079. Harm No One; Vanquish Your Ego; Guard Your Thoughts, Words, and Deeds

Dhammapada Part V

One is not wise because he talks a good deal. They are wise who are patient, and free from hate and fear. (258) Dharma (i.e., law, unity of life, the Way) is not upheld by talking about it. Dharma is upheld by living in harmony with it, even if one is not learned. (259)

Gray hair does not make an elder; one can grow old and still be immature. (260) A true elder is truthful, virtuous, gentle, self-controlled, and pure in mind. (261) 

Neither pleasant words nor a pretty face can make beautiful a person who is jealous, selfish, or deceitful. (262) Only those who have uprooted such impurities from the mind are fit to be called beautiful. (263)

Shaving one's head cannot make a monk of one who is undisciplined, untruthful, and driven by selfish desires. (264) He is a real monk who has extinguished all selfish desires, large and small. (265)

Observing silence cannot make a sage of one who is ignorant and immature. (268) He is wise who holding the scales, chooses the good and avoids the bad. (269)

One is not noble who injures living creatures. They are noble who hurt no one. (270)

Not by rituals and resolutions, nor by much learning, nor by celibacy, nor even meditation can you find the supreme, immortal joy of nirvana until you have extinguished your self-will. (271-2)

Now is the time to wake up, when you are young and strong. Those who wait and waver, with a weak will and a divided mind, will never find the way to pure wisdom. (280)

Guard your thoughts, words, and deeds. These three disciplines will speed you along the path to pure wisdom. (281)

Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom. (282)

Cut down the whole forest of selfish desires, not just one tree only. Cut down the whole forest and you will be on your way to liberation. (283)

If there is any trace of lust in your mind, you are bound to life like a suckling calf to its mother. (284) Pull out every selfish desire as you would an autumn lotus with you hand. (285)

"I will make this my winter home, have another house for the monsoon, and dwell in a third during the summer." Lost in such fancies, one forgets his final destination. (286)

Death comes and carries off a man absorbed in his family and possessions as the monsoon flood sweeps away a sleeping village. (287)

Do not try to build your happiness on the unhappiness of others. You will be enmeshed in a net of hatred. (291)

Do not fail to do what ought to be done, and do not do what ought not to be done. Otherwise your burden of suffering will grow heavier. (292) Those who meditate and keep their senses under control never fail to do what ought to be done, and never do what ought not to be done. Their suffering will come to an end. (293)

Kill mother lust and father self-will, kill the kings of carnal passions, and you will be freed from sin. (294) 

It is hard to leave the world and hard to live in it, painful to live with the world and painful to be a wanderer. Reach the goal; you will wander and suffer no more. (302)

Sitting alone, sleeping alone, going about alone, vanquish the ego by yourself alone. Abiding joy will be yours when all selfish desires end. (305)

One who says what is not true, one who denies what he has done, both choose the downward course. After death these two become partners in falsehood. (306)

Those who put on the saffron robe but remain ill-mannered and undisciplined are dragged down by their evil deeds. (307)

Adultery leads to loss of merit, loss of sleep, condemnation, and increasing suffering. (309) On this downward course, what pleasure can there be for the frightened lying in the arms of the frightened, both going in fear of punishment? Therefore do not commit adultery. (310)

As a blade of kasha grass can cut the finger when it is wrongly held, asceticism practiced without discrimination can send one on the downward course. (311)

An act performed carelessly, a vow not kept, a code of chastity not strictly observed: these things bring little reward. (312) If anything is worth doing, do it with all your heart. A half-hearted ascetic covers himself with more and more dust. (313)

Refrain from evil deeds, which cause suffering later. Perform good deeds, which can cause no suffering. (314) Guard yourself well, both within and without, like a well-defended fort. Do not waste a moment, for wasted moments send you on the downward course. (315)

Those who are ashamed of deeds they should not be ashamed of, and not ashamed of deeds they should be ashamed of, follow false doctrines on the downward course. (316)

Those who fear what they ought not to fear, and do not fear what they ought to fear, follow false doctrines on the downward course. (317)

Those who see wrong where there is none, and do not see wrong where there is, follow false doctrines on the downward course. (318)

But those who see wrong where there is wrong, and see no wrong where there is none, follow true doctrines on the upward course. (319)