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Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One. The Great Treasure of Ethics The Discourse on the Wise 1. The great secret, the Sakyan, The Muni, free from hindrances, from craving; Liberated, liberated, beautiful to behold, I venerate the excellent, supreme Bodhi tree. 2. By the Muni, the king of Munis, The wicked ascetics were conquered; Just as the false, Ancient, ancient views. 3. Thus, the Tathagata's teachings, Penetrate worldly ethics; Destroying with effort, Those who cause harm and loss. 4. Ethics here are the essence for beings, Friends, teachers, and parents; The ethical one, of good intellect, eloquent, Learned, a seer of meaning. 5. Poets and goldsmiths, having made, A thread, a golden scripture; Adorned with prose and verse, Make it delightful here. 6. The speech of one with clear knowledge, The meaning is known, not otherwise; A mirror with the radiance of the gods, Shows the reflection, does not create it. 7. Even great heat, Can make clay soft; Water softens water, And gentle speech softens the harsh. 8. With gentleness, one conquers the enemy, With gentleness, one conquers the cruel; Nothing is unachievable with gentleness, Therefore, conquer with gentleness. 9. Sandalwood is cool in the world, Cooler than that is the moon; Cooler than sandalwood and the moon, Is a well-spoken, virtuous word. 10. Even a small word, Well-spoken, becomes excellent; Even coarse food to the hungry, A sutta is sweet and tasty. 11. Many words are scriptures, But the many speakers are not respected; Indifferent to helping, Like river water, unseen. 12. Of the tree of wandering in samsara, There are only two fruits of immortality; The essence of well-spoken words, And association with virtuous people. 13. A stone umbrella is heavy, Heavier than that, the gods' nails; Heavier than that, the advice of the elders, Heavier than that, the Buddha's teaching. 14. A scale is light in the world, Lighter than that, a fickle person; Lighter than that, an unadvisable person, Lighter than that, a monk negligent in the Dhamma. 15. Alas, it goes, diminishing, The life of beings here; Therefore, do not be heedless, Go forth in the Buddha's teaching. 16. For the praise of the wise, A stick is given by the fool; The wise are praised by the wise, Well... He is praised. 17. A hero is born among hundreds, A wise man among thousands; A giver is spoken of among hundreds of thousands, If indeed there is one. 18. Kingship and wisdom, Are never equal; A king is honored in his own country, The Buddha is honored everywhere. 19. What is too heavy for the capable? What is too far for the merchant? What is a foreign land for the learned? Who is a stranger to the sweet-spoken? 20. Are not those very ones living, Like seas and mountains; Who, even a little, the boundary, Abandon, destroying it? 21. Those who transgress the boundary flee, They become like seas; The good do not desire to exceed the boundary, Even in destruction. 22. The good are long-lived, The cause of happiness for all beings; The bad, however, for all, Are the cause of suffering, without doubt. 23. When good people are prominent and peaceful, All people are good; When a single sandalwood tree is born, All trees become fragrant. 24. If by oneself, Through humility, many people; Go to humility, all of them, Who wise would destroy that? 25. Between the body and its qualities, Is a very great difference; The body is instantly perishable, The qualities endure for ages. 26. If the eternal by the impermanent, The pure by the impure; That which one obtains by the body, What would not be obtained, or what? 27. Of dharma, wealth, desire, and liberation, Life is the cause of success; By its destruction, what is not destroyed? By its protection, what is not protected? 28. Oneself is a friend to oneself, Oneself is an enemy to oneself; Oneself is the definite relative, Oneself is the definite enemy. 29. By sacrificing oneself, That which is desired to be protected; The good do indeed, That is not considered wise by the moral. 30. Grass, earth, water, And fourth, well-spoken words; These in the house of the good, Are never cut off. 31. Rivers drink water, Trees eat fruit; Clouds nowhere crops, The wealth of the good is for the sake of others. 32. The minds of the good, by harsh words, Do not go to change; Just as it is not possible with grass torches, To heat the water in the ocean. 33. Prosperity, greatness of mind, Like a tender lotus, He crosses the great rock, Rough with masses of stone. 34. Having attained great purpose, And also knowledge and wealth, He does not behave arrogantly, Such a one is called wise. 35. They do not desire the unattainable, Nor grieve for what is lost; They are not deluded by misfortune, Therefore, they are wise. 36. In a place of contention, in a single word, The wise should not be overbearing; What is the reed compared to Mount Meru, Illuminating the three great continents? 37. There is no one devoid Of both virtues and faults; Even the soft lotus Has a rough stalk. 38. Holding great scriptures, And being very learned, They are cutters of doubts, But grow weary through greed and delusion. 39. Seeing faults even in virtues, And speaking in praise of virtues, People do not see, even when it exists, The mark on the moon. 40. One should seek out the skilled, And investigate the meaning of what is heard; Rice cooked in a broken pot, And the vessel, will be the same. 41. Virtues perform the duty of messengers, Even for the good who live far away; Bees go of their own accord To the Ketaka flower for its fragrance. 42. "There is a wise person, Endowed with learning," if it is heard, With great enthusiasm, That place should be visited by one seeking learning. 43. One should study all learning, Inferior, superior, and middling; One should know the meaning of all, But not apply all; There comes such a time When learning is beneficial. 44. Sugar, placed for a long time in water, Continues to be sweet; Grass, grown near water, Is always sweet. 45. They gather wealth from afar, From mountains rich in gems; But the barbarians nearby do not, So are the foolish with much learning. 46. What is good conduct to the immoral, Like gold to animals? What is the Dhamma to the unrighteous, Or learning to the foolish? 47. What is learning to the hard-hearted, Who is not virtuous? What sweetness does the neem tree gain, From honey placed in its hollow? 48. Even once, a wise and intelligent person, Makes a good association; He obtains his own welfare and the welfare of others, And happiness ending in Nibbana. Like a mongoose among snakes, A lion does not shine among cows; A horse among donkeys, And an unlearned man among the wise. 50. Though crowded, like one without friends, Like one unassociated, a good man; With many fools gathered, One should wander like a madman here. 51. At the riverbank, in a dug well, In a tinder stick, in a palm sprout; "There is no water in a new pot," And such is speech from the mouth. 52. Wise men, with firm resolve in learning, Remain silent, unasked; Full of good speech, Like a bell, though struck. 53. An unasked fool is like a drum, A wise man, when asked, is like rain; A fool, whether asked or unasked, Always chatters much. 54. Accomplished in virtues, an ornament, A benefactor to all beings; If he does not act for the sake of others, How can he be wise? 55. The wise man acts for the sake of others, If unable, he acts for his own sake; Even then, if unable, He separates himself from evil. 56. Towards fools, madmen, kings, Teachers, parents, even; The wise man should not do wrong, Nor to the Sangha, nor to an elder brother. 57. Loss of wealth, mental anguish, And bad conduct in the house; Deceit and disrespect, The wise man should not reveal. 58. Like a mother to another's gift, Like a clod to another's wealth; Seeing all beings as oneself, He who sees, truly sees. 59. Deaf to the slander of others, Blind to the faults of others; Lame towards other women, Unconscious in difficult situations. 60. He hears everything with his ear, He sees everything with his eye; The wise man should not rashly Gather everything seen and heard. 61. As if blind with his eyes, As if deaf with his ears; As if mute with his wisdom, As if weak with his strength; Then, when an affair arises, He should lie as if dead. 62. Having avoided evil friends, One should associate with the best individuals; One should abide by their advice, Desiring unshakable happiness. 63. Listening increases learning, Learning increases wisdom; With wisdom, one understands meaning, Meaning understood brings happiness. 64. A place that causes joy, Happiness that brings praise; He cultivates the fruits and benefits, Bearing the burden of a man's duty. 65. Too cold, too hot, "It's too late," I thought; Thus neglecting their work, Moments pass by for humans. 66. But one who cold and heat, Considers less than a blade of grass; Doing the duties of a man, He does not fall away from happiness. 67. A man desiring fame, People avoid from afar; Disapproving of them, therefore, The wise seek a different path. 68. Lions, noble men, and elephants, Depart, abandoning the land; Right there they meet their end, Crows, base men, and deer. 69. In what country there is no respect, No father, no relatives; No acquisition of knowledge, One should not dwell there for a year. 70. A wealthy man, an accountant, a king, A river, a doctor, these people; Where these five are not found, One should not dwell there. 71. Food is the fear of the hungry, Death is the fear of the dying; Honor is the fear of all the best, Dishonor is the greatest fear. 72. Where there is no disrespect,