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Theravāda — Pali Canon · Khuddaka Nikāya — The Minor Collection
Dhp 256–27219. The Just
Pāli / Sanskrit:Dhammaṭṭhavagga
📖417 words · ~2 min read
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Full translation (English)
– Minor Collection
Sayings of the Dhamma 256–272 19. The Just
You don’t become justby passing hasty judgment.An astute person evaluates bothwhat is pertinent and what is irrelevant.A wise one judges others without haste,justly and impartially;that guardian of the lawis said to be just.You’re not an astute scholarjust because you speak a lot.One who is secure, free of enmity and fear,is said to be astute.You’re not one who has memorized the teachingjust because you recite a lot.Someone who directly sees the teachingafter hearing only a littleis truly one who has memorized the teaching,for they can never forget it.You don’t become a seniorby getting some grey hairs;for one ripe only in age,is said to have aged in vain.One who is truthful and principled,harmless, restrained, and self-controlled,attentive, purged of stains,is said to be a senior.Not by mere enunciation,or a beautiful complexiondoes a person become holy,if they’re jealous, stingy, and devious.But if they’ve cut that out,dug it up at the root, eradicated it,that wise one, purged of vice,is said to be holy.A liar and breaker of vows is no asceticjust because they shave their head.How on earth can one be an asceticwho’s full of desire and greed?One who stops all wicked deeds,great and small,because of stopping wicked deedsis said to be an ascetic.You don’t become a mendicantjust by begging from others.One who has undertaken domestic dutieshas not yet become a mendicant.But one living a spiritual life,who has banished both merit and evil,who wanders having appraised the world,is said to be a mendicant.You don’t become a sage by being sagelike,while still confused and ignorant.The astute one who holds the scales,taking only the best,and shunning the bad—that is a sage, and that is how one becomes a sage.One who sagely weighs both in the world,is thereby said to be a sage.You don’t become a noble oneby harming living beings.One harmless towards all living beingsis said to be a noble one.Not by precepts and observances,nor by much learning,nor by meditative immersion,nor by living in seclusion,do I experience the bliss of renunciationnot frequented by ordinary people.A mendicant cannot rest confidentwithout attaining the end of defilements.
Translation source: HT. Thích Minh ChâuLicense: CC0-1.0 (Sujato) · personal-use (Minh Châu)
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