dhp320:0.1Minor Collection
dhp320:0.2Sayings of the Dhamma 320–333
dhp320:0.323. Elephants
dhp320:1Like an elephant struck
dhp320:2with arrows in battle,
dhp320:3I shall endure abuse,
dhp320:4for so many folk are badly behaved.
dhp321:1The well-tamed beast is the one led to the crowd;
dhp321:2the tamed elephant’s the one the king mounts;
dhp321:3the tamed person who endures abuse
dhp321:4is the best of human beings.
dhp322:1Those who have tamed themselves are better
dhp322:2than fine tamed mules,
dhp322:3thoroughbreds from Sindh,
dhp322:4or giant tuskers.
dhp323:1For not on those mounts
dhp323:2would you go to the untrodden place,
dhp323:3whereas, with the help of one whose self is well tamed,
dhp323:4you go there, tamed by the tamed.
dhp324:1The tusker named Dhanapāla
dhp324:2is musky in rut, hard to control.
dhp324:3Bound, he eats not a morsel,
dhp324:4for he misses the elephant forest.
dhp325:1One who gets drowsy from overeating,
dhp325:2fond of sleep, rolling round the bed
dhp325:3like a great hog stuffed with grain:
dhp325:4that dullard returns to the womb again and again.
dhp326:1In the past my mind wandered
dhp326:2how it wished, where it liked, as it pleased.
dhp326:3Now I’ll carefully guide it,
dhp326:4as a trainer with a hook guides a rutting elephant.
dhp327:1Delight in diligence!
dhp327:2Take good care of your mind!
dhp327:3Pull yourself out of this pit,
dhp327:4like an elephant sunk in a bog.
dhp328:1If you find an alert companion,
dhp328:2an attentive friend to live happily together,
dhp328:3then, overcoming all adversities,
dhp328:4wander with them, joyful and mindful.
dhp329:1If you find no alert companion,
dhp329:2no attentive friend to live happily together,
dhp329:3then, like a king who flees his conquered realm,
dhp329:4wander alone like a tusker in the wilds.
dhp330:1It’s better to wander alone,
dhp330:2there’s no fellowship with fools.
dhp330:3Wander alone and do no wrong,
dhp330:4at ease like a tusker in the wilds.
dhp331:1A friend in need is a blessing;
dhp331:2it’s a blessing to be content with whatever;
dhp331:3good deeds are a blessing at the end of life,
dhp331:4and giving up all suffering is a blessing.
dhp332:1In this world it’s a blessing to serve
dhp332:2one’s mother and one’s father.
dhp332:3And it’s a blessing also to serve
dhp332:4ascetics and brahmins.
dhp333:1It’s a blessing to keep precepts until you grow old;
dhp333:2a blessing to be grounded in faith;
dhp333:3the getting of wisdom’s a blessing;
dhp333:4and it’s a blessing to avoid doing wrong.