English
For those spoken to might retort; Painful indeed is contentious talk, Retaliatory blows might touch you. 138. Do work that is fitting, Speak words that are fitting; In what is unfitting, wealth is lost, In what is unfitting, life declines. 139. Those who honor the elderly, Knowing the Dhamma's teachings; Are praised in this very life, And in the next, find a good destiny. 140. Let him speak like an elder, For the words of the elders are fitting; Let him call a brother "brother," And a father "father." 141. Giving, and kind speech, And beneficial conduct here; And impartiality in matters of Dhamma, According to the occasion, there. 142. Kings speak once, Ascetics and Brahmins once; Men in the world once, This is the ancient law. 143. One or two words, Let him speak compassionately; Beyond that, let him not speak, In the presence of a servant. 144. Worse is he who, When angry, retorts in anger; He who does not retort when angry, Wins a battle hard to win. 145. He works for the good of both, Of himself and of another; Knowing that another is angered, Who is mindful, is calmed. Protecting oneself, one protects others, Protecting others, one protects oneself. 146. Of virtue, concentration, and wisdom, Patience is the chief cause; All wholesome qualities, Grow dependent on patience. 147. What can a wicked person do, To one who wields the sword of forgiveness? Fire falling on grassless ground, Is extinguished by itself. 148. Listening and hearing, Grasping and retaining, Investigating the meaning, And knowing the truth, are qualities of wisdom. 149. He who has these four qualities, Is truly wise among men; Truth, righteousness, fortitude, and generosity, He transcends what is seen. 150. A doctor, a chaplain, a minister, And a learned Vedic scholar as the fourth; These should be seen in the morning, By one who desires constant prosperity. 151. One should go to the presence of friends, At the right time, not at night; If much is broken by gathering, One should share it among friends. 152. One should not look at the faults of others, Nor at what others have done or not done; But one should consider one's own deeds, What one has done and not done. 153. One should do what is customary for the country, the clan, and ancestors, And what followers do; Knowing the deceitful trickery of others, One should make friends with them. 154. Just as one sinks in the great ocean, Riding on a small raft of wood; So too, associating with a lazy person, Even a virtuous person sinks; Therefore, one should avoid, The lazy one, lacking in energy. 155. Laziness and negligence, Inactivity and lack of self-control; Sleep and drowsiness, these are faults, One should completely avoid them all. 156. One should reject a bad friend, a fool, Like a man avoiding a venomous snake; One should destroy evil deeds, Like an elephant destroying a hut made of reeds. 157. Indeed, there is no mutual trust, Between women or men; Having associated without discernment, We do not trust such a one. 158. We do not trust one who has done evil, We do not trust a liar; We do not trust one wise only for self-interest, Nor do we trust one who is self-contented. 159. An elephant in rut, a black snake, A king anointed on the head, and all women; These a man should always approach mindfully, For their true nature is hard to know. 160. Trust not women, Nor the wicked; Not a river with a rapid current, Nor disease, nor the royal family. 161. A man who is addicted to women, Addicted to liquor, Addicted to dice, Destroys whatever he gains, That is a cause of ruin. 162. Having evil friends, Evil companions, And indulging in evil practices, A man declines Both in this world and the next. 163. Selfishness destroys fame, Anger destroys good qualities, Falsehood destroys truth, And anger destroys the guarding of the Dhamma. 164. Dice are a goddess, And wealth, Destruction is a calamity; Steadiness is destroyed by negligence, And a twice-born and a monk are ruined. 165. Slander destroys families, Conceit destroys one's own good, Misconduct destroys a man, And disrespect destroys generosity. 166. Where there is no respect, And constant contempt, Or even scant respect, One should not dwell there. 167. Where the lazy and the diligent, The brave and the timid, are honored, The virtuous do not dwell there, In a person who makes no distinction. 168. If one has no wisdom of one's own, Or is not well-trained in discipline, Like a blind buffalo in the forest, Many people would wander. 169. Fruit destroys the banana, Fruit destroys the bamboo, fruit destroys the reed; Honor destroys the base man, As a womb destroys a mule. 170. Knowing what is wrong as wrong, And what is not wrong as not wrong, Through embracing right view, Beings go to a happy destiny. Household Life Discourse 171. Painful is household life, Good is sharing food; No laughter in matters of gain, No suffering from loss of wealth. 172. He who does not regard Cold or heat As more than grass, Doing the duties of a man, Does not fall away from happiness. 173. Wise, endowed with virtue, Gentle and eloquent, Humble in conduct, not arrogant, Such a one obtains fame. 174. Energetic, not lazy, Not trembling in adversity, Of unbroken conduct, intelligent, Such a one obtains fame. 175. Hospitable, making friends, Generous, free from selfishness, A leader The leader, the guide, Such a one gains fame. 176. The energetic, mindful, Of pure deeds, considerate; The self-controlled, living by Dhamma, The diligent, his fame increases. 177. Two footprints, indeed, O father, Where everything is established; The gain of what is not gained, And the protection of what is gained. 178. In four ways should divide his wealth, The wise man living at home; With one part he should enjoy, With two he should invest in work; And the fourth he should save, For times of distress it will be. 179. Seeing the destruction of collyrium, And the accumulation of white ants; And the gathering of honey, The wise man lives at home. 180. Protecting wealth that is gained, Decline is not found; When protection is lacking, What is gained is lost, lost. 181. Wisdom is lacking, wealth is lacking, He does not find in the world; Children and wife are not dear, To him a friend is a bringer of happiness. 182. Four kinds should be known, Friends and well-wishers; The helper, the well-wisher, The one who shares joy and sorrow; The one who reveals faults and is compassionate, Thus a friend should be known. 183. Wealth lost, old age, And eating with an enemy; Do not last long, seeing this, The wise man lives at home. 184. It is too cold, it is too hot, It is too late, this happened; Thus neglecting his work, Opportunities pass by the man. 185. Not by one sleeping during the day, And showing negligence at night; Always drunk, a tippler, Is it possible to maintain a home. 186. Wealth destroys the unwise, Unless they seek the far shore; Through craving for wealth the unwise, Destroys himself as if another. 187. We have lived a bad life, not living, Because we did not give to those worthy; While wealth was available, We did not make a lamp for ourselves. 188. Sixty thousand years, Completely full in every way; For those burning in hell, When will there be an end? 189. There is no end, whence an end, No end is seen; Then indeed was done evil, By me and you, O friend; 190. Surely I, departing from here, Then, Having gained human birth; Generous, endowed with virtue, I will do much good. 191. Let not a mortal be greedy for possessions, For possessions have many faults; Living rightly on possessions, One grows in both ways. 192. He regrets not having gained wealth, Not having accumulated it before; "I did not seek wealth before," Thus he regrets afterwards. 193. "I was formerly a false witness, A slanderer, backbiter; Fierce and harsh too," Thus he regrets afterwards. 194. "I was formerly a killer of living beings, Cruel and ignoble too; Not compassionate to beings," Thus he regrets afterwards. 195. "When there were many, Unendangered women; I frequented another's wife," Thus he regrets afterwards. 196. "When much of yours existed, Food and drink were available; I did not give alms before," Thus he regrets afterwards. 197. "Mother and father too, Old, past their youth; Though able, I did not support them," Thus he regrets afterwards. 198. "The teacher, the instructor, The bringer of all desirable flavors; I disrespected my father," Thus he regrets afterwards. 199. "Ascetics and Brahmins too, Virtuous, learned; I did not attend to them before," Thus he regrets afterwards. 200. "Good is austerity practiced, And a peaceful one attended to; I did not practice austerity before," Thus he regrets afterwards. 201. But whoever these things, Rightly undertakes; Doing manly deeds, He does not regret afterwards. 202. One should not have a common wife, Nor eat good food alone; Nor follow worldly lore, That is not conducive to wisdom. 203. Virtuous, accomplished in duties, Diligent, discerning; Humble in conduct, not stiff, Affable, friendly, gentle. 204. A gatherer of friends, A sharer, methodical; He should satisfy with food and drink, Always ascetics and Brahmins. 205. Desiring Dhamma, a repository of learning, He should be inquisitive; He should respectfully attend, Virtuous, learned ones. 206. For one living at home, A householder, One's own house; Khemā's conduct would be thus, Thus would be the gathering. 207. Non-violent would be thus, Truthful too, the young man; From this world to the next, Thus departing, he grieves not. 208. Pleasant is kindness to mother in the world, And pleasant is kindness to father; Pleasant is kindness to ascetics in the world, And pleasant is kindness to Brahmans. 209.