The Fool
60. Long is the night to a sleepless person; long is the distance of a league to a tired person; long is the circle of rebirths to a fool who does not know the true Law.
61. If a genuine seeker, who sets forth in search of a superior friend, does not come in contact with such a one or at least an equal, then he should resolutely choose the solitary course, for there can be no companionship with the ignorant.
62. “I have children, I have wealth,” thinking thus, the fool torments himself. But, when he is not the possessor of his own self, how then of children? How then of wealth?
63. The fool who knows of his ignorance, indeed, through that very consideration becomes a wise man. But that conceited fool who considers himself learned is, in fact, called a fool.
64. A fool who associates with a wise man throughout his life may not know the Dhamma any more than the ladle the taste of soup.
65. As the tongue detects the taste of the broth, so the intelligent person who associates with a wise man even for a moment comes to realize the essence of the Law.
66. The unwise, fools who are enemies to themselves, go about committing sinful deeds which produce bitter fruits.
67. Not well done is that deed which one, having performed, has to repent; whose consequence one has to face with tears and lamentation.
68. Well done is that deed which one, having performed, does not repent, and whose consequence one experiences with delight and contentment.
69. So long as an evil deed does not mature (bring disastrous results), the fool thinks his deed to be sweet as honey. But, when his evil deed matures, he falls into untold misery.
70. Though a fool (practicing austerity) may eat his food from the tip of a blade of kusa grass for months and months, he is not worth one-sixteenth part of those who have realized the Good Law.
71. As fresh-drawn milk from the cow does not soon curdle, so an evil deed does not produce immediate fruits. It follows the wrongdoer like a smoldering spark that burns throughout and then suddenly blazes up.
72. Whatever knowledge a fool acquires causes him only harm. It cleaves his head and destroys his good nature (through conceit).
73, 74. Unwise is the monk who desires undue adoration from others, lordship over other monks, authority among the monastic dwellings and homage even from outside groups. Moreover, he thinks, “May both laymen and monks highly esteem my action! May they be subject to me in all actions, great or small.” Such is the grasping desire of a worldly monk whose haughtiness and conceit ever increase.
75. One path leads to worldly gain and honor; quite another path leads to nirvana. Having realized this truth, let not the monk, the true follower of the Enlightened One, yearn for homage from others, but let him cultivate serenity of mind and dispassion.
The Wise
76. The disciple should associate with a wise friend, who detects and censures his faults, and who points out virtues as a guide tells of buried treasures. There is happiness, not woe, to him who associates with such an intelligent friend.
77. The man who exhorts, instructs and dissuades his fellowmen from unworthy acts is dear to the virtuous and hated by the wicked.
78. Do not keep company with evildoing friends nor with people who are base; associate with the good, associate with the best of men.
79. One who drinks the nectar of the Good Law lives happily with a tranquil mind. The wise man ever delights in the Dhamma as realized by the Noble Ones.
80. Irrigators conduct the water wherever they wish; fletchers shape the shafts; carpenters work (1) the wood, and wise men discipline themselves.
81. As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, so the wise are not shaken by censure or praise.
82. The wise, having hearkened to the Good Law, become serene like unto a deep, calm and crystal-clear lake.
83. Good men abandon lusting after things; they take no pleasure in sensual speech; when touched by happiness or sorrow, the wise show no elation or dejection.
84. For the sake of oneself, or for the sake of another, one should not long for a son, wealth or a kingdom. He who does not crave success or prosperity by wrongful means is indeed virtuous, wise and honorable.
85 Few among men cross over to the further shore; the multitudes who remain run to and fro on this shore.
86. Those who live according to the Dhamma which has been well proclaimed (by the Buddha) will cross over the impassable realm of death to the further shore.
87. Having abandoned the ways of darkness, let the wise follow the light. Having come from home to homelessness, let him enjoy the bliss of solitude, so difficult to achieve.
88. He should focus his mind upon that exalted state (nirvana). Having given up all sense pleasures, possessing nothing, let the wise, cleansing the mind from defilements, purify the self.
89. Those whose minds are well fixed upon the elements of enlightenment (sambodhi),(2) who, without hankering after anything, glory in renunciation, whose biases are extinguished, who are full of light, they indeed have attained the bliss of nirvana in this very world.
The Holy One
90. The fever of passion afflicts not the holy one (arahant), who has completed his samsaric journey (cycle of rebirths), who is free from sorrow, absolutely emancipated, and who has destroyed all knots of attachment.
91. Mindful ones constantly strive, they do not cling to a dwelling place; like swans that abandon a lake, the holy ones abandon house and home.
92. Those who have no accumulation (of worldly possessions), who have a well-regulated diet, who are within range of perfect deliverance through realization of the Void and the conditionlessness of all forms (sunnata and animitta), their holy path is as difficult to trace as is the track of birds in the air.
93. He whose mental attachments are extinguished, who is not immoderate in food, who is within range of perfect deliverance through realization of the Void and the conditionlessness of all forms, his holy path is as difficult to trace as is the track of birds in the air.
94. He whose senses are subdued, like horses well trained by a charioteer, whose pride is destroyed and who is free from corruption, even the gods cherish such a one.
95. He who is unperturbed like the earth, who is steadfast like Indra’s post (in the portal of a city), whose character is as pure and translucent as a clear lake, to such a holy one there are no further cycles of rebirth (samsara).
96. His mind becomes calm. His word and deed are calm. Such is the state of tranquillity of one who has attained to deliverance through the realization of truth.
97. He who is not credulous, who knows the nature of the Uncreated (akata), who has severed all the bonds (of rebirth), who has destroyed all the influxes of evil and given up all cravings, he, indeed, is noblest among men.
98. That spot is truly delightful where the Holy Ones (arahant) reside, be it village or forest, valley or high ground.
99. Charming are the forests which do not attract the multitudes. But the holy ones, free from attachments, find delight in them for they are not seekers after the allurements of the senses.