CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

[1]Maccurāja.

[2]Readingnisīdantiforvisīdanti("are immersed").

[3]Hamsā adicca-pathe yanti.In Hinduism theparamahamsa, "the swan," is the mystic name for the liberated being (Cf.Bhagavad Gītā) who goes to the sun (ādityaSkt.), and is reborn no more; also inChāndogya Upanishad, VIII, 7-5, we read: "When mind ceases to act, he attains the sun. That is the way to the region above. It is open to the learned, but closed to the ignorant." Those who are reborn are said to go on the path of the moon. In Buddhism, theArahants, Saints, have the power (iddhi) of flying through the air even physically, by self-levitation. Cf. V. 91.

[4]Cf. N.T.: "For whosoever shall keep the whole Norm, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."

[5]One who has "entered on the stream" is an Initiate,Solāpanno, and is saved,i.e., after seven more births, he reaches the state ofArahatandNibbānaand is free from birth.

179.The Awakened One, unconquered Conqueror,Whose conquest naught in this world can undo.Who ranges o'er His boundless sphere untraced.By what tracks can ye lead Him to rebirth?[1]180.Free from the snares of passion's outspread net,The Awakened One, whom longing cannot draw,Who ranges o'er His boundless sphere untraced.By what tracks can ye lead Him to rebirth?181.Those sages who, to meditation given,Delight in freedom's bliss, with mind controlled,Gods envy Them, Those All-Awakened Ones.[2]182.To gain a birth as man is hard indeed;'Tis hard to get one's living in the world;Hard is the hearing of the doctrine true;[3]Hardest to be an All-Awakened One.183."Refrain thyself from every evil deed;Stablish thyself in good; cleanse thine own thoughts"—This is the message of the Awakened Ones.184.Long-sufferance is the best austerity;Nibbāna, say the Awakened Ones, is best.185."Revile not, harm not, live by rule restrained;Of food take little; sleep and sit alone;In meditation keep thy thoughts controlled"—This is the message of the Awakened Ones.186."Lust is not sated, tho' it rain gold coins;Brief is the pleasure, great the pains of lust"—Whoso saith this and knows it, he is wise.187.He finds no pleasure e'en in heaven's delights;He finds his joy in slaying all desire,That follower of the All-Awakened Ones.188.To many a refuge frightened mortals flee,Mountains and forests, groves and sacred trees;189.These are no refuge safe, no sure retreat,By these we are not from all woe released.190.He who takes refuge in the Awakened One,The Doctrine and the Brotherhood, beholdsBy right insight the Fourfold Noble Truths,191.Sorrow and sorrow's cause and sorrow's ceasing,The Noble Eightfold Path that leads thereto—192.This is the refuge safe, the sure retreat;This only from our woes can us release.193.Hard is that one of noble birth to find;Not born in every land is He; the raceWherein that Sage is born is prosperous.[4]194.Blest is the rising of the Awakened Ones;Blest is Their teaching of the Doctrine True;Blest is the union of the Brotherhood;And blest to dwell together in unity.195.The Awakened Ones and they that follow Them,Worthy to be adored, have conquered allThe hosts of evil, crossed the flood of sorrow.196.Whoso shall worship Them, the worthy Ones,In whom desires are quenched and fear allayed,None can declare the merits of that man.

[1]Padam, "track, footstep," may here refer to thekhandhās, basis, or occasions of rebirth, destroyed by Arahants, cf. vv. 92-3.

[2]These verses may refer to any man who is "awakened," who has found "Nibbāna."

[3]This might mean, "it is hard to get a hearing of it".

[4]AllBuddha'smust be born in India, the sacred land.

[1]

197.O happily we liveAngerless amid the angry!O happily we spend our daysAmid the angry angerless!198.O happily we liveIn health amid the sickly ones!O happily we spend our daysAmid the sickly ones in health!199.O happily we liveFree from greed amid the greedy!O happily we spend our daysAmid the greedy free from greed!200.O happily we liveWho have not anything at all!Like ever-radiant gods above,Our food immortal joys shall be.201.Hate follows victory;Conquered ones sit sorrowing.But the calm live blissfully,Renouncing conquest and defeat.202.There is no fire like lust;No sin brings such ill-luck[3]as hate;No pains so great as body's pains;No bliss is like the perfect Calm.[4]203.Hunger's the greatest plague,Embodied life the greatest woe;Whoso knows this in truth, can say:"Nibbāna is the Bliss Supreme."204.Health is the greatest gain;Contentment is the greatest wealth;Best kinsman is the trusty friend;Nibbāna is the Bliss Supreme.205.Who tastes the savour sweetOf solitude, who drinks of calm,Is free from terror, free from sin,Draining the nectar of the Norm.206.'Tis good to see the saints;To dwell with them is blessedness;If he should never fools behold,A man could dwell in happiness.207.The company of foolsNe'er fails to bring distress.To live with fools brings suffering,As living with an enemy,But wise men's company brings bliss,As being with dear relatives.208.If one be good and wise,Well-versed in lore profound,Long-suffering, dutiful, a saint,Righteous and wise; if such there be,Follow his footsteps, as the moonFollows the path of the stars.

[1]This chapter applies especially to those who have retired from the world.

[3]Ill-luck,kali, the unlucky throw in playing dice.

[4]Nibbāna.

209.He who applies his mind unworthily,Neglecting discipline,Forsakes the goal and clings to things beloved,Then envies those to meditation given.210.Join not thyself to things beloved or loathed.To lack dear company,To be with those we loathe, brings misery.211.Seek not for love; things loved when lost bring woe;Both are impermanent.They have no bonds who dwell indifferent.212.Sorrow and fear are born of things beloved.From things beloved set free,How canst thou sorrow? fearful how canst be?213.From things held dear, sorrow and fear are born.Set free from things held dear,How canst thou sorrow have? how canst have fear?214.Sorrow and fear are children born of pleasure.No longer pleasure's slave,How canst thou sorrow, fear how canst thou have?215.Sorrow and fear are children of desire.From all desire set free,How canst thou sorrow? fearful how canst be?216.Sorrow and fear are things of longing born.From longing if thou part,Thou hast no fear nor sorrow in thine heart.217.Upright and Norm-abiding, speaking truth,Who minds his own affair,[1]That is the man whom every one holds dear.218.In whom is longing for the Nameless[2]born,Whose mind It hath enthralled,Whose thoughts no longer are by passion torn,That man "a Climber of the Stream" is called.[3]219.As when a dweller in some far-off landSafe home returns at last,Kin, friends and lovers waiting to greet him stand;220.So, when a man on earth good deeds hath done,When he hath passed beyond,All his good deeds like kin, await that one.

[1]Attano kamma kubbānam, as in v. 166. Attends to his own spiritual progress without dictating to others how they should forward their evolution.

[2]"The unborn, uncreate, undeclared" state ofNibbāna.

[3]Uddhamsoto.(Skt.Urdhamsrotas) a name for theanāgāmin"non-returner."

221.Conquer anger, banish pride;Every fetter cast aside;[1]Clinging not to Name and Form,[2]Him who calleth nought his ownSorrow never shall betide.222.He who rising wrath restrains,As one checks a whirling team,Him a driver true I deem;Others only hold the reins.223.Wrath with kindliness allay,To the stingy freely give;Conquer lying words with truth;Evil deeds with good repay.224.Speak the truth nor vexed be;Give, however scantily.Following these maxims three,Thou the blessed gods shalt see.225.Sages harm no living thing;Self-restraint accomplishingSuch men reach the Deathless Lot,[3]Where all sorrow is forgot.226.Ever watchful, night and dayLearning wisdom never cease;In the one who strives for Peace[4]All the cravings die away.[5]227.There is a saying, Atula,Of old, not of to-day:"They blame the man who silent sits,Or whose tongue wags alway;And blame the man who keeps the mean;None in the world is blameless seen."228.There never was, nor will be, sure,Nor lives now among men,A being blamed exclusively,Nor one entirely praised.229-30.But one whom men of wisdom praise,Watching him day by day,Of faultless life, of holy ways,Thoughtful and wise, like Jambu gold,[6]Who to blame such a saint is bold?Neither the gods, nor e'en Brahmā,From him their praise withhold.231.'Gainst angry deeds be on thy guard;In body be composed;All bodily misdeeds discard;With body tread the Way.232. 'Gainst angry words be on thy guard;In speech be thou composed;All wrongful ways of speech discard;In speech follow the Way.233. 'Gainst angry thoughts be on thy guard;In thought be thou composed;All wrongful ways of thought discard;In thoughts follow the Way.234.In body sages are controlled;In thoughts as well as speech;And they are Sages truly calledWho are controlled in each.

[1]The Fetters,saññojanāni, are ten. These are cast off at different stages of the Path, until perfection is reached.

[2]Nāma-rūpa, "abstract and concrete," the five constituents of personality,viz., mind and its factors with the four, body, feeling, perception, and mental functions.

[3]Nibbāna, 'the changeless,accutaṁ'.

[4]idem.

[5]idem.

[6]A precious gold from the Jambu river; others say, like rose apple in colour.

235.Lo! Thou art now a pale and withered leaf;Death's messengers are close at hand;Thou in the very gate of Death dost stand,And yet hast no provision for the way.236.Then make thyself an island of defence;Strive quick; be wise; when all the taintsOf dirt and dust are blown away, the saintsShall greet thee entering the Happy Land.237.Thy life has run its course; thou art come nighThe King of Death;[1]for thine abodeThou hast no resting-place upon the road,And yet hast no provision for the way.238.Then make thyself an island of defence;Strive quick; be wise; blow off the dustAnd stains of travel; wipe away the rust;So shalt thou see no more birth and decay.239.The wise and thoughtful man attacks his faultsOne after other, momently,In order due, and rubs them all away,E'en as a smith blows off the silver's dross,240.Just as the iron rust accumulatesSelf born; and eats itself away;So with the man who sinneth; day by dayHis own deeds to destruction lead him on,241.Texts not repeated oft are soon forgot;The house neglected soon decays;Sloth is the bane of beauty; heedless waysBring ruin unto him that keepeth watch.242.The taint of woman is impurity,And gifts by stinginess are spoiled,And mortal man by oft transgression soiledFinds ruin here, loss in the life to come.243.Yet there's a taint far worse than any other.What is that taint? 'tis ignorance.[2]Make yourselves free from this, O mendicants!Wipe off this stain and be ye undefiled.244.Life seems an easy thing to him that livesWanton and shameless as a crow,A fault-finder, who through this life doth goImmodest, insolent, and full of sins.245.But life's no easy thing for one restrainedBy shame, who seeks to walk aright,All unattached, withdrawn from vulgar sight;Who liveth purely and hath eyes to see.246-7.He who takes life; whose mouth is full of lies;Who steals, and fouls another's wife;A slave to drink, he even in this lifeThe root of his own fortunes undermines.[3]248.O man I know this: "Not easy of controlAre evil ways." Let not thy greedAnd wickedness (of misery the seed)Become thy masters, lest thou suffer long.249.According to their trust and faith men give.Whoso regards with discontentAnd jealousy the food for others meantCannot get peace of mind by night or day.[4]250.But whoso disregards what others get,Whose heart of jealousy is void,In whom the root of envy is destroyed,He gaineth peace of mind by night and day.251.There is no fire that burneth like desire;No beast like hatred can devour;No snare like folly to entrap hath power;No river-flood can carry off like greed.252.'Tis easy to perceive another's faults;Hard are one's own faults to descry;A man will winnow others' faults like chaff;But as the cheating gambler hides the die,His own faults he conceals right carefully.253.Whoso is watchful for another's faults,Testy and quick to take offence,In him his passions will increase, and thenceFurther is he from cleansing of his sins.254.The sky-path shows no tracks; no outward signsThe treader of the Path betray;[5]The multitude in outward shows delay;They who have won the Goal are free from all.[6]255.The sky-path shows no tracks; no outward signsThe treader of the Path betray;Nought lasts; all things embodied pass away;[7]But nought can shake the All-Awakened Ones.

[1]Yama, Pluto.

[2]Avijjā, the first of the twelve links of the chain of causation and the last of the Fetters to be broken.

[3]Those are the five Precepts of Buddhism.

[4]Bhikkhus, mendicants, have to beg their daily meal.

[5]Samano n'atthi bāhiro.This verse is generally translated, "There is no true disciple outside the pale of Buddhism," and the commentary (P.T.S. text, vol. 3. p. 378) so translates these words, which the Buddha spoke to Subhadda just before His passing away. The context here seems to require the meaning "outward." Cf. v. 92 and vv. 179-80. The perfect leave no traces. "Sky-path,"ākāsa, space.

[6]Tathāgatā.The epithet of the Buddha by which He usually describes Himself (cf. N.T. "He who was for to come"). See Sir (now Lord) Robert Chalmer's valuable pamphlet for the meaning of this much discussed epithet (J.R.A.S., Jan. 1898).Nippapañcā Tathāgatā, lit, "is free from the delays of human failings".

[7]Saṁkārā, all compounding factors of entities, persons.

256.He is not just who arbitrates by will.He who by weighing right and wrong decides.He is a just man called.257.Not by his will, but with impartial mindKeeping the Norm, thoughtful, who others guides,He is a just man called.258.One is not wise because his speech is long.Long-suffering and harmless, free from fear,He is a wise man called.259.Not by much talk doth one uphold the Norm.Who sees the Norm in action,[1]tho' he beOf little learning, strenuous in the Norm,'Tis he upholds the Norm.260.Grey hairs do not a man an elder[2]make.Tho' ripe in years, if all his age be vain,He may be dotard called.261.True, virtuous, harmless, moderate, restrained,Wise and washed clean of all impurities,He is an elder called.262.Not by mere talk nor beauty of his form,If he be grudging, greedy, fraudulent,Is any reverend called.263.In whom these faults are cut down, rooted out,Who hath cast off his sins, who meditates,That man is reverend called.264.A shaven crown makes not the Samana.[3]If such a one, lying and unrestrained,Be full of lust and craving, how can heA Samana be called?265.But if he calm his faults, both great and small,Since he all evil ways hath quieted,He is a Samana.266.He is no mendicant who begs his food.[4]Not he who begs but he who keeps the Norm,He is a mendicant.267.He who hath good and evil laid aside,Who wisely in this world walks righteously,He is a mendicant.268.He is no Muni who refrains from speech,[5]If he be foolish and have wandering wits.But he who holds the balance, grasps the real,Who's wise to choose the good and leave the bad,Who in this world sees both sides, is therebyA Muni truly called.270.He is no Worthy One who creatures harms.[6]By harmlessness to every living thingA man is Worthy called.271-2Not by mere goodness nor by ceremonies,Not by vast knowledge nor by ecstasy,Nor by a life retired,Nor sleeping lonely, do I touch the BlissOf freedom which no worldly one can know.By killing all desire, the mendicant[7]Attaineth confidence.

[1]Kāyena, bodily action, may mean all the faculties combined.

[2]Thero, a "mendicant" of ten years standing in ordination is so called in the Buddhist "church".

[3]Samana, "ascetic," a title originally contemptuously applied to the Buddha and His disciples by the Brāhmaṇas. The word is etymologically derived from V.sam—to tame or quiet. Hence the reference in v. 265.

[4]Bhikkhu, "beggar," the name given by the Buddha to His ordained disciples.

[5]Muni, "sage, silent one." The Buddha was called Sakyamuni—"the sage of the Sakya clan."

[6]Ariya, "the noble, the worthy."

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