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Theravāda — Pali Canon · Khuddaka Nikāya — The Minor Collection
Dhp 320–33323. Elephants
Pāli / Sanskrit:Nāgavagga
📖374 words · ~1 min read
2
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Full translation (English)
– Minor Collection
Sayings of the Dhamma 320–333 23. Elephants
Like an elephant struckwith arrows in battle,I shall endure abuse,for so many folk are badly behaved.The well-tamed beast is the one led to the crowd;the tamed elephant’s the one the king mounts;the tamed person who endures abuseis the best of human beings.Those who have tamed themselves are betterthan fine tamed mules,thoroughbreds from Sindh,or giant tuskers.For not on those mountswould you go to the untrodden place,whereas, with the help of one whose self is well tamed,you go there, tamed by the tamed.The tusker named Dhanapālais musky in rut, hard to control.Bound, he eats not a morsel,for he misses the elephant forest.One who gets drowsy from overeating,fond of sleep, rolling round the bedlike a great hog stuffed with grain:that dullard returns to the womb again and again.In the past my mind wanderedhow it wished, where it liked, as it pleased.Now I’ll carefully guide it,as a trainer with a hook guides a rutting elephant.Delight in diligence!Take good care of your mind!Pull yourself out of this pit,like an elephant sunk in a bog.If you find an alert companion,an attentive friend to live happily together,then, overcoming all adversities,wander with them, joyful and mindful.If you find no alert companion,no attentive friend to live happily together,then, like a king who flees his conquered realm,wander alone like a tusker in the wilds.It’s better to wander alone,there’s no fellowship with fools.Wander alone and do no wrong,at ease like a tusker in the wilds.A friend in need is a blessing;it’s a blessing to be content with whatever;good deeds are a blessing at the end of life,and giving up all suffering is a blessing.In this world it’s a blessing to serveone’s mother and one’s father.And it’s a blessing also to serveascetics and brahmins.It’s a blessing to keep precepts until you grow old;a blessing to be grounded in faith;the getting of wisdom’s a blessing;and it’s a blessing to avoid doing wrong.
Translation source: HT. Thích Minh ChâuLicense: CC0-1.0 (Sujato) · personal-use (Minh Châu)
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