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158Learn what is right; then teach others, as the wise do.
159 Before trying to guide others, be your own guide first. It is hard to learn to guide oneself.
162 As a vine overpowers a tree, evil overpowers the evil-doer, trapping him in a situation only his enemies would wish him to be in. 163 Evil deeds, which harm oneself, are easy to do; good deeds are not so easy.
171 Come look at this world! Is it not like a painted royal chariot? The wise see through it, but not the immature.
172 When those who are foolish become wise, they give light to the world like the full moon breaking through the clouds. 173 When their good deeds overcome the bad, they give light to the world like the moon breaking free from behind the clouds.
177 Misers do not go to the world of the gods; they do not want to give. The wise are generous, and go to a happier world. 178 Better than ruling this world, better than attaining the realm of the gods, better than being lord of all the worlds, is one step taken on the path to nirvana.
First is nirmanakaya, that human form the Buddha-principle took on to answer the needs of a suffering world. The Gospel of John says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” The same principle is described in the Bhagavad Gita (4:7–8), where Lord Krishna says, “Whenever dharma declines and the purpose of life is forgotten, I manifest myself. I am born in age after age to protect the good, to destroy evil, and to reestablish dharma.”
For his devotees, for example, the Buddha is still with us in his second form: the sambhogakaya, literally the “body of intense joy,” a glorified manifestation of the Buddha’s immense spiritual power and splendor which, like St. Teresa’s visions of her Jesus, can be experientially revealed to those who earnestly practice his teachings.
Third and most abstract of the Buddha’s forms is the dharmakaya, the “body of dharma.” This is the cosmic aspect of the Buddha-principle, one with the Absolute, the unconditioned ground of every living creature. The Buddha may have shed his physical body, but the dharmakaya, the force he drew upon to set the wheel of dharma in motion, continues to operate. Never born, it can never die. Mahatma Gandhi said once that we can talk about a supreme reality either as the Lawgiver (dharmakarta) or as the Law (dharma). Similarly, the Buddha can be looked upon as embodied in the dharma that he taught:
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183 Avoid all evil, cultivate the good, purify your mind: this sums up the teaching of the Buddhas.
190 Take refuge in the Buddha, the dharma, and the sangha and you will grasp the Four Noble Truths: 191 suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, and the Noble Eightfold Path that takes you beyond suffering. 192 That is your best refuge, your only refuge. When you reach it, all sorrow falls away.
197 Let us live in joy, never hating those who hate us. Let us live in freedom, without hatred even among those who hate. 198 Let us live in joy, never falling sick like those who are sick. Let us live in freedom, without disease even among those who are ill. 199 Let us live in joy, never attached among those who are selfishly attached. Let us live in freedom even among those who are bound by selfish attachments. 200 Let us live in joy, never hoarding things among those who hoard. Let us live in growing joy like the bright gods.
207 Keeping company with the immature is like going on a long journey with an enemy. The company of the wise is joyful, like reunion with one’s family. 208 Therefore, live among the wise, who are understanding, patient, responsible, and noble. Keep their company as the moon moves among the stars.
In a Zen story, two monks approaching a river see a young woman who has no means of getting across. One of the monks carries her over and gently puts her down on the other side. On the way to the monastery, the other monk is so obsessed by what his friend has done that he can talk of nothing else. “A monk is not even supposed to touch a woman,” he keeps saying, “let alone carry her around in his arms. What have you done?” Finally his friend puts an end to it. “I left that woman on the bank,” he retorts. “You are still carrying her.” In Buddhism, it is the mental state created by experience
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In “Believing in Mind,” Seng-ts’an, the Third Patriarch of Zen, conveys the loss one suffers by getting caught up in life’s dualities: The Great Way knows no impediments; It does not pick and choose. When you abandon attachment and aversion You see it plainly; Make a thousandth of an inch distinction, Heaven and earth spring apart. If you want it to appear before your eyes, Cherish neither “for” nor “against.” To compare what you like with what you dislike, That is the disease of the mind. Then you pass over the hidden meaning; Peace of mind is needlessly troubled.
209 Don’t run after pleasure and neglect the practice of meditation. If you forget the goal of life and get caught in the pleasures of the world, you will come to envy those who put meditation first.
213 Selfish bonds cause grief; selfish bonds cause fear. Be unselfish, and you will be free from grief and fear.
218 If you long to know what is hard to know and can resist the temptations of the world, you will cross the river of life.
223 Conquer anger through gentleness, unkindness through kindness, greed through generosity, and falsehood by truth. 224Be truthful; do not yield to anger. Give freely, even if you have but little. The gods will bless you.
231 Use your body for doing good, not for harm. Train it to follow the dharma. 232 Use your tongue for doing good, not for harm. Train it to speak kindly. 233 Use your mind for doing good, not for harm. Train your mind in love. 234 The wise are disciplined in body, speech, and mind. They are well controlled indeed.
249 Some give out of faith, others out of friendship. Do not envy others for the gifts they receive, or you will have no peace of mind by day or night. 250 Those who have destroyed the roots of jealousy have peace of mind always.
252 It is easy to see the faults of others; we winnow them like chaff. It is hard to see our own; we hide them as a gambler hides a losing draw.
They are not following dharma who resort to violence to achieve their purpose. But those who lead others through nonviolent means, knowing right and wrong, may be called guardians of the dharma.
258 One is not wise because he talks a good deal. They are wise who are patient, and free from hate and fear.
260 Gray hair does not make an elder; one can grow old and still be immature. 261A true elder is truthful, virtuous, gentle, self-controlled, and pure in mind.
268–269 Observing silence cannot make a sage of one who is ignorant and immature. He is wise who, holding the scales, chooses the good and avoids the bad.
270 One is not noble who injures living creatures. They are noble who hurt no one.
The Buddhist Pali canon is several times as long as the Old and New Testaments combined, yet not even a fraction of this literature directly deals with the steps of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path. Instead there is much discussion of insights attained on that path, and the philosophical doctrines derived from those insights – so much, in fact, that the reader of Buddhist scriptures might tend to forget that the actual practice of the Eightfold Path was the Buddha’s central teaching.
276 All the effort must be made by you; Buddhas only show the way. Follow this path and practice meditation; go beyond the power of Mara.
277 All created things are transitory; those who realize this are freed from suffering. This is the path that leads to pure wisdom. 278 All created beings are involved in sorrow; those who realize this are freed from suffering. This is the path that leads to pure wisdom. 279 All states are without self; those who realize this are freed from suffering. This is the path that leads to pure wisdom.
290 If one who enjoys a lesser happiness beholds a greater one, let him leave aside the lesser to gain the greater.
303 Those who are good and pure in conduct are honored wherever they go. 304 The good shine like the Himalayas, whose peaks glisten above the rest of the world even when seen from a distance. Others pass unseen, like an arrow shot at night.
Perhaps the only fortunate thing about the Buddha’s concept of impermanence is that it extends to all states: hell, like heaven, is not lasting. A person remains there, suffering intensely, only until the unfavorable karma from past evil deeds is exhausted. Then that person is reborn again on earth, with a fresh opportunity to learn that actions which harm life contain the seeds of their own punishment. Hell in Buddhism really is educative, not vengeful, and it is not the sentence of a wrathful deity but the natural, unavoidable result of actions that violate dharma. Suffering drives home the
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For someone committed to the spiritual life, the pain of having committed a serious mistake can be so excruciating that it is hell here on earth; no reference to another world is necessary. As in the case of someone who commits adultery (309–310), suffering need not occur in the punishment of some afterlife; it creates its own hell in the minds of those involved.
306 One who says what is not true, one who denies what he has done, both choose the downward course. After death these two become partners in falsehood.
314 Refrain from evil deeds, which cause suffering later. Perform good deeds, which can cause no suffering. 315 Guard yourself well, both within and without, like a well-defended fort. Don’t waste a moment, for wasted moments send you on the downward course.
316 Those who are ashamed of deeds they should not be ashamed of, and not ashamed of deeds they should be ashamed of, follow false doctrines on the downward course.
318 Those who see wrong where there is none, and do not see wrong where there is, follow false doctrines on the downward course. 319 But those who see wrong where there is wrong, and see no wrong where there is none, follow true doctrines on the upward course.
325 Eating too much, sleeping too much, like an overfed hog, those too lazy to exert effort are born again and again.
328 If you find a friend who is good, wise, and loving, walk with him all the way and overcome all dangers. 329 If you cannot find a friend who is good, wise, and loving, walk alone, like a king who has renounced his kingdom or an elephant roaming at will in the forest. 330 It is better to be alone than to live with the immature. Be contented, and walk alone like an elephant roaming in the forest. Turn away from evil.
333 It is good to live in virtue, good to have faith, good to attain the highest wisdom, good to be pure in heart and mind. Joy will be yours always.
Any action undertaken for personal aggrandizement, any human activity or institution that promotes one person or group at the expense of any other, the Buddha would trace to the root cause of selfish desire.
However, if one succeeds in not giving in to selfish desires as they arise, the mind gradually quiets down, leaving a longer and longer interval between waves of desire in which the mind is calm. This calmness is our natural birthright, a state beyond the suffering entangled with desire. All the Buddha’s teachings come round to this one practical point: to find permanent joy, we have to learn how not to yield to selfish desire.
But trishna does not mean all desire; it means selfish desire, the conditioned craving for self-aggrandizement.
341 All human beings are subject to attachment and thirst for pleasure. Hankering after these, they are caught in the cycle of birth and death. 342 Driven by this thirst, they run about frightened like a hunted hare, suffering more and more. 343 Driven by this thirst, they run about frightened like a hunted hare. Overcome this thirst and be free.
352 They are supremely wise who are free from compulsive urges and attachments, and who understand what words really stand for. This body is their last.
353 I have conquered myself and live in purity. I know all. I have left everything behind, and live in freedom. Having taught myself, to whom shall I point as teacher?
In the Indian tradition, alive even today, when such a one as the Buddha arises, villagers happily set aside the best they have to put in his bowl, even if it means their families must do with less. Overzealous followers may have starved and wracked their bodies, just as monks and nuns have done in other religious traditions, but the Buddha himself advocated a long, healthy life in the service of all.
