Dhammapada

Experiences are preceded by mind,
led by mind, made by mind.
If with a clear and trusting mind
one speaks or acts,
happiness follows
like a shadow that never leaves.

“He abused me, he struck me,
he beat me, he robbed me”:
in those who bind themselves to such thoughts
hatred is not appeased.

“He abused me, he struck me,
he beat me, he robbed me”:
in those who do not bind themselves to such thoughts
hatred is appeased.

Others do not understand
that here we must hold ourselves in check;
but those who do understand it
thereby bring their quarrels to rest.

One who lives fixed on the attractive,
senses unguarded,
immoderate in eating,
lazy, weak in effort:
Māra overpowers him
as the wind a weak tree.note

One who lives contemplating the unattractive,
senses well guarded,
moderate in eating,
full of faith and effort:
Māra does not overpower him,
as the wind cannot a mountain of rock.note

One not free of stains
who puts on the ochre robe,
lacking self-control and truth,
is not worthy of that robe.note

But one who has cast out the stains,
well settled in virtue,
possessed of self-control and truth,
is truly worthy of that robe.

Taking the worthless for the essential,
and seeing the essential as worthless,
they do not reach the essential,
feeding in the pastures of wrong intention.

Knowing the essential as essential,
and the worthless as worthless,
they reach the essential,
feeding in the pastures of right intention.

As into a badly thatched house
the rain seeps through,
so into an undeveloped mind
passion seeps through.

As into a well-thatched house
the rain does not seep through,
so into a well-developed mind
passion does not seep through.

Here he grieves, hereafter he grieves;
the evildoer grieves in both worlds.
He grieves, he is afflicted,
seeing the defilement of his own deeds.

Here he rejoices, hereafter he rejoices;
one who has done good rejoices in both worlds.
He rejoices, he delights,
seeing the purity of his own deeds.

Here he is tormented, hereafter he is tormented;
the evildoer is tormented in both worlds.
“I have done evil”: he is tormented;
gone to a bad destination, he is tormented all the more.

Here he is glad, hereafter he is glad;
one who has done good is glad in both worlds.
“I have done good”: he is glad;
gone to a good destination, he is gladder still.

Though he recites much scripture,
if the heedless man does not act on it,
like a cowherd counting other people’s cows
he has no share in the ascetic life.

Though he recites little scripture,
if he lives the dhamma in line with the dhamma,
giving up passion, hatred and delusion,
rightly understanding, his mind well freed,
clinging to nothing here or hereafter,
he has a share in the ascetic life.

Heedfulness is the path to the deathless;
heedlessness, the path to death.
The heedful do not die;
the heedless are as if dead already.note

Knowing this distinctly,
the wise, established in heedfulness,
rejoice in heedfulness,
delighting in the range of the noble ones.

Meditative, persevering,
always firm in effort,
the steadfast touch nibbāna,
the supreme safety from bondage.

For one who is energetic and mindful,
pure in deeds, acting with consideration,
restrained, living by the dhamma,
heedful, renown grows.

By effort and heedfulness,
by restraint and self-control,
let the wise make an island
that no flood can overwhelm.

Fools, people of poor understanding,
give themselves over to heedlessness;
but the wise guard heedfulness
as their greatest treasure.

Do not give yourselves over to heedlessness,
nor to intimacy with sensual delight;
for the heedful one, meditating,
attains abundant happiness.

When the wise one drives out heedlessness
by heedfulness,
having climbed the tower of wisdom,
free of sorrow, looking on the sorrowing people,
as one on a mountain looks down on those on the plain,
the steadfast looks down on fools.

Heedful among the heedless,
wide awake among the sleeping,
like a swift horse passing a weak one,
the wise one leaves them behind and goes on.

By heedfulness Maghavā
rose to the lordship of the gods.
Heedfulness is praised;
heedlessness is always blamed.note

The monk who delights in heedfulness,
who sees danger in heedlessness,
burning every fetter, subtle or gross,
goes forward like a fire.note

The monk who delights in heedfulness,
who sees danger in heedlessness,
cannot fall away:
he is close to nibbāna.

The mind, quivering and unsteady,
hard to guard, hard to hold back—
the wise one makes it straight,
as a fletcher straightens an arrow.

Like a fish thrown on dry land,
pulled out of its watery home,
this mind thrashes about
to escape the realm of Māra.

Hard to hold down, flighty,
alighting wherever it pleases:
good it is to tame the mind;
a tamed mind brings happiness.

Very hard to see, very subtle,
alighting wherever it pleases:
the wise should guard the mind;
a guarded mind brings happiness.

Traveling far, wandering alone,
bodiless, lying hidden in a cave:
those who restrain the mind
will be freed from the bonds of Māra.

For one whose mind is unsteady,
who does not know the true dhamma,
whose confidence wavers,
wisdom does not grow full.

For one whose mind is not soaked with lust,
whose heart is not struck by ill will,
who has gone beyond both merit and evil,
for such a wakeful one there is no fear.

Knowing this body to be like a clay pot,
making this mind firm like a fortified city,
fight Māra with the weapon of wisdom;
guard what you have won, and do not settle down in it.

Before long, alas, this body
will lie upon the ground,
cast aside, without consciousness,
like a useless log.

Whatever harm an enemy may do to an enemy,
or one who hates to one he hates,
a wrongly directed mind
can do one greater harm.

Neither mother nor father can do as much,
nor any other relatives:
a rightly directed mind
can do one greater good.

Who will master this earth,
and this world of Yama with its gods?
Who will gather the well-taught words of the dhamma,
as a skilled one gathers flowers?note

One in training will master this earth,
and this world of Yama with its gods;
one in training will gather the well-taught words of the dhamma,
as a skilled one gathers flowers.note

Knowing this body to be like foam,
fully awakening to its mirage-like nature,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
go where the King of Death will not see you.note

The man who is only gathering flowers,
his mind attached—
as a great flood a sleeping village,
death sweeps him away.

The man who is only gathering flowers,
his mind attached,
still unsatisfied in sensual pleasures—
the Ender brings him under his power.

As a bee, without harming the flower,
its color or its scent,
flies off with the nectar,
so should the sage move through the village.note

Not the faults of others,
not what others have done or left undone,
but one’s own should one consider:
what one has done and left undone.

Like a lovely flower,
bright in color but without scent,
are well-spoken words:
they bear no fruit in one who does not act on them.

Like a lovely flower,
bright in color and fragrant,
are well-spoken words:
they bear fruit in one who acts on them.

As from a heap of flowers
one can make many garlands,
so one born mortal
should do many good deeds.

The scent of flowers does not go against the wind,
nor that of sandalwood, tagara or jasmine;
but the fragrance of the good goes against the wind:
a good person pervades every direction.note

Sandalwood or tagara,
blue lotus or summer jasmine:
among all these fragrances
the fragrance of virtue is supreme.

Slight is this fragrance
of tagara and sandalwood;
but the fragrance of the virtuous
rises highest, even among the gods.

Of those accomplished in virtue,
living in heedfulness,
freed by perfect understanding,
Māra cannot find the path.

As on a heap of rubbish
thrown down beside the highway
a lotus may grow,
sweet-smelling and lovely,

so among those who are like rubbish,
among blind ordinary people,
there shines out in wisdom
the disciple of the Fully Awakened One.

Long is the night for the wakeful,
long the league for the weary,
long the round of rebirth for fools
who do not know the true dhamma.note

If, as you travel, you do not find
one better than or equal to yourself,
go firmly on alone:
there is no companionship with a fool.

“I have sons, I have wealth”:
so the fool torments himself.
He does not even own himself:
how then sons, how then wealth?

The fool who knows his foolishness
is to that extent wise;
but the fool who thinks himself wise
is rightly called a fool.

Though all his life a fool
attends on a wise person,
he does not come to know the dhamma,
as a spoon does not know the taste of the soup.

Though only for a moment an intelligent person
attends on a wise one,
he quickly comes to know the dhamma,
as the tongue knows the taste of the soup.

Fools of little understanding
go about as their own enemies,
doing evil deeds
that bear bitter fruit.

That deed is not well done
which, once done, one regrets,
and whose result, weeping, with a tear-stained face,
one must undergo.

That deed is well done
which, once done, one does not regret,
and whose result, glad and happy,
one enjoys.

The fool thinks it honey
as long as the evil has not ripened;
but when the evil ripens,
then the fool comes to suffering.

Month after month, from the tip of a blade of kusa grass,
a fool may eat his food;
yet of those who have fully understood the dhamma
he is not worth a sixteenth part.note

An evil deed, once done,
does not turn at once, as fresh milk curdles;
smoldering, it follows the fool
like fire covered with ash.

Only to his harm
does knowledge come to the fool;
it destroys the fool’s good fortune
and splits his head apart.

He may wish for undeserved esteem,
for precedence among the monks,
for authority over the monasteries,
and honor among other families.

“Let both householders and monastics
think that this was done by me alone;
let them follow my will alone
in every matter, great or small”:
such is the fool’s thinking,
and his desire and pride increase.

One way leads to gain,
another to nibbāna;
understanding this,
the monk, the disciple of the Buddha,
should not delight in honors
but should cultivate seclusion.

Like one who points out hidden treasure,
if you see someone who points out your faults,
an intelligent person who speaks in reproof,
keep company with such a wise one;
for one who keeps such company
things go better, not worse.

Let him advise and instruct,
and hold you back from what is base:
he is dear to the good,
and not dear to the bad.

Do not keep company with bad friends,
do not keep company with the lowest of people;
keep company with good friends,
keep company with the best of people.

One who drinks in the dhamma lives happily,
with a clear and calm mind;
in the dhamma proclaimed by the noble ones
the wise one always delights.

Irrigators lead the water,
fletchers bend the arrow shaft,
carpenters bend the wood,
the wise tame themselves.

As a solid rock
is not shaken by the wind,
so the wise are not moved
by blame and praise.

As a deep lake
is clear and undisturbed,
so the wise, hearing the teachings,
become clear and calm.

The good let go of everything;
the peaceful do not prattle out of desire for pleasures.
Touched by happiness or by pain,
the wise show neither elation nor dejection.

Not for his own sake nor for another’s,
not wishing for a son, or wealth, or a kingdom,
not wishing for his own success by unjust means:
such a one is virtuous, wise and righteous.

Few among human beings
are those who reach the far shore;
the rest of the people
only run up and down this shore.

But those who, when the dhamma is well taught,
live in accordance with the dhamma,
will reach the far shore,
crossing the realm of death, so hard to cross.

Abandoning dark ways,
let the wise cultivate the bright,
going from home to homelessness,
to seclusion, where delight is hard to find.

There he should seek delight,
leaving sensual pleasures, owning nothing;
the wise one should cleanse himself
of the defilements of the mind.

Those whose minds, in the factors of awakening,
are rightly and well developed,
who in the giving up of grasping
delight, clinging to nothing,
their taints destroyed, radiant—
they in this world have reached nibbāna.note

For one who has finished the journey, free of sorrow,
freed in every way,
who has cast off every tie,
no fever is found.

The mindful exert themselves;
they do not delight in a settled home.
Like swans leaving a pond,
they leave home after home.

Those who store nothing up,
who fully understand their food,
whose range is the freedom
that is empty and signless—
like that of birds in the sky,
their course is hard to trace.

One whose taints are destroyed,
who is not dependent on food,
whose range is the freedom
that is empty and signless—
like that of birds in the sky,
his track is hard to trace.

One whose senses are calmed
like horses well tamed by the charioteer,
who has abandoned pride and is free of taints—
even the gods envy one who is so steady.

Like the earth, he shows no resentment;
like a gate-post, steady and true to his vows;
like a lake free of mud:
for one so steady there are no more rounds of rebirth.note

Calm is his mind,
calm his speech and action,
one freed by perfect understanding,
at peace and steady.

Not taking things on faith, knowing the uncreated,
one who has cut the links,
who has ended every opening and spewed out desire—
he is truly the highest of people.note

Whether in village or in forest,
in lowland or on high ground,
wherever arahants dwell,
that place is delightful.note

Delightful are the forests
where ordinary people find no delight;
those free of passion will delight there,
for they do not go seeking sensual pleasures.

Though there be a thousand words
made up of meaningless phrases,
better is a single meaningful word
which, once heard, brings peace.

Though there be a thousand verses
made up of meaningless phrases,
better is a single line of verse
which, once heard, brings peace.

Though one should recite a hundred verses
made up of meaningless phrases,
better is a single word of the dhamma
which, once heard, brings peace.

Self-conquest is better
than conquering all these other people.
Of the person who has tamed himself,
who always lives in restraint,

neither god nor gandhabba,
nor Māra together with Brahmā,
could turn the victory into defeat
of such a being.note

Month after month, with a thousand coins,
though one should sacrifice for a hundred years,
and another should honor one who has developed himself
even for a single moment,
that honor is better
than a hundred years of sacrifice.

Though a person for a hundred years
should tend the sacred fire in the forest,
and another should honor one who has developed himself
even for a single moment,
that honor is better
than a hundred years of sacrifice.

Whatever sacrifice or offering in the world
one seeking merit might make for a whole year,
all of it is not worth a quarter:
reverence toward the upright is better.

For one in the habit of showing respect,
always honoring elders,
four things increase:
long life, beauty, happiness and strength.

Though one should live a hundred years
without virtue, uncollected,
better is a single day’s life
of one virtuous and meditative.

Though one should live a hundred years
without wisdom, uncollected,
better is a single day’s life
of one wise and meditative.

Though one should live a hundred years
lazy and weak in effort,
better is a single day’s life
of one who firmly rouses effort.

Though one should live a hundred years
not seeing rise and fall,
better is a single day’s life
of one who sees rise and fall.

Though one should live a hundred years
not seeing the deathless state,
better is a single day’s life
of one who sees the deathless state.

Though one should live a hundred years
not seeing the supreme dhamma,
better is a single day’s life
of one who sees the supreme dhamma.

Hurry toward the good;
hold your mind back from evil.
When one is slow to do good,
the mind delights in evil.

If a person should do evil,
let him not do it again and again;
let him not set his heart on it:
painful is the piling up of evil.

If a person should do good,
let him do it again and again;
let him set his heart on it:
happy is the piling up of good.

Even the evildoer sees good fortune
as long as the evil has not ripened;
but when the evil ripens,
then the evildoer sees evil.

Even the good person sees misfortune
as long as the good has not ripened;
but when the good ripens,
then the good person sees good.

Do not think lightly of evil:
“It will not come to me.”
By the falling of drops
even a water jar is filled;
the fool fills himself with evil,
gathering it little by little.

Do not think lightly of good:
“It will not come to me.”
By the falling of drops
even a water jar is filled;
the steadfast one fills himself with good,
gathering it little by little.

As a merchant avoids a dangerous road
when his caravan is small and his wealth great,
as one who loves life avoids poison,
so should one avoid evil.

If there is no wound on the hand,
one may carry poison in it;
poison does not enter where there is no wound:
there is no evil for one who does no evil.

Whoever harms a harmless person,
one pure and without blemish,
the evil comes back on that very fool,
like fine dust thrown against the wind.

Some are reborn in a womb;
evildoers, in hell;
those of good conduct go to heaven;
those free of taints attain final nibbāna.

Not in the sky, not in the middle of the ocean,
not by entering a cleft in the mountains—
nowhere in the world is there a place
where one could stand and be free of one’s evil deeds.

Not in the sky, not in the middle of the ocean,
not by entering a cleft in the mountains—
nowhere in the world is there a place
where one could stand and death would not overpower one.

All tremble at the rod,
all fear death;
taking oneself as the measure,
one should not kill or cause others to kill.

All tremble at the rod,
life is dear to all;
taking oneself as the measure,
one should not kill or cause others to kill.

Beings long for happiness;
whoever harms them with the rod
while seeking his own happiness
will not find happiness after death.

Beings long for happiness;
whoever does not harm them with the rod
while seeking his own happiness
will find happiness after death.

Do not speak harshly to anyone;
those you speak to will answer back.
Angry talk is painful:
retaliation will strike you.

If you keep yourself silent
like a broken gong,
you have reached nibbāna:
no anger is found in you.

As a cowherd with his stick
drives the cows to pasture,
so old age and death
drive on the lives of living beings.

But when the fool does evil deeds,
he does not see what he is doing;
by his own deeds the dullard
is tormented as if burned by fire.

Whoever with the rod harms
the harmless and innocent
will quickly come to one
of these ten states:

severe pain, or loss,
or injury to the body,
or grave illness,
or loss of mind;

or trouble from the king,
or a terrible accusation,
or the loss of relatives,
or the ruin of wealth;

or else fire, the purifier,
burns down his houses;
and when the body breaks up, the fool
is reborn in hell.

Not going naked, not matted hair, not mud,
not fasting, nor lying on the bare ground,
not dust and dirt, nor striving while squatting on the heels,
can purify a mortal who has not overcome doubt.

Though finely dressed, if one lives evenly,
calm, tamed, restrained, leading the holy life,
having laid down the rod toward all beings—
that one is a brahmin, an ascetic, a monk.note

A person restrained by conscience—
is there anyone like that in the world,
who wards off reproach
as a good horse the whip?

Like a good horse touched by the whip,
be ardent and stirred to urgency.
By faith and virtue and energy,
by concentration and discernment of the dhamma,
accomplished in knowledge and conduct, mindful,
you will leave behind this suffering, which is not small.

Irrigators lead the water,
fletchers bend the arrow shaft,
carpenters bend the wood,
those of good conduct tame themselves.

Why this laughter, why this joy,
when the world is always burning?
Shrouded in darkness,
will you not look for a lamp?

See this painted puppet,
a body of sores, propped up,
sick, full of many plans,
in which there is nothing lasting or stable.

Worn out is this form,
a nest of disease, perishable;
this putrid mass breaks up,
for life ends in death.

These bones, cast away
like gourds in autumn,
gray as doves—
seeing them, what delight can there be?

A city made of bones,
plastered with flesh and blood,
in which are stored old age and death,
pride and contempt.

Even the splendid chariots of kings wear out,
and the body too comes to old age;
but the dhamma of the good does not age:
so the good make known to the good.

The man of little learning
ages like an ox:
his flesh grows,
but his wisdom does not grow.

House-builder, you are seen!
You will not build the house again.
All your rafters are broken,
the ridge-pole is shattered.
The mind has gone to the unconditioned;
it has reached the end of cravings.note

Not having lived the holy life,
not having won wealth in youth,
they waste away like old herons
at a lake without fish.

Not having lived the holy life,
not having won wealth in youth,
they lie like spent arrows shot from the bow,
sighing over the past.

If one holds oneself dear,
one should guard oneself well;
in one of the three watches
the wise one should keep vigil.note

One should first establish oneself
in what is proper,
and then instruct others:
so the wise will not be defiled.

If one would make oneself
as one instructs others,
well tamed, one could tame others:
for the self, it seems, is hard to tame.

One is one’s own protector:
what other protector could there be?
With oneself well tamed,
one gains a protector hard to find.

The evil done by oneself,
born of oneself, produced by oneself,
grinds down the dullard
as a diamond grinds a gem of stone.

One whose lack of virtue is extreme,
like a creeper spreading over a sal tree,
does to himself
just what an enemy would wish.

Easy to do are things that are bad
and harmful to oneself;
what is beneficial and good
is supremely hard to do.

Whoever scorns the teaching of the arahants,
the noble ones who live by the dhamma—
the dullard,
relying on an evil view—
like the fruit of the kaṭṭhaka reed
bears fruit for his own destruction.note

By oneself is evil done,
by oneself one is defiled;
by oneself is evil left undone,
by oneself one is purified.
Purity and impurity depend on oneself:
no one can purify another.

Let no one neglect his own good
for another’s, however great;
knowing well his own good,
let him be intent on the true good.

Do not follow what is low,
do not live in heedlessness,
do not follow wrong view,
do not be one who prolongs the world.

Rise up, do not be heedless;
live the dhamma of good conduct.
One who lives the dhamma sleeps at ease
in this world and the next.

Live the dhamma of good conduct;
do not live it badly.
One who lives the dhamma sleeps at ease
in this world and the next.

As one would look at a bubble,
as one would look at a mirage:
one who looks on the world this way
the King of Death does not see.

Come, look at this world,
decked out like a royal chariot,
in which fools sink down;
for those who understand, there is no attachment.

One who once was heedless
but afterwards is heedless no more
lights up this world
like the moon freed from a cloud.

One whose evil deeds
are covered over by good
lights up this world
like the moon freed from a cloud.

Blind is this world;
few here see clearly.
Like a bird freed from a net,
few go to heaven.

Swans travel on the path of the sun;
by supernormal power they travel through the air;
the steadfast are led out of the world,
having conquered Māra and his army.

For a person who has broken the one rule,
who speaks falsely,
who scoffs at the world beyond,
there is no evil he will not do.

The miserly do not go to the world of the gods;
fools do not praise giving;
but the steadfast rejoice in giving,
and so are happy in the world beyond.

Than sole rule over the earth,
than going to heaven,
than lordship over all the worlds,
the fruit of stream-entry is better.note

Whose victory cannot be undone,
whose victory no one in the world can approach—
that Buddha of boundless range,
the trackless one: by what track will you lead him?note

One in whom there is no ensnaring, clinging
craving to lead him anywhere at all—
that Buddha of boundless range,
the trackless one: by what track will you lead him?

The steadfast who are intent on meditation,
delighting in the peace of renunciation—
even the gods envy them,
fully awakened and mindful.

Hard is it to be born human,
hard is the life of mortals,
hard is it to hear the true dhamma,
hard is the arising of Buddhas.

Patient endurance is the highest austerity;
nibbāna is supreme, say the Buddhas.
One who harms another has not truly gone forth;
one who oppresses another is no ascetic.

Not insulting, not harming,
restraint according to the monastic code,
moderation in food,
a secluded bed and seat,
devotion to the higher mind:
this is the teaching of the Buddhas.note

Not even with a rain of coins
is there satisfaction in sensual pleasures;
“Sensual pleasures give little enjoyment and much pain”:
knowing this, the wise one

finds no delight
even in heavenly pleasures;
the disciple of the Fully Awakened One
delights in the ending of craving.

To many refuges they go,
to mountains and to forests,
to sacred groves, trees and shrines—
people driven by fear.

But that is not a safe refuge,
that is not the supreme refuge;
going to that refuge,
one is not freed from all suffering.

One who has gone for refuge
to the Buddha, the dhamma and the saṅgha
sees the four noble truths
with right wisdom:note

dukkha, the arising of dukkha,
the overcoming of dukkha,
and the noble eightfold path
that leads to the stilling of dukkha.note

This is a safe refuge,
this is the supreme refuge;
going to this refuge,
one is freed from all suffering.

Hard to find is the thoroughbred person;
he is not born just anywhere.
Wherever such a steadfast one is born,
that family prospers in happiness.

Happy is the arising of Buddhas,
happy the teaching of the true dhamma,
happy the harmony of the saṅgha,
happy the austerity of those in harmony.

One who honors those worthy of honor,
Buddhas or their disciples,
who have gone beyond all proliferation
and crossed over sorrow and lamentation—

one who honors such as these,
quenched, fearing nothing from any side—
his merit cannot be measured
by anyone as “just this much.”

Happily indeed we live,
without hatred among the hateful;
among hateful people
we dwell without hatred.

Happily indeed we live,
unafflicted among the afflicted;
among afflicted people
we dwell unafflicted.

Happily indeed we live,
without eagerness among the eager;
among eager people
we dwell without eagerness.

Happily indeed we live,
we who own nothing;
we shall feed on joy,
like the radiant gods.note

Victory breeds hatred;
the defeated one lies down in pain.
The peaceful one lies down at ease,
having given up victory and defeat.

There is no fire like passion,
no losing throw like hatred,
no pain like the aggregates,
no happiness higher than peace.note

Hunger is the worst illness,
conditioned things the worst pain;
knowing this as it really is:
nibbāna is the highest happiness.

Health is the greatest gain,
contentment the greatest wealth,
trust the best of kin,
nibbāna the highest happiness.

Having drunk the taste of solitude
and the taste of peace,
one becomes free of fear and free of evil,
drinking the taste of joy in the dhamma.

Good is the sight of the noble ones;
living with them is always happiness.
By not seeing fools
one would always be happy.

One who keeps company with fools
grieves for a long time;
living with fools is painful,
always, as with an enemy;
but living with the steadfast is happiness,
like a gathering of kin.

Therefore:
the steadfast, the wise, the learned,
the enduring, dutiful noble one—
such a good and intelligent person
one should follow, as the moon follows the path of the stars.

Applying himself to what he should not,
not applying himself to what he should,
abandoning the goal and grasping at the pleasant,
he envies those who apply themselves.

Do not be joined with the dear,
nor ever with the not-dear;
not seeing the dear is painful,
and so is seeing the not-dear.

Therefore do not hold anything dear,
for parting from the dear is hard;
no bonds exist for those
to whom nothing is dear or not dear.

From what is dear comes grief,
from what is dear comes fear;
for one freed from what is dear
there is no grief—how then fear?

From affection comes grief,
from affection comes fear;
for one freed from affection
there is no grief—how then fear?

From delight comes grief,
from delight comes fear;
for one freed from delight
there is no grief—how then fear?

From sensual desire comes grief,
from sensual desire comes fear;
for one freed from sensual desire
there is no grief—how then fear?

From craving comes grief,
from craving comes fear;
for one freed from craving
there is no grief—how then fear?

One accomplished in virtue and insight,
established in the dhamma, who speaks the truth,
who does his own work:
people hold such a one dear.

One in whom a longing for the ineffable has arisen,
whose mind is suffused with it,
whose mind is not bound to sensual pleasures,
is called “one bound upstream.”note

When a man long absent
comes home safely from far away,
relatives, friends and well-wishers
welcome him on his return.

In the same way, when one who has done good
goes from this world to the next,
his good deeds receive him,
as relatives welcome a dear one home.

Let go of anger, give up pride,
pass beyond every fetter;
on one who does not cling to name-and-form,
who owns nothing, no sufferings fall.note

One who holds back anger as it rises,
like a chariot running out of control—
him I call a charioteer;
other people only hold the reins.

Conquer anger by non-anger,
conquer the bad by good,
conquer the miser by giving,
conquer the liar by truth.

Speak the truth, do not give way to anger,
give when asked, even if you have little:
by these three things
one comes into the presence of the gods.

The sages who harm no one,
always restrained in body,
go to the unshakable state,
where, having gone, they grieve no more.

For those who are ever wakeful,
training day and night,
intent on nibbāna,
the taints come to an end.

This is an old saying, Atula,
not one of today:
they blame the one who sits silent,
they blame the one who talks a lot,
they blame even the one who speaks in moderation:
there is no one in the world who is not blamed.note

There never was, and never will be,
nor is there now,
a person wholly blamed
or wholly praised.

But one whom the discerning praise,
having observed him day after day—
flawless in conduct, intelligent,
endowed with wisdom and virtue—

like a coin of Jambu River gold:
who is fit to blame him?
Even the gods praise him;
he is praised even by Brahmā.note

Guard against unruliness of body;
be restrained in body;
giving up bad conduct of body,
practice good conduct of body.

Guard against unruliness of speech;
be restrained in speech;
giving up bad conduct of speech,
practice good conduct of speech.

Guard against unruliness of mind;
be restrained in mind;
giving up bad conduct of mind,
practice good conduct of mind.

The steadfast are restrained in body,
restrained also in speech;
the steadfast are restrained in mind:
they are truly well restrained.

You are now like a withered leaf;
the messengers of Yama stand near you.
You stand at the threshold of departure,
and you have no provisions for the journey.

Make an island for yourself;
strive quickly, be wise.
With impurities blown away, blameless,
you will reach the heavenly realm of the noble ones.

Your life has now come to its close;
you have set out for the presence of Yama.
There is no resting place for you on the way,
and you have no provisions for the journey.

Make an island for yourself;
strive quickly, be wise.
With impurities blown away, blameless,
you will not come again to birth and old age.

Gradually the wise one,
little by little, moment by moment,
as a smith with silver,
should blow away his own impurities.

As rust arising from iron
eats away the very iron it came from,
so the deeds of one who oversteps the bounds
lead him to a bad destination.

Not reciting is the stain of sacred verses;
neglect is the stain of houses;
laziness is the stain of beauty;
heedlessness, the stain of a guard.

Misconduct is the stain of a woman;
stinginess, the stain of a giver;
evil states are stains
in this world and the next.

But a stain worse than these:
ignorance is the greatest stain.
Abandon this stain,
and be stainless, monks.

Life is easy for the shameless,
bold as a crow, a backbiter,
pushy and brazen,
living a corrupt life.

But life is hard for one with conscience,
always seeking purity,
keen but unassuming,
pure in livelihood, clear-seeing.

Whoever takes life,
speaks falsely,
takes in the world what is not given,
goes to another’s wife,

or gives himself to
drinking liquor and wine—
right here in this world
he digs up his own root.

Know this, good friend:
those of evil nature are unrestrained.
Do not let greed and wrongdoing
keep you long in suffering.

People give according to their faith,
according to their trust;
whoever there is discontented
with the food and drink that others receive
does not attain, by day or by night,
concentration.

But one in whom this is cut off,
uprooted, destroyed at the root—
he, by day or by night,
attains concentration.

There is no fire like passion,
no grip like hatred,
no net like delusion,
no river like craving.

Easy to see are others’ faults,
but one’s own are hard to see.
One winnows others’ faults
like chaff,
but hides one’s own,
as a cheat hides a losing throw.

One who looks for others’ faults,
always finding fault—
his taints grow;
he is far from the end of the taints.

There is no track in the sky,
no true ascetic outside this teaching.
People delight in proliferation;
the Tathāgatas are free of it.note

There is no track in the sky,
no true ascetic outside this teaching;
no conditioned thing is eternal;
there is no wavering in the Buddhas.

One is not just
because one decides a case in haste;
the wise one should investigate both
what is right and what is wrong.

Leading others without violence,
lawfully and impartially,
the intelligent guardian of the law
is called “just.”

One is not wise
merely because one speaks much;
one who is secure, without hatred, without fear,
is called “wise.”

One is not a bearer of the dhamma
merely because one speaks much;
but one who, though he has heard little,
sees the dhamma directly, in his own person—
he is a bearer of the dhamma,
one who is not heedless of the dhamma.

One is not an elder
because one’s head is gray;
one’s years are ripe,
but one is called “grown old in vain.”note

One in whom there is truth and dhamma,
harmlessness, restraint and self-control,
the steadfast one who has spewed out impurity,
is called an “elder.”

Not by mere eloquence,
nor by a lovely complexion,
does a man become admirable
if he is envious, stingy and deceitful.

But one in whom this is cut off,
uprooted, destroyed at the root,
the intelligent one who has spewed out fault,
is called “admirable.”

Not by a shaven head is one an ascetic
if one is undisciplined and speaks falsely;
full of desire and greed,
how can one be an ascetic?

One who stills evils,
small and great, in every way,
because he has stilled evils
is called an “ascetic.”note

One is not a monk
merely because one begs from others;
by taking up a worldly way of life
one is not a monk.note

But one who here has set aside
merit and evil, living the holy life,
who goes through the world with understanding—
he is called a “monk.”

Not by silence is one a sage
if one is dull and ignorant;
but the wise one who, as if holding up scales,
takes what is best

and avoids what is evil—
he is a sage, and for that reason a sage;
one who weighs both worlds
is for that reason called a “sage.”note

One is not noble
who harms living beings;
by harmlessness toward all living beings
one is called “noble.”

Not merely by rules and observances,
nor by much learning,
nor by attaining concentration,
nor by a secluded bed,

nor by “I touch the happiness of renunciation
that ordinary people do not know,”
should a monk rest content,
until he has reached the end of the taints.

Of paths, the eightfold is the best;
of truths, the four statements;
of states, freedom from passion is the best;
of two-footed beings, the one with eyes.

This is the only path, there is no other,
for the purification of insight.
Follow this path:
it bewilders Māra.

Following it,
you will make an end of suffering.
I have taught you the path,
having understood how to pull out the dart.

“All conditioned things are dukkha”:
when one sees this with wisdom,
one grows weary of dukkha:
this is the path to purity.

“All things are not-self”:
when one sees this with wisdom,
one grows weary of dukkha:
this is the path to purity.note

One who does not rise when it is time to rise,
young and strong but given to sloth,
his thoughts sunk and weak, lazy—
the idle one does not find the path by wisdom.

Guarding speech, restrained in mind,
let one do nothing unwholesome by body;
let one purify these three ways of action
and win the path taught by the sages.

From meditation wisdom arises;
without meditation wisdom decays.
Knowing this twofold path
of growth and decline,
one should so establish oneself
that wisdom increases.

Cut down the forest, not just a tree;
from the forest comes fear.
Having cut down forest and undergrowth,
be free of the forest, monks.note

As long as the undergrowth of desire,
even the slightest, of a man for women is not cut down,
so long is his mind in bondage,
like a suckling calf to its mother.

Cut off your own affection
as one plucks an autumn lily by hand;
cultivate the very path of peace,
nibbāna, taught by the Well-Gone One.note

“Here I will spend the rains,
here the winter and the summer”:
so the fool thinks,
not seeing the danger.

The man intoxicated with his children and cattle,
his mind attached—
as a great flood a sleeping village,
death sweeps him away.

Sons are no shelter,
nor father, nor relatives;
for one seized by the Ender
there is no shelter among kin.

Knowing the force of this,
the wise one, restrained by virtue,
should quickly clear
the path that leads to nibbāna.

If by giving up a lesser happiness
one sees a greater happiness,
the steadfast one should give up the lesser happiness,
seeing the greater.

One who seeks his own happiness
by causing pain to others,
entangled in the bonds of hatred,
is not freed from hatred.

What should be done is neglected,
and what should not be done is done;
for the arrogant and the heedless
the taints increase.

But those who have well undertaken
mindfulness of the body, always,
do not pursue what should not be done,
and persist in what should be done;
for the mindful and clearly knowing
the taints come to an end.

Having killed mother and father
and two kings of the warrior class,
having killed a kingdom with its subjects,
the brahmin goes on untroubled.note

Having killed mother and father
and two learned kings,
having killed the tiger as the fifth,
the brahmin goes on untroubled.note

Well awake they always awaken,
the disciples of Gotama,
whose mindfulness day and night
is always set on the Buddha.note

Well awake they always awaken,
the disciples of Gotama,
whose mindfulness day and night
is always set on the dhamma.

Well awake they always awaken,
the disciples of Gotama,
whose mindfulness day and night
is always set on the saṅgha.

Well awake they always awaken,
the disciples of Gotama,
whose mindfulness day and night
is always set on the body.

Well awake they always awaken,
the disciples of Gotama,
whose minds day and night
delight in harmlessness.

Well awake they always awaken,
the disciples of Gotama,
whose minds day and night
delight in meditation.

Hard is going forth, hard to delight in it;
hard to live in is the household, and painful;
painful is living with those unlike oneself;
the traveler is beset by suffering.
So do not be a traveler,
do not be beset by suffering.note

One with faith, accomplished in virtue,
possessed of fame and wealth—
whatever region he goes to,
there he is honored.

The good shine from afar,
like the Himalayas;
the bad are not seen even here,
like arrows shot in the night.

Sitting alone, lying down alone,
walking alone, untiring,
alone taming oneself,
one should delight at the forest’s edge.

One who speaks untruth goes to hell,
and so does one who has done a thing and says, “I did not.”
Both become equal after death,
people of base deeds, in the world beyond.

Many with the ochre robe around their necks
are of evil nature and unrestrained;
evil ones, by their evil deeds,
are reborn in hell.

Better to swallow an iron ball,
red-hot, like a flame of fire,
than that one without virtue, unrestrained,
should eat the alms of the land.

Four things befall the heedless man
who consorts with another’s wife:
demerit gained, sleep that is not at ease,
blame third, and hell fourth.

Demerit gained, and a bad destination;
the brief pleasure of a frightened man with a frightened woman;
and the king imposes a heavy punishment:
therefore a man should not consort with another’s wife.

As kusa grass, wrongly grasped,
cuts the very hand,
so the ascetic life, wrongly handled,
drags one down to hell.

Any slack act,
any corrupted observance,
a holy life lived under suspicion,
bears no great fruit.

If a thing is to be done, do it;
push on with it firmly;
for a slack wanderer
only scatters more dust.

A bad deed is better left undone;
a bad deed torments one afterward.
A good deed is better done,
which, once done, one does not regret.

As a frontier city
is guarded inside and out,
so guard yourselves;
do not let the moment pass you by;
for those who let the moment pass grieve
when they are consigned to hell.

Ashamed of what is not shameful,
not ashamed of what is shameful,
taking up wrong views,
beings go to a bad destination.

Seeing danger where there is none,
and no danger where there is danger,
taking up wrong views,
beings go to a bad destination.

Thinking the blameless blameworthy,
and seeing the blameworthy as blameless,
taking up wrong views,
beings go to a bad destination.

Knowing the blameworthy as blameworthy,
and the blameless as blameless,
taking up right views,
beings go to a good destination.

As an elephant in battle
endures the arrow shot from the bow,
so I will endure abuse:
for many people lack virtue.

The tamed one they lead into a crowd;
the tamed one the king mounts;
best among humans is the tamed,
who endures abuse.

Excellent are tamed mules,
thoroughbred horses of Sindh,
and great tusker elephants;
better still is one who has tamed himself.note

For not by these mounts
could one go to the land never reached,
as one who is tamed goes there
by his own well-tamed self.

The tusker named Dhanapāla,
in fierce rut, hard to restrain,
held captive, will not eat a mouthful:
the tusker remembers the elephant forest.

When one is sluggish and eats too much,
sleepy, rolling about as he lies,
like a great hog fattened on fodder,
the dullard enters the womb again and again.

Formerly this mind went wandering
where it wished, where it liked, as it pleased;
today I will hold it back with wisdom,
as the one with the goad holds back an elephant in rut.

Delight in heedfulness,
guard your own minds;
pull yourselves out of the rough road,
like an elephant sunk in mud.

If you find a wise companion,
a fellow traveler, steadfast, living well,
overcoming all dangers,
travel with him, glad and mindful.

If you find no wise companion,
a fellow traveler, steadfast, living well,
like a king leaving a conquered kingdom,
travel alone, like an elephant in the elephant forest.

Better to live alone;
there is no companionship with a fool.
Travel alone and do no evil,
at ease, like an elephant in the elephant forest.

Friends are happiness when need arises;
contentment with whatever there is is happiness;
merit is happiness at the end of life;
the abandoning of all suffering is happiness.

In this world it is happiness to honor one’s mother,
and happiness to honor one’s father;
in this world it is happiness to honor ascetics,
and happiness to honor brahmins.

Virtue is happiness until old age;
firmly established faith is happiness;
the gaining of wisdom is happiness;
not doing evil is happiness.

In a person who lives heedlessly
craving grows like a creeper;
he leaps from life to life,
like a monkey in the forest looking for fruit.

Whoever is overcome by this wretched
craving that clings to the world—
his sorrows grow
like bīraṇa grass after rain.

But whoever overcomes this wretched
craving, so hard to get past in the world—
sorrows fall away from him
like drops of water from a lotus.

This I tell you—good fortune to you—
all of you gathered here:
dig up the root of craving,
as one who wants its fragrant root digs up bīraṇa grass.
Do not let Māra, as a stream a reed,
break you again and again.note

As long as its root is unharmed and firm,
a tree, though cut down, grows again;
so while the underlying tendency to craving is not rooted out,
this suffering arises again and again.

One in whom the thirty-six streams
flowing toward the pleasing are strong—
that one of wrong view is swept away
by thoughts that rest on passion.note

The streams flow everywhere;
the creeper sprouts and stands.
Seeing that creeper sprung up,
cut its root with wisdom.

Flowing and moist with affection
are the joys that come to a being;
bound to pleasure, seeking happiness,
such people are bound for birth and old age.

People driven by craving
run about like a trapped hare;
held fast by fetters and ties,
they come to suffering again and again, for a long time.

People driven by craving
run about like a trapped hare;
therefore one should drive out craving,
longing for one’s own freedom from passion.

Having left the undergrowth, intent on the forest life,
freed from the forest, he runs back to the forest:
come, look at that person—
freed, he runs back into bondage.note

The wise do not call that a strong bond
which is made of iron, wood or rope;
but the infatuation of the infatuated with jewels and earrings,
the longing for children and wives—

that, say the wise, is the strong bond:
it drags one down, it is loose, and hard to undo.
Cutting this too, they go forth,
free of longing, leaving sensual pleasure behind.

Those infatuated with passion fall back into the stream
they have made, like a spider into its web.
Cutting this too, the steadfast go on,
free of longing, leaving all suffering behind.

Let go of what is before, let go of what is behind,
let go of what is between, gone beyond becoming;
with your mind freed in every way,
you will not come again to birth and old age.

For a person churned up by thoughts,
strong in passion, fixed on the attractive,
craving grows all the more:
he makes his bond strong.

But one who delights in the stilling of thoughts,
who cultivates the unattractive, always mindful—
he will make an end of craving;
he will cut Māra’s bond.

One who has reached the goal, fearless,
free of craving, blameless,
has cut off the arrows of becoming:
this is his last body.

Free of craving, without grasping,
skilled in words and their meaning,
knowing the arrangement of letters,
which comes first and which after—
he is called “one in his last body,
of great wisdom, a great person.”

“I have overcome all, I know all,
untainted amid all things;
I have given up everything, freed by the ending of craving;
having understood by myself, whom should I name as my teacher?”

The gift of the dhamma surpasses all gifts;
the taste of the dhamma surpasses all tastes;
delight in the dhamma surpasses all delights;
the ending of craving overcomes all suffering.

Riches destroy the dullard,
but not those who seek the far shore;
through craving for riches the dullard
destroys himself as he would another.

Weeds are the bane of fields;
passion is the bane of these people;
so what is given to those free of passion
bears great fruit.

Weeds are the bane of fields;
hatred is the bane of these people;
so what is given to those free of hatred
bears great fruit.

Weeds are the bane of fields;
delusion is the bane of these people;
so what is given to those free of delusion
bears great fruit.

Weeds are the bane of fields;
desire is the bane of these people;
so what is given to those free of desire
bears great fruit.

Restraint of the eye is good,
good is restraint of the ear;
restraint of the nose is good,
good is restraint of the tongue.

Restraint of the body is good,
good is restraint of speech;
restraint of the mind is good,
good is restraint in everything.
The monk restrained in everything
is freed from all suffering.

Controlled in hand, controlled in foot,
controlled in speech, supremely controlled,
delighting within, collected,
alone and content: him they call a monk.

The monk who controls his tongue,
speaks with wisdom, and is not puffed up,
who makes clear the meaning and the dhamma—
sweet is his speech.

Dwelling in the dhamma, delighting in the dhamma,
reflecting on the dhamma,
recollecting the dhamma, the monk
does not fall away from the true dhamma.

Do not despise what you yourself receive,
do not go about envying others;
a monk who envies others
does not attain concentration.

Though a monk receives little,
if he does not despise what he receives,
the gods praise him,
pure in livelihood and untiring.

One who has no sense of “mine”
toward name-and-form in any way,
and does not grieve for what is not—
he is called a “monk.”

The monk who dwells in loving-kindness,
with confidence in the Buddha’s teaching,
will reach the peaceful state,
the stilling of conditioned things, happiness.

Bail out this boat, monk;
bailed out, it will go lightly for you.
Cutting off passion and hatred,
you will then go to nibbāna.

Cut off five, give up five,
and cultivate five more;
a monk who has gone beyond five ties
is called “one who has crossed the flood.”note

Meditate, monk, do not be heedless;
do not let your mind delight in sensual pleasures;
do not, heedless, swallow the iron ball,
do not cry out as you burn, “This is suffering!”

There is no meditation without wisdom,
no wisdom without meditation;
one who has both meditation and wisdom
is close to nibbāna.

For one who has entered an empty dwelling,
a monk with a calm mind,
there is a delight beyond the human
as he rightly sees into the dhamma.

Whenever he contemplates
the rise and fall of the aggregates,
he gains joy and gladness:
for those who understand, that is the deathless.

This is the beginning here
for a wise monk:
guarding the senses, contentment,
and restraint according to the monastic code.

Associate with good friends,
pure in livelihood and untiring;
be friendly in your ways
and skilled in conduct;
then, full of gladness,
you will make an end of suffering.

As the jasmine sheds
its withered flowers,
so, monks, you should shed
passion and hatred.

Calm in body, calm in speech,
calm and well collected,
the monk who has spewed out the bait of the world
is called “one at peace.”

Rouse yourself by yourself,
examine yourself by yourself;
guarded by yourself and mindful,
you will live happily, monk.

One is one’s own protector:
what other protector could there be?
One is one’s own refuge;
therefore restrain yourself,
as a merchant a fine horse.

The monk full of gladness,
with confidence in the Buddha’s teaching,
will reach the peaceful state,
the stilling of conditioned things, happiness.

The monk who, though young,
devotes himself to the Buddha’s teaching
lights up this world
like the moon freed from a cloud.

Strive and cut off the stream;
drive out sensual desires, brahmin.
Knowing the ending of conditioned things,
you know the uncreated, brahmin.note

When in two things
the brahmin has gone to the far shore,
all his bonds
come to an end, for he knows.note

One for whom there is no far shore, no near shore,
nor both far and near,
free of distress, unbound—
him I call a brahmin.

Meditating, free of dust, seated,
his task done, free of taints,
having reached the highest goal—
him I call a brahmin.

The sun shines by day,
the moon glows by night,
the warrior shines in his armor,
the brahmin shines in meditation;
but all day and all night
the Buddha shines in splendor.

Because he has put away evil, he is a brahmin;
because he lives in calm, he is called an ascetic;
because he has sent away his own impurities,
he is called “one gone forth.”note

One should not strike a brahmin,
nor should a brahmin lash out at him;
shame on one who strikes a brahmin,
and more shame on one who lashes out in return.

This is no small good for a brahmin,
when the mind is held back from what is dear.
Wherever the intent to harm turns away,
just there suffering is stilled.

One who by body, by speech
or by mind does no wrong,
restrained in these three ways—
him I call a brahmin.

From whomever one learns the dhamma
taught by the Fully Awakened One,
one should revere him devoutly,
as a brahmin reveres the sacrificial fire.

Not by matted hair, not by clan,
not by birth is one a brahmin;
one in whom there is truth and dhamma—
he is pure, and he is a brahmin.

What use is your matted hair, dullard,
what use your robe of antelope skin?
Inside, you are a tangle;
you polish only the outside.

One who wears robes of rags,
lean, veins standing out,
meditating alone in the forest—
him I call a brahmin.

I do not call one a brahmin
merely for being born of a brahmin mother’s womb.
He is only one who says “sir” to others,
if he owns anything.
One who owns nothing and grasps at nothing—
him I call a brahmin.note

One who has cut every fetter,
who does not tremble,
who has gone beyond ties, unbound—
him I call a brahmin.

One who has cut the strap and the thong,
the rope with all that goes with it,
who has lifted the bar, awakened—
him I call a brahmin.note

One who, without hatred, endures
abuse, beating and bonds,
whose strength is patience, whose army is strength—
him I call a brahmin.

Free of anger, keeping his vows,
virtuous, not puffed up,
tamed, in his last body—
him I call a brahmin.

Like water on a lotus leaf,
like a mustard seed on the point of an awl,
one who does not cling to sensual pleasures—
him I call a brahmin.

One who knows, right here,
the end of his own suffering,
who has laid down the burden, unbound—
him I call a brahmin.

One of deep wisdom, intelligent,
skilled in what is the path and what is not,
who has reached the highest goal—
him I call a brahmin.

Not mixing with householders
nor with the homeless either,
wandering without a home, wanting little—
him I call a brahmin.

One who has laid down the rod
toward beings, whether frail or firm,
who neither kills nor causes killing—
him I call a brahmin.

Friendly among the hostile,
at peace among the violent,
not grasping among those who grasp—
him I call a brahmin.

One from whom passion and hatred,
pride and contempt have fallen away,
like a mustard seed from the point of an awl—
him I call a brahmin.

One who utters speech that is not harsh,
that informs, that is true,
by which he offends no one—
him I call a brahmin.

One who here, long or short,
small or large, fine or foul,
takes nothing in the world that is not given—
him I call a brahmin.

One in whom no longings are found
for this world or the next,
free of longing, unbound—
him I call a brahmin.

One in whom no attachments are found,
who through understanding is free of doubt,
who has plunged into the deathless—
him I call a brahmin.

One who here has gone beyond the tie
of both merit and evil,
sorrowless, stainless, pure—
him I call a brahmin.

Stainless and pure like the moon,
clear and undisturbed,
in whom delight in becoming is exhausted—
him I call a brahmin.

One who has passed beyond this swamp, this rough road,
the round of rebirth, delusion,
who has crossed, reached the far shore, meditates,
unwavering, free of doubt,
quenched through not grasping—
him I call a brahmin.

One who here, giving up sensual pleasures,
wanders forth, homeless,
in whom sensual desire and becoming are exhausted—
him I call a brahmin.

One who here, giving up craving,
wanders forth, homeless,
in whom craving and becoming are exhausted—
him I call a brahmin.

Leaving behind the human yoke,
having passed beyond the heavenly yoke,
unbound from every yoke—
him I call a brahmin.

Leaving behind delight and discontent,
cooled, free of the grounds of rebirth,
the hero who has overcome the whole world—
him I call a brahmin.

One who knows the passing away of beings
and their rebirth, in every way,
unattached, well gone, awakened—
him I call a brahmin.

One whose destination is unknown
to gods, gandhabbas and humans,
an arahant with taints destroyed—
him I call a brahmin.

One who has nothing before,
nothing after, and nothing in between,
who owns nothing and grasps at nothing—
him I call a brahmin.

The bull, the noble one, the hero,
the great sage, the victor,
the unwavering, the one who has bathed, the awakened—
him I call a brahmin.note

One who knows his former lives,
who sees heaven and the states of woe,
and has reached the end of births,
a sage perfected in direct knowledge,
who has completed all that is to be completed—
him I call a brahmin.