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Dhammapada 256–272

Dhammaṭṭhavagga

19. The Just · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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Na tena hoti dhammaṭṭho,
yenatthaṁ sāhasā naye;
Yo ca atthaṁ anatthañca,
ubho niccheyya paṇḍito.

You don’t become just by passing hasty judgment. An astute person evaluates both what is pertinent and what is irrelevant.

Asāhasena dhammena,
samena nayatī pare;
Dhammassa gutto medhāvī,
“dhammaṭṭho”ti pavuccati.

A wise one judges others without haste, justly and impartially; that guardian of the law is said to be just.

Na tena paṇḍito hoti,
yāvatā bahu bhāsati;
Khemī averī abhayo,
“paṇḍito”ti pavuccati.

You’re not an astute scholar just because you speak a lot. One who is secure, free of enmity and fear, is said to be astute.

Na tāvatā dhammadharo,
yāvatā bahu bhāsati;
Yo ca appampi sutvāna,
dhammaṁ kāyena passati;
Sa ve dhammadharo hoti,
yo dhammaṁ nappamajjati.

You’re not one who has memorized the teaching just because you recite a lot. Someone who directly sees the teaching after hearing only a little is truly one who has memorized the teaching, for they can never forget it.

Na tena thero so hoti,
yenassa palitaṁ siro;
Paripakko vayo tassa,
“moghajiṇṇo”ti vuccati.

You don’t become a senior by getting some grey hairs; for one ripe only in age, is said to have aged in vain.

Yamhi saccañca dhammo ca,
ahiṁsā saṁyamo damo;
Sa ve vantamalo dhīro,
“thero” iti pavuccati.

One who is truthful and principled, harmless, restrained, and self-controlled, attentive, purged of stains, is said to be a senior.

Na vākkaraṇamattena,
vaṇṇapokkharatāya vā;
Sādhurūpo naro hoti,
issukī maccharī saṭho.

Not by mere enunciation, or a beautiful complexion does a person become holy, if they’re jealous, stingy, and devious.

Yassa cetaṁ samucchinnaṁ,
mūlaghaccaṁ samūhataṁ;
Sa vantadoso medhāvī,
“sādhurūpo”ti vuccati.

But if they’ve cut that out, dug it up at the root, eradicated it, that intelligent one, purged of vice, is said to be holy.

Na muṇḍakena samaṇo,
abbato alikaṁ bhaṇaṁ;
Icchālobhasamāpanno,
samaṇo kiṁ bhavissati.

A liar and breaker of vows is no ascetic just because they shave their head. How on earth can one be an ascetic who’s full of desire and greed?

Yo ca sameti pāpāni,
aṇuṁthūlāni sabbaso;
Samitattā hi pāpānaṁ,
“samaṇo”ti pavuccati.

One who stops all wicked deeds, great and small, because of stopping wicked deeds is said to be an ascetic.

Na tena bhikkhu so hoti,
yāvatā bhikkhate pare;
Vissaṁ dhammaṁ samādāya,
bhikkhu hoti na tāvatā.

You don’t become a mendicant just by begging from others. One who has undertaken domestic duties has not yet become a mendicant.

Yodha puññañca pāpañca,
bāhetvā brahmacariyavā;
Saṅkhāya loke carati,
sa ve “bhikkhū”ti vuccati.

But one living a spiritual life, who has banished both merit and evil, who wanders having appraised the world, is said to be a mendicant.

Na monena munī hoti,
mūḷharūpo aviddasu;
Yo ca tulaṁva paggayha,
varamādāya paṇḍito.

You don’t become a sage by being sagelike, while still confused and ignorant. The astute one who holds the scales, taking only the best,

Pāpāni parivajjeti,
sa munī tena so muni;
Yo munāti ubho loke,
“muni” tena pavuccati.

and shunning the bad— that is a sage, and that is how one becomes a sage. One who sagely weighs both in the world, is thereby said to be a sage.

Na tena ariyo hoti,
yena pāṇāni hiṁsati;
Ahiṁsā sabbapāṇānaṁ,
“ariyo”ti pavuccati.

You don’t become a noble one by harming living beings. One harmless toward all living beings is said to be a noble one.

Na sīlabbatamattena,
bāhusaccena vā pana;
Atha vā samādhilābhena,
vivittasayanena vā.

Not by precepts and observances, nor by much learning, nor by meditative immersion, nor by living in seclusion,

Phusāmi nekkhammasukhaṁ,
aputhujjanasevitaṁ;
Bhikkhu vissāsamāpādi,
appatto āsavakkhayaṁ.
Dhammaṭṭhavaggo ekūnavīsatimo.

do I experience the bliss of renunciation not frequented by ordinary people. A mendicant cannot rest confident without attaining the end of defilements.

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