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Buddha’s

Dhammapada - 3

View Complete Dhammapada in 4 Parts. This is Part - 3

As rust consumes the iron which breeds it, evil deeds consumes those who do them.

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Remove impurities from your mind one by one, little by little from time to time, just as a silversmith blows away the impurities of silver.

There is no impurity greater than ignorance…

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Remove that through wisdom and you will be pure.

Life seems easy for one without shame. Life is hard for one who is humble, gentle and detached and who tries to live in purity.

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They dig their own graves who kill, lie, get drunk, or desire the wealth or spouse of another. Those who drink to intoxication are digging up their own roots. Any indiscipline brings evil in its wake…

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know this and do not let greed and vice bring you lingering pain.

It is easy to see the faults of others; we winnow them like chaff…

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It is hard to see our own; we hide them as a gambler hides losing cards.

One is not wise because he talks a good deal…

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They are wise who are patient, and free from hate and fear.

Gray hair does not make an elder; one can grow old and still be immature…

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A true elder is truthful, virtuous, gentle, self-controlled and pure in mind.

Of paths the Eightfold is the best; of truths the Nobles Four are the best; of mental states Detachment is the best; of human being the Illumined one is the best.

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Now is the time to wake up when you are young and strong. Those who wait and waver with a weak will and a divided mind, will never find the way to pure wisdom.

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Cut down the whole forest of selfish desires and not just one tree and you will be on your way to liberation.

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Death comes and carries off a man absorbed in his family and possession as the monsoon flood sweeps away a sleeping village.

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Neither children nor parents can rescue one whom death has seized…

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Remember this and follow without delay the path that leads to ‘Nirvana’.

Don’t try to build your happiness on the happiness of others. You will be enmeshed in a net of hatred.

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It is hard to leave the world and harder to live in it, painful to live with the worldly and painful to be a wanderer…

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Reach the goal; and you will wander and suffer no more.

Those who are good and pure in conduct are honored wherever they go. The wise and virtuous persons shine like snow covered peaks, above the rest of the world, even when seen from a distance.

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Sitting alone, sleeping alone, and going about alone vanquish the ego by yourself alone. Abiding joy will be yours when all selfish desires end.

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He who speaks a lie and who denies his bad deeds, both goes to hell.

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Adultery leads to four things: fear of being caught and punished, a bad reputation, a feeling of guilt, and suffering in hell. Against these the pleasure of a frightened man in the arms of a frightened woman are small and short-lived. Therefore do not commit adultery.

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Patiently I shall bear harsh words as the elephant bears arrows on the battlefield…

People are often inconsiderate.

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Only a trained elephant goes to the battlefield; only a trained elephant carries the king…

Best among men are those who have trained their mind to endure harsh words patiently.

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Pull yourself out of bad ways as an elephant raises itself out of the mud.

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Walk with a friend who is wise, virtuous and considerate, or else walk alone like an elephant roaming freely in a forest.