Chapter 17
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Let a person let go of anger, abandon pride, and break free from every bond. No suffering touches the one who is not attached to name and form, and who claims nothing as their own.
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The one who can hold back rising anger the way a driver checks a runaway chariot—that is who I call a true driver. Everyone else is merely holding the reins.
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Overcome anger with love. Overcome evil with good. Overcome the greedy with generosity, and the liar with truth.
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Speak the truth. Do not give in to anger. Give, even when asked for only a little. By these three steps you will draw near to the gods.
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The sages who harm no one and who always keep their bodies under control go to the unchanging place, Nirvana, where, once arrived, they suffer no more.
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Those who stay alert, who study day and night, and who press on toward Nirvana—their passions will come to an end.
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This is an old saying, Atula; it is not just something said today: “They blame the one who sits silent, they blame the one who talks a lot, and they blame the one who speaks only a little. There is no one on earth who escapes blame.”
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There never was, there never will be, and there is not now a person who is always blamed, or a person who is always praised.
229, 230. But the one whom discerning people praise day after day, finding them flawless, wise, rich in knowledge and virtue—who would dare to blame such a person, who is like a coin of gold from the Jambu river? Even the gods praise such a one; even Brahma offers praise.
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Watch out for the anger of the body, and control your body. Let go of the body’s wrongdoings, and use your body to practice virtue.
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Watch out for the anger of the tongue, and control your tongue. Let go of the tongue’s wrongdoings, and use your tongue to practice virtue.
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Watch out for the anger of the mind, and control your mind. Let go of the mind’s wrongdoings, and use your mind to practice virtue.
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The wise who control the body, who control the tongue, the wise who control the mind—they are indeed well controlled.
