dhp235:0.1Minor Collection
dhp235:0.2Sayings of the Dhamma 235–255
dhp235:0.318. Stains
dhp235:1Today you’re like a withered leaf,
dhp235:2Yama’s men await you.
dhp235:3You stand at the departure gates,
dhp235:4yet you have no supplies for the road.
dhp236:1Make an island of yourself!
dhp236:2Swiftly strive, learn to be wise!
dhp236:3Purged of stains, flawless,
dhp236:4you’ll go to the heavenly realm of the noble ones.
dhp237:1You’ve journeyed the stages of life,
dhp237:2and now you set out to meet Yama.
dhp237:3Along the way there’s nowhere to stay,
dhp237:4yet you have no supplies for the road.
dhp238:1Make an island of yourself!
dhp238:2Swiftly strive, learn to be wise!
dhp238:3Purged of stains, flawless,
dhp238:4you’ll not come again to rebirth and old age.
dhp239:1A smart person would purge
dhp239:2their own stains gradually,
dhp239:3bit by bit, moment by moment,
dhp239:4like a smith smelting silver.
dhp240:1It is the rust born on the iron
dhp240:2that eats away the place it arose.
dhp240:3And so it is their own deeds
dhp240:4that lead the overly-ascetic to a bad place.
dhp241:1Not rehearsing is the stain of hymns.
dhp241:2The stain of houses is neglect.
dhp241:3Laziness is the stain of beauty.
dhp241:4A guard’s stain is negligence.
dhp242:1Misconduct is a woman’s stain.
dhp242:2A giver’s stain is stinginess.
dhp242:3Bad qualities are a stain
dhp242:4in this world and the next.
dhp243:1But a worse stain than these
dhp243:2is ignorance, the worst stain of all.
dhp243:3Having given up that stain,
dhp243:4be without stains, mendicants!
dhp244:1Life is easy for the shameless.
dhp244:2With all the rude courage of a crow,
dhp244:3they live pushy,
dhp244:4rude, and corrupt.
dhp245:1Life is hard for the conscientious,
dhp245:2always seeking purity,
dhp245:3neither clinging nor rude,
dhp245:4pure of livelihood and discerning.
dhp246:1Take anyone in this world
dhp246:2who kills living creatures,
dhp246:3speaks falsely, steals,
dhp246:4commits adultery,
dhp247:1and indulges in drinking
dhp247:2beer and wine.
dhp247:3Right here they dig up
dhp247:4the root of their own self.
dhp248:1Know this, my man:
dhp248:2they are unrestrained and wicked.
dhp248:3Don’t let that greed and unrighteousness
dhp248:4inflict pain on you for long.
dhp249:1The people give according to their faith,
dhp249:2according to their confidence.
dhp249:3If you get upset over that,
dhp249:4over others’ food and drink,
dhp249:5you’ll not, by day or by night,
dhp249:6become immersed in samādhi.
dhp250:1Those who have cut that out,
dhp250:2dug it up at the root, eradicated it,
dhp250:3they will, by day or by night,
dhp250:4become immersed in samādhi.
dhp251:1There is no fire like greed,
dhp251:2no crime like hate,
dhp251:3no net like delusion,
dhp251:4no river like craving.
dhp252:1It’s easy to see the faults of others,
dhp252:2hard to see one’s own.
dhp252:3For the faults of others
dhp252:4are tossed high like hay,
dhp252:5while one’s own are hidden,
dhp252:6as a cheat hides a bad hand.
dhp253:1When you look for the flaws of others,
dhp253:2always finding fault,
dhp253:3your defilements only grow,
dhp253:4you’re far from ending defilements.
dhp254:1In the atmosphere there is no track,
dhp254:2there’s no true ascetic outside here.
dhp254:3People enjoy proliferation,
dhp254:4the Realized Ones are free of proliferation.
dhp255:1In the atmosphere there is no track,
dhp255:2there’s no true ascetic outside here.
dhp255:3No conditions last forever,
dhp255:4the Awakened Ones are not shaken.