Buddhism
Dhp360-382
Text
Minor Collection
Sayings of the Dhamma 360–382
25. Mendicants
Restraint of the eye is good;
good is restraint of the ear;
restraint of the nose is good;
good is restraint of the tongue.
Restraint of the body is good;
good is restraint of speech;
restraint of mind is good;
everywhere, restraint is good.
The mendicant restrained everywhere
is released from all suffering.
One restrained in hand and foot,
and in speech, the supreme restraint;
happy inside, serene,
solitary, content, I call a mendicant.
When a mendicant of restrained mouth,
thoughtful in counsel, not restless,
explains the text and its meaning,
their words are sweet.
Delighting in the teaching, enjoying the teaching,
contemplating the teaching,
a mendicant who recollects the teaching
doesn’t fall away from the true teaching.
A well-off mendicant ought not look down
on others, nor should they be envious.
A mendicant who envies others
does not achieve immersion.
If a mendicant is poor in offerings,
the well-to-do ought not look down on them.
For the gods indeed praise them,
who are tireless and pure of livelihood.
One who has no sense of ownership
in the whole realm of name and form,
who does not grieve for that which is not,
is said to be a mendicant.
A mendicant who meditates on love,
devoted to the Buddha’s teaching,
would realize the peaceful state,
the blissful stilling of conditions.
Bail out this boat, mendicant!
When bailed out it will float lightly.
Having cut off desire and hate,
you shall reach extinguishment.
Five to cut, five to drop,
and five more to develop.
When a mendicant slips five chains
they’re said to have crossed the flood.
Practice absorption, don’t be negligent!
Don’t let the mind delight in the senses!
Don’t heedlessly swallow a hot iron ball!
And when it burns, don’t cry, “Oh, the pain!”
No absorption for one without wisdom,
no wisdom for one without absorption.
But one with absorption and wisdom—
they have truly drawn near to extinguishment.
A mendicant who enters an empty hut
with mind at peace
finds a superhuman delight
as they rightly discern the Dhamma.
Whenever they are mindful
of the rise and fall of the aggregates,
they feel rapture and joy:
that is freedom from death for one who knows.
This is the very start of the path
for a wise mendicant here:
guarding the senses, contentment,
and restraint in the monastic code.
Mix with spiritual friends,
who are tireless and pure of livelihood.
Share what you have with others,
being skillful in your conduct.
And when you’re full of joy,
you’ll make an end to suffering.
As a jasmine sheds
its withered flowers,
O mendicants,
shed greed and hate.
Calm in body, calm in speech,
peaceful and serene;
a mendicant who’s spat out the world’s bait
is said to be one at peace.
Urge yourself on,
reflect on yourself.
A mendicant self-controlled and mindful
will always dwell in happiness.
Self is indeed the lord of self,
for who else would be one’s lord?
Self is indeed the home of self,
so restrain yourself,
as a merchant his thoroughbred steed.
A monk full of joy
trusting in the Buddha’s teaching,
would realize the peaceful state,
the blissful stilling of conditions.
A young mendicant
devoted to the Buddha’s teaching,
shines upon this world,
like the moon freed from clouds.
Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, dedicated to the public domain (CC0), via SuttaCentral.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”
Hadith (An-Nawawi 13)
“None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
Leviticus 19:18
“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
Mahabharata 5.1517
“One should never do to another what one regards as injurious to oneself.”
Impermanence & Letting Go
Tao Te Ching 76 (trans. James Legge)
“Man at his birth is supple and weak; at his death, firm and strong. (So it is with) all things. Trees and plants, in their early growth, are soft and brittle; at their death, dry and withered.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2 (trans. Edwin Arnold)
“Nay, but as when one layeth His worn-out robes away, And taking new ones, sayeth, "These will I wear to-day!" So putteth by the spirit Lightly its garb of flesh, And passeth to inherit A residence afresh.”
Quran 55:26-27
“Everyone that is thereon will pass away; There remaineth but the Countenance of thy Lord of Might and Glory.”
The Path to Wisdom
Proverbs 4:7
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”
Analects 2:11 (trans. James Legge)
“If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others.”
Tao Te Ching 33 (trans. James Legge)
“He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is intelligent.”
Quran 39:9
“Are those who know equal with those who know not?”
Humility & Surrender
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18 (trans. Edwin Arnold)
“And let go those, Rites and writ duties! Fly to Me alone! Make Me thy single refuge! I will free Thy soul from all its sins! Be of good cheer!”
Matthew 5:5
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
Tao Te Ching 22 (trans. James Legge)
“The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the worn out, new. He whose (desires) are few gets them; he whose (desires) are many goes astray.”
Quran 2:45
“Seek help in patience and prayer; and truly it is hard save for the humble-minded.”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
Genesis 1:3
“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 16 (trans. Edwin Arnold)
“The Doors of Hell Are threefold, whereby men to ruin pass, The door of Lust, the door of Wrath, the door Of Avarice. Let a man shun those three!”