12. Flower Fragrance (T210.12)

Who can select the land:
Leaving hells behind and preferring heavens?
Who speaks the words of Dharma,
Like picking good flowers?

A trainee can select the land,
Leaving hells behind and preferring heavens.
He speaks well the Words of Dharma
And can pick flowers of virtues.

He who knows worldly phenomena as earthenware,
Illusory, and coming abruptly into existence;
Will break the blooming of Māra’s flowers,
And see no more the lord of death.

He who sees the body to be like foam,
And all phenomena to be illusory in nature
Will break the blooming of Māra’s flowers,
And see no more the lord of death.

When the body is sick, it withers away,
Like the wilting flowers.
When death befalls one,
It dashes forth like rapids.

He who is insatiate in desires,
His mind becomes distracted.
Amassing wealth through evil means,
He makes an attack on himself.

As a bee gathers [honey from] flowers,
Without disturbing their colour and fragrance,
Taking away only their taste
Likewise do the sages enter the village.

Do not seek to observe others
As to what they have or have not done;
Always make self-reflection
To know one’s rights and wrongs.

As a flower pleasing to the mind,
With good colour but no fragrance;
Likewise are fine words
Which if not practiced yield no gain.

AS a flower pleasing to the mind,
With beautiful colour as well as fragrance;
Likewise are fine words
Which if practiced yield blessings.

If one gathers many precious flowers,
The garland made is of distinguished beauty.
If one accumulates many virtues,
One’s station of birth will change for the better.

Distinguished plants and scented flowers,
Do not perfume against the wind.
Those close to the blooming of Enlightenment
—The virtuous—diffuse fragrance in all directions.

Sandal wood, and various scented substances
Blue lotus, fragrant flowers
[Their fragrance] though said to be real,
Is inferior to the fragrance of morality.

The fragrance of flowers is faint;
It cannot be called real.
The fragrance of ethical alignment
Reaches up to the heavens—It is excellent.

Those who are perfect in morality,
Whose actions are not heedless,
And who are freed through a concentrated mind
Is far apart from Māra’s path.

As in a field-ditch
Near the main road,
A lotus could bloom,
Fragrant, clean and charming.

Likewise, in the cycle of rebirth.
Amidst the [lowest] end of worldlings,
The wise ones delight in going forth,
To be disciples of the Buddha.

Translated from the Chinese by Bhikkhu Kuala Lumpur Dhammajoti

From his book The Chinese Version of Dharmapada, Translated with introduction and annotations.

Published here with the kind permission of the author.

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Ayya Vimala.