MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
As a brahmin worships a ritual fire,
One should respectfully worship
Anyone from whom one might learn
The Dharma of the Fully Self-Awakened One.
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Anyone who doesn’t cherish as “mine”
Anything of body-and-mind
And who doesn’t grieve for that which doesn’t exist,
Is indeed called a bhikkhu.
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The craving of a person who lives negligently
Spreads like a creeping vine.
Such a person leaps ever onward,
Like a monkey seeking fruit in the forest
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
If you find an intelligent companion,
A fellow traveler
A sage of good conduct,
You should travel together,
Delighted and mindful,
Overcoming all dangers.
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Those who assert what is not true go to hell,
As do those who deny what they’ve done.
Both these people of base deeds become equal
After death, in the world beyond.
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Having killed
Mother, father,
Two learned kings
And a tiger
The brahmin, undisturbed, moves on.
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER TWENTY
“All created things are suffering.”
Seeing this with insight,
One becomes disenchanted with suffering.
This is the path to purity.
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER NINETEEN
One is not just
Who judges a case hastily.
A wise person considers
Both what is and isn’t right.
Guiding others without force,
Impartially and in accord with the Dharma,
One is called a guardian of the Dharma,
Intelligent and just.
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
As rust corrupts
The very iron that formed it,
So transgressions lead
Their doer to states of woe.
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Give up anger, give up conceit,
Pass beyond every fetter.
There is no suffering for one who possesses nothing,
Who doesn’t cling to body-and-mind.
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Do not turn anything
Into something longed for,
For then it’s dreadful to lose.
Without longing or dislike,
No bonds exist.
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Tasting the flavor
Of solitude and peace,
One becomes free of distress and evil,
Drinking the flavor of Dharma joy.
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The Buddha’s victory cannot be undone;
No one in the world can approach it.
By what path would you guide him,
Who has no path,
Whose field is endless?
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Rouse yourself! Don’t be negligent!
Life the Dharma, a life of good conduct.
. . . Do not follow a wrong view;
Don’t be engrossed in the world.
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER TWELVE
Evil is done by oneself alone;
By oneself is one defiled.
Evil is avoided by oneself;
By oneself alone is one purified.
Purity and impurity depend on oneself;
No one can purify another.
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER ELEVEN
Why the laughter, why the joy,
When flames are ever burning?
Surrounded by darkness,
Shouldn’t you search for the light?
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER TEN
All tremble at violence;
Life is dear for all.
Seeing others as being like yourself,
Do not kill or cause others to kill.
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER NINE
Don’t disregard evil, thinking,
“It won’t come back to me!”
With dripping drops of water
Even a water jug is filled.
Little by little,
A fool is filled with evil.
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER EIGHT
Better than a thousand meaningless statements
Is one meaningful word,
Which, having been heard,
Brings Peace
— Buddha
MEDITATIONS: THE DHAMMAPADA, CHAPTER SEVEN
For someone
At the journey’s end,
Freed from sorrow,
Liberated in all ways,
Released from all bonds,
No Fever exists.
— Buddha