221 |
Abandon anger; utterly renounce conceit; transcend the fetters. Sorrow does not fall on those who do not cling to mind and body, and who are free of attachment.(1)
|
222 |
Whoever arrests the arising of wrath,
Like a chariot skidding one brings to a halt,
Could a ‘charioteer’ be deservedly named.
The remainder of men are but ‘holders of reins’.
|
223 |
By giving, tame the niggardly;
The wicked, by propriety;
The surly, by placidity;
The crooked, by integrity.
|
224 |
Speak what’s truthful;
Don’t be wrathful;
Give if asked,
At least a little.
Due to these
Conditions three,
You’ll reach the realm
Of deities.
|
225 |
The sage who from violence abstains;
Who, in body, is ever restrained;
From the state that is mortal he’ll leave.
Having left it, he’ll never more grieve.
|
226 |
In those who are ceaselessly wakeful,
Who practise by night and by day,
Who’ve committed themselves to Nibbana,
Their asavas dwindle away. |
227 |
This, Atula’s, true of yore,
Not merely true today:
They blame those sitting silently,
And those with much to say;
Blame, too, the one of moderate words.
There’s no one free from blame on earth.
|
228 |
There never was, there isn’t now,
Nor will there be in future found,
A person given only blame,
Nor one who always gets acclaim.
|
229
&230 |
If, having watched someone day after day, intelligent people praise him, a sage, one of flawless conduct, possessed of virtue and wisdom, then who is justified to criticise him? The devas praise him; Brahma praises him; he is an ornament of purest gold.
|
231 |
Restrain unruly conduct;
In body be subdued;
Abandon wrong behaviour,
And righteous deeds pursue.
|
232 |
Restrain unruly discourse;
In speaking be subdued;
Abandon speech misconduct,
And righteous speech pursue.
|
233 |
Restrain unruly thinking;
In thinking be subdued;
Abandon thought misconduct,
And righteous thoughts pursue.
|
234 |
The one of comprehension,
Restrained in thought and speech,
Restrained in body conduct,
Is well-restrained, indeed. |
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Go to the next chapter |