dhp179:0.1Minor Collection
dhp179:0.2Sayings of the Dhamma 179–196
dhp179:0.314. The Buddhas
dhp179:1He whose victory may not be undone,
dhp179:2a victory unrivaled in all the world;
dhp179:3by what track would you trace that Buddha,
dhp179:4who leaves no track in his infinite range?
dhp180:1Of craving, the weaver, the clinger, he has none:
dhp180:2so where can he be traced?
dhp180:3By what track would you trace that Buddha,
dhp180:4who leaves no track in his infinite range?
dhp181:1The attentive intent on absorption,
dhp181:2who love the peace of renunciation,
dhp181:3the Buddhas, ever mindful,
dhp181:4are envied by even the gods.
dhp182:1It’s hard to gain a human birth;
dhp182:2the life of mortals is hard;
dhp182:3it’s hard to hear the true teaching;
dhp182:4the arising of Buddhas is hard.
dhp183:1Not to do any evil;
dhp183:2to embrace the good;
dhp183:3to purify one’s mind:
dhp183:4this is the instruction of the Buddhas.
dhp184:1Patient acceptance is the ultimate fervor.
dhp184:2Extinguishment is the ultimate, say the Buddhas.
dhp184:3No true renunciate injures another,
dhp184:4nor does an ascetic hurt another.
dhp185:1Not speaking ill nor doing harm;
dhp185:2restraint in the monastic code;
dhp185:3moderation in eating;
dhp185:4staying in remote lodgings;
dhp185:5commitment to the higher mind—
dhp185:6this is the instruction of the Buddhas.
dhp186:1Even if it were raining money,
dhp186:2you’d not be sated in sensual pleasures.
dhp186:3An astute person understands that sensual pleasures
dhp186:4offer little gratification and much suffering.
dhp187:1Thus they find no delight
dhp187:2even in celestial pleasures.
dhp187:3A disciple of the fully awakened Buddha
dhp187:4delights in the ending of craving.
dhp188:1So many go for refuge
dhp188:2to mountains and forest groves,
dhp188:3to shrines in tended parks;
dhp188:4those people are driven by fear.
dhp189:1But such refuge is no sanctuary,
dhp189:2it is no supreme refuge.
dhp189:3By going to that refuge,
dhp189:4you’re not released from all suffering.
dhp190:1One gone for refuge to the Buddha,
dhp190:2to his teaching and to the Saṅgha,
dhp190:3sees the four noble truths
dhp190:4with right understanding:
dhp191:1suffering, suffering’s origin,
dhp191:2suffering’s transcendence,
dhp191:3and the noble eightfold path
dhp191:4that leads to the stilling of suffering.
dhp192:1Such refuge is a sanctuary,
dhp192:2it is the supreme refuge.
dhp192:3By going to that refuge,
dhp192:4you’re released from all suffering.
dhp193:1It’s hard to find a thoroughbred man:
dhp193:2they’re not born just anywhere.
dhp193:3A family where that attentive one is born
dhp193:4prospers in happiness.
dhp194:1Happy, the arising of Buddhas!
dhp194:2Happy, the teaching of Dhamma!
dhp194:3Happy is the harmony of the Saṅgha,
dhp194:4and the striving of the harmonious is happy.
dhp195:1When a person venerates the worthy—
dhp195:2the Buddha or his disciple,
dhp195:3who have transcended proliferation,
dhp195:4and have left behind grief and lamentation,
dhp196:1quenched, fearing nothing from any quarter—
dhp196:2the merit of one venerating such as these,
dhp196:3cannot be calculated by anyone,
dhp196:4saying it is just this much.