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

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

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

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

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

Having killed
Mother, father,
Two learned kings
And a tiger
The brahmin, undisturbed, moves on.

— Buddha

“All created things are suffering.”
Seeing this with insight,
One becomes disenchanted with suffering.
This is the path to purity.

— Buddha

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

As rust corrupts
The very iron that formed it,
So transgressions lead
Their doer to states of woe.

— Buddha

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

Do not turn anything
Into something longed for,
For then it’s dreadful to lose.
Without longing or dislike,
No bonds exist.

— Buddha

Tasting the flavor
Of solitude and peace,
One becomes free of distress and evil,
Drinking the flavor of Dharma joy.

— Buddha

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

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

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

Why the laughter, why the joy,
When flames are ever burning?
Surrounded by darkness,
Shouldn’t you search for the light?

— Buddha