A wise one judges others without haste,Asāhasena dhammena, justly and impartially;samena nayatī pare; that guardian of the lawDhammassa gutto medhāvī, is said to be just.“dhammaṭṭho”ti pavuccati.
- Minor CollectionKhuddakanikāya
- Sayings of the Dhamma 256–272Dhammapada
19. The JustDhammaṭṭhavagga
You don’t become justNa tena hoti dhammaṭṭho, by passing hasty judgment.yenatthaṁ sāhasā naye; An astute person evaluates bothYo ca atthaṁ anatthañca, what is pertinent and what is irrelevant.ubho niccheyya paṇḍito.
You’re not an astute scholarNa tena paṇḍito hoti, just because you speak a lot.yāvatā bahu bhāsati; One who is secure, free of enmity and fear,Khemī averī abhayo, is said to be astute.“paṇḍito”ti pavuccati.
You’re not one who has memorized the teachingNa tāvatā dhammadharo, just because you recite a lot.yāvatā bahu bhāsati; Someone who directly sees the teachingYo ca appampi sutvāna, after hearing only a littledhammaṁ kāyena passati; is truly one who has memorized the teaching,Sa ve dhammadharo hoti, for they can never forget it.yo dhammaṁ nappamajjati.
You don’t become a seniorNa tena thero so hoti, by getting some grey hairs;yenassa palitaṁ siro; for one ripe only in age,Paripakko vayo tassa, is said to have aged in vain.“moghajiṇṇo”ti vuccati.
One who is truthful and principled,Yamhi saccañca dhammo ca, harmless, restrained, and self-controlled,ahiṁsā saṁyamo damo; attentive, purged of stains,Sa ve vantamalo dhīro, is said to be a senior.“thero” iti pavuccati.
Not by mere enunciation,Na vākkaraṇamattena, or a beautiful complexionvaṇṇapokkharatāya vā; does a person become holy,Sādhurūpo naro hoti, if they’re jealous, stingy, and devious.issukī maccharī saṭho.
But if they’ve cut that out,Yassa cetaṁ samucchinnaṁ, dug it up at the root, eradicated it,mūlaghaccaṁ samūhataṁ; that intelligent one, purged of vice,Sa vantadoso medhāvī, is said to be holy.“sādhurūpo”ti vuccati.
A liar and breaker of vows is no asceticNa muṇḍakena samaṇo, just because they shave their head.abbato alikaṁ bhaṇaṁ; How on earth can one be an asceticIcchālobhasamāpanno, who’s full of desire and greed?samaṇo kiṁ bhavissati.
One who stops all wicked deeds,Yo ca sameti pāpāni, great and small,aṇuṁthūlāni sabbaso; because of stopping wicked deedsSamitattā hi pāpānaṁ, is said to be an ascetic.“samaṇo”ti pavuccati.
You don’t become a mendicantNa tena bhikkhu so hoti, just by begging from others.yāvatā bhikkhate pare; One who has undertaken domestic dutiesVissaṁ dhammaṁ samādāya, has not yet become a mendicant.bhikkhu hoti na tāvatā.
But one living a spiritual life,Yodha puññañca pāpañca, who has banished both merit and evil,bāhetvā brahmacariyavā; who wanders having appraised the world,Saṅkhāya loke carati, is said to be a mendicant.sa ve “bhikkhū”ti vuccati.
You don’t become a sage by being sagelike,Na monena munī hoti, while still confused and ignorant.mūḷharūpo aviddasu; The astute one who holds the scales,Yo ca tulaṁva paggayha, taking only the best,varamādāya paṇḍito.
and shunning the bad—Pāpāni parivajjeti, that is a sage, <j>and that is how one becomes a sage.sa munī tena so muni; One who sagely weighs both in the world,Yo munāti ubho loke, is thereby said to be a sage.“muni” tena pavuccati.
You don’t become a noble oneNa tena ariyo hoti, by harming living beings.yena pāṇāni hiṁsati; One harmless toward all living beingsAhiṁsā sabbapāṇānaṁ, is said to be a noble one.“ariyo”ti pavuccati.
Not by precepts and observances,Na sīlabbatamattena, nor by much learning,bāhusaccena vā pana; nor by meditative immersion,Atha vā samādhilābhena, nor by living in seclusion,vivittasayanena vā.
do I experience the bliss of renunciationPhusāmi nekkhammasukhaṁ, not frequented by ordinary people.aputhujjanasevitaṁ; A mendicant cannot rest confidentBhikkhu vissāsamāpādi, without attaining the end of defilements.appatto āsavakkhayaṁ.