Book VI. The Wise Man, Paṇḍita Vagga

76

Should one see, as it were, a revealer of hidden treasures, one who points out what should be avoided,
Who administers reproof where there is occasion for reproof, a man of intelligence, one should follow so wise a man;
It will be better, not worse, for one to follow so wise a man.

77

Let a man admonish and instruct, and forbid what is improper;
For if he do so, he will be loved by the good, but hated by the wicked.

78

One should not cultivate the friendship of evildoers; one should not cultivate fellows of the baser sort.
Cultivate the friendship of men that are good, cultivate the best of men.

79

He that drinks the Law sleeps happily, with mind serene;
The wise man ever delights in the Law as taught by holy men.

80

Ditch-diggers lead the water, arrow-makers straighten their shafts,
Carpenters straighten the wood; wise men control themselves.

81

Even as a solid rock is not moved by the wind,
So wise men are not stirred by blame or praise.

82

Even as a lake, deep, limpid, clear,
So do wise men become calm after listening to the laws.

83

Everywhere good men practice renunciation; good men talk not as if given to sensual pleasure;
Wise men, touched either by happiness or by sorrow, show no change.

84

Not for his own sake, not for the sake of another, should a man desire son or wealth or kingdom;
He should not seek to gain success for himself by unjust means; so will he be upright, wise, and righteous.

85, 86

Of all men there are few that go to the other shore;
The rest of mankind merely run up and down the bank.

But those who conform to the Law, when the Law is rightly preached,
Those men will cross to the farther shore of the Kingdom of Death, hard to cross though it be.

87, 88, 89

Abandoning the dark state, the wise man should adopt the bright state.
Leaving home, he should go forth to the homeless life. In solitude, where enjoyment is hard to find,

There he should seek enjoyment, by forsaking the lusts of the flesh, with nothing he may call his own;
The wise man should rid himself of the impurities of the heart.

Those whose minds have been well trained in the Seven Elements of Knowledge,
Those who have freed themselves from Attachment, and rejoice in that freedom,
Those who have rid themselves of the Contaminations, and are full of light, they have passed into Nibbāna, even in this world.