The Dhammapada

Introduction

The Dhammapada.

This is a modern-English reading of The Dhammapada.

Preserved in Pali, this ancient Buddhist collection gathers sayings traditionally attributed to the Buddha. Its precise date of compilation is uncertain. Across four hundred and twenty-three verses, arranged in twenty-six chapters, it explores anger and craving, wisdom and restraint, and the relationship between thought and action. Its teachings draw on familiar images: a wheel following an ox, rain entering a poorly thatched house, and the fragrance of flowers. Through these everyday scenes, the verses offer guidance on the conduct of life and the discipline of the mind. At its heart is a Buddhist vision of freedom from suffering, grounded in the moral consequences of action, the cycle of rebirth, and the path toward liberation.

This is The Dhammapada.

Chapter One The Twin Verses

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. It is founded on our thoughts; it is made up of our thoughts. If someone speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows them, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. It is founded on our thoughts; it is made up of our thoughts. If someone speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows them like a shadow that never leaves them.

“He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me.” In those who harbor such thoughts, hatred will never cease.

“He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me.” In those who do not harbor such thoughts, hatred will cease.

For hatred never ceases through hatred. Hatred ceases through love. This is an old rule.

The world does not know that we must all come to an end here. But the quarrels of those who know it cease at once.

Anyone who lives looking only for pleasures, with uncontrolled senses, eating without moderation, idle and weak, will certainly be overthrown by Mara, the tempter, as the wind throws down a weak tree.

Anyone who lives without looking for pleasures, with well-controlled senses, eating in moderation, faithful and strong, will certainly not be overthrown by Mara, any more than the wind throws down a rocky mountain.

Anyone who wishes to put on the yellow robe without having cleansed themselves of sin, and who disregards moderation and truth, is unworthy of the yellow robe.

But anyone who has cleansed themselves of sin, is firmly grounded in all virtues, and also respects moderation and truth, is indeed worthy of the yellow robe.

Those who imagine truth in untruth, and see untruth in truth, never arrive at truth, but follow vain desires.

Those who recognize truth in truth, and untruth in untruth, arrive at truth and follow true desires.

As rain breaks through a poorly thatched house, passion will break through an unreflective mind.

As rain does not break through a well-thatched house, passion will not break through a reflective mind.

Those who do evil mourn in this world, and they mourn in the next. They mourn in both. They mourn and suffer when they see the evil of their own work.

Virtuous people delight in this world, and they delight in the next. They delight in both. They delight and rejoice when they see the purity of their own work.

Those who do evil suffer in this world, and they suffer in the next. They suffer in both. They suffer when they think of the evil they have done; they suffer more when they go along the evil path.

Virtuous people are happy in this world, and they are happy in the next. They are happy in both. They are happy when they think of the good they have done; they are happier still when they go along the good path.

Even if a heedless person can recite a large portion of the teaching, they have no share in the priesthood if they do not put it into practice. They are like a cowherd counting other people's cows.

Even if a follower of the teaching can recite only a small portion of it, they do indeed have a share in the priesthood if they have abandoned passion, hatred, and foolishness, possess true knowledge and serenity of mind, and care for nothing in this world or the world to come.

Chapter Two On Diligence

Diligence is the path of immortality, of Nirvana; heedlessness is the path of death. Those who are diligent do not die. Those who are heedless are as if already dead.

Those who are advanced in diligence, having understood this clearly, delight in diligence and rejoice in the knowledge of the noble ones, the elect.

These wise people, meditative and steady, always endowed with strong powers, attain Nirvana, the highest happiness.

If a diligent person has roused themselves, if they are not forgetful, if their deeds are pure, if they act with consideration, if they restrain themselves and live according to the teaching, then their glory will increase.

By rousing themselves, by diligence, by restraint and control, wise people may make for themselves an island that no flood can overwhelm.

Fools, people of evil wisdom, pursue vanity. Wise people keep diligence as their finest jewel.

Do not pursue vanity, or the enjoyment of love and lust! Those who are diligent and meditative obtain abundant joy.

When a learned person drives away vanity through diligence, that wise person climbs the terraced heights of wisdom and looks down upon fools. Serene, they look upon the toiling crowd, as someone standing on a mountain looks down upon those standing on the plain.

Diligent among the heedless, awake among the sleepers, a wise person advances like a racehorse, leaving behind an ordinary riding horse.

Through diligence, Maghavan, also called Indra, rose to become lord of the gods. People praise diligence; heedlessness is always blamed.

A monk, one who lives on alms, who delights in diligence and looks with fear on heedlessness, moves about like fire, burning all his fetters, small or large.

A monk, one who lives on alms, who delights in reflection and looks with fear on heedlessness, cannot fall away from his perfect state. He is close to Nirvana.

Chapter Three Thought

As an arrow maker straightens an arrow, a wise person straightens their trembling and unsteady thought, which is difficult to guard, difficult to hold back.

Like a fish taken from its watery home and thrown onto dry ground, our thought trembles all over in order to escape the dominion of Mara, the tempter.

It is good to tame the mind, which is difficult to restrain and flighty, rushing wherever it wishes. A tamed mind brings happiness.

Wise people should guard their thoughts, for they are difficult to perceive, very cunning, and rush wherever they wish. Well-guarded thoughts bring happiness.

Those who bridle their mind, which travels far, moves about alone, has no body, and hides in the chamber of the heart, will be free from the bonds of Mara, the tempter.

If someone's thoughts are unsteady, if they do not know the true teaching, if their peace of mind is troubled, their knowledge will never be perfect.

If someone's thoughts are not scattered, if their mind is not confused, if they have ceased to think of good or evil, then there is no fear for them while they are watchful.

Knowing that this body is fragile like a jar, and making this thought firm like a fortress, we should attack Mara, the tempter, with the weapon of knowledge. We should watch him when he is conquered, and should never rest.

Before long, alas, this body will lie on the earth, despised, without understanding, like a useless log.

Whatever one who hates may do to another who hates, or an enemy to an enemy, a wrongly directed mind will do us greater harm.

Neither a mother nor a father, nor any other relative, will do so much for us: a well-directed mind will serve us better.

Chapter Four Flowers

Who will overcome this earth, and the world of Yama, the lord of the departed, and the world of the gods? Who will discover the plainly shown path of virtue, as a clever person finds the right flower?

The disciple will overcome the earth, and the world of Yama, and the world of the gods. The disciple will discover the plainly shown path of virtue, as a clever person finds the right flower.

Anyone who knows that this body is like froth, and has learned that it is as insubstantial as a mirage, will break Mara's flower-tipped arrow and never see the king of death.

Death carries off someone gathering flowers whose mind is distracted, as a flood carries off a sleeping village.

Death subdues someone gathering flowers whose mind is distracted, before their pleasures have satisfied them.

As a bee collects nectar and departs without injuring the flower, its color, or its scent, so should a sage live in their village.

A sage should take notice of their own misdeeds and negligence, not the perversities of others, nor their sins in what they do or leave undone.

Like a beautiful flower, full of color but without scent, are the fine but fruitless words of someone who does not act accordingly.

But like a beautiful flower, full of color and full of scent, are the fine and fruitful words of someone who acts accordingly.

As many kinds of wreaths can be made from a heap of flowers, so many good things may be achieved by a mortal once they are born.

The scent of flowers does not travel against the wind, nor does the scent of sandalwood, or of Tagara and Mallika flowers. But the fragrance of good people travels even against the wind; a good person fills every place.

Sandalwood or Tagara, a lotus flower or a Vassiki: among these kinds of perfume, the perfume of virtue is unsurpassed.

The scent that comes from Tagara and sandalwood is of little worth. The perfume of those who possess virtue rises up to the gods as the highest.

Mara, the tempter, never finds the way of those people who possess these virtues, who live without heedlessness and are freed through true knowledge.

As a lily grows full of sweet perfume and delight on a heap of rubbish cast onto the highway, so the disciple of the truly enlightened Buddha shines through their knowledge among those who are like rubbish, among the people who walk in darkness.

Chapter Five The Fool

The night is long for someone who is awake; a mile is long for someone who is tired; life is long for the foolish who do not know the true teaching.

If a traveler does not meet someone better than or equal to themselves, they should firmly keep to their solitary journey. There is no companionship with a fool.

“These sons belong to me, and this wealth belongs to me.” Such thoughts torment a fool. They do not even belong to themselves; how much less do sons and wealth belong to them?

A fool who knows their foolishness is wise at least to that extent. But a fool who thinks themselves wise is called a fool indeed.

Even if a fool associates with a wise person throughout their entire life, they will perceive the truth as little as a spoon perceives the taste of soup.

If an intelligent person associates with a wise person for even one minute, they will soon perceive the truth, as the tongue perceives the taste of soup.

Fools of little understanding are their own greatest enemies, for they do evil deeds that must bear bitter fruit.

A deed is not well done if someone must repent of it and receives its reward crying, with a tearful face.

No, a deed is well done if someone does not repent of it and receives its reward gladly and cheerfully.

As long as an evil deed does not bear fruit, a fool thinks it is like honey. But when it ripens, the fool suffers grief.

A fool may eat their food month after month like an ascetic, with the tip of a blade of Kusa grass, yet they are not worth a sixteenth part of those who have carefully weighed the teaching.

An evil deed, like freshly drawn milk, does not turn sour all at once. Smoldering like fire covered by ashes, it follows the fool.

And when the evil deed, after it has become known, brings sorrow to the fool, it destroys their good fortune; indeed, it splits their head.

Let the fool wish for a false reputation, for precedence among monks, for lordship in monasteries, for worship among other people!

“May both the layperson and the one who has left the world think that this is done by me. May they be subject to me in everything that is to be done or left undone.” Such is the mind of the fool, and their desire and pride increase.

“One road leads to wealth; another road leads to Nirvana.” If a monk, a disciple of Buddha, has learned this, he will not yearn for honor; he will strive for separation from the world.

Chapter Six The Wise

If you see an intelligent person who tells you where true treasures can be found, who shows what is to be avoided and offers rebukes, follow that wise person. It will be better, not worse, for those who follow them.

Let that person admonish, let them teach, let them forbid what is improper! They will be loved by the good and hated by the bad.

Do not have evildoers for friends; do not have low people for friends. Have virtuous people for friends; have the best of people for friends.

Those who drink in the teaching live happily with a serene mind. A sage always rejoices in the teaching as preached by the noble ones, the elect.

Well makers lead water wherever they wish; arrow makers bend the arrow; carpenters bend a log of wood; wise people shape themselves.

As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, wise people do not falter amid blame and praise.

After they have listened to the teachings, wise people become serene, like a deep, smooth, and still lake.

Good people walk on, whatever happens. The good do not chatter with longing for pleasure. Whether touched by happiness or sorrow, wise people never appear elated or depressed.

If, whether for their own sake or for the sake of others, someone wishes neither for a son, nor for wealth, nor for lordship, and does not wish for their own success through unfair means, then they are good, wise, and virtuous.

Few people arrive at the other shore, becoming arhats. The other people here run up and down the shore.

But those who follow the teaching when it has been well preached to them will cross the dominion of death, however difficult it is to overcome.

A wise person should leave the dark state of ordinary life and follow the bright state of the monk. After leaving home for a homeless life, they should, in their seclusion, look for enjoyment where there seemed to be no enjoyment. Leaving all pleasures behind and calling nothing their own, a wise person should cleanse themselves of all the troubles of the mind.

Those whose mind is firmly grounded in the seven elements of knowledge, who cling to nothing and rejoice in freedom from attachment, whose appetites have been conquered, and who are full of light, are free even in this world.

Chapter Seven The Venerable

There is no suffering for anyone who has finished their journey and abandoned grief, who has freed themselves on all sides and thrown off all fetters.

They depart with their thoughts well collected; they are not happy in their dwelling. Like swans that have left their lake, they leave their house and home.

The path of those who have no riches, who live on recognized food, and who have perceived void and unconditioned freedom, Nirvana, is difficult to understand, like that of birds in the air.

The path of those whose appetites are stilled, who are not absorbed in enjoyment, and who have perceived void and unconditioned freedom, Nirvana, is difficult to understand, like that of birds in the air.

Even the gods envy those who are free from pride and free from appetites, and whose senses have been subdued like horses well trained by their driver.

Such a person, who does their duty, is tolerant like the earth, like Indra's bolt. They are like a lake without mud; no new births await them.

Their thought is quiet, and quiet are their words and deeds, when they have obtained freedom through true knowledge and have thus become a quiet person.

A person who is free from credulity, but knows the uncreated, who has cut all ties, removed all temptations, and renounced all desires, is the greatest of people.

In a hamlet or a forest, in deep water or on dry land, wherever venerable people, arhats, dwell, that place is delightful.

Forests are delightful. Where the world finds no delight, those without passion will find delight, for they do not look for pleasures.

Chapter Eight The Thousands

Even if a speech is a thousand words long but is made up of senseless words, one word of sense is better: someone who hears it becomes calm.

Even if a Gatha, a poem, is a thousand words long but is made up of senseless words, one word of a Gatha is better: someone who hears it becomes calm.

Even if someone recites a hundred Gathas made up of senseless words, one word of the teaching is better: someone who hears it becomes calm.

If someone conquers a thousand times a thousand people in battle, and another conquers themselves, the latter is the greatest of conquerors.

Conquering yourself is better than conquering all other people. Not even a god, a Gandharva, nor Mara together with Brahman, could turn into defeat the victory of someone who has conquered themselves and always lives under restraint.

If someone were to sacrifice with a thousand, month after month for a hundred years, and for just one moment paid homage to someone whose soul is grounded in true knowledge, that homage would be better than sacrifice for a hundred years.

If someone worshiped Agni, fire, in the forest for a hundred years, and for just one moment paid homage to someone whose soul is grounded in true knowledge, that homage would be better than sacrifice for a hundred years.

Whatever someone sacrifices in this world as an offering or an oblation for a whole year to gain merit, the whole of it is not worth a quarter, a farthing. Reverence shown to the righteous is better.

For anyone who always greets and constantly reveres the aged, four things will increase: life, beauty, happiness, and power.

But even if someone lives a hundred years, vicious and unrestrained, one day of life is better if a person is virtuous and reflective.

And even if someone lives a hundred years, ignorant and unrestrained, one day of life is better if a person is wise and reflective.

And even if someone lives a hundred years, idle and weak, one day of life is better if a person has attained firm strength.

And even if someone lives a hundred years without seeing beginning and end, one day of life is better if a person sees beginning and end.

And even if someone lives a hundred years without seeing the immortal place, one day of life is better if a person sees the immortal place.

And even if someone lives a hundred years without seeing the highest teaching, one day of life is better if a person sees the highest teaching.

Chapter Nine Evil

Anyone who would hasten toward the good should keep their thought away from evil. If someone does good sluggishly, their mind delights in evil.

If someone commits a sin, they should not do it again; they should not delight in sin. Pain is the outcome of evil.

If someone does good, they should do it again; they should delight in it. Happiness is the outcome of good.

Even evildoers see happiness as long as their evil deed has not ripened. But when their evil deed has ripened, then the evildoers see evil.

Even good people see evil days as long as their good deed has not ripened. But when their good deed has ripened, then the good see happy days.

Let no one think lightly of evil, saying in their heart, “It will not come near me.” Even a water pot is filled by falling drops of water. A fool becomes full of evil, even if they gather it little by little.

Let no one think lightly of good, saying in their heart, “It will not come near me.” Even a water pot is filled by falling drops of water. A wise person becomes full of good, even if they gather it little by little.

Avoid evil deeds as a merchant who has few companions and carries much wealth avoids a dangerous road, as someone who loves life avoids poison.

Someone who has no wound on their hand may touch poison with that hand. Poison does not affect a person who has no wound; nor is there evil for someone who does not commit evil.

If someone offends a harmless, pure, and innocent person, the evil falls back on that fool, like light dust thrown up against the wind.

Some people are born again; evildoers go to hell; righteous people go to heaven; those free from all worldly desires attain Nirvana.

Not in the sky, not in the middle of the sea, not even if we enter the clefts of the mountains, is there any known spot in the whole world where someone might be freed from an evil deed.

Not in the sky, not in the middle of the sea, not even if we enter the clefts of the mountains, is there any known spot in the whole world where death could not overcome a mortal.

Chapter Ten Punishment

Everyone trembles at punishment; everyone fears death. Remember that you are like them, and do not kill or cause slaughter.

Everyone trembles at punishment; everyone loves life. Remember that you are like them, and do not kill or cause slaughter.

Those who seek their own happiness by punishing or killing beings who also long for happiness will not find happiness after death.

Those who seek their own happiness without punishing or killing beings who also long for happiness will find happiness after death.

Do not speak harshly to anyone; those you speak to will answer you in the same way. Angry speech is painful, and blows in return for blows will fall on you.

If you make no sound, like a shattered metal gong, then you have reached Nirvana; you know no contention.

As a cowherd drives his cows into the stable with his staff, so old age and death drive human life.

A fool does not know when they commit their evil deeds. But the wicked person burns through their own deeds, as though burned by fire.

Those who inflict pain on innocent and harmless people will soon come to one of these ten states:

They will meet cruel suffering, loss, bodily injury, heavy affliction, or loss of mind,

or suffer misfortune from the king, a fearful accusation, the loss of relatives, or the destruction of their treasures,

or fire from lightning will burn their houses. And when their body is destroyed, the fool will go to hell.

Neither nakedness, nor braided hair, nor dirt, nor fasting, nor lying on the ground, nor rubbing oneself with dust, nor sitting motionless can purify a mortal who has not overcome desires.

Even someone dressed in fine clothes, if they practice tranquility, are quiet, subdued, restrained, and chaste, and have stopped finding fault with all other beings, is indeed a Brahmin, an ascetic called a sramana, a monk called a bhikshu.

Is there anyone in this world so restrained by humility that they do not mind correction, as a well-trained horse does not mind the whip?

Like a well-trained horse touched by the whip, be active and lively. Through faith, virtue, energy, meditation, and discernment of the teaching, you will overcome this great pain of correction, perfect in knowledge and behavior, and never forgetful.

Well diggers lead the water wherever they wish; arrow makers bend the arrow; carpenters bend a log of wood; good people shape themselves.

Chapter Eleven Old Age

How can there be laughter, how can there be joy, when this world is always burning? Why do you not seek a light, you who are surrounded by darkness?

Look at this dressed-up lump, covered with wounds, pieced together, sickly, full of many thoughts, with no strength and nothing to hold it firm!

This body is wasted, full of sickness, and frail. This heap of decay breaks into pieces; life indeed ends in death.

Those white bones are like gourds thrown away in autumn. What pleasure is there in looking at them?

A stronghold is made of bones and covered with flesh and blood. Within it dwell old age and death, pride and deceit.

The splendid chariots of kings are destroyed, and the body also approaches destruction. But the virtue of good people never approaches destruction. This is what the good say to the good.

Someone who has learned little grows old like an ox. Their flesh grows, but their knowledge does not grow.

Searching for the maker of this dwelling, I will have to pass through a course of many births as long as I do not find him. And birth again and again is painful. But now, maker of the dwelling, you have been seen. You will not build this dwelling again. All your rafters are broken; your ridgepole is split apart. The mind, approaching the Eternal, called visankhara or Nirvana, has reached the extinction of all desires.

Those who have not followed proper discipline and have not gained treasure in their youth perish like old herons in a lake without fish.

Those who have not followed proper discipline and have not gained treasure in their youth lie like broken bows, sighing for the past.

Chapter Twelve Self

If you hold yourself dear, watch yourself carefully. During at least one of the three watches, a wise person should be watchful.

First direct yourself toward what is proper, then teach others. In this way, a wise person will not suffer.

If you make yourself what you teach others to be, then, being well subdued yourself, you may subdue others. One's own self is indeed difficult to subdue.

The self is the lord of the self. Who else could be its lord? With the self well subdued, a person finds a lord such as few can find.

The evil you do yourself, born of you and bred by you, crushes the foolish, as a diamond breaks a precious stone.

Those whose wickedness is very great bring themselves down to the state their enemy wishes them to be in, as a creeper does to the tree it surrounds.

Bad deeds and deeds harmful to ourselves are easy to do. What is beneficial and good is very difficult to do.

The fool who scorns the rule of the venerable arhats, the noble ones, and the virtuous, and follows false doctrine, bears fruit for their own destruction, like the fruits of the Katthaka reed.

By yourself you do evil; by yourself you suffer. By yourself you leave evil undone; by yourself you are purified. Purity and impurity belong to yourself. No one can purify another.

Let no one forget their own duty for the sake of another's, however great it may be. Once you have recognized your own duty, always attend to it.

Chapter Thirteen The World

Do not follow the evil teaching! Do not go on living in heedlessness! Do not follow false doctrine! Do not be a friend of the world.

Rouse yourself! Do not be idle! Follow the teaching of virtue! The virtuous rest in bliss in this world and in the next.

Follow the teaching of virtue; do not follow the teaching of sin. The virtuous rest in bliss in this world and in the next.

Look at the world as a bubble; look at it as a mirage. The king of death does not see those who look down upon the world in this way.

Come, look at this glittering world, like a royal chariot. The foolish are immersed in it, but the wise do not touch it.

Those who were once reckless and later became sober brighten this world, like the moon freed from clouds.

Those whose evil deeds are covered by good deeds brighten this world, like the moon freed from clouds.

This world is dark; only a few can see here. Only a few go to heaven, like birds that have escaped from a net.

Swans travel on the path of the sun; they pass through the sky by their miraculous power. The wise are led out of this world when they have conquered Mara and his followers.

If someone has violated a single teaching, speaks lies, and scoffs at another world, there is no evil they will not do.

The uncharitable do not go to the world of the gods. Only fools fail to praise generosity. A wise person rejoices in generosity and through it becomes blessed in the other world.

Better than sovereignty over the earth, better than going to heaven, better than lordship over all worlds, is the reward of the first step in holiness.

Chapter Fourteen The Buddha the Awakened

His conquest is not conquered again; no one in this world enters into his conquest. By what track can you lead him, the Awakened, the All-knowing, the one who leaves no track?

No desire, with its snares and poisons, can lead him astray. By what track can you lead him, the Awakened, the All-knowing, the one who leaves no track?

Even the gods envy those who are awakened and not forgetful, who are devoted to meditation, who are wise, and who delight in the peace of withdrawal from the world.

Human conception is difficult to attain; the life of mortals is difficult; hearing the true teaching is difficult; the birth of the Awakened, the attainment of Buddhahood, is difficult.

To commit no sin, to do good, and to purify one's mind: this is the teaching of all the Awakened.

The Awakened call patience the highest penance, and long-suffering the highest Nirvana. For someone who strikes others is no recluse, no pravrajita; someone who insults others is no ascetic, no sramana.

Not to blame, not to strike, to live restrained under the teaching, to be moderate in eating, to sleep and sit alone, and to dwell on the highest thoughts: this is the teaching of the Awakened.

Lusts cannot be satisfied, even by a shower of gold pieces. Those who know that lusts give only a brief taste and cause pain are wise.

Even in heavenly pleasures, the fully awakened disciple finds no satisfaction, and delights only in the destruction of all desires.

Driven by fear, people seek many refuges: mountains and forests, groves and sacred trees.

But that is not a safe refuge; that is not the best refuge. Going to that refuge does not deliver a person from all pains.

Those who take refuge with Buddha, the teaching, and the community, and who see the four holy truths with clear understanding:

pain, the origin of pain, the destruction of pain, and the eightfold holy way that leads to the quieting of pain.

That is the safe refuge; that is the best refuge. Having gone to that refuge, a person is delivered from all pain.

A supernatural person, a Buddha, is not easily found and is not born everywhere. Wherever such a sage is born, that people prospers.

Happy is the arising of the Awakened; happy is the sharing of the true teaching; happy is peace in the community; happy is the devotion of those who are at peace.

Those who pay homage to people worthy of homage, whether the Awakened, the Buddhas, or their disciples, who have overcome the host of evils and crossed the flood of sorrow; those who pay homage to such people, who have found deliverance and know no fear, have merit that no one can ever measure.

Chapter Fifteen Happiness

Let us live happily, then, without hating those who hate us! Among people who hate us, let us live free from hatred!

Let us live happily, then, free from ailments among the ailing! Among people who are ailing, let us live free from ailments!

Let us live happily, then, free from greed among the greedy! Among people who are greedy, let us live free from greed!

Let us live happily, then, though we call nothing our own! We will be like the bright gods, feeding on happiness!

Victory breeds hatred, for the conquered are unhappy. Those who have given up both victory and defeat are contented and happy.

There is no fire like passion; there is no losing throw like hatred; there is no pain like this body; there is no happiness higher than rest.

Hunger is the worst of diseases; the body is the greatest of pains. To know this truly is Nirvana, the highest happiness.

Health is the greatest of gifts; contentment is the best wealth; trust is the best of relationships; Nirvana is the highest happiness.

Those who have tasted the sweetness of solitude and tranquility are free from fear and free from sin as they taste the sweetness of drinking in the teaching.

It is good to see the noble ones, the Aryas; living with them is always happiness. If you do not see fools, you will be truly happy.

Those who walk in the company of fools suffer for a long way. Company with fools, as with an enemy, is always painful. Company with the wise is a pleasure, like meeting relatives.

Therefore, follow the wise, the intelligent, the learned, the greatly enduring, the dutiful, and the noble ones. Follow a good and wise person as the moon follows the path of the stars.

Chapter Sixteen Pleasure

Those who give themselves to vanity and not to meditation, forgetting the true aim of life and grasping at pleasure, will in time envy those who have exerted themselves in meditation.

Never seek what is pleasant or what is unpleasant. Not seeing what is pleasant is pain, and seeing what is unpleasant is pain.

Therefore, let no one love anything; losing what is beloved is evil. Those who love nothing and hate nothing have no fetters.

From pleasure comes grief; from pleasure comes fear. Those who are free from pleasure know neither grief nor fear.

From affection comes grief; from affection comes fear. Those who are free from affection know neither grief nor fear.

From lust comes grief; from lust comes fear. Those who are free from lust know neither grief nor fear.

From love comes grief; from love comes fear. Those who are free from love know neither grief nor fear.

From greed comes grief; from greed comes fear. Those who are free from greed know neither grief nor fear.

The world will hold dear those who possess virtue and intelligence, who are just, who speak the truth, and who attend to their own business.

Those in whom a desire for the Ineffable, Nirvana, has arisen, whose minds are satisfied, and whose thoughts are not bewildered by love, are called urdhvamsrotas, carried upward by the stream.

Relatives, friends, and lovers greet someone who has been away a long time and returns safely from afar.

In the same way, good works welcome those who have done good and have passed from this world to the other, as relatives welcome a friend who has returned.

Chapter Seventeen Anger

Leave anger behind; abandon pride; overcome all bondage! No suffering falls on those who are not attached to name and form and who call nothing their own.

Those who hold back rising anger like a rolling chariot I call true drivers. Others are merely holding the reins.

Overcome anger with love; overcome evil with good. Overcome the greedy with generosity, and the liar with truth!

Speak the truth; do not yield to anger; give if you are asked for a little. By these three steps you will draw near to the gods.

Sages who injure no one and always control their bodies will go to the unchanging place, Nirvana. Once they have gone there, they will suffer no more.

For those who are always watchful, who study day and night, and who strive for Nirvana, passions will come to an end.

This is an old saying, Atula, not a saying only of today: "They blame those who sit silent; they blame those who speak much; they also blame those who say little. There is no one on earth who is not blamed."

There never was, there never will be, and there is not now anyone who is always blamed or anyone who is always praised.

But consider someone whom discerning people praise continually, day after day, as without blemish, wise, and rich in knowledge and virtue. Who would dare blame such a person, like a coin made of gold from the Jambu River? Even the gods praise them; even Brahman praises them.

Beware of bodily anger, and control your body! Leave behind the sins of the body, and practice virtue with your body!

Beware of anger in the tongue, and control your tongue! Leave behind the sins of the tongue, and practice virtue with your tongue!

Beware of anger in the mind, and control your mind! Leave behind the sins of the mind, and practice virtue with your mind!

The wise who control their bodies, who control their tongues, the wise who control their minds, are indeed well controlled.

Chapter Eighteen Impurity

You are now like a withered leaf. The messengers of death, of Yama, have come near you. You stand at the door of your departure, and you have no provisions for your journey.

Make yourself an island; work hard; be wise! When your impurities are blown away and you are free from guilt, you will enter the heavenly world of the noble ones, the Ariyas.

Your life has come to an end; you have come near to death, to Yama. There is no resting place for you on the road, and you have no provisions for your journey.

Make yourself an island; work hard; be wise! When your impurities are blown away and you are free from guilt, you will not enter birth and decay again.

Let the wise blow away their own impurities, as a smith blows away the impurities of silver, one by one, little by little, and from time to time.

As the impurity that springs from iron destroys the iron when it springs from it, so a transgressor's own deeds lead them onto the evil path.

Prayers are tainted by not being repeated; houses by not being repaired; the body by laziness; a watchman by heedlessness.

Bad conduct is the taint of a woman; greed is the taint of a benefactor. All evil ways are tainted in this world and in the next.

But there is a taint worse than all taints: ignorance is the greatest taint. Monks, throw off that taint and become free of taint!

Life is easy for someone without shame, a crow-like hero, a troublemaker, insulting, bold, and wretched.

But life is hard for a modest person who always seeks what is pure, who is free from self-interest, quiet, spotless, and intelligent.

The man who destroys life, who speaks untruth, who takes in this world what is not given to him, who goes to another man's wife,

and gives himself to drinking intoxicating liquor, digs up his own root even in this world.

Know this: the unrestrained are in a bad state. Take care that greed and vice do not bring you grief for a long time!

People give according to their faith or according to their pleasure. If someone frets about the food and drink given to others, they will find no rest by day or by night.

Those in whom that feeling is destroyed and pulled out by the very root find rest by day and by night.

There is no fire like passion; there is no shark like hatred; there is no snare like folly; there is no torrent like greed.

Others' faults are easy to see, but your own are difficult to see. You winnow your neighbor's faults like chaff, but hide your own fault as a cheat hides the bad die from the gambler.

If someone keeps looking for others' faults and is always inclined to take offense, their own passions will grow, and they are far from the destruction of passions.

There is no path through the air; outward acts do not make someone a samana, an ascetic. The world delights in vanity; the Tathagatas, the Buddhas, are free from vanity.

There is no path through the air; outward acts do not make someone a samana, an ascetic. No creatures are eternal, but the Awakened, the Buddhas, are never shaken.

Chapter Nineteen The Just

A person is not just if they settle a matter by violence. No: one who distinguishes both right and wrong, who is learned and leads others by law and fairness rather than violence, who is protected by the law and is intelligent—that person is called just.

A person is not learned because they talk a great deal. One who is patient, free from hatred and fear, is called learned.

A person does not uphold the teaching because they talk a great deal. Even someone who has learned little, but sees the teaching bodily, upholds the teaching: a person who never neglects the teaching.

A person is not an elder because their head is gray. Their age may be ripe, yet they are called old in vain.

One in whom there is truth, virtue, love, restraint, and moderation, who is free from impurity and is wise, is called an elder.

An envious, greedy, dishonest person does not become respectable merely by talking a great deal, or by the beauty of their complexion.

One in whom all this is destroyed and pulled out by the very root, who is free from hatred and wise, is called respectable.

An undisciplined person who speaks falsehood does not become a Samana by shaving their head. Can someone still held captive by desire and greed be a Samana?

One who always quiets evil, whether small or large, is called a Samana, a quiet person, because they have quieted all evil.

A person is not a mendicant monk simply because they ask others for alms. One who adopts the whole teaching is a monk, not someone who only begs.

One who is above good and evil, who is chaste, and who passes through the world with knowledge, is indeed called a monk.

A foolish and ignorant person is not a Muni because they observe silence, called mona, or mauna. But the wise person who takes up the balance, chooses the good, and avoids evil is a Muni, and is a Muni because of this. One who weighs both sides in this world is called a Muni.

A person is not one of the noble ones because they injure living creatures. Because they have pity on all living creatures, they are called noble.

Not only through discipline and vows, not only through much learning, not by entering a trance, not by sleeping alone do I earn the happiness of release that no worldly person can know. Monk, do not be confident as long as you have not reached the extinction of desires.

Chapter Twenty The Way

The best of paths is the eightfold path; the best of truths, the four words; the best of virtues, freedom from passion; the best of people, one who has eyes to see.

This is the path. There is no other that leads to the purification of intelligence. Follow this path! Everything else is the deception of Mara, the tempter.

If you follow this path, you will put an end to pain! I preached the path when I had understood the removal of the thorns in the flesh.

You yourself must make an effort. The Tathagatas, the Buddhas, are only preachers. Thoughtful people who enter the path are freed from the bondage of Mara.

All created things perish. One who knows and sees this becomes passive in pain. This is the path to purity.

All created things are grief and pain. One who knows and sees this becomes passive in pain. This is the path that leads to purity.

All forms are unreal. One who knows and sees this becomes passive in pain. This is the path that leads to purity.

Someone who does not rouse themselves when it is time to rise, who is full of laziness despite being young and strong, whose will and thought are weak—that lazy, idle person will never find the path to knowledge.

Watch your speech and keep your mind well restrained; never do anything wrong with your body. Keep these three roads of action clear, and you will achieve the path taught by the wise.

Through zeal, knowledge is gained; through lack of zeal, knowledge is lost. Knowing this double path of gain and loss, put yourself in a position where knowledge can grow.

Cut down the whole forest of lust, not just one tree! Danger comes from the forest of lust. When you have cut down both the forest of lust and its undergrowth, monks, you will be rid of the forest and free!

As long as a man's love for women, even the smallest amount, has not been destroyed, his mind remains in bondage, like a milk-drinking calf bound to its mother.

Cut out the love of self with your hand, like an autumn lotus! Cherish the road of peace. Nirvana has been shown by Sugata, the Buddha.

Here I will live in the rainy season, here in winter and summer: so the fool thinks, without thinking of death.

Death comes and carries away that person, praised for their children and flocks, their mind distracted, as a flood carries away a sleeping village.

Sons are no help, nor a father, nor relatives. There is no help from family for someone death has seized.

A wise and good person who knows what this means should quickly clear the path that leads to Nirvana.

Chapter Twenty One Miscellaneous

If giving up a small pleasure lets you see a great pleasure, let a wise person give up the small pleasure and look toward the great one.

One who wishes to gain pleasure by causing others pain becomes entangled in the bonds of hatred and will never be free from hatred.

What should be done is neglected; what should not be done is done. The desires of unruly, heedless people are always increasing.

But those who always direct all their watchfulness toward their body, who do not pursue what should not be done, and who steadily do what should be done—such watchful and wise people will see their desires come to an end.

A true Brahmin goes unharmed, though they have killed father and mother and two valiant kings, though they have destroyed a kingdom with all its subjects.

A true Brahmin goes unharmed, though they have killed father and mother and two holy kings, and an eminent man besides.

The disciples of Gotama, the Buddha, are always fully awake, and their thoughts, day and night, are always set on the Buddha.

The disciples of Gotama are always fully awake, and their thoughts, day and night, are always set on the teaching.

The disciples of Gotama are always fully awake, and their thoughts, day and night, are always set on the religious community.

The disciples of Gotama are always fully awake, and their thoughts, day and night, are always set on their body.

The disciples of Gotama are always fully awake, and their mind, day and night, always delights in compassion.

The disciples of Gotama are always fully awake, and their mind, day and night, always delights in meditation.

It is hard to leave the world and become a monk; it is hard to enjoy the world. The monastery is hard; the houses are painful. It is painful to live with equals and share everything in common, and the wandering mendicant is beset by pain. Therefore, do not be a wandering mendicant, and you will not be beset by pain.

Whatever place a faithful, virtuous, celebrated, and wealthy person chooses, they are respected there.

Good people shine from far away, like the snowy mountains. Bad people are not seen, like arrows shot at night.

Only one who constantly practices the duty of sitting alone and sleeping alone, subduing themselves, will rejoice alone in the destruction of all desires, as if living in a forest.

Chapter Twenty Two The Downward Course

One who says what is not true goes to hell; so does one who has done a thing and says, "I have not done it." After death, both are equal: people with evil deeds in the next world.

Many people whose shoulders are covered by the yellow robe are ill-natured and unrestrained. Such evildoers go to hell through their evil deeds.

It would be better to swallow a heated iron ball, like blazing fire, than for a bad, unrestrained person to live on the charity of the land.

A reckless man who covets his neighbor's wife gains four things: a bad reputation, an uncomfortable bed, third, punishment, and last, hell.

There is a bad reputation and the evil path to hell. There is the brief pleasure of a frightened person in the arms of another frightened person, and the king imposes heavy punishment. Therefore, let no man think of his neighbor's wife.

Just as a blade of grass cuts the arm if badly grasped, asceticism badly practiced leads to hell.

An act carelessly performed, a broken vow, and hesitant obedience to discipline bring no great reward.

If something is to be done, do it; tackle it vigorously! A careless pilgrim only scatters the dust of their passions more widely.

An evil deed is better left undone, because you regret it afterward. A good deed is better done, because once you have done it, you do not regret it.

Guard yourself like a well-guarded frontier fort, with defenses inside and out. Do not let a moment slip away, for those who let the right moment pass suffer pain when they are in hell.

Those who are ashamed of what they should not be ashamed of, and are not ashamed of what they should be ashamed of, embrace false doctrines and enter the evil path.

Those who fear when they should not fear, and do not fear when they should fear, embrace false doctrines and enter the evil path.

Those who forbid when there is nothing to forbid, and do not forbid when there is something to forbid, embrace false doctrines and enter the evil path.

Those who recognize what is forbidden as forbidden, and what is not forbidden as not forbidden, embrace the true doctrine and enter the good path.

Chapter Twenty Three The Elephant

I will silently endure abuse as an elephant in battle endures the arrow shot from the bow, for the world is ill-natured.

They lead a tamed elephant into battle; the king mounts a tamed elephant. The tamed person is the best among people: one who silently endures abuse.

Tamed mules are good, and so are noble Sindhu horses and elephants with large tusks. But one who tames themselves is better still.

For no one reaches the untrodden country, Nirvana, with these animals. A tamed person goes there on a tamed animal: their own well-tamed self.

The elephant called Dhanapalaka, with sap flowing from his temples, is difficult to control and does not eat a morsel when bound. The elephant longs for the elephant grove.

If a person becomes fat and a great eater, if they are sleepy and roll about, that fool, like a hog fed on slops, is born again and again.

This mind of mine once wandered as it liked, as it wished, as it pleased. But now I will hold it firmly in check, like the rider who holds the hook and holds the furious elephant in check.

Do not be heedless; watch your thoughts! Pull yourself out of the evil path, like an elephant sunk in mud.

If you find a prudent companion who walks with you, is wise, and lives soberly, you may walk with them, overcoming all dangers, happy but thoughtful.

If you find no prudent companion who walks with you, is wise, and lives soberly, walk alone, like a king who has left his conquered country behind, like an elephant in the forest.

It is better to live alone; there is no companionship with a fool. Walk alone, commit no sin, and have few wishes, like an elephant in the forest.

When an occasion arises, friends are pleasant. Enjoyment is pleasant, whatever its cause. A good deed is pleasant in the hour of death. Giving up all grief is pleasant.

Pleasant in the world is the state of being a mother, pleasant the state of being a father, pleasant the state of being a Samana, pleasant the state of being a Brahmin.

Pleasant is virtue that lasts into old age; pleasant is firmly rooted faith. Pleasant is the attainment of intelligence; pleasant is avoiding sins.

Chapter Twenty Four Craving

A heedless person's craving grows like a creeping vine. They run from life to life, like a monkey seeking fruit in the forest.

Whoever is overcome in this world by this fierce craving, full of poison, has sufferings that grow like the abundant Birana grass.

From one who overcomes this fierce craving, so difficult to conquer in this world, sufferings fall away like drops of water from a lotus leaf.

I give you this helpful word: all of you gathered here, dig up the root of craving, just as one who wants the sweet-scented Usira root must dig up the Birana grass, so that Mara, the tempter, may not crush you again and again, as the stream crushes the reeds.

A tree, even when cut down, remains firm as long as its root is safe, and grows again. In the same way, unless what feeds craving is destroyed, the pain of life will return again and again.

If someone's craving, running toward pleasure, is exceedingly strong in the thirty-six channels, the waves will carry that misguided person away: the waves of their desires, which are set on passion.

The channels run everywhere; the creeping vine of passion stands sprouting. If you see the vine springing up, cut its root by means of knowledge.

A creature's pleasures are extravagant and luxurious. Sunk in lust and looking for pleasure, people undergo birth and decay again and again.

Driven on by craving, people run about like a snared hare. Held in fetters and bonds, they undergo pain for a long time, again and again.

Driven on by craving, people run about like a snared hare. Therefore, let the mendicant drive out craving by striving to become free from passion.

Look at someone who, after getting rid of the forest of lust—that is, after reaching Nirvana—gives themselves over to forest life, to lust; who, after being removed from the forest, from lust, runs back to the forest, to lust. Though free, that person runs into bondage.

Wise people do not call a fetter strong when it is made of iron, wood, or hemp. Far stronger is attachment to precious stones and rings, to sons and a wife.

Wise people call that fetter strong which drags you down and yields, yet is difficult to undo. After cutting it at last, people leave the world, free from cares, leaving desires and pleasures behind.

Those enslaved by passions run down with the stream of desires, as a spider runs down the web it has made itself. When they have cut this, wise people at last leave the world free from cares, leaving all affection behind.

Give up what is before, give up what is behind, give up what is in the middle as you go to the other shore of existence. If your mind is altogether free, you will not again enter into birth and decay.

If someone is tossed about by doubts, full of strong passions and yearning only for what is delightful, their craving will grow more and more, and they will indeed make their fetters strong.

If someone delights in quieting doubts and, always reflecting, dwells on what is not delightful, the body's impurity and the like, they will certainly remove—indeed, cut—the fetter of Mara.

One who has reached the final attainment, who does not tremble, who is without craving and without sin, has broken all the thorns of life. This will be their last body.

One who is without craving and without affection, who understands the words and their interpretation, who knows the order of letters, those that come before and those that come after, has received their last body. They are called the great sage, the great person.

I have conquered all. I know all. In all conditions of life, I am free from taint. I have left all, and through the destruction of craving I am free. Having learned for myself, whom shall I teach?

The gift of the teaching surpasses all gifts; the sweetness of the teaching surpasses all sweetness; delight in the teaching surpasses all delights; the extinction of craving overcomes all pain.

Pleasures destroy foolish people if they do not look for the other shore. Through craving for pleasures, a foolish person destroys themselves, as if they were their own enemy.

Fields are damaged by weeds; humanity is damaged by passion. Therefore, a gift given to those free from passion brings great reward.

Fields are damaged by weeds; humanity is damaged by hatred. Therefore, a gift given to those who do not hate brings great reward.

Fields are damaged by weeds; humanity is damaged by vanity. Therefore, a gift given to those free from vanity brings great reward.

Fields are damaged by weeds; humanity is damaged by lust. Therefore, a gift given to those free from lust brings great reward.

Chapter Twenty Five The Monk

Restraint in the eye is good; good is restraint in the ear. Restraint in the nose is good; good is restraint in the tongue.

Restraint in the body is good; good is restraint in speech. Restraint in thought is good; good is restraint in all things. A monk restrained in all things is freed from all pain.

One who controls their hand, who controls their feet, who controls their speech, who is well controlled, who delights inwardly, who is composed, who is solitary and content: that person is called a monk.

A monk who controls their mouth, who speaks wisely and calmly, who teaches the meaning and the teaching: their word is sweet.

A monk who lives in the teaching, delights in the teaching, meditates on the teaching, and follows the teaching will never fall away from the true teaching.

Do not despise what you have received, and never envy others. A mendicant who envies others does not gain peace of mind.

Even the gods will praise a monk who receives little but does not despise what they have received, if their life is pure and they are not lazy.

One who never identifies themselves with name and form, and does not grieve over what is no more, is indeed called a monk.

A monk who acts with kindness, who is calm in the doctrine of the Buddha, will reach the quiet place, Nirvana, the end of natural desires, and happiness.

Monk, empty this boat! Once emptied, it will go quickly. Having cut off passion and hatred, you will go to Nirvana.

Cut off the five senses; leave the five; rise above the five. A monk who has escaped from the five fetters is called Oghatinna, saved from the flood.

Meditate, monk, and do not be heedless! Do not direct your thought toward what gives pleasure, so that your heedlessness does not force you to swallow the iron ball in hell, and so that, while burning, you do not cry out, "This is pain."

Without knowledge there is no meditation; without meditation there is no knowledge. One who has knowledge and meditation is near Nirvana.

A monk who has entered their empty house and whose mind is tranquil feels a more than human delight when they see the teaching clearly.

As soon as they have considered the origin and destruction of the body's elements, the khandha, they find the happiness and joy that belong to those who know the immortal, Nirvana.

This is the beginning here for a wise monk: watchfulness over the senses, contentment, and restraint under the teaching. Keep noble friends whose lives are pure and who are not lazy.

Live in charity and be perfect in your duties. Then, in the fullness of delight, you will put an end to suffering.

As the Vassika plant sheds its withered flowers, people should shed passion and hatred, monks!

A monk whose body, tongue, and mind are quieted, who is composed and has rejected the baits of the world, is called quiet.

Rouse yourself by yourself; examine yourself by yourself. Protected by yourself and attentive in this way, you will live happily, monk!

For the self is the lord of the self; the self is the refuge of the self. Therefore, curb yourself as a merchant curbs a good horse.

A monk who is full of delight, who is calm in the doctrine of the Buddha, will reach the quiet place, Nirvana, the end of natural desires, and happiness.

One who applies themselves to the doctrine of the Buddha, even as a young monk, brightens this world like the moon freed from clouds.

Chapter Twenty Six The Brahmin

Stop the stream bravely; drive desires away, Brahmin! When you have understood the destruction of all that was made, you will understand what was not made.

If a Brahmin has reached the other shore in both teachings, in restraint and contemplation, all bonds vanish from that person who has gained knowledge.

One for whom there is neither this shore nor that shore, nor both, who is fearless and unshackled: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who is thoughtful, blameless, settled, dutiful, without passions, and has reached the highest end: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

The sun is bright by day; the moon shines by night. A warrior is bright in armor; a Brahmin is bright in meditation. But the Buddha, the Awakened, is bright with splendor day and night.

Because a person is rid of evil, they are called a Brahmin. Because they walk quietly, they are called a Samana. Because they have sent away their own impurities, they are called a Pravrajita, or Pabbajita, a pilgrim.

No one should attack a Brahmin, but no Brahmin who is attacked should lash out at their aggressor. Woe to one who strikes a Brahmin; greater woe to one who lashes out at their aggressor!

A Brahmin benefits greatly by holding their mind back from life's pleasures. When all wish to injure has vanished, pain will cease.

One who does not offend in body, word, or thought, and is controlled in these three things: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

Once you have understood the teaching taught by the Well-awakened Buddha, worship it carefully, as a Brahmin worships the sacrificial fire.

A person does not become a Brahmin through braided hair, family, or birth. One in whom there is truth and righteousness is blessed, is a Brahmin.

What use is braided hair, fool? What use are clothes of goatskin? Inside you there is ravenous greed, yet you make the outside clean.

One who wears dirty clothes, who is emaciated and covered with veins, who lives alone in the forest and meditates: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

I do not call someone a Brahmin because of their origin or their mother. They are indeed arrogant, and they are wealthy. But one who is poor and free from all attachments: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who has cut all fetters, who never trembles, who is independent and unshackled: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who has cut the strap and the thong, the chain and all that belongs to it, who has burst the bar and is awakened: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who has committed no offense yet endures reproach, bonds, and lashes, who has endurance for their force and strength for their army: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who is free from anger, dutiful, virtuous, without appetite, who is subdued and has received their last body: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who does not cling to pleasures, like water on a lotus leaf, like a mustard seed on the point of a needle: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who, even here, knows the end of their suffering, has put down their burden, and is unshackled: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One whose knowledge is deep, who possesses wisdom, who knows the right path and the wrong, and has reached the highest end: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who keeps apart from both laypeople and mendicants, who does not frequent houses and has few desires: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who finds no fault with other beings, whether weak or strong, and neither kills nor causes slaughter: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who is tolerant with the intolerant, gentle with fault-finders, and free from passion among the passionate: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One from whom anger and hatred, pride and envy have fallen like a mustard seed from the point of a needle: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who speaks truthfully, instructively, and without harshness, so as to offend no one: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who takes nothing in the world that has not been given to them, whether long or short, small or large, good or bad: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who nurtures no desires for this world or the next, has no inclinations, and is unshackled: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who has no interests, who, having understood the truth, does not say, "How, how?" and who has reached the depth of the Immortal: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who in this world is above good and evil, above the bondage of both, free from grief, from sin, and from impurity: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who is bright like the moon, pure, serene, undisturbed, and in whom all gaiety has died out: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who has crossed this muddy road, the impassable world and its vanity, who has passed through and reached the other shore, who is thoughtful, without deceit, free from doubts, free from attachment, and content: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who in this world leaves all desires and travels without a home, and in whom all lust has died out: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who, leaving all longings, travels without a home, and in whom all covetousness has died out: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who, after leaving all bondage to people, has risen above all bondage to the gods, and is free from each and every bondage: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who has left what gives pleasure and what gives pain, who is cold and free from all seeds of renewed life, the hero who has conquered all the worlds: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who knows the destruction and return of beings everywhere, who is free from bondage, who fares well, a Sugata, and is awakened, a Buddha: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One whose path the gods do not know, nor the spirits called Gandharvas, nor human beings, whose passions have died out and who is an arhat, a venerable one: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who calls nothing their own, whether before, behind, or between, who is poor and free from love of the world: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

The manly one, the noble one, the hero, the great sage, the conqueror, the one beyond suffering, the accomplished one, the awakened one: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.

One who knows their former abodes, who sees heaven and hell, has reached the end of births, is perfect in knowledge, a sage whose perfections are all perfect: that person I indeed call a Brahmin.