Book XXV. The Monk, Bhikkhu Vagga

360, 361

Restraint of the eye is good, restraint of the ear is good,
Restraint of the nose is good, restraint of the tongue is good.

Restraint of the body is good, restraint of speech is good,
The monk who practices restraint in all things, obtains release from all suffering.

362

He that controls his hands, he that controls his feet,
He that controls his tongue, he that controls his head,
He that delights in meditation, he that is well composed,
He that is solitary and contented, such a man is truly called a monk.

363

If a monk control his tongue, if he speak words of wisdom, if he be not puffed up,
If he illuminate temporal and spiritual matters, the utterances of his lips will be pleasant to hear.

364

He whose garden of delight is the Law, he that delights in the Law, he that ponders the Law,
He that meditates upon the Law, that monk will never fall away from the Good Law.

365, 366

Let him not disdain what he has himself received, let him not envy others,
For if a monk envy others, he will never attain Concentration.

Though a monk receive but little, if he disdain not what he has himself received,
The gods will praise him as of blameless livelihood, unwearied.

367

He who has no attachment whatever for Name and Form,
He who sorrows not for that which exists not, such a man is truly called a monk.

368, 369, 370, 371, 372, 373, 374, 375, 376

That monk who abides in loving-kindness, and who has faith in the Religion of the Buddha,
Will reach the Place of Peace, Cessation of Existence, Happiness.

Monk, bale out this boat, for if it be baled out, light will it go for you.
Destroy both lust and hatred; then to Nibbāna will you go.

Cut off Five, renounce Five, develop Five more.
The monk who has escaped from the Five Fetters is called “one who has crossed the flood.”

Meditate, O monk, and be not heedless; permit not the pleasures of sense to sway your heart,
Lest as a punishment for your heedlessness, you swallow the iron ball, lest you cry as you burn, “This is pain.”

Meditation is impossible for him who lacks wisdom; wisdom is impossible for him who meditates not;
He that both meditates and possesses wisdom is near Nibbāna.

The monk who with tranquil heart enters an empty house,
Experiences an unearthly delight through his right discernment of the Law.

So soon as one grasps the thought of the rise and set of the Aggregates of Being,
One obtains the happiness and joy of those who comprehend the Deathless.

This is the proper way for a wise monk to begin in this world:
Guarding of the senses, contentment, restraint under the Precepts;
Cultivate virtuous friends, whose lives are pure, who faint not by the way.

One should be cordial in manner, one should be upright in conduct;
So will one experience profound joy and make an end of suffering.

377

Even as the jasmine sheds its withered flowers,
Even so, monks, should one shed lust and hatred.

378

The monk who is tranquil in action, tranquil in speech, tranquil in thought, collected,
Who has rejected the allurements of the world, he is truly called “composed.”

379, 380

Admonish thyself by thyself; examine thyself by thyself;
Guard thyself; be mindful: do this, O monk! and thou shalt live in happiness.

For self is the lord of self, self is the refuge of self:
Therefore curb thyself, as a merchant curbs a goodly steed.

381

Full of joy and satisfaction, the monk who has perfect faith in the Religion of the Buddha
Will reach the Place of Peace, Cessation of Existence, Happiness.

382

That monk who while still young devotes himself to the Religion of the Buddha,
Such a monk illumines the world as does the moon freed from a cloud.