The Dhammapada

by Anonymous

All beings fear before danger, life is dear to all. When a man considers this, he does not kill or cause to kill.

Never speak harsh words, for once spoken they may return to you. Angry words are painful and there may be blows for blows.

How can there be laughter, how can there be pleasure, when the whole world is burning?

Consider this body! A painted puppet with jointed limbs, sometimes suffering and covered with ulcers, full of imaginings, never permanent, for ever changing.

A house of bones is this body, bones covered with flesh and with blood. Pride and hypocrisy dwell in this house and also old age and death.

The glorious chariots of kings wear out, and the body wears out and grows old; but the virtue of the good never grows old, and thus they can teach the good to those who are good.

It is easy to do what is wrong, to do what is bad for oneself; but very difficult to do what is right, to do what is good for oneself.

If one were able never to see fools, then one could be for ever happy!

Be therefore not bound to pleasure for the loss of pleasure is pain.

Overcome anger by peacefulness: overcome evil by good. Overcome the mean by generosity; and the man who lies by truth.

There never was, there never will be, nor is there now, a man whom men always blame, or a man whom they always praise.

Watch for anger of the body: let the body be self-controlled. Hurt not with the body, but use your body well.

Watch for anger of words: let your words be self-controlled. Hurt not with words, but use your words well.

Watch for anger of the mind: let your mind be self-controlled. Hurt not with the mind, but use your mind well.

Yellow leaves hang on your tree of life. The messengers of death are waiting. You are going to travel far away. Have you any provision for the journey?

You are at the end of your life. You are going to meet Death. There is no resting-place on your way, and you have no provision for the journey.

Let a wise man remove impurities from himself even as a silversmith removes impurities from the silver: one after one, little by little, again and again.

There is no fire like lust, and no chains like those of hate. There is no net like illusion, and no rushing torrent like desire.

It is easy to see the faults of others, but difficult to see one's own faults. One shows the faults of others like chaff winnowed in the wind, but one conceals one's own faults as a cunning gambler conceals his dice.

A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise.

Neither father, sons nor one's relations can stop the King of Death.

It is painful to leave the world; it is painful to be in the world; and it is painful to be alone amongst the many.

Four things happen to the thoughtless man who takes another man's wife: he lowers himself, his pleasure is restless, he is blamed by others, he goes to hell.

Considering these four, let not a man go after another man's wife.

reborn to a life of death.

Find joy in watchfulness;

If on the journey of life a man can find a wise and intelligent friend who is good and self-controlled, let him go with that traveller; and in joy and recollection let them overcome the dangers of the journey.

It is sweet to have friends in need; and to share enjoyment is sweet.

It is sweet in this world to be a mother; and to be a father is sweet.

If a man watches not for NIRVANA, his cravings grow like a creeper and he jumps from death to death like a monkey in the forest from one tree without fruit to another.

Leave the past behind; leave the future behind; leave the present behind. Thou art then ready to go to the other shore. Never more shalt thou return to a life that ends in death.

Wealth destroys the fool who seeks not the Beyond. Because of greed for wealth the fool destroys himself as if he were his own enemy.

Let him not despise the offerings given to him, and let him not be jealous of others, because the monk who feels envy cannot achieve deep contemplation.

He who has not wisdom has not contemplation, and he who has not contemplation has not wisdom;

Let him live in love. Let his work be well done. Then in a fulness of joy he will see the end of sorrow.

380 For thy Self is the master of thyself, and thy Self is thy refuge.

Because he has put away evil, he is called a Brahmin; because he lives in peace, he is called a Samana; because he leaves all sins behind, he is called a Pabbajita, a pilgrim.

He who is free from the bondage of men and also from the bondage of the gods: who is free from all things in creation

whose heroism has conquered all the inner worlds