23. Dukādimissako
A Mixture of Pairs and So On
(11 Verses)
324 = Mhn 120; = Mahābhārata 5.33.52 [stm.]
Dve v’ ime kaṇḍakā tikkhā sarīraparisositā:
kāmeti niddhano yo ca yo ca kuppaty-anissaro.
These two sharp thorns make the body wither: the one who has desires while poor and the one who gets angry while powerless.
This verse identifies two specific and deeply painful contradictions that corrode a person from within. The first is the poor person who is filled with strong desires. His material reality cannot meet his aspirations, leading to constant frustration, envy, and a sense of lack that withers his spirit. The second is the powerless person who is quick to anger. His rage has no effective outlet or force behind it, leaving him seething impotently, which consumes his inner peace.
Mahābhārata 5.33.52
Dvāv imau kaṇṭakau tīkṣṇau śarīrapariśoṣiṇau:
yaś cādhanaḥ kāmayate, yaś ca kupyaty anīśvaraḥ.
325 = Ln 30 [stm.]
Adhanassa ’rasaṁ Text reads: rasaṁ, which makes no sense in the context. khādā, abalassa hatāhatā,
apaññassa kathā vākyā—tividhaṁ hīnalakkhaṇaṁ. Bechert and Braun flag this verse as unreconstructable, perhaps because of the unusual compound kathāvākyā, which seems better read as two words, as here: kathā vakyā.
For the poor unsavoury food, for the weak blow after blow, for the one lacking wisdom arguments and words—(this) is the threefold mark of a low person.
First, he gives unsavoury or rotten food to the poor, exploiting their desperation and adding insult to their poverty. Second, he strikes blow after blow on the weak, bullying those who cannot fight back, taking cowardly pleasure in their vulnerability. Third, he directs argumentative, quarrelsome words at one lacking wisdom, engaging in futile debate to confuse, dominate, or humiliate someone unable to argue effectively. This reveals a character that seeks advantage through preying on the disadvantaged.
Ln 30
Adhanassa ’rasaṁ Text reads: rasaṁ, which makes no sense in the context. khādā, abalassa hatā narā,
apaññassa vākyākathā, ummattakasamā ime.
For the poor unsavoury food, for the weak blows from a man, for the one lacking wisdom words and arguments, this is the same as a madman.
326 [stm.]
Pathabyā madhurā tīṇi: ucchu nārī subhāsitaṁ;
ucchunārīsu tappanti, na tappanti subhāsite.
Three sweet on things on earth: sugarcane, a woman and well-spoken words; they are sated with sugarcane and women, (but) they are not sated with well-spoken words.
Sugarcane, a woman, and well-spoken words are all sweet. However, people can reach a point of satiety with sugarcane and sensual pleasure; one can eat enough sugar or experience enough pleasure to be temporarily satisfied. But one is never satisfied with well-spoken, wise, or beautiful words. The ear and the mind have an infinite capacity and hunger for eloquent, truthful and beneficial speech. This highlights the superior and enduring value of Dhamma and good counsel over mere sensual delights.
327 [stm.]
Pathabyā tīṇi ratanāni saṅgahāni mahītale:
sippaṁ dhaññañ-ca mittañ-ca, bhavanti ratanā ime.
There are three treasures supported upon the surface of the earth: craft, grain and friends, these are three treasures.
These are not jewels or gold, but functional assets: a craft or skill, which provides livelihood and purpose; grain, representing stored food and economic security; and friends, meaning true companions who provide support, advice, and protection. These three are supported upon the surface of the earth because they are the tangible foundations of a stable and flourishing human existence. Unlike fleeting riches, these treasures: competence, sustenance and companionship directly address fundamental human needs.
328 = Mhn 141 [stm.]
Kalyāṇamittaṁ kantāraṁ yuddhaṁ sabhāyaṁ bhāsituṁ
asatthā gantum-icchanti mūḷhā te caturo janā.
There are four foolish people: those who wish to go unequipped to a spiritual friend, a desert, a war and to speak in an assembly.
To go unequipped to a spiritual friend means to approach a wise teacher without humility, questions, or a receptive mind, gaining nothing. To go unequipped into a desert means without water, supplies, or a guide, ensuring death. To go unequipped to war means without weapons or armor, guaranteeing defeat. To go unequipped to speak in an assembly means without prepared knowledge, eloquence, or confidence, leading to ridicule. In each case, the specific equipment is essential for success or survival.
329 = Ln 141; cf. Pañcatantra (PP) 1.264 [stm.]
Jīvanto pi matā pañca—Byāsena parikittitā—
dukkhito byādhito pakkho Ln: mūḷho; a fool. iṇavā nityasevako.
Five are as dead even while alive—this was expounded by Byāsa—one suffering, one ill, the partisan, the debtor and the perpetual slave.
One suffering from profound grief is dead to joy. One ill with chronic disease is dead to health and vitality. The partisan, hopelessly indebted, is dead to financial freedom and autonomy. The perpetual slave, with no control over his life or time, is dead to liberty and self-determination. Though their hearts beat, the essential qualities of a fully human life which are well-being, autonomy, and freedom from crushing burden are absent. They exist in a living death, a state of profound deprivation that negates the potential of life.
Pañcatantra (PP) 1.264
Jīvanto ’pi mṛtāḥ pañca—Vyāsena parikīrtitaḥ—
daridro vyādhito mūrkhaḥ pravāsī nityasevakaḥ.
Five are as dead even while alive—this was expounded by Vyāsa—one poor, one ill, the fool, one banished and the perpetual slave.
330 [stm.]
Cakkhudvārādikaṁ chakkaṁ saṁvuto sapañño naro
chabbidho hoti sīlena, asīlenāpi chabbidho.
The wise person restrained through virtue in six ways beginning with the eye-door is sixfold, also through lack of virtue he is sixfold.
A wise person who is restrained in the six sense-doors through virtue becomes sixfold in a positive sense—fully integrated, with each sense faculty guarded and used rightly. Conversely, through lack of virtue, he also becomes sixfold, but in a negative sense: fragmented, with each sense door a gateway to defilement, leading to diverse kinds of suffering. The same human apparatus yields either a unified, noble character or a dispersed, base one, depending entirely on the application of ethical discipline.
331 = Ln 143, Mhn 93 [stm.]
Niddāluko pamādo Ln: pamatto; with the same meaning. ca sukhito rogavālaso
nicchando ca Ln: mahiccho kammārāmo ca; those with great desires and those delighting in work. kammārāmo—sattete satthavajjitā.
The sleepy, the heedless, the comfortable, the sickly, the lazy, those without aspiration and those delighting in work—these seven are shunned by the teacher. Sattha is one of the most ambiguous terms in Pāḷi, diffentiated in Sanskrit as: śāstṛ (a teacher), śāstra (science, lore also a text or commentary), śastra (a weapon) and sārtha, a caravan. Here it could also mean that these are shunned in the texts, but considering its context and the verse that follows the correct interpretation seems to be as I have it.
The sleepy, the heedless and the lazy lack the basic alertness and effort for learning. The comfortable one is too attached to ease to endure the effort of practice. The sickly lacks physical vitality. One without aspiration lacks the driving desire to understand. One delighting only in work is preoccupied with busyness, not reflection. These are not moral condemnations but practical diagnoses: such individuals lack the prerequisites necessary to benefit from spiritual instruction.
Mhn 93
Niddālukāmamodo ca sukhito bhogavālaso
nicchando ca kammārāmo—sattete satthavajjitā.
The sleepy, the one enjoying sense desires, the comfortable, the wealthy, There are several problems here, the compound niddālukāmamodo, looks like a compression of niddāluka+kāmamodo (which is how I translate it). Otherwise if it really is niddāluka+āmamodo it might mean: the sleepy, the one delighting in raw food, which seems odd as fruits etc. are raw but edible. Again why the wealthy (bhogā) should be shunned by the teacher is not clear to me, it is probably a scribal error for rogā, as in Dhn. the lazy, those without aspiration and those delighting in work—these seven are shunned by the teacher.
332 [stm.]
Kulajo paññavā chando hirottappo sutādharo
atthakāmo surakkho ca—aṭṭh’ ete satthayojitā.
The well-born, the wise, the aspiring, the conscientous, the concerned, the learned, the one desiring good and the one well-guarded—these eight are engaged with by the teacher.
Well-born suggests good upbringing and manners. Wise indicates innate understanding. Aspiring shows motivation. Conscience and concern are the inner guardians of morality. Learned means they have a foundation of knowledge. One desiring good seeks genuine welfare, not just information. One well-guarded has self-control. Possessing these qualities, a student is a worthy vessel for the highest teaching, capable of receiving, retaining and applying it.
333 [stm.]
Kulaseṭṭho sapañño ca vuḍḍhi sūro ca sīlavā
bahussuto vuṭṭhāno ca dhīro sugatigāmiko—
nav’ ete sujanā seṭṭhā, pāpāttānaṁ nivāraye.
One of a rich family, one having wisdom, one prosperous, one courageous, one having virtue, one learned, one upstanding, one steadfast, one going to a good destiny—these nine good people are leaders, they hold back wrong in themselves.
These are the nine attributes of the highest type of person, the natural leaders who restrain wrong within themselves. These individuals are leaders not merely by birth but by their composite virtue. Their key function is internal: they hold back wrong in themselves. Their leadership and goodness stem from this capacity for self-governance. They are pillars of society because they have first mastered their own nature and are headed for prosperity.
334 [adm.]
Buddho Paccekabuddho ca Arahā aggasāvako
mātā pitā garu satthā dāyako dhammadesako—
paṇḍite hi ime dasa na dubbhantī ti jāniyā.
The Buddha, the Independent Buddha, the Arahat, the chief disciple, mother, father, instructor, teacher, benefactor, the teacher of Dhamma—these ten do not deceive, they should be known as wise people.
These are the ten figures who embody perfect reliability and wisdom. These ten do not deceive or lead astray. Their guidance, protection, or instruction is always trustworthy and for the true benefit of others. They should be known as wise. This set spans the ultimate spiritual guides and the foundational worldly benefactors, acknowledging that true wisdom and trustworthy care manifest in both the transcendent and the familial spheres.