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Dhammapada
- Dhammapada 12
- The Self
- translated by Acharya Buddharakkhita
157. If one holds oneself dear, one should diligently watch
oneself. Let the wise man keep vigil during any of the three watches of the night.
158. One should first establish oneself in what is proper;
then only should one instruct others. Thus the wise man will not be reproached.
159. One should do what one teaches others to do; if one would
train others, one should be well controlled oneself. Difficult, indeed, is self-control.
160. One truly is the protector of oneself; who else could the
protector be? With oneself fully controlled, one gains a mastery that is hard to gain.
161. The evil a witless man does by himself, born of himself
and produced by himself, grinds him as a diamond grinds a hard gem.
162. Just as a single creeper strangles the tree on which it
grows, even so, a man who is exceedingly depraved harms himself as only an enemy might
wish.
163. Easy to do are things that are bad and harmful to
oneself. But exceedingly difficult to do are things that are good and beneficial.
164. Whoever, on account of perverted views, scorns the
Teaching of the Perfected Ones, the Noble and Righteous Ones -- that fool, like the
bamboo, produces fruits only for self destruction. [14]
165. By oneself is evil done; by oneself is one defiled. By
oneself is evil left undone; by oneself is one made pure. Purity and impurity depended on
oneself; no one can purify another.
166. Let one not neglect one's own welfare for the sake of
another, however great. Clearly understanding one's own welfare, let one be intent upon
the good.