Category: Eastern Mysticism

THE FOUR HORSES, from the Samyutta Agama

In the Samyutta Agama sutra, the Buddha told a parable of four horses. There is an excellent one, a couple of lesser horses and a bad one. He said the best horse runs before it sees the shadow of the whip. The second best will run just before the whip reaches his skin. The third horse will run when it feels pain on his body. The fourth “bad” horse will run after the pain penetrates into the marrow of his bones.

If you are the bad horse, what will it take to make you run at your best?

How much pain must you experience before you make the choice to act?

Jayaṃ ve maññati bālo
vācāya pharusaṃ bhaṇaṃ,
jayañcevassa taṃ hoti
yā titikkhā vijānato.

The fool thinks one has won a battle
when one bullies with harsh speech,
but knowing how to be forbearing
alone makes one victorious.

Saṃyutta Nikāya 1.189
Gemstones of the Good Dhamma, compiled and translated by Ven. S. Dhammika

Uttiṭṭhe! Nappamajjeyya!
Dhammaṃ sucaritaṃ care.
Dhammacārī sukhaṃ seti
asmiṃ loke paramhi ca.

Arise! Do not be heedless!
Lead a righteous life.
The righteous live happily
both in this world and the next.

Dhammapada 13.168
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Yo mātaraṃ pitaraṃ vā,
jiṇṇakaṃ gatayobbanaṃ —
pahu santo na bharati
taṃ parābhavato mukhaṃ.

Though being well-to-do,
not to support father and mother
who are old and past their youth —
this is a cause of one’s downfall.

Sutta Nipāta 1.98
Everyman’s Ethics: Four Discourses by the Buddha (WH 14), translated by Narada Thera

Kāyena saṃvutā dhīrā,
atho vācāya saṃvutā manasā saṃvutā dhīrā.
Te ve suparisaṃvutā.

The wise are controlled in bodily action,
controlled in speech and controlled in thought.
They are truly well-controlled.

Dhammapada 17.234
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Take the distance,
And then assimilate.
Happiness is here right now.

– The Japanese tradition 2019 –
✿⊱╮✿⊱╮ ✿⊱╮✿⊱╮✿⊱╮

Kāyamuniṃ vācāmuniṃ,
manomunimanāsavaṃ,
muniṃ moneyyasampannaṃ.
Āhu ninhātapāpakaṃ.

Silent in body, silent in speech,
silent in mind, without defilement,
blessed with silence is the sage.
One is truly washed of evil.

Itivuttaka 3.67
Gemstones of the Good Dhamma, compiled and translated by Ven. S. Dhammika

Student: “How do you solve the problem?”

Master: “With flexible mind …”

-The Zen Mind 2019

✿⊱╮✿⊱╮ ✿⊱╮✿⊱╮✿⊱╮

Vacīpakopaṃ rakkheyya;
vācāya saṃvuto siyā.
Vacīduccaritaṃ hitvā,
vācāya sucaritaṃ care.

Let one guard oneself against irritability in speech;
let one be controlled in speech.
Abandoning verbal misconduct,
let one practice good conduct in speech.

Dhammapada 17.232
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Yesaṃ dhammā asammuṭṭhā
paravādesu na nīyare;
te sambuddhā sammadaññā,
caranti visame samaṃ.

Those to whom the Dhamma is clear
are not led into other doctrines;
perfectly enlightened with perfect knowledge,
they walk evenly over the uneven.

Saṃyutta Nikāya 1.8
Gemstones of the Good Dhamma, compiled and translated by Ven. S. Dhammika

Every time you go through the gate, you know yourself.

-The Japanese tradition 2019

✿⊱╮✿⊱╮ ✿⊱╮✿⊱╮✿⊱╮

Kāyappakopaṃ rakkheyya;
kāyena saṃvuto siyā.
Kāyaduccaritaṃ hitvā,
kāyena sucaritaṃ care.

Let one guard oneself against irritability in bodily action;
let one be controlled in deed.
Abandoning bodily misconduct,
let one practice good conduct in deed.

Dhammapada 17.231
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Diso disaṃ yaṃ taṃ kayirā,
verī vā pana verinaṃ;
micchāpaṇihitaṃ cittaṃ
pāpiyo naṃ tato kare.

Whatever an enemy might do to an enemy,
or a foe to a foe,
the ill-directed mind
can do to you even worse.

Udāna 4.33
Translated from Pāli by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Anupubbena medhāvī, thokaṃ thokaṃ, khaṇe khaṇe,
Kammāro rajatasseva,
niddhame malamattano.

One by one, little by little, moment by moment,
a wise one should remove one’s own impurities,
as a smith removes dross from silver.

Dhammapada 18.239
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

The moon and the human meet each other.
At the same time as a person is looking at the moon, the moon is looking at a person.

– The Zen Mind 2019
✿⊱╮✿⊱╮ ✿⊱╮✿⊱╮✿⊱╮

Na tena paṇḍito hoti
yāvatā bahu bhāsati.
Khemī, averī abhayo
‘‘paṇḍito’’ti pavuccati.

One is not wise
because one speaks much.
One who is peaceable, friendly and fearless
is called “wise”.

Dhammapada 19.258
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Be gentle to people and strict to yourself.

-The Japanese tradition 2019

✿⊱╮✿⊱╮ ✿⊱╮✿⊱╮✿⊱╮

May you be happy

May you be well

May you be safe

May you be peaceful and at ease.

-The Buddha 2019

✿⊱╮✿⊱╮ ✿⊱╮✿⊱╮✿⊱╮

Appaṃ vata jīvitaṃ idaṃ!
Oraṃ vassasatāpi miyyati,
yo cepi aticca jīvati,
atha kho so jarasāpi miyyati.

How short this life!
You die this side of a century,
but even if you live past,
you die of old age.

Sutta Nipāta 4.810
Translated from Pāli by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Dosaggiṃ pana mettāya,
nibbāpenti naruttamā.
Mohaggiṃ pana paññāya
yāyaṃ nibbedhagāminī.

By love they will quench the fire of hate,
by wisdom the fire of delusion.
Those supreme ones extinguish delusion
with wisdom that breaks through to truth.

Itivuttaka 3.93
Gemstones of the Good Dhamma, compiled and translated by Ven. S. Dhammika

Sabbadā sīlasampanno,
paññavā susamāhito;
ajjhattacintī satimā,
oghaṃ tarati duttaraṃ.

In every virtue all-accomplished,
with wisdom full and mind composed,
looking within and ever mindful–
thus one crosses the raging flood.

Sutta Nipāta 1.176
Gemstones of the Good Dhamma, compiled and translated by Ven. S. Dhammika

Sabbhireva samāsetha,
sabbhi kubbetha santhavaṃ.
Sataṃ saddhammamaññāya
paññā labbhati nāññato.

Consort only with the good,
come together with the good.
To learn the teaching of the good
gives wisdom like nothing else can.

Saṃyutta Nikāya 1.31
Gemstones of the Good Dhamma, compiled and translated by Ven. S. Dhammika

Sududdasaṃ sunipuṇaṃ,
yatthakāmanipātinaṃ;
cittaṃ rakkhetha medhāvī,
cittaṃ guttaṃ sukhāvahaṃ.

Difficult to detect and very subtle,
the mind seizes whatever it wants;
so let a wise one guard one’s mind,
for a guarded mind brings happiness.

Dhammapada 3.36
Gemstones of the Good Dhamma, compiled and translated by Ven. S. Dhammika

Yassa nittiṇṇo paṅko,
maddito kāmakaṇṭako,
mohakkhayaṃ anuppatto,
sukhadukkhesu na vedhatī sa bhikkhū.

One who has crossed over the mire,
crushed the thorn of sensuality,
reached the ending of delusion,
is a monk undisturbed by bliss & pain.

Udāna 3.22
Translated from Pāli by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Anabhijjhālu vihareyya,
abyāpannena cetasā.
Sato ekaggacittassa,
ajjhattaṃ susamāhito.

Live without covetous greed,
fill your mind with benevolence.
Be mindful and one-pointed,
inwardly stable and concentrated.

Aṅguttara Nikāya 4.29
Gemstones of the Good Dhamma, compiled and translated by Ven. S. Dhammika

Udakañhi nayanti nettikā,
Usukārā namayanti tejanaṃ,
Dāruṃ namayanti tacchakā,
Attānaṃ damayanti paṇḍitā.

Irrigators direct the water,
Fletchers fashion the shaft,
Carpenters bend the wood,
The wise control themselves.

Dhammapada 6.80