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Dhammapada
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  • XIX - The Judge
    • 268-269*:
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268-269*268:

Not by silence
does someone confused
    & unknowing
turn into a sage.
But whoever -- wise,
as if holding the scales,
    taking the excellent --
    rejects evil deeds:
he is a sage,
that's how he's a sage.
Whoever can weigh
both sides of the world:
    that's how he's called
    a sage.

 



268 -269: This verse contains the Buddhist refutation of the idea that "those who know don't speak, those who speak don't know." For another refutation of the same idea, see D.12. In Vedic times, a sage (muni) was a person who took a vow of silence (mona) and was supposed to gain special knowledge as a result. The Buddhists adopted the term muni, but redefined it to show how true knowledge was attained and how it expressed itself in the sage's actions. For a fuller portrait of the ideal Buddhist sage, see Sn.I.12 and A.III.123.





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