Category: Eastern Mysticism

Sukhā virāgatā loke,
Kāmānaṃ samatikkamo;
Asmimānassa yo vinayo —
etaṃ ve paramaṃ sukhaṃ.

Blissful is passionlessness in the world,
The overcoming of sensual desires;
But the abolition of the conceit I am —
That is truly the supreme bliss.

Udāna 2.11
The Udāna and the Itivuttaka, trans. John D. Ireland

Tato adinnaṃ parivajjayeyya
kiñci kvaci sāvako bujjhamāno.
Na hāraye harataṃ nānujaññā.
Sabbaṃ adinnaṃ parivajjayeyya.

A disciple should avoid taking
anything from anywhere knowing it (to belong to another).
One should not steal nor incite another to steal.
One should completely avoid theft.

Sutta Nipāta 2.397
The Discourse Collection: Selected Texts from the Sutta Nipāta, translated by John D. Ireland

Pāṇaṃ na hane na ca ghātayeyya,
na cānujaññā hanataṃ paresaṃ,
sabbesu bhūtesu nidhāya daṇḍaṃ.
Ye thāvarā ye ca tasā santi loke.

One should not kill a living being,
nor cause it to be killed,
nor should one incite another to kill.
Do not injure any being, either strong or weak, in the world.

Sutta Nipāta 2.396
The Discourse Collection: Selected Texts from the Sutta Nipāta, translated by John D. Ireland

Idha socati pecca socati;
pāpakārī ubhayattha socati.
So socati so vihaññati,
disvā kammakiliṭṭhamattano.

The evil-doer grieves here and hereafter;
one grieves in both the worlds.
One laments and is afflicted,
recollecting one’s own impure deeds.

Dhammapada 1.15
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Yadā have pātubhavanti dhammā
Ātāpino jhāyato brāhmaṇassa,
Athassa kaṅkhā vapayanti sabbā
Yato pajānāti sahetudhammaṃ.

When things become manifest
To the ardent meditating brahmin,
All one’s doubts then vanish since one understands
Each thing along with its cause.

Udāna 1.1
The Udāna and the Itivuttaka, trans. John D. Ireland

Yathā agāraṃ ducchannaṃ vuṭṭhī samativijjhati,
evaṃ abhāvitaṃ cittaṃ rāgo samativijjhati.

Just as rain breaks through an ill-thatched house,
so passion penetrates an undeveloped mind.

Dhammapada 1.13
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Muñca pure, muñca pacchato,
majjhe muñca, bhavassa pāragū.
Sabbattha vimuttamānaso,
na punaṃ jātijaraṃ upehisi.

Let go of the past, let go of the future,
let go of the present, and cross over to the farther shore of existence.
With mind wholly liberated,
you shall come no more to birth and death.

Dhammapada 24.348
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Sa vedagū,
Vūsitabrahmacariyo,
Lokantagū,
Pāragatoti vuccatī.

One who is a master of knowledge,
Who has lived the holy life,
Is called one gone to the world’s end,
One who has reached the further shore.

Itivuttaka 4.109
The Udāna and the Itivuttaka, trans. John D. Ireland

Attā hi attano nātho,
attā hi attano gati.
Tasmā saṃyamamattānaṃ
assaṃ bhadraṃva vāṇijo.

One is one’s own protector,
one is one’s own refuge.
Therefore, one should control oneself,
even as a trader controls a noble steed.

Dhammapada 25.380
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Sukhaṃ yāva jarā sīlaṃ,
sukhā saddhā patiṭṭhitā,
sukho paññāya paṭilābho,
pāpānaṃ akaraṇaṃ sukhaṃ.

Good is virtue until life’s end,
good is faith that is steadfast,
good is the acquisition of wisdom,
and good is the avoidance of evil.

Dhammapada 23.333
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Sace labhetha nipakaṃ sahāyaṃ
saddhiṃ caraṃ sādhuvihāridhīraṃ,
abhibhuyya sabbāni parissayāni,
careyya tenattamano satīmā.

If for company you find a wise and prudent friend
who leads a good life,
you should, overcoming all impediments,
keep their company joyously and mindfully.

Dhammapada 23.328
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Yo ca dhammamabhiññāya
dhammamaññāya paṇḍito,
rahadova nivāte ca
anejo vūpasammati.

Thoroughly understanding the Dhamma
and freed from longing through insight,
the wise one rid of all desire
is calm as a pool unstirred by wind.

Itivuttaka 3.92
Gemstones of the Good Dhamma, compiled and translated by Ven. S. Dhammika

Appamādaratā hotha!
Sacittamanurakkhatha!
Duggā uddharathattānaṃ,
paṅke sannova kuñjaro.

Delight in heedfulness!
Guard well your thoughts!
Draw yourself out of this bog of evil,
even as an elephant draws itself out of the mud.

Dhammapada 23.327
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Yañca kāmasukhaṃ loke,
yañcidaṃ diviyaṃ sukhaṃ,
taṇhakkhayasukhassete,
kalaṃ nāgghanti soḷasiṃ.

Any sensual bliss in the world,
any heavenly bliss,
isn’t worth one sixteenth-sixteenth
of the bliss of the ending of craving.

Udāna 2.12
Translated from Pāli by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Yassa selūpamaṃ cittaṃ, ṭhitaṃ nānupakampati,
virattaṃ rajanīyesu,
kopaneyye na kuppati:
Yassevaṃ bhāvitaṃ cittaṃ,
kuto taṃ dukkhamessatī?

Whose mind is like rock, steady, unmoved,
dispassionate for things that spark passion,
unangered by things that spark anger:
When one’s mind is developed like this,
from where can there come suffering & stress?

Udāna 4.34
Translated from Pāli by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Apādakehi me mettaṃ,
mettaṃ dvipādakehi me;
catuppadehi me mettaṃ,
mettaṃ bahuppadehi me.

I have love for the footless,
for the bipeds too I have love;
I have love for those with four feet,
for the many-footed I have love.

Aṅguttara Nikāya 4.67
Gemstones of the Good Dhamma, compiled and translated by Ven. S. Dhammika

Māvamaññetha pāpassa, “Na mantaṃ āgamissati.”
Udabindunipātena, udakumbhopi pūrati.
Bālo pūrati pāpassa, thokaṃ thokampi ācinaṃ.

Think not lightly of evil, saying, “It will not come to me.”
Drop by drop is the water pot filled.
Likewise, the fool, gathering it little by little,
fills oneself with evil.

Dhammapada 9.121
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Santaṃ tassa manaṃ hoti, santā vācā,
ca kamma ca, sammadaññā,
vimuttassa, upasantassa tādino.

Calm is one’s thought, calm one’s speech,
and calm one’s deed, who, truly knowing,
is wholly freed, perfectly tranquil and wise.

Dhammapada 7.96
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Selo yathā ekaghano vātena na samīrati,
evaṃ nindāpasaṃsāsu na samiñjanti paṇḍitā.

Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm,
even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame.

Dhammapada 6.81
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita