Category: Meditation

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

Pāpañce puriso kayirā,
na naṃ kayirā punappunaṃ.
Na tamhi chandaṃ kayirātha,
dukkho pāpassa uccayo.

Should a person commit evil,
let one not do it again and again.
Let one not find pleasure therein,
for painful is the accumulation of evil.

Dhammapada 9.117
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Yo sahassaṃ sahassena
saṅgāme mānuse jine,
ekañca jeyyamattānaṃ
sa ve saṅgāmajuttamo.

Though one may conquer
a thousand times a thousand people in battle,
yet one indeed is the noblest victor
who conquers oneself.

Dhammapada 10.103
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Manopakopaṃ rakkheyya;
manasā saṃvuto siyā.
Manoduccaritaṃ hitvā,
manasā sucaritaṃ care.

Let one guard oneself against irritability in thought;
let one be controlled in mind.
Abandoning mental misconduct,
let one practice good conduct in thought.

Dhammapada 17.233
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

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

Mattāsukhapariccāgā
passe ce vipulaṃ sukhaṃ,
caje mattāsukhaṃ dhīro,
sampassaṃ vipulaṃ sukhaṃ.

If by renouncing a lesser happiness
one may realize a greater happiness,
let the wise one renounce the lesser,
having regard for the greater.

Dhammapada 21.290
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Yogā ve jāyatī bhūri,
ayogā bhūrisaṅkhayo.
Etaṃ dvedhāpathaṃ ñatvā bhavāya vibhavāya ca,
tathāttānaṃ niveseyya yathā bhūri pavaḍḍhati.

Wisdom springs from meditation;
without meditation wisdom wanes.
Having known these two paths of progress and decline,
let one so conduct oneself that one’s wisdom may increase.

Dhammapada 20.282
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

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

Paṇḍito sīlasampanno
jalaṃ aggīva bhāsati;
bhoge saṃharamānassa
bhamarasseva irīyato.

One who is virtuous and wise
shines forth like a blazing fire;
like a bee collecting nectar
one acquires wealth by harming none.

Dīgha Nikāya 3.265
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

Manopubbaṅgamā dhammā;
manoseṭṭhā manomayā.
Manasā ce pasannena
bhāsati vā karoti vā,
tato naṃ sukhamanveti
chāyāva anapāyinī.

Mind precedes all things;
mind is their chief, mind is their maker.
If one speaks or does a deed
with a mind that is pure within,
happiness then follows along
like a never departing shadow.

Dhammapada 1.2
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

Na taṃ mātā pitā kayirā
aññe vāpi ca ñātakā
sammāpaṇihitaṃ cittaṃ
seyyaso naṃ tato kare.

No mother nor father nor
any other kin can do
greater good for oneself
than a mind directed well.

Dhammapada 3.43
Gemstones of the Good Dhamma, compiled and translated by Ven. S. Dhammika

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

Karaṇīyamatthakusalena
yanta santaṃ padaṃ abhisamecca:
Sakko ujū ca suhujū ca,
sūvaco cassa mudu anatimānī,
santussako ca subharo ca,
appakicco ca sallahukavutti,
santindriyo ca nipako ca,
appagabbho kulesvananugiddho.
Na ca khuddamācare kiñci
yena viññū pare upavadeyyuṃ.

This is to be done by one skilled in aims
who wants to break through to the state of peace:
Be capable, upright, & straightforward,
easy to instruct, gentle, & not conceited,
content & easy to support,
with few duties, living lightly,
with peaceful faculties, masterful,
modest, & no greed for supporters.
Do not do the slightest thing
that the wise would later censure.

Sutta Nipāta 1.143, 1.144, 1.145
Translated from Pāli by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Sahassamapi ce vācā anatthapadasaṃhitā
ekaṃ atthapadaṃ seyyo,
yaṃ sutvā upasammati.

Better than a thousand useless words
is one useful word,
hearing which one attains peace.

Dhammapada 8.100
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Sabbadānaṃ dhammadānaṃ jināti;
sabbarasaṃ dhammaraso jināti;
sabbaratiṃ dhammarati jināti;
taṇhakkhayo sabbadukkhaṃ jināti.

The gift of Dhamma triumphs over all other gifts;
the taste of Dhamma triumphs over all other tastes;
the happiness of Dhamma triumphs over all other pleasures;
the eradication of craving triumphs over all suffering.

Dhammapada 24.354
The Discourse Summaries by S.N. Goenka

Ubhinnamatthaṃ carati,
attano ca parassa ca;
paraṃ saṅkupitaṃ ñatvā,
yo sato upasammati.

Knowing that the other person is angry,
one who remains mindful and calm
acts for one’s own best interest
and for the other’s interest, too.

Saṃyutta Nikāya 1.188
Gemstones of the Good Dhamma, compiled and translated by Ven. S. Dhammika

Attanā hi kataṃ pāpaṃ, attanā saṃkilissati;
attanā akataṃ pāpaṃ, attanāva visujjhati.
Suddhī asuddhi paccattaṃ:
nāñño aññaṃ visodhaye.

By doing evil, one defiles oneself;
by avoiding evil, one purifies oneself.
Purity and impurity depend upon oneself:
no one can purify another.

Dhammapada 12.165
Gemstones of the Good Dhamma, compiled and translated by Ven. S. Dhammika

Kodhaṃ chetvā sukhaṃ seti.
Kodhaṃ chetvā na socati.
Kodhassa visamūlassa, madhuraggassa devate
vadhaṃ ariyā pasaṃsanti,
tañhi chetvā na socatī.

Having killed anger you sleep in ease.
Having killed anger you do not grieve.
The noble ones praise the slaying of anger
— with its honeyed crest & poison root —
for having killed it you do not grieve.

Saṃyutta Nikāya 1.71
Translated from Pāli by Thanissaro Bhikkhu