Chapter 8
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A speech of a thousand words made up of empty phrases is worth less than a single meaningful word that brings peace to the one who hears it.
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A poem of a thousand words made up of empty phrases is worth less than a single meaningful line of verse that brings peace to the one who hears it.
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Reciting a hundred poems made up of empty phrases is worth less than a single word of the dharma that brings peace to the one who hears it.
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If one person conquers a million others in battle, and another conquers only himself, the second is the greater conqueror.
104, 105. Conquering yourself is better than conquering anyone else. No god, no Gandharva, not even Mara along with Brahma, can turn into defeat the victory of a person who has mastered himself and always lives with self-restraint.
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A person might offer sacrifices month after month for a hundred years, giving a thousand each time; yet a single moment of homage paid to someone whose mind is settled in true knowledge is worth more than a century of such sacrifices.
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A person might tend the sacred fire to Agni in the forest for a hundred years; yet a single moment of homage paid to someone whose mind is settled in true knowledge is worth more than a century of such offerings.
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Whatever a person offers in sacrifice or oblation in this world over an entire year in order to gain merit is not worth a quarter of the value of showing reverence to the righteous.
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To one who always greets and constantly honors the elders, four things will grow: life, beauty, happiness, and strength.
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Better than a hundred years of life lived viciously and without restraint is a single day lived by someone who is virtuous and thoughtful.
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Better than a hundred years of life lived in ignorance and without restraint is a single day lived by someone who is wise and thoughtful.
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Better than a hundred years of life lived in idleness and weakness is a single day lived by someone who has achieved firm strength.
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Better than a hundred years of life lived without seeing how things arise and pass away is a single day lived by someone who does see how things arise and pass away.
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Better than a hundred years of life lived without seeing the deathless state is a single day lived by someone who sees the deathless state.
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Better than a hundred years of life lived without seeing the highest law is a single day lived by someone who sees the highest law.
