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Theravāda — Pali Canon · Khuddaka Nikāya — The Minor Collection
Dhp 33–433. The Mind
Pāli / Sanskrit:Cittavagga
📖246 words · ~1 min read
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Full translation (English)
– Minor Collection
Sayings of the Dhamma 33–43 3. The Mind
The mind quivers and shakes, hard to guard, hard to curb.The discerning straighten it out,like a fletcher straightens an arrow.Like a fish pulled from the seaand cast upon the shore,this mind flounders about,trying to throw off Māra’s dominion.Hard to hold back, flighty,alighting where it will;it’s good to tame the mind;a tamed mind leads to bliss.So hard to see, so subtle,alighting where it will;the discerning protect the mind,a guarded mind leads to bliss.The mind travels far, wandering alone;incorporeal, it lies hidden in the heart.Those who will restrain the mindare freed from Māra’s bonds.Those of unsteady mind,who don’t understand the true teaching,and whose confidence wavers,do not perfect their wisdom.One whose mind is not festering,whose heart is undamaged,who’s given up right and wrong,alert, has nothing to fear.Knowing this body breaks like a pot,and fortifying the mind like a citadel,attack Māra with the sword of wisdom,guard your conquest, and never settle.All too soon this bodywill lie upon the earth,bereft of consciousness,tossed aside like a worthless log.A wrongly directed mindwould do you more harmthan a hater to the hated,or an enemy to their foe.A rightly directed mindwould do you more goodthan your mother or fatheror any other relative.
Translation source: HT. Thích Minh ChâuLicense: CC0-1.0 (Sujato) · personal-use (Minh Châu)
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