushy,
rude, and corrupt.

Verse 245

Life is hard for the conscientious,
always seeking purity,
neither clinging nor rude,
pure of livelihood and discerning.

Verse 246

Take anyone in this world
who kills living creatures,
speaks falsely, steals,
commits adultery,

Verse 247

and indulges in drinking
beer and wine.
Right here they dig up
the root of their own self.

Verse 248

Know this, my man:
they are unrestrained and wicked.
Don’t let that greed and unrighteousness
inflict pain on you for long.

Verse 249

The people give according to their faith,
according to their confidence.
If you get upset over that,
over others’ food and drink,
you’ll not, by day or by night,
become immersed in samādhi.

Verse 250

Those who have cut that out,
dug it up at the root, eradicated it,
they will, by day or by night,
become immersed in samādhi.

Verse 251

There is no fire like greed,
no crime like hate,
no net like delusion,
no river like craving.

Verse 252

It’s easy to see the faults of others,
hard to see one’s own.
For the faults of others
are tossed high like hay,
while one’s own are hidden,
as a cheat hides a bad hand.

Verse 253

When you look for the flaws of others,
always finding fault,
your defilements only grow,
you’re far from ending defilements.

Verse 254

In the atmosphere there is no track,
there’s no true ascetic outside here.
People enjoy proliferation,
the Realized Ones are free of proliferation.

Verse 255

In the atmosphere there is no track,
there’s no true ascetic outside here.
No conditions last forever,
the Awakened Ones are not shaken.

Verse 256

You don’t become just
by passing hasty judgment.
An astute person evaluates both
what is pertinent and what is irrelevant.

Verse 257

A wise one judges others without haste,
justly and impartially;
that guardian of the law
is said to be just.

Verse 258

You’re not an astute scholar
just because you speak a lot.
One who is secure, free of enmity and fear,
is said to be astute.

Verse 259

You’re not one who has memorized the teaching
just because you recite a lot.
Someone who directly sees the teaching
after hearing only a little
is truly one who has memorized the teaching,
for they can never forget it.

Verse 260

You don’t become a senior
by getting some grey hairs;
for one ripe only in age,
is said to have aged in vain.

Verse 261

One who is truthful and principled,
harmless, restrained, and self-controlled,
attentive, purged of stains,
is said to be a senior.

Verse 262

Not by mere enunciation,
or a beautiful complexion
does a person become holy,
if they’re jealous, stingy, and devious.

Verse 263

But if they’ve cut that out,
dug it up at the root, eradicated it,
that intelligent one, purged of vice,
is said to be holy.

Verse 264

A liar and breaker of vows is no ascetic
just because they shave their head.
How on earth can one be an ascetic
who’s full of desire and greed?

Verse 265

One who stops all wicked deeds,
great and small,
because of stopping wicked deeds
is said to be an ascetic.

Verse 266

You don’t become a mendicant
just by begging from others.
One who has undertaken domestic duties
has not yet become a mendicant.

Verse 267

But one living a spiritual life,
who has banished both merit and evil,
who wanders having appraised the world,
is said to be a mendicant.

Verse 268

You don’t become a sage by being sagelike,
while still confused and ignorant.
The astute one who holds the scales,
taking only the best,

Verse 269

and shunning the bad—
that is a sage, <j>and that is how one becomes a sage.
One who sagely weighs both in the world,
is thereby said to be a sage.

Verse 270

You don’t become a noble one
by harming living beings.
One harmless toward all living beings
is said to be a noble one.

Verse 271

Not by precepts and observances,
nor by much learning,
nor by meditative immersion,
nor by living in seclusion,

Verse 272

do I experience the bliss of renunciation
not frequented by ordinary people.
A mendicant cannot rest confident
without attaining the end of defilements.

Verse 273

Of paths, the eightfold is the best;
of truths, the four statements;
dispassion is the best of things,
and the Clear-eyed One is the best of humans.

Verse 274

<em>This</em> is the path, there is no other
for the purification of vision.
You all must practice this,
it is the way to baffle Māra.

Verse 275

When you all are practicing this,
you’ll make an end of suffering.
I have explained the path to you
for extracting the thorn with wisdom.

Verse 276

You yourselves must do the work,
the Realized Ones just show the way.
Meditators practicing absorption
are released from Māra’s bonds.

Verse 277

All conditions are impermanent—
when this is seen with wisdom,
one grows disillusioned with suffering:
this is the path to purity.

Verse 279

All things are not-self—
when this is seen with wisdom,
one grows disillusioned with suffering:
this is the path to purity.

Verse 280

They don’t get going when it’s time to start;
they’re young and strong, but given to sloth.
Their mind depressed in sunken thought,
lazy and slothful, they can’t discern the path.

Verse 281

Guarded in speech, restrained in mind,
doing no unskillful bodily deed.
Purify these three ways of performing deeds,
and win the path known to seers.

Verse 282

From meditation springs wisdom,
without meditation, wisdom ends.
Knowing these two paths—
of progress and decline—
you should conduct yourself
so that wisdom grows.

Verse 283

Cut down the jungle, not just a tree;
from the jungle springs fear.
Having cut down jungle and snarl,
be free of jungles, mendicants!

Verse 284

So long as the vine, no matter how small,
that ties a man to women is not cut,
his mind remains trapped,
like a calf suckling its mother.

Verse 285

Cut out affection for oneself,
like plucking an autumn lotus.
Foster only the path to peace,
the extinguishment the Holy One taught.

Verse 286

“Here I will stay for the rains;
here for winter, here the summer”;
thus the fool thinks,
not realizing the danger.

Verse 287

As a mighty flood sweeps away a sleeping village,
death steals away a man
who dotes on children and cattle,
his mind caught up in them.

Verse 288

Children provide you no shelter,
nor does father, nor relatives.
When you’re seized by the terminator,
there’s no shelter in family.

Verse 289

Knowing the reason for this,
astute, and ethically restrained,
one would quickly clear the path
that leads to extinguishment.

Verse 290

If by giving up material happiness
one sees abundant happiness,
the attentive would give up material happiness,
seeing the abundant happiness.

Verse 291

Seeking their own happiness
by imposing suffering on others,
intimate with enmity,
they’re not freed from enmity.

Verse 292

They dump what should be done,
and do what should not be done.
For the insolent and the negligent,
their defilements only grow.

Verse 293

Those that have properly undertaken
constant mindfulness of the body,
don’t cultivate what should not be done,
but always do what should be done.
Mindful and aware,
their defilements come to an end.

Verse 294

Having slain mother and father,
and two aristocratic kings,
and having wiped out <j>the kingdom with its tax collector,
the brahmin walks on untroubled.

Verse 295

Having slain mother and father,
and two prosperous kings,
and a tiger as the fifth,
the brahmin walks on untroubled.

Verse 296

The disciples of Gotama
always wake up refreshed,
who day and night
constantly recollect the Buddha.

Verse 297

The disciples of Gotama
always wake up refreshed,
who day and night
constantly recollect the teaching.

Verse 298

The disciples of Gotama
always wake up refreshed,
who day and night
constantly recollect the Saṅgha.

Verse 299

The disciples of Gotama
always wake up refreshed,
who day and night
are constantly mindful of the body.

Verse 300

The disciples of Gotama
always wake up refreshed,
whose minds day and night
delight in harmlessness.

Verse 301

The disciples of Gotama
always wake up refreshed,
whose minds day and night
delight in meditation.

Verse 302

Going forth is hard, it’s hard to be happy;
life at home is hard too, and painful,
it’s painful to stay when you’ve nothing in common.
A traveler is a prey to pain,
so don’t be a traveler,
don’t be prey to pain.

Verse 303

One who is faithful, accomplished in ethics,
blessed with fame and wealth,
is honored in whatever place
they frequent.

Verse 304

The good shine from afar,
like the Himalayan peaks,
but the wicked are not seen,
like arrows scattered in the night.

Verse 305

Sitting alone, sleeping alone,
tirelessly wandering alone;
one who tames themselves alone
would delight within a forest.

Verse 306

A liar goes to hell,
as does one who denies what they did.
Both are equal in the hereafter,
those men of base deeds.

Verse 307

Many who wear a scrap of ocher cloth
are unrestrained and wicked.
Being wicked, they are reborn in hell
due to their bad deeds.

Verse 308

It’d be better for the immoral and unrestrained
to eat an iron ball,
scorching, like a burning flame,
than to eat the nation’s alms.

Verse 309

Four things befall a heedless man
who sleeps with another’s wife:
wickedness, poor sleep,
ill-repute, and rebirth in hell.

Verse 310

He accrues wickedness and is reborn in a bad place,
all so a frightened couple <j>may snatch a moment’s pleasure,
for which rulers impose a heavy punishment.
That’s why a man should not <j>sleep with another’s wife.

Verse 311

When kusa grass is wrongly grasped
it only cuts the hand.
So too, the ascetic life, when wrongly taken,
drags you to hell.

Verse 312

Any lax act,
any corrupt observance,
or suspicious spiritual life,
is not very fruitful.

Verse 313

If one is to do what should be done,
one should staunchly strive.
For the life gone forth when laxly led
just stirs up dust all the more.

Verse 314

A bad deed is better left undone,
for it will plague you later on.
A good deed is better done,
one that does not plague you.

Verse 315

As a frontier city
is guarded inside and out,
so you should ward yourselves—
don’t let the moment pass you by.
For if you miss your moment
you’ll grieve when sent to hell.

Verse 316

Unashamed of what is shameful,
ashamed of what is not shameful;
beings who uphold wrong view
go to a bad place.

Verse 317

Seeing danger where there is none,
and blind to the actual danger,
beings who uphold wrong view
go to a bad place.

Verse 318

Seeing fault where there is none,
and blind to the actual fault,
beings who uphold wrong view
go to a bad place.

Verse 319

Knowing a fault as a fault
and the faultless as faultless,
beings who uphold right view
go to a good place.

Verse 320

Like an elephant struck
with arrows in battle,
I shall endure abuse,
for so many folk are badly behaved.

Verse 321

The well-tamed beast is the one led to the crowd;
the tamed elephant’s the one the king mounts;
the tamed person who endures abuse
is the best of human beings.

Verse 322

Those who have tamed themselves are better
than fine tamed mules,
thoroughbreds from Sindh,
or giant tuskers.

Verse 323

For not on those mounts
would you go to the untrodden place,
whereas, with the help of one <j>whose self is well tamed,
you go there, tamed by the tamed.

Verse 324

The tusker named Dhanapāla
is musky in rut, hard to control.
Bound, he eats not a morsel,
for he misses the elephant forest.

Verse 325

One who gets drowsy from overeating,
fond of sleep, rolling round the bed
like a great hog stuffed with grain:
that dullard returns to the womb again and again.

Verse 326

In the past my mind wandered
how it wished, where it liked, as it pleased.
Now I’ll carefully guide it,
as a trainer with a hook guides a rutting elephant.

Verse 327

Delight in diligence!
Take good care of your mind!
Pull yourself out of this pit,
like an elephant sunk in a bog.

Verse 328

If you find an alert companion,
an attentive friend to live happily together,
then, overcoming all adversities,
wander with them, joyful and mindful.

Verse 329

If you find no alert companion,
no attentive friend to live happily together,
then, like a king who flees his conquered realm,
wander alone like a tusker in the wilds.

Verse 330

It’s better to wander alone,
there’s no fellowship with fools.
Wander alone and do no wrong,
at ease like a tusker in the wilds.

Verse 331

A friend in need is a blessing;
it’s a blessing to be content with whatever;
good deeds are a blessing at the end of life,
and giving up all suffering is a blessing.

Verse 332

In this world it’s a blessing to serve
one’s mother and one’s father.
And it’s a blessing also to serve
ascetics and brahmins.

Verse 333

It’s a blessing to keep precepts until you grow old;
a blessing to be grounded in faith;
the getting of wisdom’s a blessing;
and it’s a blessing to avoid doing wrong.

Verse 334

When a man lives heedlessly,
craving grows in them like a camel’s foot creeper.
They jump from one thing to the next, like a langur
greedy for fruit in a forest grove.

Verse 335

Whoever is beaten by this wretched craving,
this attachment to the world,
their sorrow grows,
like grass in the rain.

Verse 336

But whoever prevails over this wretched craving,
so hard to get over in the world,
their sorrows fall from them,
like a drop from a lotus-leaf.

Verse 337

I say this to you, good people,
all those who have gathered here:
dig up the root of craving,
as you’d dig up grass in search of roots.
Don’t let Māra break you again and again,
like a stream breaking a reed.

Verse 338

A tree grows back even when cut down,
so long as its roots are strong and undamaged;
suffering springs up again and again,
so long as the tendency to craving is not pulled out.

Verse 339

A person of low views
in whom the thirty-six streams
that flow to pleasure are mighty,
is swept away by lustful thoughts.

Verse 340

The streams flow everywhere;
a weed springs up and remains.
Seeing this weed that has been born,
cut the root with wisdom.

Verse 341

A personage’s joys
flow from senses and cravings.
Seekers of happiness, bent on pleasure,
continue to be reborn and grow old.

Verse 342

People governed by thirst,
crawl about like a trapped rabbit.
Bound and fettered, for a long time
they return to pain time and again.

Verse 343

People governed by thirst,
crawl about like a trapped rabbit.
That’s why one who longs for dispassion
should dispel thirst.

Verse 344

Unsnarled, they set out for the jungle,
then they run right back to the jungle they left behind.
Just look at this individual!
Freed, they run to bondage.

Verse 345

The attentive say that shackle is not strong
that’s made of iron, wood, or knots.
But obsession with jeweled earrings,
concern for your partners and children:

Verse 346

this, say the attentive, is a strong shackle
dragging the indulgent down, hard to escape.
Having cut this one too they go forth,
unconcerned, having given up sensual pleasures.

Verse 347

Besotted by lust they fall into the stream,
like a spider caught in the web she wove.
The attentive proceed, having cut this one too,
unconcerned, having given up all suffering.

Verse 348

Let go of the past, let go of the future,
let go of the present, having gone beyond rebirth.
With your heart freed in every respect,
you’ll not come again to rebirth and old age.

Verse 349

For a personage churned by thoughts,
very lustful, focusing on beauty,
their craving grows and grows,
tying them with a stout bond.

Verse 350

But one who loves to calm their thoughts,
developing perception of ugliness, ever mindful,
will surely eliminate that craving,
cutting off the bonds of Māra.

Verse 351

One who is confident, unafraid,
rid of craving, free of blemish,
having struck down the arrows flying to future lives,
this bag of bones is their last.

Verse 352

Rid of craving, free of grasping,
expert in the definition of terms,
knowing the correct
structure and sequence of syllables,
they are said to be one who bears their final body,
one of great wisdom, a great person.

Verse 353

I am the vanquisher of all, the knower of all,
unsullied in the midst of all things.
I’ve given up all, freed in the ending of craving.
Since I know for myself, whose follower should I be?

Verse 354

The gift of the teaching surmounts all other gifts;
the taste of the teaching surmounts all other tastes;
the joy of the teaching surmounts all other joys;
the ending of craving surmounts all suffering.

Verse 355

Riches ruin a simpleton,
but not a seeker of the far shore.
From craving for wealth, a simpleton
ruins themselves and others.

Verse 356

Weeds are the bane of crops,
but greed is these folk’s bane.
That’s why a gift to one rid of greed
is so very fruitful.

Verse 357

Weeds are the bane of crops,
but hate is these folk’s bane.
That’s why a gift to one rid of hate
is so very fruitful.

Verse 358

Weeds are the bane of crops,
but delusion is these folk’s bane.
That’s why a gift to one rid of delusion
is so very fruitful.

Verse 359

Weeds are the bane of crops,
but desire is these folk’s bane.
That’s why a gift to one rid of desire
is so very fruitful.

Verse 360

Restraint of the eye is good;
good is restraint of the ear;
restraint of the nose is good;
good is restraint of the tongue.

Verse 361

Restraint of the body is good;
good is restraint of speech;
restraint of mind is good;
everywhere, restraint is good.
The mendicant restrained everywhere
is released from all suffering.

Verse 362

One restrained in hand and foot,
and in speech, the supreme restraint;
happy inside, serene,
solitary, content, I call a mendicant.

Verse 363

When a mendicant of restrained mouth,
thoughtful in counsel, not restless,
explains the text and its meaning,
their words are sweet.

Verse 364

Delighting in the teaching, enjoying the teaching,
contemplating the teaching,
a mendicant who recollects the teaching
doesn’t fall away from the true teaching.

Verse 365

A well-off mendicant ought not look down
on others, nor should they be envious.
A mendicant who envies others
does not achieve immersion.

Verse 366

If a mendicant is poor in offerings,
the well-to-do ought not look down on them.
For the gods indeed praise them,
who are tireless and pure of livelihood.

Verse 367

One who has no sense of ownership
in the whole realm of name and form,
who does not grieve for that which is not,
is said to be a mendicant.

Verse 368

A mendicant who meditates on love,
devoted to the Buddha’s teaching,
would realize the peaceful state,
the blissful stilling of conditions.

Verse 369

Bail out this boat, mendicant!
When bailed out it will float lightly.
Having cut off desire and hate,
you shall reach extinguishment.

Verse 370

Five to cut, five to drop,
and five more to develop.
When a mendicant slips five chains
they’re said to have crossed the flood.

Verse 371

Practice absorption, don’t be negligent!
Don’t let the mind delight in the senses!
Don’t heedlessly swallow a hot iron ball!
And when it burns, don’t cry, “Oh, the pain!”

Verse 372

No absorption for one without wisdom,
no wisdom for one without absorption.
But one with absorption and wisdom—
they have truly drawn near to extinguishment.

Verse 373

A mendicant who enters an empty hut
with mind at peace
finds a superhuman delight
as they rightly discern the Dhamma.

Verse 374

Whenever they are mindful
of the rise and fall of the aggregates,
they feel rapture and joy:
that is freedom from death for one who knows.

Verse 375

This is the very start of the path
for a wise mendicant here:
guarding the senses, contentment,
and restraint in the monastic code.

Verse 376

Mix with spiritual friends,
who are tireless and pure of livelihood.
Share what you have with others,
being skillful in your conduct.
And when you’re full of joy,
you’ll make an end to suffering.

Verse 377

As a jasmine sheds
its withered flowers,
O mendicants,
shed greed and hate.

Verse 378

Calm in body, calm in speech,
peaceful and serene;
a mendicant who’s spat out the world’s bait
is said to be one at peace.

Verse 379

Urge yourself on,
reflect on yourself.
A mendicant self-controlled and mindful
will always dwell in happiness.

Verse 380

Self is indeed the lord of self,
for who else would be one’s lord?
Self is indeed the home of self,
so restrain yourself,
as a merchant his thoroughbred steed.

Verse 381

A monk full of joy
trusting in the Buddha’s teaching,
would realize the peaceful state,
the blissful stilling of conditions.

Verse 382

A young mendicant
devoted to the Buddha’s teaching,
shines upon this world,
like the moon freed from clouds.

Verse 383

Cut the stream, striving!
Cast aside sensual pleasures, brahmin.
Knowing the ending of conditions,
know the uncreated, brahmin.

Verse 384

When a brahmin has gone beyond
dualistic phenomena,
then they consciously
make an end of all fetters.

Verse 385

One for whom there is no crossing over
or crossing back, or crossing over and back;
stress-free, detached,
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 386

Absorbed, rid of hopes,
their task completed, without defilements,
arrived at the highest goal:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 387

The sun blazes by day,
the moon radiates at night,
the aristocrat shines in armor,
and the brahmin shines in absorption.
But all day and all night,
the Buddha blazes with glory.

Verse 388

A brahmin’s so-called <j>since they’ve banished evil,
an ascetic’s so-called <j>since they live a serene life.
One who has renounced all stains
is said to be a “renunciant”.

Verse 389

One should never strike a brahmin,
nor should a brahmin retaliate.
Woe to the one who hurts a brahmin,
and woe for the one who retaliates.

Verse 390

Nothing is better for a brahmin
than to hold their mind back from attachment.
From wherever a cruel wish recoils,
right there suffering subsides.

Verse 391

Who does nothing wrong
by body, speech or mind,
restrained in these three respects,
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 392

You should graciously honor
the one from whom you learn the Dhamma
taught by the awakened Buddha,
as a brahmin honors the sacred flame.

Verse 393

Not by matted hair or family,
or birth is one a brahmin.
Those who are truthful and principled:
they are pure, they are brahmins.

Verse 394

Why the matted hair, you simpleton,
and why the skin of deer?
The tangle is inside you,
yet you polish up your outsides.

Verse 395

A personage who wears robes of rags,
lean, their limbs showing veins,
meditating alone in the forest,
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 396

I don’t call someone a brahmin
after the mother’s womb they’re born from.
If they still have attachments,
they’re just someone who says “worthy”.
Having nothing, taking nothing:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 397

Having cut off all fetters
they have no anxiety.
They’ve slipped their chains and are detached:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 398

They’ve cut the strap and harness,
the halter and bridle too,
with cross-bar lifted, they’re awakened:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 399

Abuse, killing, caging:
they endure these without anger.
Patience is their powerful army:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 400

Not irritable or pretentious,
dutiful in precepts and observances,
tamed, bearing their final body:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 401

Like water from a lotus leaf,
like a mustard seed off the point of a pin,
sensual pleasures slip off them:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 402

They understand for themselves
the end of suffering in this life;
with burden put down, detached:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 403

Deep in wisdom, intelligent,
expert in the path and what is not the path;
arrived at the highest goal:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 404

Mixing with neither
householders nor the homeless;
a migrant with no bastion, few in wishes:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 405

They’ve laid aside violence
against creatures firm and frail;
not killing or making others kill:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 406

Not fighting among those who fight,
quenched among those who have taken up arms,
not grasping among those who grasp:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 407

They’ve discarded greed and hate,
along with conceit and contempt,
like a mustard seed off the point of a pin:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 408

The words they utter
are polished, informative, and true,
and don’t offend anyone:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 409

They don’t steal anything in the world,
long or short,
tiny or huge, beautiful or ugly:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 410

They have no hope
in this world or the next;
with no need for hope, detached:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 411

They have no clinging,
knowledge has freed them of indecision,
they’ve arrived at the objective, freedom from death:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 412

They’ve escaped the chain
of both good and bad deeds;
sorrowless, stainless, pure:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 413

Pure as the spotless moon,
clear and unclouded,
they’ve ended relish for rebirth:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 414

They’ve got past this grueling swamp
of delusion, transmigration.
Meditating in stillness, free of indecision,
they have crossed over to the far shore.
They’re quenched by not grasping:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 415

They’ve given up sensual pleasures,
and have gone forth from lay life;
they’ve ended rebirth in the sensual realm:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 416

They’ve given up craving,
and have gone forth from lay life;
they’ve ended craving to be reborn:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.
and have gone forth from lay life;
they’ve ended craving to be reborn:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 417

They’ve thrown off the human yoke,
and slipped out of the heavenly yoke;
unyoked from all yokes:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 418

Giving up desire and discontent,
they’re cooled and free of attachments;
a hero, master of the whole world:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 419

They know the passing away
and rebirth of all beings;
unattached, holy, awakened:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 420

Gods, centaurs, and humans
don’t know their destiny;
the perfected ones with defilements ended:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 421

They have nothing before or after,
or even in between.
Having nothing, taking nothing:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 422

Captain of the herd, excellent hero,
great seer and victor;
unstirred, washed, awakened:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.

Verse 423

One who knows their past lives,
sees heaven and places of loss,
and has attained the end of rebirth;
a sage of perfect insight
at the summit of spiritual perfection:
that’s who I declare a brahmin.