THE TEACHER

  THIS is the Dharmapada, the path of religion pursued by those who

are followers of the Buddha: Creatures from mind their character

derive; mind-marshaled are they, mind-made. Mind is the source

either of bliss or of corruption. By oneself evil is done; by

oneself one suffers; by oneself evil is left undone; by oneself one is

purified. Purity and impurity belong to oneself, no one can purify

another. You yourself must make an effort. The Tathagatas are only

preachers. The thoughtful who enter the way are freed from the bondage

of Mara. He who does not rouse himself when it is time to rise; who,

though young and strong, is full of sloth; whose will and thoughts are

weak; that lazy and idle man will never find the way to enlightenment.

  If a man hold himself dear, let him watch himself carefully; the

truth guards him who guards himself. If a man makes himself as he

teaches others to be, then, being himself subdued, he may subdue

others; one's own self is indeed difficult to subdue. If some men

conquer in battle a thousand times a thousand men, and if another

conquer himself, he is the greatest of conquerors. It is the habit

of fools, be they laymen or members of the clergy, to think, this is

done by me. May others be subject to me. In this or that transaction a

prominent part should be played by me." Fools do not care for the duty

to be performed or the aim to be reached, but think of themselves

alone. Everything is but a pedestal of their vanity.

  Bad deeds, and deeds hurtful to ourselves, are easy to do; what is

beneficial and good, that is very difficult. If anything is to be

done, let a man do it, let him attack it vigorously!

  Before long, alas! this body will lie on the earth, despised,

without understanding, like a useless log; yet our thoughts will

endure. They will be thought again, and will produce action. Good

thoughts will produce good actions, and bad thoughts will produce

bad actions.

  Earnestness is the path of immortality, thoughtlessness the path

of death. Those who are in earnest do not die; those who are

thoughtless are as if dead already. Those who imagine they find

truth in untruth, and see untruth in truth, will never arrive at

truth, but follow vain desires. They who know truth in truth, and

untruth in untruth, arrive at truth, and follow true desires. As

rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, passion will break

through an unreflecting mind. As rain does not break through a

well-thatched house, passion will not break through a

well-reflecting mind. lead the water wherever they like; fletchers

bend the arrow; carpenters bend a log of wood; wise people fashion

themselves; wise people falter not amidst blame and praise. Having

listened to the law, they become serene, like a deep, smooth, and

still lake.

  If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him as

the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the wagon. An evil

deed is better left undone, for a man will repent of it afterwards;

a good deed is better done, for having done it one will not repent. If

a man commits a wrong let him not do it again; let him not delight

in wrongdoing; pain is the outcome of evil. If a man does what is

good, let him do it again; let him delight in it; happiness is the

outcome of good.

  Let no man think lightly of evil, saying in his heart, It will not

come nigh unto me." As by the falling of waterdrops a water-pot is

filled, so the fool becomes full of evil, though he gather it little

by little. Let no man think lightly of good, saying in his heart, It

will not come nigh unto me." As by the falling of water-drops a

water-pot is filled, so the wise man becomes full of good, though he

gather it little by little.

  He who lives for pleasure only, his senses uncontrolled,

immoderate in his food, idle, and weak, him Mara, the tempter, will

certainly overthrow, as the wind throws down a weak tree. He who lives

without looking for pleasures, his senses well-controlled, moderate in

his food, faithful and strong, him Mara will certainly not

overthrow, any more than the wind throws down a rocky mountain.

  The fool who knows his foolishness, is wise at least so far. But a

fool who thinks himself wise, he is a fool indeed. To the evil-doer

wrong appears sweet as honey; he looks upon it as pleasant so long

as it bears no fruit; but when its fruit ripens, then he looks upon it

as wrong. And so the good man looks upon the goodness of the Dharma as

a burden and an evil so long as it bears no fruit; but when its

fruit ripens, then he sees its goodness.

  A hater may do great harm to a hater, or an enemy to an enemy; but a

wrongly-directed mind will do greater mischief unto itself. A

mother, a father, or any other relative will do much good; but a

well-directed mind will do greater service unto itself.

  He whose wickedness is very great brings himself down to that

state where his enemy wishes him to be. He himself is his greatest

enemy. Thus a creeper destroys the life of a tree on which it finds

support.

  Do not direct thy thought to what gives pleasure, that thou mayest

not cry out when burning, "This is pain." The wicked man burns by

his own deeds, as if burnt by fire. Pleasures destroy the foolish; the

foolish man by his thirst for pleasures destroys himself as if he were

his own enemy. The fields are damaged by hurricanes and weeds; mankind

is damaged by passion, by hatred, by vanity, and by lust. Let no man

ever take into consideration whether a thing is pleasant or

unpleasant. The love of pleasure begets grief and the dread of pain

causes fear; he who is free from the love of pleasure and the dread of

pain knows neither grief nor fear.

  He who gives himself to vanity, and does not give himself to

meditation, forgetting the real aim of life and grasping at

pleasure, will in time envy him who has exerted himself in meditation.

The fault of others is easily noticed, but that of oneself is

difficult to perceive. A man winnows his neighbor's faults like chaff,

but his own fault he hides, as a cheat hides the false die from the

gambler. If a man looks after the faults of others, and is always

inclined to take offense, his own passions will grow, and he is far

from the destruction of passions. Not about the perversities of

others, not about their sins of commission or omission, but about

his own misdeeds and negligences alone should a sage be worried.

Good people shine from afar, like the snowy mountains; bad people

are concealed, like arrows shot by night.

  If a man by causing pain to others, wishes to obtain pleasure for

himself, he, entangled in the bonds of selfishness, will never be free

from hatred. Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil

by good; let him overcome the greedy by liberality, the liar by truth!

For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time; hatred ceases by

not hatred, this is an old rule.

  Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked;

by these three steps thou wilt become divine. 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.

  Lead others, not by violence, but by righteousness and equity. He

who possesses virtue and intelligence, who is just, speaks the

truth, and does what is his own business, him the world will hold

dear. As the bee collects nectar and departs without injuring the

flower, or its color or scent, so let a sage dwell in the community.

  If a traveler does not meet with one who is his better, or his

equal, let him firmly keep to his solitary journey; there is no

companionship with fools. Long is the night to him who is awake;

long is a mile to him who is tired; long is life to the foolish who do

not know the true religion. Better than living a hundred years not

seeing the highest truth, is one day in the life of a man who sees the

highest truth.

  Some form their Dharma arbitrarily and fabricate it artificially;

they advance complex speculations and imagine that good results are

attainable only by the acceptance of their theories; yet the truth

is but one; there are not different truths in the world. Having

reflected on the various theories, we have gone into the yoke with him

who has shaken off all sin. But shall we be able to proceed together

with him?

  The best of ways is the eightfold path. This is the path. There is

no other that leads to the purifying of intelligence. Go on this path!

Everything else is the deceit of Mara, the tempter. If you go on

this path, you will make an end of pain! Says the Tathagata, The

path was preached by me, when I had understood the removal of the

thorn in the flesh.

  Not only by discipline and vows, not only by much learning, do I

earn the happiness of release which no worldling can know. Bhikkhu, be

not confident as long as thou hast not attained the extinction of

thirst. The extinction of evil desire is the highest religion.

  The gift of religion exceeds all gifts; the sweetness of religion

exceeds all sweetness; the delight in religion exceeds all delights;

the extinction of thirst overcomes all pain. Few are there among men

who cross the river and reach the goal. The great multitudes are

running up and down the shore; but there is no suffering for him who

has finished his journey.

  As the lily will grow full of sweet perfume and delight upon a

heap of rubbish, thus the disciple of the truly enlightened Buddha

shines forth by his wisdom among those who are like rubbish, among the

people that walk in darkness. Let us live happily then, not hating

those who hate us! Among men who hate us let us dwell free from

hatred!

  Let us live happily then, free from all ailments among the ailing!

Among men who are ailing let us dwell free from ailments! Let us

live happily, then, free from greed among the greedy! Among men who

are greedy let us dwell free from greed!

  The sun is bright by day, the moon shines by night, the warrior is

bright in his armor thinkers are bright in their meditation; but among

all, the brightest, with splendor day and night, is the Buddha, the

Awakened, the Holy, Blessed.