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The Thousands -- CANTO VIII
100. A single word full of meaning, hearing which one becomes
at peace, is better than a thousand words which are empty of meaning.
101. A single couplet pregnant with meaning, hearing which one becomes at peace, is better than a thousand couplets composed of meaningless words.
102. One word of the Dhamma, hearing which one becomes at peace, is better than the utterance of a hundred verses which consist of superficial words.
103. Though one were to conquer a million men in battle, that man who conquers himself is the greater victor.
104. To overcome one's own self is indeed better than to conquer others.
105. Neither god nor demigod, nor Mara with Brahma, can undo the victory of him who has subjugated himself and who practices self-restraint.
106. Were a man month after month for a hundred years to offer sacrifices by the thousands, and were he to pay homage even for a moment to one who is self-governed, that homage is superior to the sacrifices of a hundred years.
107. Were a man for a hundred years to tend the sacrificial fire in the forest, and were he to pay homage even for a moment to one who is self-governed, that homage is superior to the fire-sacrifice of a hundred years.
108. Whatever offering or sacrifice a person, who is desirous of gaining merit, may make throughout the course of a year, that is not worth one fourth of the merit acquired by homage paid to one of upright life.
109. In him, who always honors and respects the aged, four conditions will increase: longevity, beauty, happiness and strength.
110. One day's life of an Arhat who is virtuous and contemplative is better than a hundred years of life of one who is dissolute and of uncontrolled mind.
111. One day's life of him who is wise and contemplative is better than a life of a hundred years of one who is unwise and of uncontrolled mind.
112. One day's life of a person who is vigorous and resolute is better than a life of a hundred years of him who is weak and indolent.
113. A single day's life of one who clearly sees the origin and cessation (of all composite things), is better than a hundred years of life of him who does not perceive the origin and cessation of things.
114. A single day's life of one who perceives the immortal state is far better than if one were to live a hundred years without perceiving this state.
115. A single day's life of one who realizes the Sublime Truth is indeed better than a life of a hundred years of one who does not realize the Sublime Truth.
Evil -- CANTO IX
116. Make haste in doing good and restrain the mind from evil; if one
is slow in doing good, the mind finds delight in evil.
117. If a man commits evil let him not repeat it again and again; let him not delight in it, for the accumulation of sin brings suffering.
118. If a man commits a meritorious deed, let him perform it again and again; let him develop a longing for doing good; happiness is the outcome of the accumulation of merit.
119. Even the wrongdoer finds some happiness so long as (the fruit of) his misdeed does not mature; but when it does mature, then he sees its evil results.
120. Even the doer of good deeds knows evil (days) so long as his merit has not matured; but when his merit has fully matured, then he sees the happy results of his meritorious deeds.
121. Do not think lightly of evil, saying, "It will not come to me." By the constant fall of waterdrops, a pitcher is filled; likewise the unwise person, accumulating evil little by little, becomes full of evil.
122. Do not think lightly of merit, saying, "It will not come to me." By the constant fall of waterdrops, a pitcher is filled; likewise the wise person, accumulating merit little by little, becomes full of merit.
123. As a merchant who has limited escort, yet carries much wealth, avoids a perilous road, as a man who is desirous of living long avoids poison, so in the same way should the wise shun evil.
124. If one does not have a wound in his hand, he may carry poison in his palm. Poison does not affect him who has no wound. There is no ill effect for the person who does no wrong.
125. Whoever offends an innocent, pure and faultless person, the evil (of his act) rebounds on that fool, even as fine dust thrown against the wind.
126. (After death), some are reborn in the womb; evildoers are born in hell; those who commit meritorious deeds go to heaven; and those who are free from worldly desires realize nirvana.
127. Not in the sky, not in the middle of the ocean, not even in the cave of a mountain, should one seek refuge, for there exists no place in the world where one can escape the effects of wrongdoing.
128. Not in the sky, not in the middle of the ocean, not even in the cave of a mountain, should one seek refuge, for there exists no place in the world where one will not be overpowered by death.
The Rod of Punishment -- CANTO X
129. All tremble before the rod of punishment; all fear death; likening
others to oneself, one should neither slay nor cause to slay.
130. All tremble before the rod of punishment; for all life is dear; likening others to oneself, one should neither slay nor cause to slay.
131. He who, desirous of happiness for himself, torments with a rod others who are likewise seeking enjoyment, shall not obtain happiness in the hereafter.
132. He who, desirous of happiness for himself, does not torment others who likewise long for happiness, shall obtain happiness in the hereafter.
133. Do not speak harshly to anyone; those thus spoken to will retaliate in kind; discordant indeed will be the response, and soon retribution will overtake you.
134. If you can make yourself as silent as a shattered bronze gong, then you have attained to the peace of nirvana, for now there is no discord in you.
135. As a cowherd with his rod drives cattle to the pasture, so do old age and death drive the lives of sentient beings.
136. When a person ignorant (of the Dhamma) commits evil deeds, he does not realize their nature. The stupid man burns (suffers) through these deeds as if consumed by fire.
137. He who inflicts punishment upon those who do not deserve it, and hurts those who are harmless, such a person will soon come to face one of these ten states:
138,139,140. He may soon come to terrible pain, great deprivations, physical injury, deep-rooted ailment or mental disorder, the wrath of the monarch or a dreadful accusation, loss of relatives, the complete destruction of wealth, or a sudden fire may break out and burn his houses. After the dissolution of his physical body, he will surely be born in hell.
141. Neither nakedness, nor matted locks; neither applying mud (all over the body), nor fasting, nor lying on the bare earth; neither besmearing oneself with soot, nor squatting on one's heels, can purify a man who has not got rid of his doubts.
142. Even though a person be dressed in fine clothes, if he develops tranquillity, is quiet, self-disciplined, resolute and practices celibacy, and abstains from injuring all other beings, he is indeed a Brahman, an ascetic and a monk.
143. Is there any man in this world so self-restrained through modesty that he avoids censure as a self-respecting horse avoids the whip?
144. As a well-trained horse when touched by the whip, even so be you strenuous and eager. By devotion, virtue, effort, concentration, and by the critical investigation of truth (dhamma) may you abandon this great suffering (of samsara), perfect in wisdom, conduct and awareness.
145. Irrigators conduct water wherever they wish; fletchers shape the shafts; carpenters work the wood, and wise men discipline themselves.
Old Age -- CANTO XI
146. Why laugh, why be jubilant, when all is constantly burning (with
desires)? Should you not seek the light of wisdom when you are enveloped
by the darkness of ignorance?
147. Behold this illusory human image, embellished (by rich attire and jewels), full of corruptions, a structure of bones, liable to constant illness, full of countless hankerings, in which there is nothing permanent or stable.
148. This frail form is a nest of diseases. It is fragile and putrid. It disintegrates and death is the end of life.
149. These dove-grey bones are like unto the gourds thrown away in the autumnal season. What pleasure is there in looking at them?
150. Here is a citadel built of bones, plastered with flesh and blood, wherein are concealed decay, death, vanity and deceit.
151. The gaily decorated royal chariots wear out. So likewise does this body. But the truth of the righteous does not wear out with age. Thus do the enlightened proclaim it to the wise.
152. The man of little spiritual learning grows like an ox; his flesh increases, but his wisdom does not.
153. For countless births have I passed through this cycle of births and deaths, seeking the builder of this tabernacle, but in vain. Sorrowful indeed is this cyclic repetition of births.
154. O builder of the house, I have seen you; you shall not build the house again. All the rafters are broken; the ridgepole is sundered. Mind has arrived at dissolution (nirvana), having attained the extinction of all cravings (tanha).
155. Those who do not practice self-discipline, who do not acquire wealth in their youth, when they become old, pine away, like old herons in a dried-up lake where there are no fish.
156. Those who do not practice self-discipline, who do not acquire wealth in their youth, lie like broken arrows, lamenting the deeds of the past.
The Self -- CANTO XII
157. If a man esteems the self, let him guard himself with great care.
Let the wise man keep vigil over himself, in one of the three watches
(of life or of the night).
158. Let each first firmly establish himself in right conduct, then only may he admonish others. Such a wise man does not suffer blemish.
159. Let a man mold himself into what he admonishes others to be. Thus well-controlled he can control others. It is extremely difficult indeed to control one's own self.
160. The self is the master of the self. Who else can that master be? With the self fully subdued, one obtains the sublime refuge which is very difficult to achieve.
161. The sin committed by oneself, born of oneself, produced by oneself, crushes the evil-minded one as the diamond cuts the precious stone.
162. As the parasitic maluva creeper destroys the sal tree which it entwines, so the immoral conduct of a man gradually makes of him what his enemy would have him be.
163. It is quite easy to perform evil deeds which are not beneficial to oneself. But it is extremely difficult to perform a deed which is righteous and beneficial.
164. If an evil-minded one, by reason of his false views, reviles the teaching of the Arhats, the Noble Ones, and the virtuous, verily he brings forth the fruit of his own destruction, even as does the katthaka reed.
165. By self alone is evil done; by self alone is one defiled; by self alone is evil not done; by self alone is one purified. Purity and impurity depend on oneself; no one can purify another.
166. However much one is engaged in activities for the good of others, one should not neglect his own (spiritual) purpose. Having discerned one's own task, let him apply himself to that task with diligence.
The World -- CANTO XIII
167. Let no one follow a degraded course of existence, nor live in indolence;
let him not follow false views, nor be a person who prolongs his worldly
existence.
168. Awake! Be not heedless. Follow the truth (dhamma). He who embarks upon the path of truth lives happily in this world and in the hereafter.
169. Follow the law of morality; do not follow the law of immorality; he who embarks upon the path of truth lives happily in this world and in the hereafter.
170. Look upon the world as a bubble, regard it as a mirage; who thus perceives the world, him Mara, the king of death, does not see.
171. Come, behold this world, resplendent like unto a royal chariot. Fools are immersed in it; but the wise have no attachment for it.
172. He who formerly was heedless, but, after due consideration, becomes vigilant, illumines the world as the moon freed from a cloud.
173. He whose evil deeds are superseded by meritorious deeds, illumines the world as the moon freed from a cloud.
174. This world is blind. Few are they who can see things as they are. As birds escaped from the net, few go to heaven.
175. Swans fly in the path of the sun; those who possess psychic powers (iddhi) go through the air. The wise, having conquered Mara and his hosts, go forth out of this world.
176. There is no sin that a man will not commit who utters falsehood, who has transgressed the one law of truthfulness (dhamma), and who has rejected the other world.
177. Indeed the miserly do not go to the world of the gods; the foolish do not praise liberality. But the wise man who takes pleasure in giving, through that very act becomes happy in the next world.
178. The fruit of entering the stream (the path) is superior to that of the sole sovereignty of the world, or going to heaven, or the supreme lordship over the whole universe.
The Enlightened One -- CANTO XIV
179. By what path will you lead the Buddha of infinite range of perception,
the Pathless One, whose conquest of passions cannot be undone, into whose
conquest no one in this world enters?
180. By what path will you lead the Buddha of infinite range of perception, the Pathless One, in whom there is not that entangling and poisonous craving which leads one astray (to another state of birth)?
181. Those wise ones who are absorbed in meditation, who take delight in the inner calm of renunciation, such mindful and perfectly awakened ones even the devas (gods) hold dear.
182. Difficult is it to be born as a human being; difficult is the existence of mortals; difficult is the hearing of the Sublime Truth; rare is the appearance of the Enlightened Ones (Buddhas).
183. Abstention from all evil, the doing of good deeds, and the purification of the mind, is the admonition of the Enlightened Ones.
184. Forbearance which is long-suffering is the highest austerity. The Buddhas declare nirvana to be the supreme state. Verily he is not an anchorite who harms another; nor is he an ascetic who causes grief to another.
185. Not reviling, not injuring, practicing restraint according to the moral code (patimokkha) leading to freedom, moderation in eating, living in solitude, dwelling with diligence on the highest thoughts -- this is the teaching of the Buddhas.
186, 187. There is no satisfying the passions even by a shower of gold coins; the wise man, knowing that sense delights are of fleeting pleasure and productive of pain, finds no joy even in celestial pleasures. The true disciple of the Fully Enlightened One delights only in the destruction of all worldly desires.
188. Men driven by fear betake themselves to numerous refuges, such as mountains, forests, groves, sacred trees and shrines.
189. Verily, none of these is a safe refuge, nor is it the supreme refuge. For even after arriving at a refuge, one is not emancipated from all suffering.
190. He who takes refuge in the Enlightened One (buddha), in his Doctrine (dhamma), and in his Community of Monks (sangha), perceives with clarity of wisdom the Four Noble Truths, namely:
191, 192. Suffering, the Origin of Suffering, the Cessation of Suffering, the Noble Eightfold Path (1) that leads to the cessation of suffering.
That, verily, is the safe refuge and the supreme refuge. After having arrived at that refuge, a man is emancipated from all suffering.
193. An illumined person (a Buddha) is indeed very rare. He is not born everywhere. Wherever such a one takes birth, that family prospers.
194. Blessed is the birth of the Buddhas; blessed is the discourse on the Noble Law; blessed is the harmony of the Community of Monks; blessed is the devotion of those living in brotherhood.
195, 196. He who pays homage to those who deserve homage, whether the Enlightened Ones or their disciples; he who has overcome the host of passions, and crossed the stream of grief and lamentations; he who pays homage to such as are emancipated and fearless -- his merit cannot be measured.