Plato 2

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II,

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The Dhammapada

Translated with an Introduction and Notes by

JOHN ROSS CARTER and

MAHINDA PALIHAWADANA

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

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I. Preceded by perception are mental states,* For them is perception supreme, From perception have they sprung. If, with perception polluted,* one speaks or acts, Thence suffering follows As a wheel the draught ox's foot.

2. Preceded by perception are mental states, For them is perception supreme, From perception have theysprung. If, with tranquil perception, one speaks or acts, Thence ease follows As a shadow that never departs.

3· 'He reviled me! He struck me! He defeated me! He robbed me!' They who gird themselves up with this, For them enmity is not quelled.

4· 'He reviled me! He struck me! He defeated me! He robbed me!' They who do not gird themselves up with this, For them is enmity quelled.

5· Not by enmity are enmities quelled, Whatever the occasion here. By the absence of enmity are they quelled. This is an ancient truth.

6. Others do not realize 'We here are struggling.' Those who realize this--for them Are quarrels therefore quelled.

I

4 5 The Dhammapada

7. Whoever dwells seeing the pleasurable, in senses unrestrained,

Immoderate in food, indolent, inferior of enterprise, Over him, indeed, Mara· prevails, Like the wind over a weak tree.

8. Whoever dwells seeing the non-pleasurable, in senses

well restrained, And moderate in food, faithful, resolute in enterprise, Over him, indeed, Mara prevails not, Like the wind over a rocky crag.

g. One not free of defilements,· Who will don a yellow robe,· That one, devoid of control and truth, Is not worthy of a yellow robe.

10. But one who, well placed in virtues, Would be with defilements ejected, Endowed with control and truth, That one is worthy of a yellow robe.

I I. Those who consider the non-essential as the essential, And see the essential as the non-essential, They do not attain the essential, Being in the pastures of improper intentions.

12. Having known the essential as the essential, And the superficial as the superficial, They attain the essential Who are in the pastures of proper intentions.

13. As rain penetrates The poorly thatched dwelling, So passion· penetrates The untended mind.

14. As rain does not penetrate The well-thatched dwelling, So passion does not penetrate The well-tended mind.

The Dhammapada

15. Here he grieves; having passed away he grieves; In both places the wrongdoer grieves. He grieves; he is afllicted, Having seen the stain of his own action.

16. Here he rejoices; having passed away he rejoices. In both places he who has done wholesome deeds rejoices. He rejoices; he is delighted, Having seen the purity of his own action.

17. Here he is tormented; having passed away he is tormented.

In both places the wrongdoer is tormented. He is tormented, thinking, 'I have done wrong.' Gone to a state of woe,• he is tormented all the more.

18. Here he rejoices; having passed away he rejoices. In both places he who has done wholesome deeds rejoices. He rejoices, thinking, 'I have done wholesome deeds.' Gone to a state of weal, • he rejoices all the more.

Ig. Ifone, though reciting much of texts, Is not a doer thereof, a heedless man; He, like a cowherd counting others' cows, Is not a partaker in the religious quest.

20. Ifone, though reciting little of texts, Lives a life in accord with dhamma,• Having discarded passion, ill will, and unawareness, Knowing full well, the mind well freed, He, not grasping here, neither hereafter, Is a partaker of the religious quest.

7

Chapter II Awareness

21. The path to the Deathless* is awareness;* Unawareness, the path of death. They who are aware do not die; They who are unaware are as dead:

22. Having known this distinctly, Those who are wise in awareness, Rejoice in awareness,

.Delighted in the pasture of the noble ones.* "

23· Those meditators, persevering, Forever firm of enterprise, Those steadfast ones touch Nibbana,* Incomparable release from bonds.

24· Fame increases for the one who stands alert, Mindful, and of pure deeds; Who with due consideration acts, restrained, Who lives dhamma, being aware.

25. By standing alert, by awareness, By restraint and control too, The intelligent one could make an island That a flood does not overwhelm.

26. People deficient in wisdom, childish ones, Engage in unawareness. But the wise one guards awareness Like the greatest treasure.

27. Engage not in unawareness, Nor in intimacy with sensual delight. Meditating, the one who is aware Attains extensive ease.

The Dhammapada

28. When the wise one by awareness expels unawareness, Having ascended the palace of wisdom, He, free from sorrow, steadfast, The sorrowing folk observes, the childish, As one standing on a mountain [Observes] those standing on the ground below.

29. Among those unaware, the one aware, Among the sleepers, the wide-awake, The one with great wisdom moves on, As a racehorse who leaves behind a nag.

30. By awareness, Maghavan* To supremacy among the gods arose. Awareness they praise; Always censured is unawareness.

3I. The bhikkhu* who delights in awareness, Who sees in unawareness the fearful, Goes, burning, like a fire, The fetter* subtle and gross.

32. The bhikkhu who delights in awareness, Who sees in unawareness the fearful­ He is not liable to suffer fall; In Nibbana's presence is such a one.

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eMjiter~lfi,r11ie Mind

33· The quivering, wavering mind, Hard to guard, hard to check, The sagacious one makes straight, Like a fletcher, an arrow shaft.

Like a water creature Plucked from its watery home and thrown on land, This mind flaps; [Fit] to discard [is] Mara's sway.

34·

35· Commendable is the taming Of mind, which is hard to hold down, Nimble, alighting wherever it wants. Mind subdued brings ease.

36. The sagacious one may tend the mind, Hard to be seen, extremely subtle, Alighting wherever it wants. The tended mind brings ease.

37. They who will restrain the mind, Far-ranging, roaming alone, Incorporeal, lying ahiding- They are released from Mara's bonds.

38. For one of unsteady mind, Who knows not dhamma true, Whose serenity is adrifting, Wisdom becomes not full.

39. No fear is there for the wide-awake Who has mind undamped And thought unsmitten- The wholesome and the detrimental* left behind.

The Dhammapada 9

40. Knowing this body as a pot of clay, Securing this mind as a citadel, One may fight Mara with wisdom's weapon, Guard what has been gained-and be unattached.

41. Soon indeed This body on the earth will lie, Pitched aside, without consciousness, Like a useless chip of wood.

42 . What a foe may do to a foe, Or a hater to a hater- Far worse than that The mind ill held may do to him.

43· Not mother, father,nor even other kinsmen, May do that [good to him~] Far better than that The mind well held may do to him.

IIThe Dhammapada

51. Just as a brilliant flower, Full of colour, [but] scentless, Chapter IV Flowers I So is a well-spoken word fruitless For one who does not do it.

44· Who shall conquer this earth and the realm of Yama,* This [human realm] together with [the realm of] gods? Who shall pluck a well-taught dhamma word Like an expert, a flower?

52. Just as a brilliant flower, Full of colour and fragrance, So is a well-spoken word fruitful For one who does it.

45· A learner* shall conquer this earth and the realm of Yama, This [human realm] together with [the realm of] gods. A learner shall pluck a well-taught dhamma word Like an expert, a flower.

53· Just as many garland strands One could make from a mass of flowers, So, much that is wholesome ought to be done By a mortal born [into this world].

46.

47·

48.

Knowing this body to be like foam, Awakening to its mirage nature, Cutting out Mara's flowers, one may go Beyond the sight of the King of Death.*

Death takes away The man with attached mind, Plucking only flowers, Like a great flood, a sleeping village.

The End-Maker* overpowers The man with attached mind, Insatiate in sensual pleasures, Plucking only flowers.

I

54·

55·

56.

No flower's fragrance moves against the wind, Neither sandalwood, tagara, nor mallikii, But the fragrance of the good ones moves against the

wind; All directions a good person pervades.

Among these kinds of perfume, Such as sandalwood, tagara, Also waterlily and vassikf, The fragrance of virtue is incomparable.

Slight is this fragrance- The tagara and sandalwood- But the fragrance of one who is virtuous Wafts among the gods, supreme.

49· Even as a bee, having taken up nectar From a flower, flies away, Not harming its colour and fragrance, So maya sage wander through a village.

57· Mara does not find the path Of those who have virtue abounding, Who are living with awareness, Liberated through realization.

50. Let one regard Neither the discrepancies of others, Nor what is done or left undone by others, But only the things one has done oneself or left undone.

58. Just as in a heap of rubbish Cast away on a roadside, A lotus there could bloom, Of sweet fragrance, pleasing the mind,

The Dhammapada

~(~~~ordinaryfolk, vii~~:tumed to rubbish,

The disciple of the Fully Awakened One* Shines surpassingly with wisdom.

Chapter V The Childish

60. Long is the night for one awake, Long is a league to one exhausted, Long is sa,!,!siira* to the childish ones Who know not dhamma true.

61. If while moving [through life], one were not to meet Someone better or like unto oneself, Then one should move firmly by oneself; There is no companionship in the childish.

62. A childish person becomes anxious, Thinking, 'Sons are mine! Wealth is mine!' Not even a self* is there [to call] one's own.. Whence sons? Whence wealth?

A childish one who knows his childishness Is, for that reason, even like a wise person. But a childish one who thinks himself wise Is truly called a childish one.

63·

64· Even though, throughout his life, A childish one attends on a wise person, He does not [thereby] perceive dhamma, As a ladle, the flavour of the dish.

65· Even though, for a brief moment, An intelligent one attends on a wise person, He quickly perceives dhamma, As the tongue, the flavour ofthe dish.

66. Childish ones, of little intelligence, Go about with a self* that is truly an enemy; Performing the deed that is bad, Which is of bitter fruit. *

14 Tlfec:DMmmapada

67· That deed d()~ is not goo4; Having. doPOwbicb, .~·regrets; The consequence of which one receives, Crying with tear-stained face.

68. But that deed done is good, Having done which, one does not regret; The consequence of which one receives, With pleasure and with joy.

69· The childish one thinks it is like honey While the bad [he has done] is not yet matured. But when the bad [he has done] is matured,. Then the childish one comes by suffering.

70. Month by month a childish one Might eat food with a kusa grass blade.• He is not worth a sixteenth part Of those who have understood dhamma.

71. For a bad act done does not coagulate Like freshly extracted milk. Burning, it follows the childish one, Like fire concealed in ashes.

72. Only for his detriment Does knowledge arise for the childish one. It ruins his good fortune, Causing his [very] head to fall.

73· He would desire unreal glory And pre-eminence among bhikkhus, Authority, too, concerning dwellings, And offerings in other families.

74· 'Let both householders and those who have gone forth· Think that it is my work alone; In whatever is to be done or not done, Let them be dependent on me alone!' Such is the thought of the childish one; Desire and pride increase.

The Dhammapada IS

The means of acquisition is one, 75· And another the way leading to Nibbana. Having recognized this as so, Let a bhikkhu who is a disciple of the Buddha Not delight in [receiving] esteem; Let him cherish disengagement.·

.. Chapter VI The Sagacious

76. The one who sees one's faults, Who speaks reprovingly, wise, Whom one would see as an indicator of treasures, With such a sagacious person, one would associate. To one associating with such a person, The better it will be, not the worse.

77· He would counsel, instruct, And restrain [one] from rude behaviour. To the good, he is pleasant; To the bad is he unpleasant.

78. Let one not associate With low persons, bad friends. But let one associate With noble persons, worthy friends.

79· One who drinks of dhamma sleeps at ease, With mind calmly clear. In dhamma made known by noble ones, The wise one constantly delights.

80. Irrigators guide the water. Fletchers bend the arrow shaft. Wood the carpenters bend. Themselves the wise ones tame.

8I. Even as a solid rock Does not move on account of the wind, So are the wise not shaken In the face of blame and praise.

82. Even as a deep lake Is very clear and undisturbed, So do the wise become calm, Having heard the words of dhamma.

The Dhammapada 17

83. Everywhere, indeed, good persons 'let go'.* The good ones do not occasion talk, hankering for

pleasure. Touched now by ease and now by misery, The wise manifest no high and low.

84. Neither for one's own sake nor for the sake of another, A son* would one wish, or wealth, or kingdom. One would not wish one's own prosperity by un-dhammic

means. Such a one would be possessed of virtue, wisdom,

dhamma.

85. Few are they among humans, The people who reach the shore beyond.* But these other folk Only run along the [hither] bank.

86. But those who live according to dhamma­ In dhamma well proclaimed- Those people will reach the shore beyond. The realm of death is hard to cross.

87. Having forsaken a shadowy dhamma,* The wise one would cultivate the bright, Having come from familiar abode to no abode In disengagement, hard to relish.

88. There he would wish for delight, Having discarded sensual desires-he who has nothing.* The wise one would purify himself Of the defilements of the mind.

89. Whose mind is fully well cultivated in the factors of enlightenment,*

Who, without clinging, delight in the rejection of grasping, Lustrous ones, who have destroyed intoxicants,* They have, in [this] world, attained Nibbana.

I I If r

Chapter VII The Worthy

90. To one who has gone the distance, • Who is free of sorrows, freed in every respect; To one who has left behind all bonds, Fever· there exists not.

91. The mindful ones gird up [themselves]. In no abode· do they delight. Like swans having left behind a pond, One shelter after another they leave.

92. Those for whom there is no hoarding,· Who have fully understood [the nature] of food, • And whose pasture· is freedom _That is empty, that has no sign,· Their course is hard to trace As that of birds in the sky.

93. In whom the influxes· are fully extinct, Who is not attached to sustenance, • And whose pasture is freedom That is empty and signless, His track is hard to trace,, As [that] of birds in the sky.

I 94. Whose senses have reached an even temper,

Like horses well trained by a charioteer, t Who has discarded self-estimation,• who is free of influxes, Even the gods cherish such a one.

95. Like the earth, he does not oppose. A firm pillar is such a one, well cultured, Like a lake rid of mud. To such a one, travels in saT[lsiira there are not.

19The Dhammapada

Of such a one, pacified, 96. Released by proper understanding, Calm is the mind, Calm his speech and act.

Who has no faith,· the ungrateful· one,97· The man who is a burglar,· Who has destroyed opportunities,· ejected wish,' Truly he is a person supreme.·

Whether in village or in forest, 98. Whether in: valley or on plateau, Delightful is the ground Where Arahants· dwell.

Delightful are forests 99· Where people do not take delight. [fhere] those without passions will delight; They no sensual pleasures seek.

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Chapter VIII The Thousands

100. Though a thousand be the statements, With words ofno avail, Better is a single word of welfare, Having heard which, one is pacified.

101. Though a thousand be the verses, With words of no avail, Better is a single line of verse, Having heard which, one is pacified.

102. And should one recite a hundred verses, With words of no avail, Better is one dhamma word, Having heard which, one is pacified.

103. He, truly, is supreme in battle, Who would conquer himself alone, Rather than he who would conquer in battle A thousand, thousand men.

104. Better, indeed, oneself conquered [Rather than] these other folk. Of a person who has won himself, Who is constantly living in self-control,

105. Neither a god nor a gandhabba,* Nor Mara together with Brahma,*. Could tum the victory into defeat Of a living 1?eing like that.

106. Month by month, with a thousand, One might offer sacrifice* a hundred times, And another, to one self-composed, Might offer worship for but a second; Truly, that worship is better Than what was offered a hundred years.

The Dhammapada 21

I 107. And were a living being for a hundred years

To tend a fire* in a forest, And were another, to one self-composed, To offer worship for but a second; Truly, that worship is better Than what was offered a hundred years.

108. Whatever sacrifice or offering in the world One seeking merit* might sacrifice for a year; Even all that does not 'reach aquarter' ­ Better the respectful greetings to the straight of gait.

109· For one in the habit of showing respect, Of always honouring elder ones, Four qualities increase: Life, complexion, ease, and strength.

110. And should one live a hundred years Devoid of virtue,* uncomposed; Better still is one day lived Of one possessed of virtue, a meditator.

III. And should one live a hundred years Devoid of insight, uncomposed; Better still is one day lived Ofone possessed of insight,* a meditator.

112. And should one live a hundred years Indolent, of inferior enterprise; Better still is one day lived Of one initiating enterprise, firm.

113· And should one live a hundred years Not seeing 'the rise and demise';* Better still is one day lived Of one seeing 'the rise and demise'.

114· And should one live a hundred years Not seeing the immortal state; Better still is one day lived Of one who sees the immortal state.*

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22

Chapter IX The Wrong

I 16. Be quick in goodness; From wrong hold back your thought. Indeed, of one performing the good tardily, The mind delights in wrong.

I 17. Should a person do a wrong, Let him not do it again and again. Let him not form a desire toward it, A suffering is the accumulation of wrong.

I 18. Should a person do some good, Let him do it again and again. Let him form a desire toward it. A happiness is the accumulation of good.

Il9. Even a wrongdoer experiences what is good As long as the detrimental* has not matured.* But when the detrimental is matured, The wrongdoer then experiences the detrimental.

120. Even the good one experiences the detrimental As long as the good is not matured. But when the good is matured, Then the good one experiences the good.

121. Think not triflingly of wrong, 'It will not come to me!' With falling drops of water, Even a waterpot is filled. A childish one is filled with wrong, .Acquiring bit by bit.

122. Think not triflingly ofgood, 'It will not come to me!' With falling drops of water, Even a waterpot is filled. A wise one is filled with good, Acquiring bit by bit.

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Like one who loves life, poison.

124. Ifon the hand a wound were not, One could carry poison with [that] hand. Poison does not follow one without a wound. No wrong there is for one not doing it.*

125. Whoever offends an inoffensive man, A pure person without blemish, The wrong recoils on just that childish one, Like fine dust hurled against the wind.

126. Some are born in a womb, Wrongdoers, in hell. Those of good course go to heaven, To Nibbana those without influxes.

127. That spot in the world is not found, Neither in the sky nor in the ocean's depths, Nor having entered into a cleft in mountains, Where abiding, one would be released from the bad

deed.

128. That spot one does not find, Neither in the sky nor in the ocean's depths, Nor having entered into a cleft in mountains, Where abiding, death would not overwhelm one.*

Chapter X The Rod

129. All are frightened of the rod. Of death all are afraid. Having made oneself the example, One should neither slay nor cause to slay.

130. All are frightened of the rod. For all, life is dear. Having made oneself the example, One should neither slay nor cause to slay.

13I. Who with a rod does hurt Beings who desire ease, While himself looking for ease- He, having departed, ease does not get.

Who with a rod does not hurt Beings who desire ease, While himself looking for ease­ Having departed, ease he will get.

132 .

To none speak harshly.133· Those thus addressed would retort to you. Miserable indeed is contentious talk. Retaliatory rods would touch you.

If, like a flattened out metal pot,134· You yourself do not move, Why, Nibbana you have attained! No contention is found in you.

As with a rod a cowherd 135· To the pasture goads his cows, So does old age and death Goad the life of living beings.

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, Tih:ori:ddimii:f:d6:, by his own deeds Suffers like one burnt by fire.

137. Who with a rod harms the offenceless, the harmless, To one of ten places quite quickly one goes down:

138. [I] Harshly painful feelings, [2] destitution, and [3] fracturing of the body,

[4] Grave illness too, [5] even disarrayed mind, one would attain,

139. [6] Trouble from the king or [7] severe slander, [8] Even loss of relatives or [9] dissolution of possessions,

140. And also [10] fire, the purifier, burns his houses. And upon the breaking of his body, the unwise one falls

into hell.

14I. Neither wandering about naked,· nor matted hair,· nor mud,

Neither fasting, nor sleeping on hard ground, Nor dust and dirt, nor austere acts in the crouching

posture, Cleanses a mortal who has not transcended doubts.

142. Though well adorned, if one would move with tranquillity,

At peace, restrained, assured, living the higher life, Having put down the rod toward all beings, He is a briihma1Ja,· he, a recluse, he, a bhikkhu.

143. [Rarely] in the world is found A person restrained by shame, Who awakens to insult As a good horse to the whip.

The Dhammapada 27

144. Like a good horse struck by a whip, Be ardent and deeply moved. With faith and virtue and enterprise, With concentration and dhamma-discernment, With understanding and conduct endowed, mindful, You will leave behind this weighty misery.

145. Irrigators guide the water, Fletchers bend the arrow shaft, Wood the carpenters bend; Themselves the amenable ones· tame.

Chapter XI Old Age

146. Oh, what laughter and why joy, When constantly aflame? In darkness enveloped, You do not seek the lamp.

147· Oh, see this beautified image;* A mass of sores erected. Full of illness, highly fancied, Permanence it has not--or constancy.

148. Quite wasted away is this form, A nest for disease, perishable. This putrid accumulation breaks up. For life has its end in death.

149· Like these gourds Discarded in autumn,* Are grey-hued bones. Having seen them, what delight?

150. Of bones the city* is made, Plastered with flesh and blood, Where decay and death are deposited, And pride and ingratitude.

151. Even well-decked royal chariots wear away; And the body too falls into decay. But the dhamma of the good ones goes not to decay, For the good speak [of it] with the good.

152 . This unlearned person Grows up like an ox. His bulk increases, His wisdom increases not.

153·

154·

155·

156.

The Dhammapada

I ran through swrzsiira, with its many births, Searching for, but not finding, the house-builder. Misery is birth again and again.

House-builder, you are seen! The house you shall not build again! Broken are your rafters, all, Your roof beam destroyed. Freedom from the satrlkhiiras* has the mind attained. To the end of cravings has it come.*

Not having lived the higher life, Nor having acquired wealth in youth, They wither away like old herons In a lake without fish.

Not having lived the higher life, Nor having acquired wealth in youth, Like [arrows] discharged from a bow they lie Brooding over the things of yore.

29

··;1

.,.,,_IIIII!IIIIII!I

Chapter XII The Self

157· If one would regard oneself as dear, One would guard oneself with diligence. The wise one would look after [himself] During any Clne of the [night's] three watches.·

158. First, one would get oneself Established in what is proper; Then one would advise another. [Thus] the wise one would not suffer.

One would oneself so do As one advises another. Then it is the restrained one who would restrain. For, truly, it is the self that is hard to restrain.

159·

160. Oneself indeed is patron of oneself. Who else indeed could be one's patron? With oneself well restrained, One gets a patron hard to get.

16I. The wrong done by oneself Is born of oneself, is produced in oneself. It grinds one deficient in wisdom As a diamond grinds a rock-gem.

162. Whose extreme unvirtue overspreads [him], Like the miiluvii creeper· a siila tree, He does to himself, Just as a foe wishes [to do] to him.

163. Easy to do are things not good And those harmful for oneself But what is beneficial and good, Is exceedingly difficult to do.

...._ ....- •• Ltg;;;;; ..m~....

The Dhammapada 31

164. Who is deficient in wisdom, Because of detrimental view,· Obstructs the instruction of the Arahants, The Noble Ones who live dhamma; For one's own destruction one ripens, Like the fruits of a reed. •

165. By oneself is wrong done, By oneself is one defiled.. By oneself wrong is not done, By oneself, surely, is one cleansed. One cannot purify another; Purity and impurity are in oneself [alone].

166. One would not abandon one's own purpose Because of the purpose of another, even though great, Having well understood one's own purpose, One would be intent on the true purpose.

---_ .. -----............. ~-

Chapter XIII The World

167. To lowly quality one should not resort; With heedlessness one should not live. To an improper view one should not resort. And one should not be a 'world-augmenter'.·

168. One should stand up, not be neglectful, Follow dhamma, which is good conduct. One who lives dhamma sleeps at ease In this world and also in the next.

169· One should follow dhamma, which is good conduct, Not that which is poor conduct. One who lives dhamma sleeps at ease In this world and also in the next.

170. As upon a bubble one would look, As one would look upon a mirage, The one considering the world thus, King Death does not see.

171. Come ye, look at this world- Like an adorned royal chariot- Wherein childish ones are immersed; No clinging there is among those who really know.

172• And who having been heedless formerly But later is heedless not, He this world illumines Like the moon set free from a cloud.

173· Whose bad deed done Is covered by what is wholesome, He this world illumines Like the moon set free from a cloud.

'74· ~-

• 175·

• 176. I 177·

- 178.

The Dhammapada 33

This world has become blinded, as it were. Few here see insightfully. Like a bird set free from a net, Few to heaven go.

Swans go along the path of the sun And in the air they go with psychic power.· The wise ones are led from the world, Having conquered Mara and his cohorts.

Of a person who has overstepped one dhamma,· Who speaks falsehood, Who has turned the back on the world beyond­ There is no wrong that cannot be done.

Truly, no misers get to the world of gods. Certainly, childish ones do not applaud giving. The wise one gladly approves giving; Hence indeed is he at ease in the hereafter.

Better than sole sovereignty over the earth, Or the journey to heaven, Than lordship over all the worlds, Is the Fruit of Stream Attainment. •

35

Cliapter·XIV The Awakened One I Whose victory is not turned into defeat,179· Whose victory no one in this world reaches, That Awakened One whose range is limitless, Him, the trackless, by what track will you lead?

180. For whom craving there is not, the netlike, the clinging, To lead him wheresoever, That Awakened One whose range is limitless, Him, the trackless, by what track will you lead?

181. Those who are intent on meditating, the wise ones, Delighting in the calm of going out, Even gods long for them, The Fully Enlightened Ones, the mindful.

182. Difficult is the attainment of the human state. Difficult the life of mortals. Difficult is the hearing of dhamma true. Difficult the appearance of Awakened Ones.

183. Refraining from all that is detrimental, The attainment of what is wholesome, The purification of one's mind: This is the instruction of Awakened Ones.

184· Forbearing patience is the highest austerity;\ I Nibbana is supreme, the Awakened Ones say.

One who has gone forth is not one who hurts another,, No harasser of others is a recluse. 185. No faultfinding, no hurting, restraint in the piitimokkha; *

Knowing the measure regarding food, solitary bed and chair,

Application, too, of higher perception: This is the instruction of the Awakened Ones.

186.

187.

188.

189.

190.

191.

192.

193·

The Dhammapada

Not even with a rain of golden coins Is contentment found among sensual pleasure~. , 'Sensual pleasures are of little delight, are a nusery.

Knowing so, the wise one

Takes no delight Even for heavenly sensual pleasures. . One who delights in the ending of cravmg Is a disciple of the Fully Enlightened One.

Many for refuge go To mountains and to forests, To shrines that are groves or trees-­ Humans who are threatened by fear.

This is not a refuge secure, This refuge is not the highest. Having come to this refuge, . One is not released from all nusery.

But who to the Buddha, Dhamma, And Sangha* as refuge has gone, Sees with full insight The Four Noble Truths;*

Misery, the arising of miser,Y' And the transcending of nusery, The Noble Eightfold Path* Leading to the allaying of misery.

This, indeed, is a refuge secure. This is the highest refuge. Having come to this refug~, One is released from all nusery.

Hard to come by is a person of nobility; Not everywhere is he born. Wherever that wise one is born, That family prospers in happiness.

_ ..,,~="""

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194· ~,,~ ~,~;~J".:{··.·.~,~;.Mt~ Joyful; too, fneconcoro ofthe Sangha. Joyful, the austere practice of those in concord.

195· Of one worshipping those worthy of worship, Whether Awakened Ones or disciples, Who have transcended preoccupying tendencies,* Crossed over grief and lamentation,

196. Of one 'worshipping such as them, Calmed ones who fear nothing, The merit cannot be quantified By anyone saying, 'It is ofthis extent.'

Chapter XV Happiness

197· Ah, so pleasantly we live Without enmity among those with enmity. Among humans with enmity Do we dwell without enmity.

198. Ah, so pleasantly we live Without affliction among the afflicted. Among humans with affliction Do we dwell without affiiction.

199. Ah, so pleasantly we live Without restlessness among the restless. Among humans who are restless Do we dwell without restlessness.

200. Ah, so pleasantly we live, For whom there is nothing at all our own. We shall become partakers of joy, Even as the Radiant Devas.*

201. Winning, one engenders enmity; Miserably sleeps the defeated. The one at peace sleeps pleasantly, Having abandoned victory and defeat.

202. There is no fire like passion, No offence there is like ill will, There is no misery like the khandhas,* No ease there is higher than peace.

203. Hunger is the illness most severe, The sarrzkhiiras the greatest misery. Knowing this as it is, [One realizes] Nibbana is ease supreme.

Chapter XVI The Pleasant

209. One who exerts himself in what is not befitting And in the befitting exerts not, Having abandoned the beneficial, grasping for the dear, Envies the one who applies himself. .

210. Let one not be together with the dear, Nor ever with those that are not dear; Not to see the dear is misery, So too is it to see the non-dear.

2 I I. Therefore, let one not make endearment, For separation from the dear is bad. For whom there is neither the dear nor non-dear, For them are bonds not found.

212. From the dear arises grief. From the dear arises fear. For one set free from endearment, There is no grief. Whence fear?

213. From affection arises grief. From affection arises fear. For one set free from affection, There is no grief. Whence fear?

214. From sensual attachment arises grief. From sensual attachment arises fear. For one set free from sensual attachment, There is no grief. Whence fear?

2 I 5. From sensual desire arises grief. From sensual desire arises fear. For one set free from sensual desire, There is no grief. Whence fear?

40 '7'beD~

216. Fromeraving·~ses·grie£ FroQ).~~ .a~,(e.r.,} For one set free from craVing, ­ There is no grief. Whence fear?

21 7. The one endowed with virtue and vision, Established in dhamma, speaking truth, That one, doing his own tasks, The folk hold dear.

218. One in whom a wish for the Undefined· is born, Who would be clear in mind, Whose heart is not bound in sensual pleasures, Is called 'one whose stream is upward bound'.

21 9. As when a person long absent Has come safely from afar, Relatives, friends, and well-wishers Greet with delight the one who has returned;

220. Just so, one who has done wholesome deeds Has gone from this world to the beyond­ The wholesome deeds receive such a one, Like relatives, a dear one who has returned.

Chapter XVII Wrath

221. Wrath one would leave behind, Measurement one would abandon, every fetter transcend. Who clings not to name and form,· and possesses nothing. Upon that one miseries do not fall.

222. Who can hold back arisen wrath, Like a swerving chariot, That one I call 'a charioteer', Any other one is merely a reins-holder.

223· With absence of wrath one would conquer the wrathful one;

With good, one would conquer the bad one; With giving, one would:conquer the stingy one; With truth, the one speaking falsehood.­

224· Let one tell the truth, let one not be angry. Asked, let one give even when he has but little. By these three factors, One would go into the presence of the gods.

225· They who are gentle sages, Constantly restrained in body, Go to the Unshakeable Abode,· Whither having gone, they do not grieve.

226. Of those who always keep awake, Learning day and night, Upon Nibbana intent, 'Intoxicants' come to an end.

227· Of old this is, Atula,* It is not just of today: They find fault with one sitting silently; They find fault with one speaking much, And even with one speaking in moderation do they find

fault. In [this] world there is no one not faulted.

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The Dhammapada 42

228. There was not and will not be, And now there is not found, A person absolutely faulted, Or absolutely praised.

Whom the wise praise, 229· Having observed day after day, That one of faultless conduct, intelligent, Of wisdom and virtue well composed-

Who is fit to fault that one, 230. Who is like a coin of gold? Even the gods praise that one; One praised by Brahma too.

Let one guard against physical intemperance; 231. In body, let one be restrained. Having abandoned physical misconduct, In proper conduct with the body let one live.

Let one guard against intemperance of speech;232. In speech, let one be restrained. Having abandoned verbal misconduct,

1 In proper conduct with speech let one live. I Let one guard against intemperance of mind;233· In mind, let one be restrained.

Having abandoned mental misconduct, In proper conduct with the mind let one live.

Those restrained in body, wise, 234· And also restrained in speech, Restrained in mind, wise, They indeed are perfectly restrained.

Chapter XVIII Stains

235. Like a yellow leaf are you now; And even Yama's men· have appeared for you; And at the threshold of departure you stand; But even the journey's provisions you do not have.

236. Make a lamp for yourself. Strive quickly! Become a wise one; With stains blown out, free of blemish, You shall go to the heavenly realm of the nobles.

237. And you are now well advanced in age; You have started the journey to the presence of Yama. And, in between, there is not even a resting place for you; Even the journey's provisions you do not have.

238. Make a lamp for yourself; Strive quickly! Become a wise one; With stains blown out, free of blemish, You shall not undergo birth and old age again.

239. Gradually, would the wise one, Bit by bit, moment by moment, Blowout the stain that is one's own, Like a smith the stain of silver.

240. As rust sprung from iron, Springing from that, eats that itself, So one's own actions lead One of unwise conduct to a state of woe.

241. For chants [memorized], non-repetition is corrosive; For houses, non-maintenance is corrosive; Corrosive is sloth for physical appearance; For one who guards, heedlessness is corrosive.

~P~""C..,!<,~t"lf_lrn'tmm_Xi''''~\'ii*iA''''if'j:li7i;\*ji.lt1l.-wefC ~"

45 44 The Dhammapada

242. The stain of a woman is miscortduct; To the giver, stinginess is the stain. Bad qualities indeed are stains, In this world and in that beyond.

243· More staining than that stain Is ignorance, the worst of stains. Having abandoned this stain, Be you free of stains, 0 bhikkhus!

244· Life is easily lived By a shameless one, A disparager, crafty as a crow, An obtruder, impudent and corrupt.

245· But life is lived with hardship By one sensitive to shame, ever seeking purity, Free from clinging, and not impudent, Discerning, pure in the mode of life.

246. Whoever in [this] world destroys life, And falsehood speaks, Takes what is not given, And goes to another's wife,

247· And the man who engages in The drinking of intoxicants, Right here in this world He digs up his own root.

248. Know this, dear fellow, Bad qualities are intemperate. Let not greed and the un-dhammalike way Oppress you into prolonged suffering.

249· People give according to their faith, According as they are pleased. So, one who becomes sullen, About the food and drink of others [received], He does not gain integration, Be it by day or by night.

The Dhammapada

250. But the one in whom this is extirpated, Destroyed at its roots, abolished, He does gain integration, Be it by day or by night.

251. There is no fire like passion. There is no grip like ill will. There is no snare like delusion. There is no river like craving.

252. Easily seen is the fault of others, But one's own is hard to see. The faults of others He winnows like chaff; But conceals his own, As a shrewd gambler, the defeating throw.

253. Of one who sees the faults of others, Constantly holding ideas of disdain­ His intoxicants increase; Far is he from the extinction of intoxicants.

254. In the sky there is no footstep; The recluse is not in externals; Enamoured with preoccupying tendencies· are the

generations; Free of preoccupying tendencies are Tathagatas.

255. In the sky there is no footstep; The recluse is not in externals; No sarrzkhiira is eternal; There is no agitation among Buddhas.

~~ "--- ...__.•._-_._-~

47

• The Dhammapada

263. But in whom this is extirpated, Destroyed at its roots, abolished, Chapter XIX. The Firm in Dhamma He, having ill will ejected, wise, Is called 'commendable'.

256. Were one to settle a case capriciously, Not by a shaven head* is one a recluse, One thereby does not become firm in dhamma. 264. Ifone lacks due observance, speaks untruth. But the one who would discriminate How can one possessed of longing and greed Both what is and what is not the case-the sagacious Become a recluse? Ione­

257· Who leads others impartially 265. But he who calms away the wrongs, With dhamma, not capriciously, Great and small, in every way; The intelligent one, guarded by dhamma, For having [so] calmed away the wrongs, Is called 'one firm in dhamma'. 'A recluse' he is called.

258. One is not a learned one 266. Not for this is one a bhikkhu, Merely because one speaks much. Merely that one begs of others;

The one secure, without enmity, without fear, Having taken up a gross dhamma,* Is called a 'learned one'. One is not thereby a bhikkhu.

259· One is not a dhamma-bearer Merely because one speaks much, 267. Setting aside both merit and wrong But who, having heard even a little, Who lives here the higher life,

Courses in the world discriminately, Sees dhamma for himself, And dhamma does not neglect, He, indeed, is called 'bhikkhu'. I He, indeed, is a dhamma-bearer.

268. One does not become a sage by silence, 260. One does not become an Elder* If confused and ignorant.

Because one's head is grey-haired; But a wise one, as if holding a set of scales, Ripened his age, Takes up the best, 'Grown old in vain' is he called.

269. And shuns wrongs, he is a sage; 261. In whom there is truth and dhamma, For that reason he is a sage. Harmlessness, restraint, control, Who knows both in this world, Who has the stains ejected, and is wise, Is, for that, called a sage. He indeed is called 'Elder'.

262. Not because of speech-making 270. By harmlessness toward living beings Or by attractiveness of appearance Is one called a Noble One. Does one, envious, avaricious, deceitful, One who is harmless toward all living beings Become a commendable man. Is called 'noble one'.

--_......­ .

48· 1'heD~ . 21l. Not by ~andrites,

N~~tJyJDud1Iearning., Not bY acquisition ofconcentration, Nor by secluded lodging,

272. Thinking 'I touched the ease of renunciation Not resorted to by ordinary people,' o bhikkhu, get not into contentedness, Not having attained extinction of intoxicants.*

Chapter XX The Path

273· Of paths, the eightfold* is the best. Of truths, the four statements.* Detachment is the best of dhammas. And of two-footed ones, the one endowed with eyes.*

274· Just this path, there is no other For purity of vision. Do ye go along this [path]; This is what will bewilder Mara.

275· Entered upon this, An end ofmisery you will make. Proclaimed indeed is the path by me, Having known the extrication of the arrows.*

276. By you is the task strenuously to be done; Tathagatas* are proclaimers. Entered upon this path, the meditators Are released from the bond of Mara.

277· When through wisdom one perceives, 'All sarrzkhiiras are transient,'* Then one is detached as to misery. This is the path of purity.

278. When through wisdom one perceives, 'All sarrzkhiiras are suffering,'* Then one is detached as to misery. This is the path of purity.

279· When through wisdom one perceives, 'All dhammas are without self,'* Then one is detached as to misery. This is the path of purity.

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No sons there are for protection, Neither father nor even relations, For one seized by the End-Maker; Among relations there is no protection.

Knowing this fact, The wise one, restrained by virtue, Would make clear, right quickly, The path leading to Nibbana.

The Dhammapada

289·

288.

.. ~~

282. From meditativeness arises the great; From its absence, there is destruction of the great. Having known this twofold path for gain and loss Let one conduct oneself so that the great increases.

283. Cut down the forest! Not a tree. From the forest, fear arises. Having cut down both forest and underbrush, o bhikkhus, be ye without forests. *

284. Insofar as the underbrush is not cut 'away, Even to the smallest bit, of a man for women, Insofar is he one having [his] mind tethered, Like a suckling calf to its mother.

Cut down affection for yourself, As with the hand, an autumn lily. Foster just the path to peace, Nibbana, Taught by the One Who Has Travelled Well.

'Here I shall dwell during the rains,* Here in winter and summer, too.' So the childish one thiriks. He does not know of the danger.

That man of entangled mind, Inebriated by sons and cattle, Death carries away Like a great flood, a sleeping village.

280. Who.is not.~ at the time for exertion, Young, stron,&~ofl~ With mind filled with confused notions, indolent,

lethargic- Does not find the way to wisdom.

28 I. Watchful of speech, well restrained in mind, One would not do what is unwholesome by body too. These three modes of action one would purify. Let one fulfil the path made known by the sages.

50

\i;!;";d~'L:?i";,:'C;~~,~;~~:~~i[~:t~5',,:;;::,-,,, '. '" rtapter lv.l.lSCellaneOUS

290. If by sacrificing a limited pleasure An extensive pleasure one would see, Let the wise one beholding extensive pleasure, A limited pleasure forsake.

29 I. Who wishes his own pleasure, By imposing misery on others, Who is contaminated by the contact of hate, He is not released from hate.

292. What is to be done, that is rejected. And what is not to be done, is done. Of those who are vain, heedless, The intoxicants increase.

293. But those who have well undertaken, Constantly, mindfulness with regard to body,* Persevering in what is to be done, They do not resort to what is not to be done. Of those mindful, attentive ones, The intoxicants come to an end,

294· Having slain mother and father* And two khattiya kings,* Having slain a kingdom* together with the subordinate,* Without trembling, the brahmalJa goes.

295· Having slain mother and father And two learned kings,* Having slain the tiger's domain, as fifth, * Without trembling, the briihmalJa goes.

296. Well awake* they arise, at all times, The disciples of Gotama,* In whom, both day and night, Constantly there is mindfulness on the Buddha.

The Dhammapada 53

297· Well awake they arise, at all times, The disciples of Gotama, In whom, both day and night, Constantly there is mindfulness on Dhamma.

298. Well awake they arise, at all times, The disciples of Gotama, In whom, both day and night, Constantly there is mindfulness on the Sangha.

299· Well awake they arise, at all times, The disciples of Gotama, In whom, both day and night, Constantly there is mindfulness on the body.

300. Well awake they arise, at all times, The disciples of Gotama, In whom, both day and night, The mind delights in harmlessness.

30 1. Well awake they arise, at all times, The disciples of Gotama, In whom, both day and night, The mind delights in meditation.

302. Difficult it is to go forth, difficult to delight therein; Difficult to live in are households-a suffering. Suffering it is to live with uneven ones; And travellers are trapped in suffering. So, be not a traveller,* And be not trapped in suffering.

303· The faithful one, endowed with virtue, Possessed of fame and wealth, To whatever region he resorts, There, indeed, he is worshipped.

30 4. From afar the good ones are visible, Like the snowy mountain. * The bad ones here are not seen, Like arrows shot in the night.

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305· SittiDg. alHe,ltestmg~. ~•.ldo~~~ . Chapter XXII Hell The one alone, who controls oneself, Would be delighted in the forest. •

306. The one who speaks lies, goes to hell, And the one who having done says, 'I don't do this.' Both of these, people of base deeds, Having passed away, become equal in the beyond.

307. Many having the yellow robe about their necks Are of bad qualities, uncontrolled. They, the bad ones, By bad deeds are led to hell.

308. Better that an iron ball be eaten, Glowing, like a flame of fire, Than that one should eat a country's alms food,· Being poor in virtue, lacking control.

309. Four conditions the heedless man comes by, Who resorts to the wives of others; Acquisition of demerit, Lack of agreeable sleep, Disgrace is third; hell is the fourth.

310. Acquisition of demerit And a lowly [future] course. And brief the delight of a frightened man with a

frightened woman, The king too gives a heavy punishment- So let a man not resort to the wife of another.

311. Just as kusa grass, • wrongly grasped, Cuts the hand itself, So, reclusiveness wrongly handled, Drags one down to hell.

312. Whatever is a loose act, And what is a defiled observance- A 'higher life'· filled with suspicion­ That is not of great fruit.

56 The Dhammapada

3I 3· If it is a thing to be done, let one do it, Let one advance decisively to it; For religious conduct that is slack Throws up dirt all the more.

3I 4· A misdeed is better not done; The misdeed torments hereafter. But a good deed is better done, Having done which, one does not regret.

3I 5. Like a border city Guarded both within and without, So, guard yourself. Let not the moment slip you by. Those for whom the moment is past Do indeed grieve, consigned to hell.

3I 6. They are ashamed of what is not shameful, They are not ashamed of what is shameful. Ones who endorse wrong views, '" Such beings go to a state of woe.

317. Those who see what is not fear as fear, And see no fear in fear, Ones who endorse wrong views, Such beings go to a state of woe.

318. Those who regard what is not error as error, And see no error in error, Ones who endorse wrong views, Such beings go to a state of woe.

319. But having known error as error, And non-error as non-error, Ones who endorse proper views, Such beings go to a state of weal.

Chapter XXIII The Elephant

320. Like an elephant in battle, The arrow shot from a bow, I shall endure the unwarranted word; The majority, indeed, are of poor virtue.

321. They take a tamed one to a crowd; On a tamed onea king mounts. Among humans a tamed one is best, One who endures the unwarranted word.

I

322. Excellent are tamed mules, Thoroughbreds and horses of Sindh, '" Also tuskers, great elephants. But better than them is one who has subdued oneself.

323. Truly, not by these vehicles Could one go to a region unreached, As a tamed one goes Bya well-subdued, disciplined self. I

324. The tusker named Dhanapalaka, '" Deep in rut, is hard to control. Bound, the tusker does not eat a morsel, But remembers the elephant forest.

325. When one is torpid and a big eater, A sleeper, who lies rolling about Like a great boar, nourished on grains- Being dull one enters the womb again and again. '"

326. Formerly this mind set out awandering As it wished, where it liked, according to its pleasure. Today I will hold it back methodically Like o?-e seizing a goad, an elephant in rut.

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58 The Dhammapada

327. Be delighters in awareness; Keep watch over your mind. Lift yourself up from the difficult road, Like a tusker, sunk in mire.

328. Should one get a mature companion, Who will move about with one, a wise one who leads a

good life, Let one move with him, All dangers overcoming, mindful and happy.

32 9. Should one not get a mature companion, Who will move about with one, a wise one who leads a

good life, Let one wander alone, Like a king who has left behind a conquered land, Like the elephant in the Matanga forest. •

330. A life of solitude is better; There is no companionship with the childish one. With little exertion, like the elephant in the Matanga

forest, . Let one wander alone, and do no wrongs.

331. When a need has arisen, friends are a blessing, A blessing is contentment with whatever [there be], A blessing is the wholesome deed at the end of life, A blessing it is to relinquish all sorrow.

332 . A blessing in the world is reverence for mother, A blessing, too, is reverence for father, A blessing in the world is reverence for the recluse, A blessing too reverence for the briihmalJa.

333· A blessing is virtue into old age, A blessing is faith established, A blessing is the attainment of insight-wisdom, A blessing it is to refrain from doing wrongs.

Chapter XXIV Craving

The craving of a person who lives heedlessly 334· Grows like a miiluvii creeper. • He moves from beyond to beyond, Like a monkey, in a forest, wishing for fruit.

Whomsoever in the world 335· This childish entangled craving overcomes, His sorrows grow, Like bfra1J.O grass,· well rained upon.

But whosoever in the world 336. Overcomes this childish craving, hard to get beyond, From him, sorrows fall away, Like drops of water from a lotus leaf.

This I say to you. Good fortune to you [all], 337· As many as are here assembled. . Dig out the root of craving, As one searching for uslra· digs out bfralJa grass. Let not Mara break you again and again, As a river, a reed.

As long as the roots are unharmed, firm, 338. A tree, though topped, grows yet again. Just so, when the latent craving· is not rooted out, This suffering arises again and again.

For whom the thirty-six streams,· 339· Flowing to what is pleasing, are mighty, That one, whose view is debased, The currents, which are thoughts settled on passion, carry

away.

Streams· flow everywhere; 340 . A creeper,· having burst upward, remains. Having seen the creeper that has arisen, Cut out with insight-wisdom its root.

160 The Dhammapada

341. Moved along and soaked by craving, Delights arise in a being. Those men who are bound to the agreeable, looking for

pleasure, Do indeed go on to birth and old age.

342 . Accompanied by craving, Folk crawl around like a trapped hare, Being held by fetters and bonds. They come by suffering again and again, for long.

Surrounded by craving, 343· Folk crawl around like a trapped hare. Therefore, let a bhikkhu dispel craving, Wishing for his own detachment.

344· Who is free of the underbrush, but attached to the forest, * Who, set free from the forest, runs back to the forest; Come, see that person, Who, released, runs back to bondage itself.

345· That is not a strong bond, say the wise, Which is made of iron, of wood, or of [plaited] grass. Those excessively attached to jewels and ornaments

[their attachment], And affection for sons and wives,

346. This is a strong bond, say the wise, Dragging down, lax [and yet] hard to loosen. Having cut off even this, they set out, Free of expectation, relinquishing sensual pleasures.

Those who are attached to passions fall back into the 347· 'stream',

Like a spider, on a self-spun web. Having cut off even this, the wise proceed Free of expectation, relinquishing all suffering.

348. Let go in front, let go behind, let go in between! Gone to the further shore of existence, With mind released as to 'everything', You shall not again come upon birth and old agl;.

The Dhammapada 61 II1I11

For a person having thoughts disturbed, 349· Acute of passion, looking for the pleasurable, Craving increases all the more. That one, indeed, makes the bondage firm.

But one who delights in allaying thoughts, 350. Who, ever-mindful, develops meditation on the

unpleasant,* II~IIIIII' That one, indeed, will make an end, That one will cut off Mara's bond.

The one who has arrived at the destination, 351. Free from fright, craving, and blemish, Has broken the knives of existence.* This is the final bodily form.

Without craving, free from grasping, 352 . Skilled in terms of expression, Who would know the combination of letters, what

precedes and what follows, He, indeed, is called one having the last physical form, Great person of great wisdom.

Conqueror of all, knower of all am I;353· Untainted with regard to all dhamroas. Abandoning everything, released at the dissolution of

craving, Having comprehended by myself, whom shall I point

out?

The gift of dharoroa prevails over every gift, 354· The flavour of dhamroa prevails over every flavour, The delight in dhamroa prevails over every delight, The dissolution of craving subdues all suffering.

Possessions strike down one deficient in wisdom, 355· But not those seeking the beyond. Through craving for possessions, one deficient in wisdom Strikes himself down as one would the others.

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.356,. FOttie14si......·.~ .'~" , For,_~\~ ..~on is the bane. Hence, to those free from sensual attraction What is given yields much fruit.

357· For fields, grasses are the bane, For humankind, ill will is the bane. Hence, to those free from ill will What is given yields much fruit.

358. For fields, grasses are the bane, For humankind, confusion is the bane. Hence, to those free from confusion What is given yields much fruit.

359· For fields, grasses are the bane, For humankind, longing is the bane. Hence, to those free from longing What is given yields much fruit.

Chapter XXV The Bhikkhu

360. Restraint with the eye is commendable, Commendable is restraint with the ear. Restraint with the nose is commendable, Commendable is restraint with the tongue.

361. Restraint with the body is commendable, Commendable is restraint with speech. Restraint with the mind is commendable, Commendable is restraint in all [the senses]. The bhikkhu who is restrained in all [the senses], Is freed from all suffering.

362. The one restrained in hand, restrained iii foot, Restrained in speech, the one of best restraint, Having delight in introspection, composed, solitary,

contented- That one they call a bhikkhu.

363. A bhikkhu, restrained in speech, Who speaks in moderation, who is not haughty, Who illustrates the meaning and the message, Sweet is his speech.

364. Abiding in dhamma, delighting in dhamma, Reflecting on dhamma, remembering dhamma, A bhikkhu, does not fall away From dhamma true.

365. Let one not treat what one has received with scorn, Let one not live envying others. A bhikkhu who is envying others Does not come to integration [of mind].

366. If though a bhikkhu has received but little, He does not treat his receipt with scorn, Him, indeed, the gods praise, Who is living purely, unwearied.

-~•.".~_._" --= _.",-.,--~.-.-.---,

,,:~(~, '~kf;tOibe~ .'

.~"":,,, Whcia6~rhgr~¥i~~b'be2~ri~e6reh~~t~' He, indeed, is called a bhikkhu.

368 . A bhikkhu dwelling in loving-kindness, Who is pleased in the Buddha's instruction, Would attain the state that is peace, The pacification of the sa,!,khiiras, bliss.

369. o bhikkhu, bail out this boat. Bailed out, it shall go quickly for you. Having cut away both lust and hate, You shall then reach Nibbana.

370 . Let one cut away the five, relinquish the five,* And, especially, cultivate the five. * A bhikkhu who has gone beyond five attachments Is called 'One who has crossed the flood'.

371. Meditate, 0 bhikkhu, and be not heedless. Let not your mind whirl in the strand of sensuality. Do not swallow a metal ball, being heedless,* While burning; do not lament, 'This is woe.'

372. There is no meditative absorption for one who lacks insight;

There is no insight for one who is not meditating. In whom there is meditative absorption and insight, Truly, he is in Nibbana's presence.

373· For a bhikkhu who has entered an empty house,* Whose mind is at peace, Who perceives dhamma fully, There is delight unlike that of mortals.

374· Howsoever one thoroughly knows The rise and demise of the khandhas,* One attains joy and delight That is ambrosia for those who are discerning.

The Dhammapada 65

375· Here, this is the first thing for a bhikkhu of insight: Guarding the sense faculties, contentment, And restraint in the piitimokkha.* Associate with good friends Who are living purely, unwearied.

376. Let one be in the habit of friendly relations, Of competent conduct let one be. Being of abundant joy thereby, One shall make an end of suffering.

377· As the jasmine ' Sheds its withered flowers, So, 0 bhikkhu, Shed sensual attachment and hatred.

378. A bhikkhu, with body pacified, speech pacified, Who is possessed of peace, well composed, Who has thrown out the world's material things, Is called the 'one at peace'.

379· You yourself reprove yourself, You yourself set yourself in order. As a bhikkhu who is self-guarded, aware, You shall dwell at ease.

380. Oneself, indeed, is patron of oneself, Oneself is one's own guide. Therefore, restrain yourself, As a merchant, a noble steed.*

'381 . A bhikkhu, of abundant joy, Pleased in the Buddha's instruction, Would attain the state of peace, The blissful alleviation of the sa,!,khiiras.

382. Truly, a young bhikkhu Who engages in the Buddha's instruction This world illumines, Like the moon set free from a cloud.

..~ ",-

67The Dhammapada

When there is exclusion from what is pleasant to the390. mind;Chapter XXVI The Briihma1}a That is no little good for the brahma1J.a-

Whenever the intent to harm does cease,

383· Having striven, cut off the stream!* Then indeed is sorrow calmed.* Dispel sensualities, 0 brahma1J.a,

I 391. Of whom there is nothing ill doneHaving known the dissolution of the sarf1kharas,

.\ With body, with speech, with mind, A knower of the Unmade* are you, 0 brahma1J.a. Who is restrained in these three bases,

When, with regard to two dhammas,* 384· That one I call a brahma1J.a. A brahma1J.a has reached the further shore, Then of that knowing one From whom one would learn dhamma, 392 . ,All fetters come to an end. Taught by the Fully Enlightened One,

Let one pay homage to that one 385. For whom the further shore or the nearer shore

As a brahma1J.a to the sacrificial fire.IOr both do not exist, Who is free of distress, unyoked, Not by matted hair, nor by clan, 393·That one I call a brahma1J.a. Nor by birth does one become a brahma1J.a.

386. The one meditating, free of dirt, quietly sitting, In whom is truth and dhamma, Tasks done, free of intoxicants, He is the pure one, and he is the brahma1J.a. Who has obtained the goal supreme,

What's the use of your matted hair, 0 you of poorThat one I call a brahma1J.a. 394· insight?

387. By day glows the sun, What's the use of your deerskin garment?* At night shines the moon, Within you is the jungle; In war-array the monarch glows. The exterior you groom.. Meditating, a brahma1J.a glows. But all day and night One who wears rags from a dust heap,* 395· The Buddha glows in splendour. Lean, having veins [visibly] spread over body,

Meditating alone in the forest, 388. As 'one who has banished wrong' is one a brahma1J.a;* That one I call a brahma1J.a.Because of 'living in calm' is one called a sama1J.a.*

Dispelling one's own stain And I do not call one a brahma1J.a396.-Therefore is one called 'gone forth.' Merely by being born from a [brahma1J.a] womb, 389. A brahmana would not attack a briihma1J.a, Sprung from a [brahma1J.a] mother.

Or let loose [wrath] upon him. He is merely a 'bho-sayer'* Shame on one who strikes a brahma1J.a, Ifhe is a possessor of things. And greater shame [on one] who lets loose [wrath] upon One who has nothing and takes nothing,

him. That one I call a brahma1J.a.

68 The Dhammapada

397· Who does not tremble. Having cut off every fetter, Who has gone beyond attachments, unbound, That one I call a briihma1JO.

398. Having cut off the strap and thong, Cord, together with the bridle. Who has lifted the bar,· awakened, That one I call a briihmalJa.

399· Who unangered endures Insult, assault, and binding, Whose strength is forbearance, who has an army's

strength, That one I call a briihmalJa.

400. Who is free of anger, who observes the duties, Who is virtuous, free of the flow [of craving], Controlled, and in the final body, That one I call a briihmalJa.

4°1. Like water on a lotus petal, Like a mustard seed on the point of an awl, • Who is not smeared with sensualities, That one I call a briihmalJa.

402. Who comes to understand, even here, The destruction of sorrow, Who has put aside the burden, who is free of the bonds, That one I call a briihma1JO.

403· One having profound insight, wise, Proficient as to path and non-path, Who has attained the highest goal, That one I call a briihma1JO.

404. One who is not gregarious With both householders and homeless ones,• Living without an abode, desiring but little, That one I call a briihmalJa.

The Dhammapada 69

405. Having laid down the rod With regard to beings, the frightful and the firm, Who neither slays nor causes to slay- That one I call a briihma1JO.

406. One who is not opposing among those opposing, Who is calmed among those who have taken weapons, Free of grasping among those who are grasping, That one I call a briihmalJa.

407. From whom passion and ill will, Conceit and ingratitude, have been shed, Like a mustard seed from the tip of an awl, That one I call a briihmalJa.

408. Who would speak speech that is true, That is instructive and not harsh, By which one would anger none- That one I call a briihmalJa.

409. Who, here in this world, does not take what is not given, Whether long or short, small or great, Pleasant or unpleasant, That one I call a briihmalJa.

410. In whom are not found longings For this world and for the beyond, Without longing, released, That one I call a briihmalJa.

411. In whom are not found attachments, Who is without doubts due to under.standing, Who has attained the plunge into the Deathless, That one I call a briihmalJa.

412. Who, here, has moved beyond attachment, Both the meritorious and the detrimental, Who is free of sorrow, free of dust, pure, That one I call a briihmalJa.

'The. Dhammapada

_~.isspotless, pure, , ~uagftatetl~··

In whom is extinct the desire for existence, That one I call a briihmar]a.

414. Who has passed over this [muddy] path, this fortress, Delusion, which is sarrzsiira, Who has crossed over it, gone beyond it, a meditator, Passionless, without doubts, Without grasping, pacified, That one I call a briihmar]a.

415. Who, here, having renounced lusts, Would go forth, a homeless one; In whom is extinct sensual lust and [desire for] existence, That one I call a briihmar]a.

416. Who, here, having renounced craving, Would go forth, a homeless one, In whom is extinct craving and [desire for] existence, That one I call a briihmar]a.

417. Who, having abandoned the human bond, Has transcended the heavenly bond,* Who is released from all bonds, That one I call a briihmar]a.

418. Who, having abandoned attachment and aversion, Who has become cool,* free from substrates,* A hero overcoming the entire world- That one I call a briihmar]a.

419. Who knows in every way The passing away and rebirth of beings, Unattached, well gone, awakened, That one I call a briihmar]a.

420. Whose course Gods, gandhabbas,* and humans do not know, Whose intoxicants are extinct, an Arabant, That one I call a briihmar]a.

The Dhammapada 71

421. For whom there is nothing In front, behind, and in between, The one, without anything, ungrasping,

- That one I call a briihmar]a.

422. A bull,* splendid, heroic, A great sage, a victor, Passionless, who has bathed,* awakened, That one I call a briihmar]a.

42 3. One who knows [his] former lives, And sees the heavens and the states of woe, And who has reached the extinction of births, Who has perfected higher knowledge, Sage, who has fulfilled the final perfection, That one I call a briihma~.

:;·Q~""E:)('P'LANA TORY NOTES

3 perception ... mental states: the pure event of seeing, hearing, smell­ ing, etc. an object is 'perception'; the concurrent rise of attachment, hate, anger, desire, etc. with regard to it is the mental states.

polluted: that is, with mental states such as anger. 4 Miira: Mara stands for all that is antithetical to the religious enter­

prise. Variously represented as an evil being of great power out to wreck the religious life of persons, as the defiling forces of the psy­ che, the five aggregates of which the psycho-physical personality is made up (see note to p. 29), the influences of past karma, and, somewhat differently, Death itself. Also called King of Death (v. 46), End-Maker (v. 48), etc. defilements: unwholesome psychological qualities that vitiate the mind, all of which spring from the three 'roots' of (I) greed/craving! attachment, (2) hate/ill will/revulsion, and (3) ignorance/delusion! unawareness. yellow robe: the dress of the monk, symbolic of renunciation of worldly pursuits. passion: greed and all expressions of sensual desire. It is the first of the three unwholesome 'roots'.

5 state of woe: a state or world that is flill of suffering. There are four such states mentioned: animal world, ghost world, world of the demonic Asuras, and the hell worlds. state of weal: a happy state of existence, i.e. the various heavenly worlds. Many classes of heavenly existence are mentioned, varying in degree of refinement of physical condition and happiness. But beings of such worlds are also subject to birth, decay, and death (except the Suddhavasa whose denizens attain liberation and are freed from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth in that state itself).

dhamma: a word rich in many different meanings. Here the Buddha's teaching and the way of living that is consonant with it.

6 the Deathless: Nibbana. awareness: constantly occurring mindfulness, the supreme method commended by the Buddha for liberation from the ills of mind which are the root cause of suffering. noble ones: those who are on the path of liberation; who have attained anyone of its four stages: Stream Winner, Once-Returner, Non-Returner, and Arahant, Which last includes the Buddhas.

Explanatory Notes 73

Nibbiina: (Skt. NirviilJa), the final goal of the Buddhist religious quest. It is psychologically represented as the extinction of greed, hate, and delusion, supreme happiness, etc., and metaphysically as Immortal, Undecaying, Unmade, Unconditioned, etc.

7 Maghavan: appellative of Sakka, chief God of two heavenly worlds, represented as an ardent admirer and supporter of the Buddha and his dispensation. The reference here is to an incident in which he got the better of his adversaries, the Asuras, by refraining from taking liquor and thus maintaining an aware, unintoxicated mind. His more frequent appellative, Inda, shows that he is the Buddhist form of the volatile and voluptuous Vedic Indra, god of lavishness and war and bringer of storms and rain. bhikkhu: literally one who begs (for alms), that is, a mendicant monk. At the time of the Buddha, it was customary for members of religious orders to live on alms provided by the lay society, who regarded it as a duty to support the religious. fetter: a mental state that binds beings to the wheel of birth, death, and rebirth. Ten such fetters are mentioned: (I) belief in a perman­ ent personality, (2) sceptical doubt, (3) attachment to rules and rit­ uals, (4) sensual craving, (5) ill will, (6) craving for birth in fine material heavens, (7) craving for supra-material heavens, (8) con­ ceit, (9) restlessness and (10) psychological ignorance or delusion.

8 The wholesome and the detrimental: ten kinds of good deeds and ten kinds of bad are mentioned. The ten detrimental or unwholesome deeds are (a) physical: (I) killing, (2) stealing, (3) sensual miscon­ duct; (b) verbal: (4) lying, (5) slander, (6) harsh speech, (7) frivolous speech; and (c) mental: (8) covetousness, (9) malevolence, and (10) wrong views. Abstaining from these physical, verbal, and mental un­ wholesome activities constitutes the ten good or wholesome deeds.

10 Yama: see note to p. 43. learner: one who is undergoing the threefold training, namely in the higher ethical life, the higher mental concentration, and the higher insight. The first three Noble Ones are learners; the fourth has 'tran­ scended the learning process' (see note to p. 6). King ofDeath: see note to p. 4). End-Maker: see note to p. 4).

12 Fully Awakened One: the Buddha, because he has awakened to the realities of all existence. (The word Buddha itself means the Awakened.)

13 sa'llsiira: in almost all Indian religious traditions there is the belief in a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, exit or transcendence from which is liberation, the final aim of the religious quest. The cycle is called sa'llsiira.

75 Explanatory Notes Explanatory Notes

~~"DOtacknowledgethe existence of an 18 gone the distance: fulfilled the religious life. in~'~rit'Uat~orself/soul in or behind consciousness Fever: mental suffering.

(the mind in its most inclusive sense). This teaching of no-self or abode: metaphorical for attachment. anatta is a specific characteristic of the Buddhist teaching. hoarding: accumulation of things that make for creature comforts self in this context the word is used in the general sense of mind or and the psychological accumulation ofbiases, etc. mental condition. The fact that the word selfis used in this sense and

in the other sense mentioned in the above note is not to be taken as a food: the Buddha frequently advised people not to over-indulge in, contradiction. nor be attached to, food.

pasture: the metaphor is probably to indicate that there is a certain (Skt. karma). Deeds intentionally done affect the consciousness, deed . .. of bitter fruit: the reference is to the teaching of kamma

'space' in which they are happy. condition the mind, and thereby, and in other ways, bring about freedom . .. empty, that has no sign: Nibbiina is 'empty'. of greed, their own result or 'fruit'. hate, and ignorance; these three are also not its signs (see note

14 matured: kamrna may bring about its 'fruit' either immediately or to p. 6). after a lapse of (short or long) time. It brings its 'fruit' when i1ifluxes: same as intoxicants (see note to p. 17). 'matured'. sustenance: see note to p. 18 regarding food. eat food with a kusa grass blade: that is, in minute quantity as an act self-estimation: the Plili word is mana which literally means 'measur­ of austere asceticism. (The kusa was one of the sacred grasses used ing'. It is usually translated as conceit. Ohe can have a high or low in Indian ritual observances; it has a conspicuously narrow blade.) estimation or an estimation of equality: mana includes all of them. The idea is that such asceticism is nothing when compared with the

19 no faith: the Commentary explains that where there is realization,understanding of dhamma and the attendant insight. the matter of faith is put aside. Normally, however, faith is regarded

those who have gone forth: the monks who have renounced lay life as the seed that grows into fully-fledged religious living. . and gone forth to live the life of a religious without any fixed abode.

ungrateful: the original Pali word if analysed as a-katannu meansIt was much later in time that monks began to live uninterruptedly in 'ungrateful'; analysed as akatarrz-nu, it will mean 'who knows the permanent monasteries. uncreated', that is, Nibbana.

15 disengagement: freedom from attachment. burglar: the Piili word literally means 'breaker of joints'. A joint

I7 'let go': the same idea as in 'disengagement'. may be where two walls meet: a burglar will break into a house here. A son: in India only the male offspring were qualified to perform It can also mean that which joins one to the wheel of existence and religious rites for the benefit of departed parents and ancestors. sorrow. To break this is to be fully liberated. Obtaining a son was therefore exceptionally treasured. opportunities; for continuing in the whirl ofbirth, death, and rebirth. reach the shore beyond: transcend sarrzslira, attain liberation (see note ejected wish: when what has to be done is done, there is no need for to p. i3 above). entertaining future wishes or hopes. shadowy dhamma: a way of life entailing physical, verbal, and mental Who ... supreme: this stanza purposely uses words that would nor­ misconduct. mally be unexpected and even disturbing. It seems to have been who has nothing: who has no obstacles to the religious life in the form meapt to prod the listener/reader to look for the not-so-obvious of physical or psychological encumbrances/attachments. deeper meanings, which describe the liberated person. factors of enlightenment: they are seven: mindfulness, investigation Arahants: persons who have become 'worthy' (the literal meaning) of dhamrna, energy, rapture, tranquillity, concentration or integra­ by attaining liberation. As the first liberated, the Buddha is also an tion ofmind, and equanimity. Arahant, but the word is commonly used to designate his disciples intoxicants: mental taints or biases brought about by sensual desire, who were liberated by his Dhamrna. In this context, both are meant. desire for becoming or continued existence, and desire resulting from See also 'noble ones' at note to p. 6. unawareness or psychological ignorance. A fourth that is often 20 gandhabba: (Skt. gandharva) a class of semi-divine beings mentioned mentioned is the intoxication of views. in Indian mythology.

'·'''''"''.~'''?i·:·::-::~F;'';· ,-,,-.. . I

1

11I

Exp/al'latory NQtes

>

{~i~~_)Brabmas stand at the top. l~t~'f&tm!'divme being whom the Brahmins

of the Buddha's time regarded as the Creator or Emanator of the

worlds. sacrifice: refers to the ritualistic offerings the Vedic Brahmins used to make to the gods.

21 tend a fire: refers to the fire worship of the Brahmins. Not only did they offer sacrifices to gods in the fire, but also it was expected that a Brahmin would keep a special sacrificial hearth lit in his home

perpetually. merit: the religious credit that would translate into future happiness or birth in a desirable status of life in the future. virtue: moral conduct or ethical living (sUa). insight: penetrative wisdom (panni£) that brings liberation. The three, sila, samiidhi, andpannii, referred to in vv. 110 and III constitute the three aspects of the path ofliberation. 'the rise and demise': it is a cardinal feature of Buddhist teaching that whatever comes into being by the causal process inevitably dis­ integrates. This is a fact of life which one must necessarily

understand. immortal state: Nibbana. See note to p. 6.

23 the detrimental: what is morally unwholesome. See note to p. 8.

matured: see note to p. 14· 24 rich merchant with small caravan: references to trading caravans

abound in Buddhist literature. Merchants used to carry goods in fleets of carts, often across deserts and forests. Because such trips were fraught with hazards, especially with a small caravan, a mer­ chant would try to take the safest route. If on the other hand . .. not doing it: this is a rather strange verse. According to the Commentary 'one not doing it' should mean one who does something without a bad intention. The bad intention is like the wound in the hand. That spot in the world . .. overwhelm one: these two verses are also unusual, not fully consonant with the classical Theraviida teaching about kamma. According to that teaching one is not inevitably bound by past kamma. A person who realizes the harm that may come from bad deeds can do much to mollify the effects of kamma.

26 wandering about naked: refers to ascetics who eschewed clothing in hope of discarding yet another worldly possession. , matted hair: some followers of austere asceticism would not wash, cut, or otherwise neaten their hair. The hair would just grow into tangled knots.

Explanatory Notes 77

briihma1Ja: Skt.IPiili form of Brahmin. In the caste hierarchy of Hindus, Brahmins stood at the top and were the only persons entitled to officiate in religious ceremonies. But one had to be born a Brahmin, there was no way to become one. The Buddha discarded these traditional notions and often used the word in an idealistic sense to mean the truly religious person.

27 amenable ones: the Commentary explains this as 'amenable to advice and instruction'.

28 beautified image: reference is to the body which we try to make attractive in various ways. gourds Discarded in autumn: reference seems to be to some variety of summer gourds that grew in such abundance that many were left unused and wasted away exposed to the elements in autumn. city: reference is to the body, as an assemblage of parts.

29 I ran through stJ111s4ra . . . has it come: these verses are traditionally regarded as ecstatic statements made by the Buddha after he attained Enlightenment. . saf7'lkhiiras: according to the Buddhist teaching the psycho-physical personality is made up oftive aggregates: (I) physical form, (2) feel­ ings, (3) perceptions, (4) dynamic and usually unconscious activities of the psyche, and (5) consciousness in a wide inclusive sense. StJ111khiiras are the fourth aggregate.

30 watches: the night was divided into three equal parts called the watches. miiluvii creeper: the simile of the miiluvii creeper spreading over a tree and bringing about its destruction is found at several places in the Buddhist Canon.

31 detrimental view: in the Noble Eightfold Path, the first is 'right view', or 'proper view', that is, the views commended in the teaching. Not to have such views is to be deficient in wisdom. Like the fruits ofa reed: the Commentary says that banana, bamboo, and reed are plants of which the appearance of fruit signals the end of their life cycle.

32 world-augmenter: according to the Commentary 'world' here signi­ fies saf7'lsiira. See note to p. 13.

33 psychic power: in most Indian religious systems reference is made to extra-sensory powers like the ability to read others' thoughts, see and hear what takes place in distant places, see events of future and past time, move through space, etc. as being obtained by feats of meditation and mental development. dhamma: means 'characteristic quality', of truthfulness in this context.

II

II

II

III

J~JVotes

"i_~'Of'foutattainments on the path to liber­ "cf~~tthefirst three of the ten fetters are

destroyed. (See notes to pp. 6 and 7.) 34 piitimokkha: summary of rules of the monastic discipline. All fully

ordained monks and nuns were to recite this summary in assembly twice a month on the full moon and new moon days.

35 Sangha: the community of ordained monks and nuns. The term is also used to designate the totality of disciples who have attained any one of the four attainments of the Path (see notes to pp. 6, 7, and 33). In the latter case, a member of the Sangha need not neces­ sarily be an ordained person. The Buddha, Dhamma, and the Sangha constitute the 'three jewels' and the 'three refuges' of Buddhists. Four Noble Truths: (I) the fact that there is inevitable suffering in life, (2) that suffering is the result of causes (which the Buddha has pointed out), (3) that it is possible to go beyond suffering and (4) that there is a path going beyond SUffering-these are called the Four Noble Truths. The whole Buddhist teaching is based upon the recognition of these truths. The Noble Eightfold Path: the religious life recommended is called the Noble Eightfold Path. It consists of the following: right or proper view, thought, speech, activities, livelihood, effort, mindful­ ness, and concentration. Following this path, one is enabled to put an end to suffering. The Eightfold Path constitutes the fourth of the Four Noble Truths. See also v. 273·

36 preoccupying tendencies: preoccupying tendencies or fantasies are the result ot the mind being caught up in the various moulds of attachment, traditionally given as craving, addiction to views~ and egoistic measurement or self-estimation. When they are operating, the mind is not fully awake to immediate reality.

37 Radiant Devas: divine beings of a heavenly world whose denizens 'feed on joy and live out their days solely in joy' and from whose bodies 'radiance issues like streaks of lightning from layers of cloud'. khandhas: the five aggregates (see, on saf7lkhiiras, note to p. 29)·

40 Undefined: Nibbiina. So called because it is not possible to describe it with any attributes. See note to p. 6.

41 name and form: this term stands for the totality of physical (form) and mental (name) factors that make up the personality, that is, the five aggregates. Unshakeable Abode: another term for Nibbiina.

Atula: the Commentary says this is the name of the person to whom

Explanatory Notes 79 III this verse was addressed. The reader must remember that the Dhammapada consists of verses taken from here and there from the known canonical texts, as well as from other compatible sources. 'I

43 Yama's men: in the Vedas, Yama is the king of the world of the dead. In the Buddhist texts he is represented in the same role. The appear­ ance of Yama's men is an indication that Death is beckoning. I

45 preoccupying tendencies: see note to p. 36. 46 Elder: a senior member of the Buddhist monastic order is called a

thera. The word means an elder. This was how the orthodox doctrine prevalent in Kampuchea, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand I came to be called Theraviida, 'teaching of the Elders'.

47 shaven head: members of the Buddhist Sangha were required to shave their heads. gross dhamma: there is probably a corruption of the text here. John 'II'I Brough, in The Giindhiirf Dharmapada (London: Oxford University Press, 1962), 192, surmised that the text must originally have had a reading that gave the sense' "a dharma no better than that of living

III

in a house", i.e., a dharma concerned simply with obtaining enough food to live on'-therefore very different from the way of life recommended to Buddhist monks. Recently, K. R. Norman, in The II Word of the Doctrine (Dhammapada) (Oxford: published by the Pali Text Society, 1997), 125-6, has shown that this is very plausible and III suggested that 'the verse is a reference to brahmanical teaching about the householder, and to its incompatibility with being a bhikkhu in the Buddhist sense of the word'.

48 extinction of intoxicants: see note to p. 17. 'Intoxicants' are extin­ guished when one becomes an Arahant. III

49 paths ... eightfold: see note to p. 35. four statements: the statements that designate the Four Noble I

Truths. endowed with eyes: the Buddha, who has the Dhamma-eye of insight wisdom. extrication ofthe arrows: in his wisdom, the Buddha has proclaimed the Path which draws out the arrows of greed, hate, and psycho­ logical ignorance. Tathiigatas: literally, tathiigata means 'one who has gone thus'. Often it is translated as 'wayfarer'. The term refers to the Buddhas. Another similar epithet is sugata, 'the one who has gone or travelled well', as at v. 285. sOf7lkhiiras are transient: saf7lkhiiras in this context means all phe­ nomena that have causally come into being, which are all evanescent and liable to disintegrate. This is the first of the three characteristic signs of conditioned phenomena.

Explanatory Notes 818p &plaMtoryNQtes

the tiger's domain, asfifth: according to the Commentary reference is omeiia"'iSthat they are unsatisfactory in the final 'I'tl~).~>eharacteristicsign of con­

to a domain that is both a source of fear and difficult to traverse; a metaphorical representation of the five hindrances--desire foranalysis. sensuality, ill will, sloth and torpor, agitation and remorse, anddhammas are without self. this is the third of the three characteristic (sceptical) doubt-because they deflect virtuous qualities. signs. But it is not as wide-embracing as the first two. It is restricted

to 'dhammas', that is, all aspects of consciousness. (See note to p. Well awake:' going to sleep with mindfulness and rising up with 3.) There is no unchanging self or soul in or behind the phenom­ mindfulness. ena of consciousness. Gotama: (Skt. Gautama). The family name of Prince Siddhattha

50 Cut down . .. forests: this verse is somewhat similar to v. 97, though (Skt. Siddhartha) who came to be known as the Buddha after not as cryptic. Here forest and underbrush is metaphorical for mental Enlightenment. defilements, large and small, as the Commentary explains. 53 be not a traveller: travel here is a metaphor for leading the ordinary the rains: the rainy season, the four lunar months between roughly worldly life. mid-August and the beginning of December. During this period of

snowy mountain: the Himalayas (from hima: snow).monsoon rains, the monks, who originally rarely stayed for long periods at one place, were required to spend time in a suitable chosen 54 delighted in the forest: the meditator would find delight in the seclu­ locality. sion of the forest and not the crowded life which is not helpful for

52 mindfulness with regard to body: meditation or awareness of bodily contemplative pursuits. processes, one of the four mindfulness meditations. The other three 55 eat a country's alms food: in the early period of the Buddhist monas­ are mindfulness of feelings, of mind, and of mental objects. These tic order, there was no cooking done at the monasteries. Monks four meditations are described as the only way that leads to the subsisted on alms given by lay people. See notes to pp. 7 and 35. attainment of purity, the ending of pain and grief, and the realiz­ kusa grass: see note to p. 14. ation of Nibbana.

'higher life': religious life led for the sake of realizing Nibbana. mother and father: craving and conceit, according to the Commentary. 56 wrong views: right or proper view, the first step of the Noble Eight­

fold Path, means the understanding of the Four Noble Truths. Any two khattiya kings: according to the Commentary, the two major view not consonant with this would be a wrong view.metaphysical concepts challenged by Buddhism are meant. They are

(I) the notion of eternal self and eternal matter and (2) the notion 57 .horses of Sindh: horses of Sindh (the region watered by the river that death is the end of everything. (The khattiyas were the ruling Sindhu or Indus) were reputed for high trainability and general caste; only a khattiya was usually considered qualified to become excellence. king.) The metaphor of the king is employed because of the central­ Dhanapalaka: the Commentary mentions the story of an elephant ity of these two concepts in the spectrum of philosophical views that Dhanapalaka who was caught for service of the king of Kasi. The were current during the time of the Buddha. trainers, trying to domesticate it, gave it a richly appointed stable kingdom: the Commentary explains this as standing for the twelve and excellent food. But it would have none of all this and thought 'bases' on which mental activity and consciousness depend. They are only of its forest home and its mother who was in grief at being eye and visual objects, ear and objects of hearing, nose and olfac­ 1.1 separated from her son. tory objects, tongue and objects of taste, body and objects that can

enters the womb again and again: is subject to birth in saT!lsara againbe felt by touch, and mind and mental objects. and again. subordinate: the commentarial explanation is that this stands for

58 elephant in the Matanga forest: the Commentary relates the story of .craving which depends upon the above twelve factors just as a king's Parileyyaka, an elephant who tired of life in the herd and wandered subordinate depends upon the king. alone and ministered to the Buddha, who was himself dissatisfied learned kings: kings of Brahmin descent. (The Pali word translated with the indiscipline of some monks and was staying alone in the as 'learned' is sotthiya, which means a learned Brahmin.) This again same forest. .

stands for the two extreme views of eternalism and annihilationism, so the Commentary says. 59 maluva creeper: see note to p. 30.

Explanatory Notes

1;".'''':':i~'''gR).J.uriant1y during the rainy ~0>~<l:'~;:k:;::'; ;~,\~/ (:,'" 'J.~'

usfra: the fragrant root of the bfralJa grass. latent craving: the ordinary individual's mind is beset with hidden proclivities or latent tendencies (anusaya) of sensuous greed, aggressiveness, sceptical doubt, conceit, and craving for continued existence. Freedom from suffering is possible only when they are completely eliminated. thirty-six streams: the Commentary explains this as the three dimen­ sions of craving (for sensuality, for continued existence, and for cessation of existence) flowing from the twelve 'bases'. See note to p. 52. Streams: of craving mentioned in the previous verse, v. 339· creeper: metaphorical for craving that has arisen.

60 underbrush ... forest: see note to p. so. 61 meditation on the unpleasant: contemplation of the body's impurity.

knives ofexistence: this may also be translated as 'arrows of becom­ ing', that is, desires for continuity. Compare note to p. 49·

64 cut away the .five, relinquish the .five: reference to the ten fetters. See note to p. 7· cultivate the .five: the five 'faculties' of faith, enterprise, mindfulness, concentration, and insight-wisdom. Do not swallow a metal ball, being heedless: being heedless ofmedita­ tive awareness is like swallowing a metal ball heated in hell. empty house: places of solitude are commended for meditation. Among them are empty houses, the foot of a tree, and cemeteries. rise and demise of the khandhas: reference to the teaching that what­ ever comes into being by the causal process is liable to disintegrate. On khandhas, see notes to pp. 37 and 29·

65 plitimokkha: see note to p. 34· a merchant, a noble steed: the Commentary explains: just as one who expects to get a profit from a good horse controls it and attends on it, bathing and feeding it three times a day.

66 cut off the stream: the stream of craving, according to the Commentary. Unmade: Nibbiina. two dhammas: the two kinds of meditation recommended in Bud­ dhist teachings, tranquillity meditation and insight meditation, also called samiidhi and pannli. The first aims at reaching one­ pointedness and non-distraction of the mind, leading to the medita­ tive states called the absorptions. The other aims at 'penetrative

Explanatory Notes 83

understanding by direct meditative experience, of the imperman­ ency, unsatisfactoriness and impersonality of all phenomena' (Nyanatiloka, Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines (Colombo: Frewin & Co., Ltd., 3rd revised and enlarged edition, 1972), S.V. samatha-vipassanli). banished wrong . .. brlihmaf)a: the text here resorts to a kind of etymologizing which cannot be brought out in an English translation-'banished wrong' in Piili is bahita-plipa. Using the simi­ larity in sound of bah- and brlih-, it is assumed that the real meaning of the word brlihmalJa (a Brahmin) is one who has banished wrong. living in calm . .. samalJa: similar to the immediately preceding note, the Piili for 'living in calm' is samacariyli. This word then is assumed as conveying the true meaning of samaf)a (a monk), on the strength of the common element sama-.

67 A brlihmaf)a would not attack . .. sorrow calmed: there is great uncertainty about the authenticity of the text of these verses, as shown by John Brough in The Glindhlirf Dharmapada, edited with an introduction and commentary (London: Oxford University Press, 1962), 180--3. But the author of the extant Piili Commentary is not concerned with such problems. It is also quite likely that at his time, there was no awareness of any textual complexities in these verses. There was a received text and an accepted rendering and, as long as the rendering is consonant with the substance of Buddhist ethics, the commentators have no interest in raising questions about the text. matted hair. . . deerskin garment: traditional accoutrements of an ascetic. See also verse 141 and note to p. 26. wears rags from a dust heap: monks of early times were evidently not always materially well supported. For this reason, and also from a sense of self-chosen austerity, some of them wore robes stitched from cloth discarded by lay people. 'bho-sayer': bho is a term added to the name ofa person, indicative of the speaker's polite attitude toward that person. It was a custom that existed among Brahmins. In Buddhist texts, Brahmins as a rule address the Buddha'as 'bho Gotama'.

68 strap... thong ... Cord . .. bridle . .. bar: according to the Commentary, these terms stand for hate, greed, wrong views, latent biases, and psychological ignorance. water on a lotus petal . . . a mustard seed on the point of an awl: neither would get attached to its base. not gregarious With both householders and homeless ones: not 'con­ taminated' by intimacies with lay people or with other monks, according to the commentarial explanation.

Explanatory Notes

70 humtlll bond . .. heavenly bond~ g for human and divine pleasures. become cool: refers to the alleviatioll"of the fever of lusts and hate with the attainment of Nibbana. free from substrates: the Piill word for 'substrates' is upiidhi, which expresses a variety of meanings: possessions and acquisitions (internal/external) to Which one clings, as well as the process of clinging itself; constituents, experiences, and the causal ground of conditioned existence. gandhabbas: see note to p. 20.

71 bull: words for majestic animals were often used in Piili and Sanskrit in referring to great personages. The Commentary suggests the usage here is for indicating (inner) strength and imperturbability. bathed: washed away defilements, according to the Commentary. The Pilli term used here, nahataka, is the equivalent of Skt. sniitaka, a word which is used to refer to a Brahminwho has finished his formal Vedic education and taken the ceremonial bath. The Buddha speaks of the value of an internal bath or purification.