Dhammapada Verses on the Buddha

“Heedful among the heedless, wide awake while others sleep— a true sage leaves them behind, like a swift horse passing a feeble.”

“A bee takes the nectar and moves on, doing no damage to the flower’s beauty and fragrance; and that’s how a sage should walk in the village.”

“So too, among those thought of as trash, a disciple of the perfect Buddha outshines with their wisdom the blind ordinary folk.”

“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.”

“Swans fly by the sun’s path, psychic sages fly through space. The attentive leave the world, having vanquished Māra with his legions.”

“He whose victory may not be undone, a victory unrivaled in all the world; by what track would you trace that Buddha, who leaves no track in his infinite range?”

“Of craving, the weaver, the clinger, he has none: so where can he be traced? By what track would you trace that Buddha, who leaves no track in his infinite range?”

“The attentive intent on absorption, who love the peace of renunciation, the Buddhas, ever mindful, are envied by even the gods.”

“It’s hard to gain a human birth; the life of mortals is hard; it’s hard to hear the true teaching; the arising of Buddhas is hard.”

“Not to do any evil; to embrace the good; to purify one’s mind: this is the instruction of the Buddhas.”

“Patient acceptance is the ultimate fervor. Extinguishment is the ultimate, say the Buddhas. No true renunciate injures another, nor does an ascetic hurt another.”

“Not speaking ill nor doing harm; restraint in the monastic code; moderation in eating; staying in remote lodgings; commitment to the higher mind— this is the instruction of the Buddhas.”

“Thus they find no delight even in celestial pleasures. A disciple of the fully awakened Buddha delights in the ending of craving.”

“One gone for refuge to the Buddha, to his teaching and to the Saṅgha, sees the four noble truths with right understanding:”

“Happy, the arising of Buddhas! Happy, the teaching of Dhamma! Happy is the harmony of the Saṅgha, and the striving of the harmonious is happy.”

“When a person venerates the worthy— the Buddha or his disciple, who have transcended proliferation, and have left behind grief and lamentation,”

“Those harmless sages, always restrained in body, go to the state that does not pass, where there is no sorrow.”

“If, after watching them day in day out, discerning people praise that sage of impeccable conduct, endowed with ethics and wisdom;”

“In the atmosphere there is no track, there’s no true ascetic outside here. No conditions last forever, the Awakened Ones are not shaken.”

“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,”

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

“The disciples of Gotama always wake up refreshed, who day and night constantly recollect the Buddha.”

“A mendicant who meditates on love, devoted to the Buddha’s teaching, would realize the peaceful state, the blissful stilling of conditions.”

“A monk full of joy trusting in the Buddha’s teaching, would realize the peaceful state, the blissful stilling of conditions.”

“A young mendicant devoted to the Buddha’s teaching, shines upon this world, like the moon freed from clouds.”

“The sun blazes by day, the moon radiates at night, the aristocrat shines in armor, and the brahmin shines in absorption. But all day and all night, the Buddha blazes with glory.”

“You should graciously honor the one from whom you learn the Dhamma taught by the awakened Buddha, as a brahmin honors the sacred flame.”

“They’ve cut the strap and harness, the halter and bridle too, with cross-bar lifted, they’re awakened: that’s who I declare a brahmin.”

“They know the passing away and rebirth of all beings; unattached, holy, awakened: that’s who I declare a brahmin.”

“Captain of the herd, excellent hero, great seer and victor; unstirred, washed, awakened: that’s who I declare a brahmin.”

“One who knows their past lives, sees heaven and places of loss, and has attained the end of rebirth; a sage of perfect insight at the summit of spiritual perfection: that’s who I declare a brahmin. The Sayings of the Dhamma are complete.”