Dhamapada Proverbs and Sayings

All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts and is made up of our thoughts.

If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the cart; if a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, as a shadow that never leaves him.

Hatred is not diminished by hatred at any time. Hatred is diminished by love - this is the eternal law.

As rain breaks through an ill-thatched roof, so lust breaks through the ill-trained mind.

The evildoer mourns in this world, and he mourns in the next - he mourns in both. He mourns and suffers when he sees the evil results of his own deeds.

Thoughtfulness is the road to immortality (Nirvana); thoughtlessness, the road to death.

The thoughtful do not die; the thoughtless are as if dead already.

By thoughtfulness, by restraint and self-control, the wise man may make for himself an island which no flood can overwhelm.

Fools follow vanity; but the wise man prizes his thoughtfulness as a treasure.

If a man's faith is unstable and his peace of mind troubled, his knowledge will not be perfect.

Man, whose body is as fragile as a jar, should make his thoughts firm as a fortress.

He who knows that his body is like froth and as unsubstantial as a mirage, will break the flower-tipped arrow of the Great Tempter and never see the King of Death.

Like a beautiful flower full of color but without scent are the fair words of him who himself does not act accordingly.

The scent of flowers does not travel against the wind; but the fragrance of good people travels even against the wind.

Even upon a heap of rubbish the lotus will grow full of sweet perfume and delight; even so the true disciple of the enlightened Buddha will shine forth among the people who walk in darkness.

Long is the night to him who is wakeful; long is the mile to him who is tired; long is life to the foolish who do not know the true law.

"These sons belong to me and this wealth belongs to me" - with such thoughts the fool tries to console himself. He himself does not belong to himself, how much less his sons and wealth!

The deed of which a man must repent, and the results of which he receives with tears, is not well done; the deed which a man does not repent, and the results of which he receives with joy, is well done.

An evil deed, like freshly drawn milk, does not turn sour at once.

As long as the evil deed done does not bear fruit, the fool thinks it is like honey; but when it ripens, then he suffers.

The fool wishes for precedence among the monk, for lordship in the monasteries, for honor among other people.

If you can meet a man who can show you what is to be avoided and knows how to administer reproof, follow him as you would follow a man who can reveal hidden treasures.

As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, so the wise man does not waver before blame or praise.

If, whether for his own sake or for the sake of others, a man neither wishes for a son, nor wealth, nor leadership, and if he does not wish for any success by unfair means, he is a good and wise man.

Few there are among men who arrive at the other shore; most of them run up and down this shore.

Those whose minds are well-grounded in the seven elements of knowledge, who cling to nothing with rejoicing, who curb their appetites and are full of light, they gain Nirvana even in this world.

Though a man go out to battle a thousand times against a thousand men, if he conquers himself he is the greater conqueror.

Not even a god can change into defeat the victory of a man who has vanquished himself.

If a man commits a sin, let him not do it again; let him not delight in it, for the accumulation of evil is painful.

Even if the water falls drop by drop, it will fill the pot; and the fool will become full of evil, even though he gathers it little by little.

Not in the sky, not in the midst of the sea, not even in the clefts of the mountains is there a spot in the whole world where, if a man abide there, death could not overtake him.

All men tremble at punishment and all men fear death; remember that you are like them and do not kill nor cause slaughter.

Not nakedness, not matted locks, not dirt or fasting or sleeping on the bare earth, or sitting motionless can purify a man who has not overcome his doubts.

One's own self is the most difficult to subdue.

Self is the lord of self.

The pure and impure stand and fall by their own deeds; no one can purify another.

He whose evil deeds are covered by good deeds brightens up the world, like the moon when freed from clouds.

Not to blame, not to strike, to be moderate in eating, to sleep and sit alone, and to dwell on the highest thoughts - this is the teaching of the Awakened.

Men, driven by fear, go to many refuges - to the mountains, to the forests, to groves of sacred trees - but none delivers him from his pains. But he who takes refuge with Buddha - who sees the Four Holy Truths and follows the Eightfold Holy Path - he will be delivered from pain.

We live happily, indeed, among men who hate us, free from hatred; among men who are greedy, free from greed. Though we call nothing our own, we shall be like the bright gods, feeding on happiness.

Victory breeds hatred. He who has given up both victory and defeat, he is contented and happy.

There is no fire like passion; there is no evil like hatred; there is no pain like this body; there is no happiness greater than peace.

He who has tasted the sweetness of solitude and tranquillity becomes free from fear and free from sin.

From pleasure come grief and fear; he who is free from pleasure knows neither grief nor fear.

Kinsmen, friends and lovers (well-wishers) salute a man who has been away for a long time and returns safe from afar; likewise his good works receive a man when he comes from this world to the other.

No suffering befalls the man who calls nothing his own.

He who holds back rising anger like a rolling chariot is a real driver; others are but holding the reins.

Let a man overcome greed with liberality and lies with truth.

By these three steps you will come near to the gods: speak the truth; do not yield anger; give even though you have but a little to give.

There is an old saying: they blame him who sits silent; they blame him who speaks much; they blame him who says little. There is no one in the world who does not get blamed.

Life is easy to live for a man who is without shame, bold as a crow, a mischief-maker, insulting, arrogant and dissolute. But life is hard to live for a man who is modest, always looks for what is pure, free from attachment, unassuming, and clear of vision.

You yourself must make the effort. The Buddhas are only teachers.

All created things perish; he who knows and sees this is at peace in a world of pain. All existing things in this world are unreal; he who knows and sees this is beyond the thrall of grief.

Cut down the whole forest of desire, not just one tree only.

"Here I shall dwell in the winter and summer, here I shall dwell in the rain" - so the fool thinks, but does not think of death.

If by leaving a small pleasure one sees a great pleasure, the wise man will leave the small pleasures to look at the great.

Good people shine from afar, like the peaks of the Himalayas.

The passion of a heedless man grows like a creeper, and he runs from life to life, like a monkey seeking fruit in the forest.

The gift of the Law exceeds all gifts; the sweetness of the Law exceeds all sweetness; the delight in the Law exceeds all delight; the extinction of all desire overcomes all suffering.

Without knowledge there is no meditation, without meditation there is no knowledge. He who has knowledge and meditation is near to Nirvana.