The Dhammapada · Traditional
235. Thou art now like a sear leaf, the messengers of death (Yama) have
come near to thee; thou standest at the door of thy departure, and thou
hast no provision for thy journey.
236. Make thyself an island, work hard, be wise! When thy impurities
are blown away, and thou art free from guilt, thou wilt enter into the
heavenly world of the elect (Ariya).
237. Thy life has come to an end, thou art come near to death (Yama),
there is no resting-place for thee on the road, and thou hast no
provision for thy journey.
238. Make thyself an island, work hard, be wise! When thy impurities are
blown away, and thou art free from guilt, thou wilt not enter again into
birth and decay.
239. Let a wise man blow off the impurities of his self, as a smith
blows off the impurities of silver one by one, little by little, and
from time to time.
240. As the impurity which springs from the iron, when it springs from
it, destroys it; thus do a transgressor's own works lead him to the evil
path.
241. The taint of prayers is non-repetition; the taint of houses,
non-repair; the taint of the body is sloth; the taint of a watchman,
thoughtlessness.
242. Bad conduct is the taint of woman, greediness the taint of a
benefactor; tainted are all evil ways in this world and in the next.
243. But there is a taint worse than all taints,--ignorance is
the greatest taint. O mendicants! throw off that taint, and become
taintless!
244. Life is easy to live for a man who is without shame, a crow hero, a
mischief-maker, an insulting, bold, and wretched fellow.
245. But life is hard to live for a modest man, who always looks for
what is pure, who is disinterested, quiet, spotless, and intelligent.
246. He who destroys life, who speaks untruth, who in this world takes
what is not given him, who goes to another man's wife;
247. And the man who gives himself to drinking intoxicating liquors, he,
even in this world, digs up his own root.
248. O man, know this, that the unrestrained are in a bad state; take
care that greediness and vice do not bring thee to grief for a long
time!
249. The world gives according to their faith or according to their
pleasure: if a man frets about the food and the drink given to others,
he will find no rest either by day or by night.
250. He in whom that feeling is destroyed, and taken out with the very
root, finds rest by day and by night.
251. There is no fire like passion, there is no shark like hatred, there
is no snare like folly, there is no torrent like greed.
252. The fault of others is easily perceived, but that of oneself is
difficult to perceive; a man winnows his neighbour's faults like chaff,
but his own fault he hides, as a cheat hides the bad die from the
gambler.
253. If a man looks after the faults of others, and is always inclined
to be offended, his own passions will grow, and he is far from the
destruction of passions.
254. There is no path through the air, a man is not a Samana by outward
acts. The world delights in vanity, the Tathagatas (the Buddhas) are
free from vanity.
255. There is no path through the air, a man is not a Samana by outward
acts. No creatures are eternal; but the awakened (Buddha) are never
shaken.
· · ·
End of part 18 of 26
Continue readingChapter XIX: The Just
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