Fear’s born assuming forcefulness—
see how the people fight!
I’ll tell you how I’m deeply moved,
how I have felt so stirred.Seeing how people flounder
as fish in little water
attacking one the other
its fearfulness appeared.Once I wished a place to stay,
but all the world is essenceless,
turmoil in every quarter,
I saw no place secure.Folks’ never-ending enmity
I saw, took no delight,
but then I saw the hard-to-see,
the dart within the heart.Affected by this dart
one runs in all directions
but with the dart pulled out
one neither runs nor sinks.On this, the training’s chanted thus:
Whatever bonds within the world
they should not be pursued
knowing in depth all sense-desires
for Nirvāṇa train.Truthful and not arrogant,
deceit none, slander, hate,
rid of greed’s evil, avarice
beyond them all’s the sage.Not sleepy, drowsy, slothful not,
living not with negligence,
taking no stand on arrogance:
that mind inclines to Nibbana.Be not into lying led,
for forms have no affection,
know thoroughly conceit,
violence avoid fare thus.Delight not in the past,
nor be content with newness,
sad not with disappearance,
nor crave for the attractive.Greed I say’s “the great flood”,
its torrent the rush of lust,
lust’s objects an imagining,
the swamp of lust is hard to cross.The sage on firm ground stands,
not swayed from truth, a paragon,
having relinquished All,
“peaceful” that one’s called.The wise indeed, all wisdom won,
on dharma not dependant,
wanders perfected in this world,
and envies none herein.Who sense-desires has crossed beyond,
undone worldly ties
and bondless, cut across the stream,
no longer grieves or broods.Let what’s “before” just wither up,
“after” for you be not a thing,
if then “between” you will not grasp,
You will fare at peace.For whom with mind-and-bodily forms
there is no “making-mine” at all,
grieves not when they are not,
and suffers here no loss.For whom there is no “this is mine”
nor no “To others it belongs”,
in whom “myself” cannot be found,
Grieves not that “I have none”.Asked upon one unshakeable,
I tell of this one’s goodness:
Not harsh, not covetous at all,
Steadfast, impartial everywhere.For one who’s steadfast, Knows,
That one does not accumulate,
Unattached to making effort,
Sees security everywhere.A sage speaks not as though
’Mong equal, low or high,
Serene, devoid of avarice,
Does not accept or reject.
snp.4.15 Suttanipata
“Assuming Forcefulness” and so on
- Translator: Laurence Khantipalo Mills
Taking Up Arms
Peril stems from those who take up arms—just look at people in conflict!
I shall extol how I came to be
stirred with a sense of urgency.
I saw this population flounder,
like a fish in a little puddle.
Seeing them fight each other,
fear came upon me.
The world around was hollow,
all directions were in turmoil.
Wanting a home for myself,
I saw nowhere unsettled.
Yet even in their settlement they fight—
seeing that, I grew uneasy.
Then I saw a dart there,
so hard to see, stuck in the heart.
When struck by that dart,
you run around in all directions.
But when that same dart has been plucked out,
you neither run around nor sink down.
(On that topic, the trainings are recited.)
Whatever attachments there are in the world,
don’t pursue them.
Having pierced through sensual pleasures in every way,
train yourself for quenching.
Be truthful, not rude,
free of deceit, and rid of slander;
without anger, a sage would cross over
the evils of greed and avarice.
Prevail over sleepiness, sloth, and drowsiness,
don’t abide in negligence,
A person intent on quenching
would not stand for arrogance.
Don’t be led into lying,
or get caught up in fondness for form.
Completely understand conceit,
and desist from hasty conduct.
Don’t relish the old,
or welcome the new.
Don’t grieve for what is running out,
or get attached to things that pull you in.
Greed, I say, is the great flood,
and longing is the current—
the basis, the compulsion,
the swamp of sensuality so hard to get past.
The sage never strays from the truth;
the brahman stands firm on the shore.
Having given up everything,
they are said to be at peace.
They have truly known, they’re a knowledge master,
understanding the teaching, they are independent.
They rightly proceed in the world,
not coveting anything here.
One who has crossed over sensuality here,
the snare in the world so hard to get past,
grieves not, nor hopes;
they’ve cut the strings, they’re no longer bound.
What came before, let wither away,
and after, let there be nothing.
If you don’t grasp at the middle,
you will live at peace.
One who has no sense of ownership
in the whole realm of name and form,
does not grieve for that which is not,
they suffer no loss in the world.
If you don’t think of anything
as belonging to yourself or others,
not finding anything to be ‘mine’,
you won’t grieve, thinking ‘I don’t have it’.
Not bitter, not fawning,
unstirred, everywhere even;
when asked about one who is unshakable,
I declare that that is the benefit.
For the unstirred who understand,
there’s no performance of deeds.
Desisting from instigation,
they see sanctuary everywhere.
A sage doesn’t speak of themselves as being
among superiors, inferiors, or equals.
Peaceful, rid of stinginess,
they neither take nor reject.