Chapter 14
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His victory cannot be undone; no one in this world can enter into his conquest. By what path could you lead him astray—the Awakened One, the All-Knowing, who leaves no track?
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No craving, with its snares and poisons, can lead him astray. By what path could you lead him—the Awakened One, the All-Knowing, who leaves no track?
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Even the gods envy those who are awakened and attentive, devoted to meditation, wise, and content in the quiet of withdrawal from the world.
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Hard it is to be born human, hard is the life of mortals, hard it is to hear the True Law, and hard is the arising of an Awakened One.
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To avoid all wrongdoing, to cultivate good, and to purify one’s own mind—this is the teaching of all the Awakened Ones.
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The Awakened call patience the highest discipline, and forbearance the highest Nirvana. For one who strikes others is no true renunciant, and one who insults others is no true ascetic.
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Not to blame, not to strike, to live under the restraint of the rule, to be moderate in eating, to sleep and sit alone, and to dwell on the highest thoughts—this is the teaching of the Awakened Ones.
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Cravings cannot be satisfied even by a shower of gold coins. The wise person knows that desires offer only a brief taste and bring pain;
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Even in the pleasures of heaven such a person finds no satisfaction. The fully awakened disciple delights only in the ending of all desires.
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Driven by fear, people run to many refuges—to mountains and forests, to groves and sacred trees.
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But that is not a safe refuge, nor the best refuge; going there does not free a person from all suffering.
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The one who takes refuge in the Buddha, the Law, and the Community, and who with clear insight sees the Four Noble Truths—
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namely, suffering, the origin of suffering, the ending of suffering, and the noble eightfold path that leads to the calming of suffering—
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that is the safe refuge, that is the best refuge; going to that refuge, a person is freed from all suffering.
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A truly extraordinary person—a Buddha—is not easily found; such a one is not born just anywhere. Wherever such a sage appears, that people flourishes.
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Happy is the arising of the Awakened, happy is the teaching of the True Law, happy is harmony in the Community, happy is the devotion of those who live in peace.
195, 196. Whoever honors those worthy of honor—whether the Awakened Ones or their disciples, who have overcome the army of evils and crossed the flood of sorrow—whoever honors those who have found liberation and are free from fear, the merit of such a person cannot be measured by anyone.
