Chapter 26

Cut off the stream with courage; drive desire away, brahmana! Once you understand how all conditioned things come undone, you will know the unconditioned.

When the brahmana has crossed to the far shore in both practices—restraint and contemplation—all bonds fall away from him, for he has gained knowledge.

The one for whom there is no near shore, no far shore, and no in-between—fearless and unbound—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who is meditative, blameless, settled, faithful to his duty, free of passion, and who has reached the highest goal—him I truly call a brahmana.

The sun shines by day; the moon shines by night; the warrior shines in his armor; the brahmana shines in his meditation. But the Buddha, the Awakened One, shines in his splendor both day and night.

Because he has cast off evil, he is called a brahmana; because he lives in calm, he is called a samana; because he has sent away his own impurities, he is called a pabbajita, a wanderer.

No one should strike a brahmana, but a brahmana, if struck, should not lash out in return. Shame on the one who strikes a brahmana, and greater shame on the one who strikes back.

It is no small benefit to the brahmana to hold his mind back from life’s pleasures. When the wish to harm has vanished, suffering comes to an end.

The one who does no wrong with body, speech, or thought, and is restrained in all three—him I truly call a brahmana.

Once a person has understood the dharma as taught by the Well-Awakened One, let him honor it with care, as a brahmana tends the sacrificial fire.

A person does not become a brahmana by his braided hair, by his clan, or by birth. The one in whom there is truth and righteousness—he is blessed; he is a brahmana.

What good is your braided hair, fool? What good is your goatskin robe? Inside you there is craving, while you polish only the outside.

The one who wears ragged clothes, who is gaunt, his veins showing, who lives alone in the forest and meditates—him I truly call a brahmana.

I do not call a man a brahmana simply because of his birth or his mother’s lineage. Such a man may be proud and wealthy; but the one who owns nothing and is free of all attachment—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who has cut every fetter, who never trembles, who is independent and unbound—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who has cut the strap and the thong, the chain and all its links, who has broken the bar and is awakened—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who, though innocent, endures insult, beatings, and imprisonment, whose strength is patience and whose army is endurance—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who is free from anger, who is dutiful, virtuous, without craving, self-controlled, and wears his last body—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who does not cling to pleasures, like water on a lotus leaf, like a mustard seed on the point of a needle—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who, here in this very life, knows the ending of his suffering, has set down his burden, and is unbound—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one whose knowledge is deep, who has wisdom, who knows what is the right path and what is the wrong, and who has reached the highest goal—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who keeps his distance from both householders and wanderers, who visits no houses, and has few desires—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who harms no living being, weak or strong, who neither kills nor causes killing—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who is tolerant among the intolerant, gentle among fault-finders, free from passion among the passionate—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one from whom anger and hatred, pride and envy have fallen away like a mustard seed from the point of a needle—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one whose speech is true, instructive, and free from harshness, so that he gives offense to no one—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who takes nothing in the world that has not been given to him, whether long or short, small or large, fine or poor—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who cherishes no desire for this world or the next, who has no longings, and is unbound—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who clings to nothing, who, having understood the truth, no longer asks “How? how?”—the one who has reached the depths of the Deathless—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who in this world has risen above good and evil, above attachment to either, who is free from grief, sin, and impurity—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who is bright as the moon, pure, serene, undisturbed, in whom all frivolity is extinguished—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who has crossed this muddy road, this impassable world with all its vanity, who has gone through to the far shore, who is thoughtful, sincere, free from doubt, free from attachment, and content—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who, leaving every desire behind, wanders homeless in this world, in whom all craving is extinguished—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who, leaving every longing behind, wanders homeless, in whom all greed is extinguished—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who has cast off all bondage to humans, has risen above all bondage to the gods, and is free from every bond whatsoever—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who has let go of pleasure and pain, who is cool, free from the seeds of any further birth, the hero who has conquered every world—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who knows the passing away and the rebirth of beings everywhere, who is unbound, well-gone (sugata), and awakened (buddha)—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one whose path the gods cannot trace, nor the gandharvas, nor humans, whose passions are extinguished, who is an arhat—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who claims nothing as his own, neither past, future, nor present, who is poor and free from love of the world—him I truly call a brahmana.

The manly one, the noble one, the hero, the great sage, the conqueror, the unshakable, the accomplished, the awakened—him I truly call a brahmana.

The one who knows his former lives, who sees heaven and hell, who has reached the end of births, who is perfect in knowledge, a sage whose attainments are all complete—him I truly call a brahmana.