# Sayings of Buddha

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> Sayings of Buddha 
> 
> Dhammapada - Sayings of the Buddha (Translated by J. Richards)
> 
> 1. The Pairs
> Mind precedes its objects. They are mind-governed and mind-made. To speak or act with a defiled mind is to draw pain
> after oneself, like a wheel behind the feet of the animal drawing it.
> 
> Mind precedes its objects. They are mind-governed and mind-made. To speak or act with a peaceful mind, is to draw
> happiness after oneself, like an inseparable shadow.
> 
> I have been insulted! I have been hurt! I have been beaten! I have been robbed! Anger does not cease in those who
> harbour this sort of thought.
> 
> I have been insulted! I have been hurt! I have been beaten! I have been robbed! Anger ceases in those who do not
> harbour this sort of thought.
> 
> Occasions of hatred are certainly never settled by hatred. They are settled by freedom from hatred. This is the eternal
> law.
> 
> Others may not understand that we must practice self-control, but quarrelling dies away in those who understand this
> fact.
> 
> The Tempter masters the lazy and irresolute man who dwells on the attractive side of things, ungoverned in his senses,
> and unrestrained in his food, like the wind overcomes a rotten tree.
> 
> But the Tempter cannot master a man who dwells on the distasteful side of things, self- controlled in his senses,
> moderate in eating, resolute and full of faith, like the wind cannot move a mountain crag.
> 
> The man who wears the yellow-dyed robe but is not free from stains himself, without self- restraint and integrity, is
> unworthy of the robe.
> 
> But the man who has freed himself of stains and has found peace of mind in an upright life, possessing self-restraint and
> integrity, he is indeed worthy of the dyed robe.
> 
> To see the essence in the unessential and to see the essence as unessential means one can never get to the essence,
> wandering as one is in the road of wrong intentions.
> 
> But to see the essence in the essential and the unessential as the unessential it is means one does get to the essence, being
> on the road of right intentions.
> 
> In the same way that rain breaks into a house with a bad roof, desire breaks into the mind that has not been practising
> meditation.
> 
> While in the same way that rain cannot break into a well-roofed house, desire cannot break into a mind that has been
> practising meditation well.
> 
> Here and beyond he suffers. The wrong-doer suffers both ways. He suffers and is tormented to see his own depraved
> behaviour.
> 
> Here and beyond he is glad. The doer of good is glad both ways. He is glad and rejoices to see his own good deeds.
> 
> Here and beyond he is punished. The wrong-doer is punished both ways. He is punished by the thought, "I have done
> evil", and is even more punished when he comes to a bad state.
> 
> Here and beyond he rejoices. The doer of good rejoices both way. He rejoices at the thought, "I have done good", and
> rejoices even more when he comes to a happy state.
> 
> Even if he is fond of quoting appropriate texts, the thoughtless man who does not put them into practice himself is like
> cowherd counting other people's cows, not a partner in the Holy Life.
> 
> Even if he does not quote appropriate texts much, if he follows the principles of the Teaching by getting rid of greed,
> hatred and delusion, deep of insight and with a mind free from attachment, not clinging to anything in this world or the
> next - that man is a partner in the Holy Life.
> 
> 2. Attention
> Attention leads to immortality. Carelessness leads to death. Those who pay attention will not die, while the careless are as
> good as dead already.
> 
> So having clearly understood the value of attention, wise men take pleasure in it, rejoicing in what the saints have
> practised.
> 
> Those who meditate with perseverance, constantly working hard at it, are the wise who experience Nirvana, the ultimate
> freedom from chains.
> 
> When a man is resolute and recollected, pure of deed and persevering, when he is attentive and self-controlled and lives
> according to the Teaching, his reputation is bound to grow.
> 
> By resolution and attention, by discipline and self-control, a clever man may build himself an island that no flood can
> overthrow.
> 
> Foolish, ignorant people indulge in careless lives, whereas a clever man guards his attention as his most precious
> possession.
> 
> Don't indulge in careless behaviour. Don't be the friend of sensual pleasures. He who meditates attentively attains
> abundant joy.
> 
> When a wise man has carefully rid himself of carelessness and climbed the High Castle of Wisdom, sorrowless he
> observes sorrowing people, like a clear-sighted man on a mountain top looking down on the people with limited vision on
> the ground below.
> 
> Careful amidst the careless, amongst the sleeping wide-awake, the intelligent man leaves them all behind, like a
> race-horse does a mere hack.
> 
> It was by attention that Indra attained the highest place among the gods. People approve of attention, while carelessness
> is always condemned.
> 
> A bhikkhu taking pleasure in being attentive, and recognising the danger of carelessness, makes progress like a forest fire,
> consuming all obstacles large or small in his way.
> 
> A bhikkhu taking pleasure in being attentive, and recognising the danger of carelessness, is incapable of falling away. In
> fact he is already close to Nirvana.
> 
> 3. Thoughts
> Elusive and unreliable as it is, the wise man straightens out his restless, agitated mind, like a fletcher crafting an arrow.
> 
> Trying to break out of the Tempter's control, one's mind writhes to and fro, like a fish pulled from its watery home onto
> dry ground.
> 
> It is good to restrain one's mind, uncontrollable, fast moving, and following its own desires as it is. A disciplined mind
> leads to happiness.
> 
> A wise man should guard his mind for it is very hard to keep track of, extremely subtle, and follows its own desires. A
> guarded mind brings happiness.
> 
> The mind goes wandering off far and wide alone. Incorporeal, it dwells in the cavern of the heart. Those who keep it
> under control escape from Mara's bonds.
> 
> If he is unsettled in mind, does not know the true Teaching, and has lost his peace of mind, a man's wisdom does not
> come to fulfilment.
> 
> With his mind free from the inflow of thoughts and from restlessness, by abandoning both good and evil, an alert man
> knows no fear.
> 
> Seeing your body as no better than an earthen pot, make war on Mara with the sword of wisdom, and setting up your
> mind as a fortress, defend what you have won, remaining free from attachment.
> 
> Before long this body will be lying on the ground, discarded and unconscious, like a useless bit of wood.
> 
> One's own misdirected thought can do one more harm than an enemy or an ill-wisher.
> 
> Even your mother, father or any other relative cannot do you as much good as your own properly directed thought.
> 
> 4. Flowers
> Who will master this world and the world of Death with its devas? Who will gather well taught aphorisms
> (dhammapadas), like an connoisseur picking a flower?
> 
> A disciple will master this world and the world of Death with its devas. A disciple will gather well taught aphorisms
> (dhammapadas), like a connoisseur picking a flower.
> 
> Seeing the foam-like nature of the body, and awakening to its mirage-like quality, one can escape the sight of the King of
> Death, snapping Mara's flowery bonds.
> 
> Death carries off a man busy picking flowers with an besotted mind, like a great flood does a sleeping village.
> 
> Death, the end-maker, will exercise his will on a man busy picking flowers with a besotted mind, before he has even
> found satisfaction.
> 
> A holy man should behave in the village like a bee which takes its food from a flower without hurting its appearance or its
> scent.
> 
> It is no the shortcomings of others, nor what others have done or not done that one should think about, but what one has
> done or not done oneself.
> 
> Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at but without scent, fine words are fruitless in a man who does not act in accordance
> with them.
> 
> Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at and scented too, fine words bear fruit in a man who acts well in accordance with
> them.
> 
> Just as one can make a lot of garlands from a heap of flowers, so man, subject to birth and death as he is, should make
> himself a lot of good karma.
> 
> The scent of flowers cannot travel against the wind, and nor can that of sandalwood or jasmine, but the fragrance of the
> good does travel against the wind, and a good man perfumes the four quarters of the earth.
> 
> Sandalwood, tagara, lotus, jasmine - the fragrance of virtue is unrivalled by such kinds of perfume.
> 
> The perfume of tagara and sandalwood is of little enough power, while the supreme fragrance, that of the virtuous,
> reaches even up to the devas.
> 
> Perfect of virtue, always acting with recollection, and liberated by final realisation - Mara does not know the path such
> people travel.
> 
> Like a beautiful, fragrant lotus, springing up on a pile of rubbish thrown out on the highway, so a disciple of the
> Enlightened One stands out among rubbish-like and blinded ordinary people by virtue of his wisdom. 58,
> 
> 5. The Fool
> Long is the night for the sleepless. Long is the road for the weary. Long is samsara (the cycle of continued rebirth) for
> the foolish, who have not recognised the true teaching.
> 
> If on one's way one does not come across one's better or an equal, then one should press on resolutely alone. There is no
> companionship with a fool.
> 
> "I've got children", "I've got wealth." This is the way a fool brings suffering on himself. He does not even own himself,
> so how can he have children or wealth?
> 
> A fool who recognises his own ignorance is thereby in fact a wise man, but a fool who considers himself wise - that is
> what one really calls a fool.
> 
> Even if a fool lived with a wise man all his life, he would still not recognise the truth, like a wooden spoon cannot
> recognise the flavour of the soup.
> 
> Even if a man of intelligence lives with a wise man only for a moment, he will immediately recognise the truth, like one's
> tongue recognises the flavour of the soup.
> 
> Stupid fools go through life as their own enemies, doing evil deeds which have bitter consequences.
> 
> A deed is not well done if one suffers after doing it, if one bears the consequences sobbing and with tears streaming down
> one's face.
> 
> But a deed is well done if one does not suffer after doing it, if one experiences the consequences smiling and contented.
> 
> A fool thinks it like honey so long as the bad deed does not bear fruit, but when it does bear fruit he experiences
> suffering.
> 
> Even if a fool were to take his food month after month off the tip of a blade of grass, he would still not be worth a
> fraction of those who have understood the truth.
> 
> Like fresh milk a bad deed does not turn at once. It follows a fool scorching him like a smouldering fire.
> 
> A fool acquires knowledge only to his own disadvantage. It destroys what good he has, and turns his brains.
> 
> One may desire a spurious respect and precedence among one's fellow monks, and the veneration of outsiders. "Both
> monks and laity should think it was my doing. They should accept my authority in all matters great or small." This is a
> fool's way of thinking. His self-seeking and conceit just increase. 73,
> 
> One way leads to acquisition, the other leads to nirvana. Realising this a monk, as a disciple of the Buddha, should take
> no pleasure in the respect of others, but should devote himself to solitude.
> 
> 6. The Wise Man
> Like one pointing out hidden treasure, if one finds a man of intelligence who can recognise one's faults and take one to
> task for them, one should cultivate the company of such a wise man. He who cultivates a man like that is the better for it,
> not worse.
> 
> If a man disciplines, instructs and restrains them from what is not right, he will be dear to the good, and disliked by the
> bad.
> 
> Don't cultivate the company of bad companions. Don't cultivate depraved men. Cultivate companions of good character.
> Cultivate superior men.
> 
> He who drinks in the Truth will live happily with a peaceful mind. A wise man always delights in the Truth taught by the
> saints.
> 
> Navvies channel water, fletchers fashion arrows, and carpenters work on wood, but the wise disciple themselves.
> 
> Like a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, so the wise are not moved by praise or blame.
> 
> The wise find peace on hearing the truth, like a deep, clear, undisturbed lake.
> 
> The good renounce everything. The pure don't babble about sensual desires. Whether touched by pleasure or pain, the
> wise show no change of temper.
> 
> If a man does not seek children, wealth or power either for himself or for someone else, if he does not seek his own
> advantage by unprincipled means, he is a virtuous man, a wise man and a righteous man.
> 
> Few are those among men who have crossed over to the other shore, while the rest of mankind runs along the bank.
> However those who follow the principles of the well-taught Truth will cross over to the other shore, out of the dominion
> of Death, hard though it is to escape. 85,
> 
> A wise man, abandoning the principle of darkness, should cultivate what is pure. Leaving home for the homeless life, let
> him seek his joy in the solitude which people find so hard to enjoy, and, abandoning sensual pleasures, let him cleanse
> himself of inner defilements, looking on nothing as his own. 87,
> 
> Those whose minds are thoroughly practices in the factors of enlightenment, who find delight in freedom from
> attachment in the renunciation of clinging, free from the inflow of thoughts, they are like shining lights, having reached
> final liberation in the world.
> 
> 7. The Enlightened
> Journey over, sorrowless, freed in every way, and with all bonds broken - for such a man there is no more distress.
> 
> The recollected go forth to lives of renunciation. They take no pleasure in a fixed abode. Like wild swans abandoning a
> pool, they leave one resting place after another.
> 
> Those for whom there is no more acquisition, who are fully aware of the nature of food, whose dwelling place is an
> empty and imageless release - the way of such people is hard to follow, like the path of birds through the sky.
> 
> He whose inflowing thoughts are dried up, who is unattached to food, whose dwelling place is an empty and imageless
> release - the way of such a person is hard to follow, like the path of birds through the sky.
> 
> When a man's senses have come to peace, like a horses well broken by the trainer, when he is rid of conceit and without
> inflowing thoughts - even devas envy such a well set man.
> 
> Like the earth he is not disturbed, like a great pillar he is firmly set and reliable, like a lake he is free from defilement.
> There are no more rebirths for such a well set man.
> 
> Freed by full realisation and at peace, the mind of such a man is at peace, and his speech and action peaceful.
> 
> He has no need for faith who knows the uncreated, who has cut off rebirth, who has destroyed any opportunity for good
> or evil, and cast away all desire. He is indeed the ultimate man.
> 
> Whether in the village or the forest, whether on high ground or low, wherever the enlightened live, that is a delightful
> spot.
> 
> Delightful for them are the forests where men find no delight. The desire-free find delight there, for they seek no sensual
> joys.
> 
> 8. The Thousands
> Better than a thousand pointless words is one saying to the point on hearing which one finds peace.
> 
> Better than a thousand pointless verses is one stanza on hearing which one finds peace.
> 
> Better than reciting a hundred pointless verses is one verse of the teaching (one dhammapada) on hearing which one finds
> peace.
> 
> Though one were to defeat thousands upon thousands of men in battle, if another were to overcome just one - himself,
> he is the supreme victor.
> 
> Victory over oneself is better than that over others. When a man has conquered himself and always acts with self-control,
> neither devas, spirits, Mara or Brahma can reverse the victory of a man like that. 104,
> 
> Though one were to perform sacrifices by the thousand month after month for a hundred years, if another were to pay
> homage to a single inwardly perfected man for just a moment, that homage is better than the hundred years of sacrifices.
> 
> Though one were to tend the sacrificial fire for a hundred years in the forest, if another were to pay homage to a single
> inwardly perfected man for just a moment, that homage is better than the hundred years of sacrifice.
> 
> All the sacrifices and offerings a man desiring merit could make in a year in the world are not worth a quarter of the
> better merit of homage to the righteous.
> 
> Four principal things increase in the man who is respectful and always honours his elders - length of life, good looks,
> happiness and health.
> 
> Though one were to live a hundred years immoral and with a mind unstilled by meditation, the life of a single day is
> better if one is moral and practises meditation.
> 
> Though one were to live a hundred years without wisdom and with a mind unstilled by meditation, the life of a single day
> is better if one is wise and practises meditation.
> 
> Though one were to live a hundred years without seeing the rise and passing of things, the life of a single day is better if
> one sees the rise and passing of things.
> 
> Though one were to live a hundred years without seeing the deathless state, the life of a single day is better if one sees
> the deathless state.
> 
> Though one were to live a hundred years without seeing the supreme truth, the life of a single day is better if one sees the
> supreme truth.
> 
> 9. Evil
> Be urgent in good; hold your thoughts off evil. When one is slack in doing good the mind delights in evil.
> 
> If a man has done evil, let him not keep on doing it. Let him not create an inclination to it. The accumulation of evil
> means suffering.
> 
> If a man has done good, let him keep on doing it. Let him create an inclination to it. The accumulation of good means
> happiness.
> 
> An evil man encounters good so long as his evil behaviour does not bear fruit, but when his evil behaviour bears fruit,
> then the evil man encounters the evil consequences.
> 
> An good man encounters evil so long as his good behaviour does not bear fruit, but when his good behaviour bears fruit,
> then the good man encounters the good consequences.
> 
> Do not think lightly of evil that not the least consequence will come of it. A whole waterpot will fill up from dripping
> drops of water. A fool fills himself with evil, just a little at a time.
> 
> Do not think lightly of good that not the least consequence will come of it. A whole waterpot will fill up from dripping
> drops of water. A wise man fills himself with good, just a little at a time.
> 
> One should avoid evil like a merchant with much goods and only a small escort avoids a dangerous road, and like a man
> who loves life avoids poison.
> 
> If there is no wound on one's hand, one can handle poison. Poison has no effect where there is no wound. There is no
> evil for the non-doer.
> 
> Whoever does harm to an innocent man, a pure man and a faultless one, the evil comes back on that fool, like fine dust
> thrown into the wind.
> 
> Some are reborn in a human womb, evil-doers go to hell, the good go to heaven, and those without inflowing thoughts
> achieve final liberation.
> 
> Not in the sky, nor in the depths of the sea, nor hiding in the cleft of the rocks, there is no place on earth where one can
> take one's stand to escape from an evil deed.
> 
> Not in the sky, nor in the depths of the sea, nor hiding in the cleft of the rocks, there is no place on earth where one can
> take one's stand to not be overcome by death.
> 
> 10. Violence
> All fear violence, all are afraid of death. Seeing the similarity to oneself, one should not use violence or have it used.
> 
> All fear violence, life is dear to all. Seeing the similarity to oneself, one should not use violence or have it used.
> 
> He who does violence to creatures seeking happiness like himself does not find happiness after death.
> 
> He who does no violence to creatures seeking happiness like himself does find happiness after death.
> 
> Don't speak harshly to anyone. If you do people will speak to you in the same way. Harsh words are painful and their
> retaliation will hurt you.
> 
> If you don't disturb yourself, like a broken gong does not vibrate, then you have achieved nirvana. Irritability no longer
> exists for you.
> 
> Like a cowherd driving cows off to the fields, so old age and death take away the years from the living.
> 
> Even when he is doing evil, the fool does not realise it. The idiot is punished by his own deeds, like one is scorched by
> fire.
> 
> He who does violence to the peaceful and harmless soon encounters one of ten things - He may experience cruel pain,
> disaster, physical injury, severe illness, or insanity, or else trouble with the authorities, grave accusation, bereavement, or
> loss of property, or else destruction of his house by fire, and on the death of his body the fool goes to hell. 137, 138,
> 139,
> 
> Neither naked asceticism, matted hair, dirt, fasting, sleeping on the ground, dust and mud, nor prolonged sitting on one's
> heels can purify a man who is not free of doubts.
> 
> Even if richly dressed, when a man behaves even-mindedly and is at peace, restrained and established in the right way,
> chaste and renouncing violence to all forms of life, then he is a brahmin, he is a holy man, he is a bhikkhu (true Buddhist
> monk).
> 
> Where is that man in the world who is so restrained by shame that he avoids laziness like a thoroughbred horse avoids
> the whip?
> 
> Like a thoroughbred horse touched by the whip, be strenuous and determined. Then you will be able to rid yourself of
> this great suffering by means of faith, morality, energetic behaviour, stillness of mind and reflection on the teaching, after
> you have become full of wisdom, good habits and recollection.
> 
> Navies channel water, fletchers fashion arrows, and carpenters work on wood, but the good disciple themselves.
> 
> 11. Old Age
> What is this laughter, what is this delight, forever burning (with desires) as you are? Enveloped in darkness as you are,
> will you not look for a lamp?
> 
> Look at the decorated puppet, a mass of wounds and of composite parts, full of disease and always in need of attention.
> It has no enduring stability.
> 
> This body is worn out with age, a nest of diseases and falling apart. The mass of corruption disintegrates, and death is the
> end of life.
> 
> When these grey bones are cast aside like gourds in autumn, what pleasure will there be in looking at them?
> 
> It is a city built of bones, and daubed with flesh and blood, in which old age and death, pride and hypocrisy are the
> inhabitants.
> 
> Even kings' splendid carriages wear out, and the body is certain bound to grow old, but the Truth found by the saints is
> not subject to aging. That is what the saints themselves proclaim.
> 
> An ignorant man ages like an ox. His flesh may increase, but not his understanding.
> 
> I have passed in ignorance through a cycle of many rebirths, seeking the builder of the house. Continuous rebirth is a
> painful thing. But now, housebuilder, I have found you out. You will not build me a house again. All your rafters are
> broken, your ridge-pole shattered. My mind is free from active thought, and has made an end of craving. 153,
> 
> Those who have not lived the holy life, and have not acquired wealth in their youth, grow old like withered cranes beside
> a fishless pool.
> 
> Those who have not lived the holy life, and have not acquired wealth in their youth, lie like spent arrows, grieving for
> times past.
> 
> 12. Self
> Knowing that one is dear to oneself, one should guard oneself well. For one out of the three watches of the night a wise
> man should keep watch.
> 
> First he should establish himself in what is right. Then if he teaches others, the wise man will not be corrupted.
> 
> If one would only apply to oneself what one teaches others, when one was well disciplined oneself one could train others.
> It is oneself who is hard to train.
> 
> One is one's own guardian. What other guardian could one have? With oneself well disciplined one obtains a rare
> guardian indeed.
> 
> The evil he has done himself and which had its origin and being in himself breaks a fool, like a diamond breaks a precious
> stone.
> 
> A man of great immorality is like a creeper, suffocating the tree it is on. He does to himself just what an enemy would
> wish him.
> 
> Things which are wrong and to one's own disadvantage are easily enough done, while what is both good and
> advantageous is extremely hard to do.
> 
> The fool, who out of attachment to a wrong view speaks ill of the religion of the enlightened and noble ones who live
> according to truth, brings forth fruit to his own downfall, like the offspring of the bamboo.
> 
> By oneself one does evil. By oneself one is defiled. By oneself one abstains from evil. By oneself one is purified. Purity
> and impurity are personal matters. No one can purify someone else.
> 
> One should not neglect one's own welfare for that of someone else, however great. When one has understood what one's
> own welfare really consists of, one should apply oneself to that welfare.
> 
> 13. The World
> Don't practice an ignoble way of life, don't indulge in a careless attitude. Don't follow a wrong view, and don't be
> attached to the world.
> 
> Wake up and don't be careless, but lead a life of well-doing. He who follows righteousness lives happily in this world and
> the next.
> 
> Lead a life of righteousness, and not a life of wrong-doing. He who follows righteousness lives happily in this world and
> the next.
> 
> Look on the world as a bubble, look on it as a mirage. The King of Death never finds him who views the world like that.
> 
> Come, look at the world as a gilded royal carriage, in which fools get bogged down, while men of understanding have no
> attachment to it.
> 
> Even if previously careless, when a man later stops being careless, he illuminates the world, like the moon breaking away
> from a cloud.
> 
> When a man's bad deeds are covered over by good ones, he illuminates the world, like the moon breaking away from a
> cloud.
> 
> Blinded indeed is this world. Few are those who see the truth. Like a bird breaking out of the net, few are those who go
> to heaven.
> 
> Wild swans take the path of the sun. Men with powers travel through space, but the wise step right out of the world, by
> conquering Mara and his host.
> 
> When a man has already violated one rule, when he is a liar and rejects the idea of a future world, there is no evil he is
> not capable of.
> 
> Miserly people certainly do not go to heaven. Fools for sure do not praise generosity, but the wise man who takes
> pleasure in giving is thereby happy hereafter.
> 
> Better than being sole king of the whole earth, better than going to heaven or sovereignty over the whole universe is the
> fruit of becoming a stream-winner.
> 
> 14. The Buddhas
> He whose victory is not relost, and whose victory no-one in the world can take away, that Buddha, whose home is in the
> infinite, pathless as he is, by what path will you lead him?
> 
> He who has no entrapping, clinging desire to lead him in any direction, that Buddha, whose home is in the infinite,
> pathless as he is, by what path will you lead him?
> 
> Those wise men, who are much given to meditation and find pleasure in the peace of a spiritual way of life, even the
> devas envy them perfect Buddhas and recollected as they are.
> 
> A human birth is hard to achieve. Difficult is the life of mortals. To hear the true teaching is difficult, and the
> achievement of Buddhahood is difficult.
> 
> To abstain from all evil, the practice of good, and the thorough purification of one's mind - this is the teaching of the
> Buddhas.
> 
> Long-suffering patience is the supreme ascetic practice. Nirvana is supreme, say the Buddhas. He is certainly not an
> ascetic who hurts others, and nor is he a man of religion who causes suffering to others.
> 
> Not to speak harshly and not to harm others, self restraint in accordance with the rules of the Order, moderation in food,
> a secluded dwelling, and the cultivation of the higher levels of consciousness - this is the teaching of the Buddhas.
> 
> There is no satisfying the senses, not even with a shower of money. "The senses are of slight pleasure and really
> suffering." When a wise man has realised this, he takes no pleasure, as a disciple of the Buddhas, even in the pleasures of
> heaven. Instead he takes pleasure in the elimination of craving. 186,
> 
> Driven by fear, men take to many a refuge, in mountains, forests, parks, sacred groves and shrines, but these are not a
> secure kind of refuge. By taking to this sort of refuge one is not released from suffering. He who has gone to Buddha,
> Dhamma and Sangha for refuge, though, and who with true wisdom understands the Four Noble Truths of Suffering, the
> Origin of Suffering, the End of Suffering and the Noble Eightfold Path, leading to the Elimination of Suffering, this is a
> secure refuge, this is the ultimate refuge; by taking to this refuge one is indeed released from all suffering. 188, 189, 190,
> 191,
> 
> A truly thoroughbred man (a Buddha) is hard to find. He is not born anywhere, but where that seer is born, the people
> prosper.
> 
> Happy is the attainment of Buddhahood, happy the teaching of the true Teaching, happy is the concord of the Sangha,
> happy the training of those in concord.
> 
> When a man venerates those worthy of veneration, be they Buddhas or their disciples, who have transcended all
> obstacles and passed beyond sorrow and tears - venerating such as these, whose passions are extinguished and for whom
> there is no further source for fear, no one can calculate how great his merit is. 195,
> 
> 15. Happiness
> Happy indeed we live who are free from hatred among those who still hate. In the midst of hate-filled men, we live free
> from hatred.
> 
> Happy indeed we live who are free from disease among those still diseased. In the midst of diseased men, we live free
> from disease.
> 
> Happy indeed we live who are free from worry among those who are still worried. In the midst of worried men, we live
> free from worry.
> 
> Happy indeed we live who have nothing of our own. We shall feed on joy, just like the radiant devas.
> 
> A victor only breeds hatred, while a defeated man lives in misery, but a man at peace within lives happily, abandoning up
> ideas of victory and defeat.
> 
> There is no fire like desire. There is no weakness like anger. There is no suffering like the khandhas. There is no
> happiness greater than peace.
> 
> Hunger is the supreme disease. Mental activity is the supreme suffering. When one has grasped this as it really is, nirvana
> is the supreme happiness.
> 
> Health is the supreme possession. Contentment is the supreme wealth. A trustworthy friend is the supreme relation.
> Nirvana is the supreme happiness.
> 
> After enjoying the taste of solitude and the taste of peace, one is freed from distress and evil, as one enjoys the taste of
> spiritual joy.
> 
> It is good to meet with the saints. Living with them is always sweet. By not meeting fools one can be happy all the time.
> 
> A man who keeps company with a fool, will suffer for it a long time. It is always painful to live with fools, like with an
> enemy, but a wise man is good to live with, like meeting up with relatives.
> 
> Therefore, if he is a man of understanding and penetration, learned and habitually moral, devout and noble, one should
> cultivate the company of that just and wise man, in the same way as the moon keeps to a path among the stars.
> 
> 16. Preference
> He who applies himself to what is not really an appropriate subject for application, and fails to apply himself to what is,
> missing the real purpose to grasp after what appeals to him, may well envy the man who does apply himself.
> 
> Never have anything to do with likes and dislikes. The absence of what one likes is painful, as is the presence of what
> one dislikes.
> 
> Therefore don't take a liking to anything. To lose what one likes is hard, but there are no bonds for those who have no
> likes and dislikes.
> 
> From preference arises sorrow, from preference arises fear, but he who is freed from preference has no sorrow and
> certainly no fear.
> 
> From affection arises sorrow, from affection arises fear, but he who is freed from affection has no sorrow and certainly
> no fear.
> 
> From pleasure arises sorrow, from pleasure arises fear, but he who is freed from pleasure has no sorrow and certainly no
> fear.
> 
> From sensuality arises sorrow, from sensuality arises fear, but he who is freed from sensuality has no sorrow and
> certainly no fear.
> 
> From craving arises sorrow, from craving arises fear, but he who is freed from craving has no sorrow and certainly no
> fear.
> 
> Well may people hold dear the man who is endowed with morality and insight, who is well established in righteousness, a
> seer of the truth, and applying himself to his own business.
> 
> He whose longing has been aroused for the indescribable, whose mind has been quickened by it, and whose thought is
> not attached to sensuality is truly called one who is bound upstream.
> 
> When a man who has been away a long time at last comes home safely from far away, his family, friends and
> acquaintances rejoice to see him back. In the same way, when a man who has done good goes from this world to the
> next, his good deeds receive him like relations welcoming a loved one back again. 219,
> 
> 17. Anger
> Abandon anger, give up pride, and overcome all fetters. Suffering does nor befall him who is without attachment to
> names and forms, and possesses nothing of his own.
> 
> When a man governs his rising anger like a chariot going out of control, that is what I call a charioteer. The rest are just
> holding the reins.
> 
> Overcome anger with freedom from anger. Overcome evil with good. Overcome meanness with generosity, and
> overcome a liar with truthfulness.
> 
> Speak the truth, don't get angry, and always give, even if only a little, when you are asked. By these three principles you
> can come into the company of the devas.
> 
> Those sages who do harm to no-one, and who are always physically restrained, go to the everlasting abode, reaching
> which they will face no more suffering.
> 
> Inflowing thoughts come to an end in those who are ever alert of mind, training themselves night and day, and ever intent
> on nirvana.
> 
> It was so of old, Atula. It is not just so today. They criticise him who sits in silence, they criticise him who talks a lot.
> They even criticise him who speaks in moderation. There is not a man in the world who is not criticised.
> 
> There never has been, there never will be, and there is not now any man exclusively criticised or exclusively praised.
> 
> If a wise man of unblemished behaviour and endowed with wisdom, morality and stillness of mind, is praised by the
> discriminating after day in day out acquaintance with him, like a pure gold coin, then who is fit to find fault with him?
> Even the King of the devas praises him. 229,
> 
> Guard against physical unruliness. Be restrained in body. Abandoning physical wrong doing, lead a life of physical well
> doing.
> 
> Guard against mental unruliness. Be restrained in mind. Abandoning mental wrong doing, lead a life of mental well doing.
> 
> Guard against verbal unruliness. Be restrained in speech. Abandoning verbal wrong doing, lead a life of verbal well doing.
> 
> The wise who are restrained in body, speech and mind - such are the well and truly restrained.
> 
> 18. Faults
> You are now like a withered leaf. Death's messengers themselves are in your presence. You are standing in the jaws of
> your departure, and provisions for the road you have none.
> 
> In such a case, build yourself an island. Make the effort quickly and become a wise man. Cleansed of your faults and
> now without blemish, you will go to the heavenly land of the saints.
> 
> You are now at your life's conclusion. You are in the presence of the King of Death. There is no stopping off place on
> the way, and provisions for the road you have none.
> 
> In such a case, build yourself an island. Make the effort quickly and become a wise man. Cleansed of your faults and
> now without blemish, you will come no more to birth and aging.
> 
> Little by little, moment by moment, a wise man should cleanse himself of blemishes, like a smith purifying silver.
> 
> Just as the rust which develops on iron, derives from it but then proceeds to eat it away, so a person of unrestrained
> behaviour is drawn to hell by his own actions.
> 
> Lack of repetition is the blight of scriptures. Lack of repairs is the blight of buildings. The blight of beauty is laziness, and
> carelessness is the blight of a guard.
> 
> The blight of a woman is misconduct. The blight of a giver is meanness. Bad mental states are indeed blights in this world
> and the next.
> 
> But the supreme bight, ignorance, is the blight of blights. Destroying this blight, be free of blights, bhikkhus.
> 
> Life is easy enough for the shameless, the crow-hero type of man, offensive, swaggering, impudent and depraved. But it
> is hard for the man of conscience, always striving after purity, alert, reserved, pure of behaviour and discerning. 244, 245
> 
> When a man takes life, tells lies, takes what he is not entitled to in the world, resorts to other men's wives and indulges in
> drinking wine and spirits - such a man is digging up his own roots here and now in this world. 246,
> 
> So understand this, my man - Unrestrained men are evil. Don't let greed and wrong doing subject you to lasting suffering.
> 
> People give according to their faith, or as they feel well disposed. If one is put out for that reason with other people's
> food and drink, then one will not achieve stillness of mind in meditation, day or night. But he who has destroyed that sort
> of reaction, has rooted it out and done away with it - he will achieve stillness of mind in meditation, day and night.
> 
> There is no fire like desire. There is no hold like anger. There is no net like ignorance. There is no river like craving.
> 
> Other people's faults are easily seen. One can winnow out other people's faults like chaff. One hides one's own faults
> though, like a dishonest gambler hides an unlucky throw.
> 
> When one notices the mistakes of others and is always finding fault with them, the inflow of one's thoughts just increases
> and one is a long way from the cessation of this influx.
> 
> Just as there is no path in the sky, there is no man of religion outside. Other people take pleasure in multiplicity, but the
> Buddhas are free from it.
> 
> Just as there is no path in the sky, there is no man of religion outside. There are no lasting functions of the mind, but
> there is no oscillation of mind for the Buddhas.
> 
> 19. The Righteous
> One is not righteous if one decides a case without due consideration, but the wise man who takes into account both for
> and against, and comes to his decision about others with due consideration - such a man of discrimination who keeps to
> the truth, he is to be called righteous. 256,
> 
> One is not a learned man by virtue of much speaking. He who is patient, without anger and fearless, he is to be called
> learned.
> 
> One is not a bearer of the teaching by virtue of much speaking, but he who, even if he has only studied a little, has
> experienced the truth in person, he is indeed a bearer of the teaching, who has not forgotten the teaching.
> 
> One is not an elder by virtue of having white hair. One is just advanced in years, and called "grown old in vain". He in
> whom there is truthfulness, non violence, restraint and self control, however - that wise and faultless sage is to be called
> an elder. 260,
> 
> It is not just by fine speech or by flower-like beauty that one is admirable, if one is envious, mean and deceitful, but
> when that sort of behaviour has been eliminated, rooted out and destroyed, that faultless sage is said to be admirable.
> 262,
> 
> A shaven head does not make one a man of religion, if one is irreligious and untruthful. How could a man full of desires
> and greed be a man of religion? But when a man has put aside all evil deeds, both great and small, by that putting away
> of evil deeds he is indeed called a man of religion. 264,
> 
> One is not a bhikkhu by virtue of taking alms from others. By taking up any old teaching, one is not a bhikkhu on that
> account. But he who has here and now ejected both good and evil, and in leading the holy life lives in accordance with
> reason - he is indeed called a bhikkhu. 266,
> 
> Silence does not make a sage if he is stupid and ignorant, but when a man avoids evil as if he were choosing something of
> value on the scales - he is a sage. That indeed makes him a sage. He who discriminates in both worlds is for that reason
> called a sage. 268,
> 
> One is not noble if one harms other living creatures. It is by non violence to all forms of life that one is called noble.
> 
> It is not just by means of morality and religious observances, not by great learning nor by attainments in meditation, nor
> by living alone, nor by thinking,"I am enjoying a spiritual happiness which ordinary people do not know" that a bhikkhu
> achieves peace if he has not achieved the elimination of inflowing thoughts. 271,
> 
> 20. The Way
> Of paths the Eightfold one is best, and of truths the Fourfold. Dispassion is the best of mental states, and of human
> beings the best is the seer.
> 
> This indeed is the Way - there is no other - for the purification of one's vision. Follow this way. It leads to Mara's
> confusion.
> 
> Following this Path you will put an end to suffering. I have taught you the Way after realising the removal of the arrow
> myself.
> 
> Making the effort is your affair. The Buddhas have pointed out the Way. Those who are on the way and practising
> meditation will be freed from Mara's bonds.
> 
> All processes are impermanent. When one sees this with understanding, then one is disillusioned with the things of
> suffering. This is the Path of Purification.
> 
> All processes are painful. When one sees this with understanding, then one is disillusioned with the things of suffering.
> This is the Path of Purification.
> 
> All processes are out of my control. When one sees this with understanding, then one is disillusioned with the things of
> suffering. This is the Path of Purification.
> 
> Since he will not exert himself at the time for exertion, and although young and strong is full of indolence and irresolution
> and idleness, the lazy man is incapable of recognising the way of wisdom.
> 
> Be guarded in speech, restrained of mind and not doing anything wrong physically. Perfect these three forms of action,
> and fulfil the way taught by the sages.
> 
> >From meditation springs wisdom. From lack of meditation, loss of wisdom. Recognising these alternative roads of
> progress and decline, one should so direct oneself so that one's wisdom will increase.
> 
> Cut down the forest, not just a tree. Out of the forest of desire springs danger. By cutting down both the forest of desire
> and the brushwood of longing, be rid of the forest (pun on the word "nirvana"), bhikkhus.
> 
> So long as the least desire of a man for women has not been eradicated, he is fettered in mind, like a sucking calf to its
> mother.
> 
> Pluck out your desire, like one does an autumn lotus with one's hand. Devote yourself to the path of peace, the nirvana
> proclaimed by the Blessed One.
> 
> "Here I will spend the rainy season, and here the hot season." This is the way a fool thinks. It does not occur to him what
> may happen in between.
> 
> Death comes and snatches away the man infatuated with children and livestock, while his mind is still full of desire, like a
> great flood sweeping away a sleeping village.
> 
> There are no children to take refuge in then, no father or any other relative. When a man is seized by that terminator,
> Death, there is no taking refuge in family.
> 
> When he has seen the implications of this, a wise man, restrained by morality, should quickly develop the path leading to
> nirvana.
> 
> 21. Miscellaneous
> If he sees that by sacrificing a slight happiness he can obtain a greater happiness, then a wise man should sacrifice the
> lesser happiness with a view to the greater happiness.
> 
> He who seeks his own happiness by inflicting suffering on others, does not reach freedom from hatred, caught as he is in
> the toils of hatred.
> 
> What IS their affair is put aside. What is NOT their affair gets done. The inflow of thoughts in such brazen and careless
> people just goes on increasing. They whose recollection of the body is always well established, however, have nothing to
> do with what is not their affair, always persevering in what IS their affair. The inflow of thoughts in such recollected and
> aware people simply dies away. 292,
> 
> After killing mother (desire), father ("I am" conceit) and two warrior kings, and destroying the kingdom along with its
> subjects, the brahmin goes on his way unperturbed.
> 
> After killing mother, father and two priestly kings, and killed a tiger as his fifth victim, the brahmin goes on his way
> unperturbed.
> 
> A good awakening have ever Gotama's disciples, whose recollection is always established, day and night on the Buddha.
> 
> A good awakening have ever Gotama's disciples, whose recollection is always established, day and night on the Teaching.
> 
> A good awakening have ever Gotama's disciples, whose recollection is always established, day and night on the Order.
> 
> A good awakening have ever Gotama's disciples, whose recollection is always established, day and night on the body.
> 
> A good awakening have ever Gotama's disciples, whose minds are always rejoicing in non violence.
> 
> A good awakening have ever Gotama's disciples, whose minds are always rejoicing in the practice of meditation.
> 
> It is hard to take up a life of renunciation, and difficult to find satisfaction in it, but it is also difficult to live in bad
> households, and painful to live with people unlike oneself, when one is forever tangled in suffering and restless.
> Therefore don't always be restless, and don't let yourself be tangled in suffering.
> 
> When a man has faith, is endowed with virtue, and possessed of fame and wealth, wherever he lives he will be honoured.
> 
> The good are conspicuous a long way off, like a Himalayan peak, while the bad are just not noticed, like arrows shot into
> the dark.
> 
> Living alone, sleeping alone, travelling alone, and resolute, alone and self disciplined, should take pleasure in living in the
> forest.
> 
> 22. Hell
> He who speaks untruth goes to hell, as does he who, having done something, says, "I didn't do it." Men of ignoble
> behaviour, they both end up the same in the next world.
> 
> Many of those dressed in the yellow robe are evil and unrestrained, and the evil end up in hell because of their evil deeds.
> 
> It is better to swallow a red-hot, flaming iron ball than for an unrestrained and immoral person to eat the alms food of the
> land.
> 
> The thoughtless man who consorts with another man's wife encounters four things - accumulation of demerit, disturbed
> sleep, thirdly disgrace, and hell fourth.
> 
> Accumulation of demerit, a bad rebirth and the slight pleasure of a frightened man and a frightened woman - while the
> authorities impose a severe penalty too. Therefore a man should not consort with another man's wife.
> 
> In the same way that a wrongly handled blade of grass will cut one's hand, so a badly fulfilled life in religion will drag one
> down to hell.
> 
> Lax behaviour, broken observances and dubious chastity - these are on no great benefit.
> 
> If it ought to be done, then do it; apply yourself to it strenuously. A lax man of religion just spreads even more dust.
> 
> A bad action is best left undone. One is punished later for a bad action. But a good deed is best done, for which one will
> not be punished for doing it.
> 
> Guard yourself like a frontier town, guarded inside and out. Don't let a moment slip you by. Those who have missed
> their opportunity grieve for it when they end up in hell.
> 
> Ashamed of what is not a matter for shame, and not ashamed of what is, by holding to wrong views people go to a bad
> rebirth.
> 
> Seeing danger where there is no danger, and not seeing danger where there is, by holding to wrong views people go to a
> bad rebirth.
> 
> Seeing a fault in what is not a fault, and not seeing a fault in what is, by holding to wrong views people go to a bad
> rebirth.
> 
> Recognising a fault as a fault, and what is not a fault as not one, by holding to right views people go to a good rebirth.
> 
> 23. The Elephant
> I will bear criticism like an elephant in battle bears an arrow from a bow. Most people are bad behaviour.
> 
> One can take a trained elephant even into a crowd. The king himself will ride a trained elephant. He who is disciplined is
> the best of men, since he can bear criticism.
> 
> Trained mules are excellent, and so are thoroughbred horses from the Sindh, and so are great battle elephants, but more
> excellent than them all is a disciplined man.
> 
> There is no reaching the unattainable with mounts like these, but with himself well under control a disciplined man can
> get there.
> 
> Dhammapalo, the elephant, is hard to control in rut. Even when tied up, he refuses his food. The great tusker is thinking
> of the elephant forest.
> 
> When a man is a lie-abed and over-eats, a lazy person who wallows in sleep like a great over-fed hog, a fool like that will
> be reborn time after time.
> 
> My mind used formerly to go off wandering wherever it felt like, following its own inclination, but today I shall control it
> carefully, like a mahout does a rutting elephant.
> 
> Take pleasure in being careful. Guard your mind well. Extricate yourself from the mire, like a great tusker sunk in the
> mud.
> 
> If you find an intelligent companion, a wise and well-behaved person going the same way as yourself, then go along with
> him, overcoming all dangers, pleased at heart and mindful.
> 
> But if you do not find an intelligent companion, a wise and well-behaved person going the same way as yourself, then go
> on your way alone, like a king abandoning a conquered kingdom, or like a great elephant in the deep forest.
> 
> It is better to travel alone. There is no companionship with a fool. Go on your way alone and commit no evil, without
> cares like a great elephant in the deep forest.
> 
> It is good to have companions when occasion arises, and it is good to be contented with whatever comes. Merit is good at
> the close of life, and the elimination of all suffering is good.
> 
> Good is filial devotion to one's mother in the world, and devotion to one's father is good. It is good to be a sanyasi in the
> world and to be a brahmin too.
> 
> Good is good behaviour up to old age, good is firmly established faith, good is the acquisition of understanding, and
> abstention from evil is good.
> 
> 24. Craving
> The desire of a thoughtlessly living man grows like a creeper. He drifts from one life to another like a monkey looking for
> fruit in the forest.
> 
> When one is overcome by this wretched, clinging desire in the world, one's sorrows increase like grass growing up after a
> lot of rain.
> 
> But when one masters this wretched desire, which is so hard to overcome, then one's sorrows just drop off, like a drop
> of water off a lotus.
> 
> This is what I say to you - Good luck be with you, gathered here. Dig up the root of craving, as one does a weed for its
> fragrant root. Don't let Mara destroy you again and again, like a stream does its reeds.
> 
> In the same way that even a felled tree will grow again if its root is strong and undamaged, so if latent desire has not been
> rooted out, then suffering shoots up again and again.
> 
> When the thirty six pleasure-bound streams of craving are strong in a man, then numerous desire-based thoughts pull the
> deluded man along.
> 
> The streams (of craving) flow everywhere, and the creeper hoots up and establishes itself, so when you see the creeper
> shooting up, cut away its root with your understanding.
> 
> The recollection and attraction of pleasures occur to a man, and those who are attached to the agreeable and seeking
> enjoyment, they are the people subject to birth and aging.
> 
> People beset by desire run here and there, like a snared rabbit, and those trapped in the bonds of attachments keep
> returning for a long time to suffering.
> 
> People beset by desire run here and there, like a snared rabbit, so one should get rid of one's craving if it is freedom from
> desire that one wants.
> 
> When a man out of the forest of desire is drawn back into the forest, then free from the forest as he is, he runs back into
> it. Look at him - free, he is running back to chains.
> 
> The wise say that it is not an iron, wooden or fibre fetter which is a strong one, but the besotted hankering after trinkets,
> children and wives, that, say the wise, is the strong fetter. It drags one down, and loose as it feels, it is hard to break.
> Breaking this fetter, people renounce the world, free from longing and abandoning sensuality. 345,
> 
> Those on fire with desire follow the stream of their desires, like a spider follows the strands of its self-made web.
> Breaking the bond, the wise walk on free from longing, and leaving all suffering behind.
> 
> Let go the past, let go the future, and let go what is in between, transcending the things of time. With your mind free in
> every direction, you will not return to birth and aging.
> 
> When a man is stimulated by his own thoughts, full of desire and dwelling on what is attractive, his craving increases
> even more. He is making the fetter even stronger. But he who takes pleasure in stilling his thoughts, practising the
> contemplation of what is repulsive, and remaining recollected, now he will make an end of craving, he will snap the
> bonds of Mara. His aim is accomplished, he is without fear, rid of craving and without stain. He has removed the arrows
> of changing existence. This is his last body. 349, 350,
> 
> Rid of craving and without clinging, an expert in the study of texts, and understanding the right sequence of the words, he
> may indeed be called "In his last body", "Great in wisdom" and a "Great man".
> 
> All-conquering and all-knowing am I. Amidst all states of mind, unaffected am I. By abandoning everything, I am
> liberated by the cessation of desire. Having achieved Realisation by myself, who should I point to as my teacher?
> 
> The gift of the Truth beats all other gifts. The flavour of the Truth beats all other tastes. The joy of the Truth beats all
> other joys, and the cessation of desire conquers all suffering.
> 
> Riches destroy a fool, but not those who are seeking the other shore. The fool destroys himself by his craving for riches,
> as he destroys others too.
> 
> Weeds are the blight of fields. Desire is the blight of mankind. Consequently offerings to those free from desire are of
> great fruit.
> 
> Weeds are the blight of fields. Anger is the blight of mankind. Consequently offerings to those free from anger are of
> great fruit.
> 
> Weeds are the blight of fields. Delusion is the blight of mankind. Consequently offerings to those free from delusion are
> of great fruit.
> 
> Weeds are the blight of fields. Self-seeking is the blight of mankind. Consequently offerings to those free from
> self-seeking are of great fruit.
> 
> 25. The Bhikkhu
> Restraint of the eyes is good. So is restraint of the ears. Restraint of the nose is good, and so is restraint of the palate. 360
> 
> Restraint of the body is good. So is restraint of speech. Restraint of mind is good, and so is restraint in everything. The
> bhikkhu who is restrained in everything, is freed from all suffering.
> 
> Restrained of hand, restrained of foot, restrained of speech and restrained in his highest faculty, with his joy turned
> inwards, his mind still, alone and contented - that is what they call a bhikkhu.
> 
> When a bhikkhu is restrained of tongue, quotes wise sayings, and is peaceful, expounding both letter and spirit - his
> speech is good to hear.
> 
> With joy in the Teaching, delighting in the Teaching, and pondering over the Teaching, the bhikkhu who remembers the
> Teaching does not fall away from the Teaching.
> 
> One should not underestimate what one has got, and one should not live envying others. A bhikkhu who envies others
> does not achieve stillness of mind in meditation.
> 
> Even if he has only received a little, if a bhikkhu does not look down on what he has received, even the devas praise him,
> pure of life and determined as he is.
> 
> When a man is without self-identification with any object or idea, and does not grieve for what does not exist - that is
> what is called a bhikkhu.
> 
> The bhikkhu who lives full of goodwill, with faith in the religion of the Buddha - he will reach the place of peace, the
> satisfaction of stilling the functions of the mind.
> 
> Empty the boat, bhikkhu. Empty it will sail lightly for you. When you have cut away desire and aversion, you will come
> to nirvana as a result.
> 
> Cut away the five (lower fetters), abandon the five (remaining fetters), and then develop the five (faculties). The bhikkhu
> who has transcended the five fetters is said to be "crossed over the flood".
> 
> Meditate, bhikkhu, don't be careless, don't let your mind take pleasure in the senses. Don't have to swallow the iron ball
> for being careless. Don't have to cry out, "This is terrible" as you burn.
> 
> There is no meditation without wisdom, and there is no wisdom without meditation. When a man has both meditation
> and wisdom, he is indeed close to nirvana.
> 
> When he has gone off to a lonely building, the bhikkhu whose mind is at peace experiences a more than human joy,
> when he recognises the supreme Truth.
> 
> Whenever he meditates on the rise and fall of the constituent elements of existence, he experiences joy and rapture. It is
> immortality for men of discrimination.
> 
> Therefore in this religion, this is what comes first for a wise bhikkhu - guarding of the senses, contentment, and discipline
> in accordance with the rules of the Order. He should cultivate friends of good character, of pure behaviour and resolute.
> He should be friendly in his manner, and well-behaved. As a result he will experience great joy, and put an end to
> suffering.
> 
> In the same way that the jasmine drops its withered flowers, you too should discard desire and aversion, bhikkhus.
> 
> Peaceful of body, peaceful of speech and with his mind thoroughly stilled, the bhikkhu who has rid himself of attachment
> to the world - is called "at peace".
> 
> You should encourage yourself, yourself. You should restrain yourself, yourself. When you are self-protected like that,
> you will live happily as a bhikkhu.
> 
> One is one's own guard. What other guard could one have? One is one's own destiny. Therefore one should train oneself,
> like a merchant does a thoroughbred horse.
> 
> The bhikkhu who experiences great joy, and has faith in the religion of the Buddha, will attain the place of peace, the
> satisfaction of stilling the functions of the mind.
> 
> When a bhikkhu applies himself when still young to the religion of the Buddha, he illuminates the world, like the moon
> breaking breaking away from a cloud.
> 
> 26. The Brahmin
> Cut the stream and go across, abandon sensuality, brahmin. When you have achieved the stilling of the activities of the
> mind, you will know the unconditioned, brahmin.
> 
> When a brahmin has crossed beyond duality, then all the fetters of such a seer come to an end.
> 
> When a man knows no this shore, other shore, or both - such a one, free from anxiety, liberated, that is what I call a
> brahmin.
> 
> Meditating, free from stain, settled in mind, with job accomplished, without inflowing thoughts, and having achieved the
> supreme purpose - that is what I call a brahmin.
> 
> By day it is the sun which shines, at night the moon shines forth. A warrior shines in his armour, and a brahmin shines in
> meditation. But at all times, by day and by night, the Buddha shines in his glory.
> 
> A brahmin is called so by breaking with evil deeds. It is by pious behaviour that a man is called a man of religion, and by
> casting out blemishes one is called one gone forth.
> 
> One should not strike a brahmin, and nor should a brahmin lose his temper. Shame on him who strikes a brahmin, and
> shame on him who loses his temper because of it.
> 
> Nothing is better in a brahmin than this - that he restrains his mind from pleasurable things. Suffering disappears for him
> to the same extent that he gets rid of thoughts of harming anyone.
> 
> He who does no wrong with body, speech or mind, but is restrained in all three spheres - that is what I call a brahmin.
> 
> One should reverently pay homage to the man from whom one has learned the Truth, taught by the True Buddha, like a
> brahmin does to the sacrificial fire.
> 
> One is not a brahmin by virtue of matted hair, lineage or caste. When a man possesses both Truth and truthfulness, then
> he is pure, then he is a brahmin.
> 
> What use is your matted hair, you fool? What use is your antelope skin? You are tangled inside, and you are just making
> the outside pretty.
> 
> The man who wears robes made from rags off the dust heap, who is gaunt, with his sinews standing out all over his
> body, alone meditating in the forest - that is what I call a brahmin.
> 
> I do not call him a brahmin who is so by natural birth from his mother. He is just a supercilious person if he still has
> possessions of his own. He who owns nothing of his own, and is without attachment - that is what I call a brahmin.
> 
> He who, having cut off all fetters, does not get himself upset, but is beyond bonds - that liberated man is what I call a
> brahmin.
> 
> He who has cut off both bond and strap, halter as well as bridle, who has removed the barrier, himself a Buddha - that is
> what I call a brahmin.
> 
> He who endures undisturbed criticism, ill-treatment and bonds, strong in patience, and that strength his power - that is
> what I call a brahmin.
> 
> Without anger, devout, upright, free from craving, disciplined and in his last body - that is what I call a brahmin.
> 
> Like water on a lotus leaf, like a mustard seed on the point of an pin, he who is not stuck to the senses - that is what I
> call a brahmin.
> 
> He who has experienced the end of his suffering here in this life, who has set down the burden, freed! - that is what I call
> a brahmin.
> 
> The sage of profound wisdom, the expert in the right and wrong road, he who has achieved the supreme purpose - that is
> what I call a brahmin.
> 
> Not intimate with laity or monks, wandering about with no abode, and few needs - that is what I call a brahmin.
> 
> Abandoning violence to all living creatures moving or still, he who neither kills or causes killing - that is what I call a
> brahmin.
> 
> Unagitated amongst the agitated, at peace among the violent, without clinging among those who cling - that is what I call
> a brahmin.
> 
> He from whom desire and aversion, conceit and hypocrisy have fallen away, like a mustard seed on the point of a pin -
> that is what I call a brahmin.
> 
> He who utters only gentle, instructive and truthful speech, criticising no-one - that is what I call a brahmin.
> 
> He who takes nothing in the world that has not been given him, long or short, big or small, attractive or that is what I call
> a brahmin.
> 
> He who has no desires in this world or the next, without longings, freed! - that is what I call a brahmin.
> 
> He who has no attachments and has been freed from uncertainty by realisation, who has plunged into the deathless - that
> is what I call a brahmin.
> 
> He who has even here and now transcended the fetter of both good and evil, who is sorrowless, faultless and pure - that
> is what I call a brahmin.
> 
> The man who is stainless, pure, clear and free from impurities like the moon, the search for pleasure extinguished - that is
> what I call a brahmin.
> 
> He who has transcended the treacherous mire of samsara and ignorance, who has crossed over, reached the other shore,
> meditating, motionless of mind, free from uncertainty, and who is at peace by not clinging to anything - that is what I call
> a brahmin.
> 
> He who by here and now abandoning sensuality, has gone forth a homeless wanderer, the search for pleasure
> extinguished - that is what I call a brahmin.
> 
> He who by here and now abandoning craving, has gone forth a homeless wanderer, the search for pleasure extinguished -
> that is what I call a brahmin.
> 
> He who has abandoned human bonds, and transcended those of heaven, liberated from all bonds - that is what I call a
> brahmin.
> 
> He who has abandoned pleasure and displeasure, is cooled off and without further fuel, the hero who has conquered all
> worlds - that is what I call a brahmin.
> 
> He who has seen the passing away and rebirth of all beings, free of clinging, blessed, awakened - that is what I call a
> brahmin.
> 
> He whose path devas, spirits and men cannot know, whose inflowing thoughts are ended, a saint - that is what I call a
> brahmin.
> 
> He who has nothing of his own, before, after or in between, possessionless and without attachment - that is what I call a
> brahmin.
> 
> Bull-like, noble, a hero, a great sage, and a conqueror, he who is motionless of mind, washed clean and awakened - that
> is what I call a brahmin.
> 
> He who has known his former lives and can see heaven and hell themselves, while he has attained the extinction of
> rebirth, a seer, master of transcendent knowledge, and master of all masteries - that is what I call a brahmin.
>
> — *Sayings of Buddha*