so long as it has not yet ripened.
But as soon as that evil ripens,
they fall into suffering.
Month after month a fool may eat
food from a grass-blade’s tip;
but they’ll never be worth a sixteenth part
of one who has appraised the teaching.
For a wicked deed that has been done
does not curdle quickly like milk.
Smoldering, it follows the fool,
like a fire smothered over with ash.
මෙම ගැළපූ ඛණ්ඩයට පරිවර්තන පාඨයක් සපයා නැත
Whatever fame a fool may get,
it only gives rise to harm.
Whatever good features they have it ruins,
and blows their head into bits.
They’d seek the esteem that they lack,
and status among the mendicants;
authority over monasteries,
and honor among other families.
“Let both layfolk and renunciants think
the work was done by me alone.
In anything at all that’s to be done,
let them fall under my sway alone.”
So thinks the fool,
their greed and pride only growing.
For the means to profit and the path to quenching
are two quite different things.
A mendicant disciple of the Buddha,
understanding what this really means,
would never delight in honors,
but rather would foster seclusion.
Minor Collection
Sayings of the Dhamma 76–89
6. The Astute
Regard one who sees your faults
as a guide to a hidden treasure.
Stay close to one so wise and astute
who corrects you when you need it.
Sticking close to such an impartial person,
things get better, not worse.
Advise and instruct;
curb wickedness:
for you shall be loved by the good,
and disliked by the bad.
Don’t mix with bad friends,
nor with the worst of men.
Mix with spiritual friends,
and with the best of men.
Through joy in the teaching you sleep at ease,
with clear and confident heart.
An astute person always delights in the teaching
proclaimed by the Noble One.
Irrigators guide water,
fletchers straighten arrows,
carpenters carve timber,
the astute tame themselves.
As the wind cannot stir
a solid mass of rock,
so too blame and praise
do not affect the wise.
Like a deep lake,
clear and unclouded,
so clear are the astute
when they hear the teachings.
True persons give up everything,
they don’t cajole for the things they desire.
Though touched by sadness or happiness,
the astute appear neither depressed nor elated.
Never wish for success by unjust means,
for your own sake or that of another,
desiring children, wealth, or nation;
rather, be virtuous, wise, and just.
Few are those among humans
who cross to the far shore.
The rest just run around
on the near shore.
When the teaching is well explained,
those who practice accordingly
will cross over
Death’s dominion so hard to pass.
Rid of dark qualities,
an astute person should develop the bright.
Leaving home behind
for the seclusion so hard to enjoy,
try to find satisfaction there,
having left behind sensual pleasures.
Owning nothing, an astute person
would cleanse themselves of mental corruptions.
Those whose minds are rightly developed
in the awakening factors;
who, letting go of attachments,
delight in not grasping:
with defilements ended, brilliant,
they are quenched in this world.
Minor Collection
Sayings of the Dhamma 90–99
7. The Perfected Ones
At journey’s end, rid of sorrow;
everywhere free,