Pāli Word a Day for August 13, 2017 — nibhā — shine, lustre, splendor
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 the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Think not lightly of good, saying, “It will not come to me.”
Drop by drop is the water pot filled.
Likewise, the wise one, gathering it little by little,
fills oneself with good.
Dhammapada 9.122
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from the Pali by Acharya Buddharakkhita
Make an island of yourself,
make yourself your refuge;
there is no other refuge.
Make Dhamma your island,
make Dhamma your refuge;
there is no other refuge.
Dīgha Nikāya 2.165
The Discourse Summaries by S.N. Goenka
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
Heaven awaits the lightening
Lighting beckons thunder; You are the thunder
Progress has been good, yet completion is elusive. Giving in and being stopped by frustration will take your power and the goal will slip further away. Be confident, and you will find completion is not the benefit now. The benefit is to focus on the present moment….
Pāli Word a Day for August 05, 2017 — upekkhā — equanimity, evenness of mind, a state of inner equipoise that cannot be upset by gain and loss, honor and dishonor, praise and blame, pleasure and pain
Impermanent are all compounded things.
When one perceives this with true insight,
then one becomes detached from suffering;
this is the path of purification.
Dhammapada 20.277
The Discourse Summaries by S.N. Goenka
Who is a true Guru? Is he the one that teaches worldly education? Is he one that that explores properties of matter? No, they are only teachers. Is one who teaches a manthra or Vedanata a Guru? No, we may call them Acharyas, not Gurus. People consider a person who imparts knowledge as a preceptor. But most of them are mere teachers, not preceptors (Gurus). A teacher who teaches others has had a teacher himself. The one who has no Guru above him is the true Guru. …
Pāli Word a Day for August 02, 2017 — nissanga — [nis+sanga] unattached, unobstructed, disinterested, unselfish
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
Pāli Word a Day for July 25, 2017 — jita — conquered, subdued, mastered
Kāmaṃ kāmayamānassa,
tassa ce taṃ samijjhati, addhā pītimano hoti.
Laddhā macco yadicchati.
Tassa ce — kāmayānassa, chandajātassa — jantuno
te kāmā parihāyanti,
sallaviddhova ruppati.
If one, longing for sensual pleasure,
achieves it, yes, one’s enraptured at heart.
The mortal gets what one wants.
But if for that person — longing, desiring —
the pleasures diminish,
one’s shattered, as if shot with an arrow.
Sutta Nipāta 4.772, 4.773
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Wonderful it is to train the mind,
so swiftly moving, seizing whatever it wants.
Good is it to have a well-trained mind,
for a well-trained mind brings happiness.
Dhammapada 3.35
Gemstones of the Good Dhamma, compiled and translated by Ven. S. Dhammika
Life is swept along, next-to-nothing its span.
For one swept to old age no shelters exist.
Perceiving this danger in death,
one should drop the world’s bait and look for peace.
Saṃyutta Nikāya 1.100
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Pāli Word a Day for July 18, 2017 — sukhuma — that which is delicate, or that which is fine, subtle, minute
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 the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Pāli Word a Day for July 08, 2017 — taranga — a wave
Sukhā virāgatā loke
kāmānaṃ samatikkamo
asmimānassa yo vinayo
etaṃ ve paramaṃ sukhaṃ.
Freedom from lust is happiness in the world,
the going beyond all sensual desires.
But the crushing out of the conceit “I am”–
this is the highest happiness.
Udāna 2.11
Gemstones of the Good Dhamma, compiled and translated by Ven. S. Dhammika
Just as a tree, though cut down,
sprouts up again if its roots remain uncut and firm,
even so, until the craving that lies dormant is rooted out,
suffering springs up again and again.
Dhammapada 24.338
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from the Pali by Acharya Buddharakkhita
Pāli Word a Day for July 01, 2017 — anukkaṇṭhana — having no lack anything, being contented or happy
Yo imasmiṃ dhammavinaye
Appamatto vihassati!
Pahāya jātisaṃsāraṃ dukkhassantaṃ karissatī.
With firm resolve, guard your own mind!
Who so untiringly pursues the Dhamma and the Discipline
Shall go beyond the round of births and make an end of suffering.
Dīgha Nikāya 2.185
Last Days of the Buddha: The Maha-parinibbana Sutta (revised edition), translated from the Pali by Sister Vajira & Francis Story