dhp273:0.1Minor Collection
dhp273:0.2Sayings of the Dhamma 273–289
dhp273:0.320. The Path
dhp273:1Of paths, the eightfold is the best;
dhp273:2of truths, the four statements;
dhp273:3dispassion is the best of things,
dhp273:4and the Clear-eyed One is the best of humans.
dhp274:1This is the path, there is no other
dhp274:2for the purification of vision.
dhp274:3You all must practice this,
dhp274:4it is the way to baffle Māra.
dhp275:1When you all are practicing this,
dhp275:2you’ll make an end of suffering.
dhp275:3I have explained the path to you
dhp275:4for extracting the thorn with wisdom.
dhp276:1You yourselves must do the work,
dhp276:2the Realized Ones just show the way.
dhp276:3Meditators practicing absorption
dhp276:4are released from Māra’s bonds.
dhp277:1All conditions are impermanent—
dhp277:2when this is seen with wisdom,
dhp277:3one grows disillusioned with suffering:
dhp277:4this is the path to purity.
dhp278:1All conditions are suffering—
dhp278:2when this is seen with wisdom,
dhp278:3one grows disillusioned with suffering:
dhp278:4this is the path to purity.
dhp279:1All things are not-self—
dhp279:2when this is seen with wisdom,
dhp279:3one grows disillusioned with suffering:
dhp279:4this is the path to purity.
dhp280:1They don’t get going when it’s time to start;
dhp280:2they’re young and strong, but given to sloth.
dhp280:3Their mind depressed in sunken thought,
dhp280:4lazy and slothful, they can’t discern the path.
dhp281:1Guarded in speech, restrained in mind,
dhp281:2doing no unskillful bodily deed.
dhp281:3Purify these three ways of performing deeds,
dhp281:4and win the path known to seers.
dhp282:1From meditation springs wisdom,
dhp282:2without meditation, wisdom ends.
dhp282:3Knowing these two paths—
dhp282:4of progress and decline—
dhp282:5you should conduct yourself
dhp282:6so that wisdom grows.
dhp283:1Cut down the jungle, not just a tree;
dhp283:2from the jungle springs fear.
dhp283:3Having cut down jungle and snarl,
dhp283:4be free of jungles, mendicants!
dhp284:1So long as the vine, no matter how small,
dhp284:2that ties a man to women is not cut,
dhp284:3his mind remains trapped,
dhp284:4like a calf suckling its mother.
dhp285:1Cut out affection for oneself,
dhp285:2like plucking an autumn lotus.
dhp285:3Foster only the path to peace,
dhp285:4the extinguishment the Holy One taught.
dhp286:1“Here I will stay for the rains;
dhp286:2here for winter, here the summer”;
dhp286:3thus the fool thinks,
dhp286:4not realizing the danger.
dhp287:1As a mighty flood sweeps away a sleeping village,
dhp287:2death steals away a man
dhp287:3who dotes on children and cattle,
dhp287:4his mind caught up in them.
dhp288:1Children provide you no shelter,
dhp288:2nor does father, nor relatives.
dhp288:3When you’re seized by the terminator,
dhp288:4there’s no shelter in family.
dhp289:1Knowing the reason for this,
dhp289:2astute, and ethically restrained,
dhp289:3one would quickly clear the path
dhp289:4that leads to extinguishment.