25. Anger (T210.25)

He who is angry sees not the Dharma;
He who is angry knows not the Way.
He who can remove anger,
Merit and joy always follow him.

He who is lustful sees not the Dharma;
The same for he whose mind is deluded.
He who removes lust and delusion,
His merit stands foremost.

He who can refrain from anger,
Like halting a running chariot;
Is indeed a fine charioteer,
Who leaves darkness to enter brightness.

Forbearance excels anger;
Good excels evil;
The winner is one who gives;
Truthfulness excels deceit.

Do not cheat, do not get angry,
Do not seek much in your mind,
He who [can do] these three,
Ascends to heaven at death.

Those who are ever restrained in body,
Who are kind and do not kill;
Go to the celestial abodes
And having reached there become sorrowless.

Those whose mind is always awake.
Who diligently practice day and night;
With their mind determined to end corruptions.
They will attain Nirvāṇa.

People blame one another,
From time of old till now.
They blame him who speaks much,
They blame him who is reluctant to speak,
And him who speaks in moderation;
In the world none is not blamed.

One with a craving mind is unlike a noble one,
Not being able to keep to the Middle.
He either blames altogether or praises altogether;
All in order to promote his own name.

He who is praised by the wise,
Is to be regarded as virtuous.
Such a man endowed with wisdom and precepts
Is beyond any blame whatsoever.

He who is pure as a an arahat;
Do not vilify him.
He is praised by gods,
As by Brahmā and Śakra.

Always guard and be cautious of your body,
So as to be restrained from anger.
Forsaking evil bodily acts,
Advance in the practice of virtues.

Always guard and be cautious of your speech,
So as to be restrained from anger.
Forsaking speech of evil,
Rehearse the words of Dharma.

Always guard and be cautious of your mind,
So as to be restrained from anger.
Forsaking evil thoughts in the mind,
Meditate and be mindful of the Way.

He who is restrained in body and speech
And who controls his mind;
Giving up anger and practicing the Way,
Is the strongest in forbearance.

Give up anger, renounce conceit
And avoid all lustful cravings.
Not clinging to the psycho-physical existence,
And being unattached, one will end suffering.

He who removes anger the moment it arises;
He who restrains from lust as it occurs;
He who is heroic in renouncing ignorance;
All these people will find happiness.

He who cuts off anger sleeps well,
Hatred ceasing, there is no sorrow.
Anger is the root of all poisons.
A brahmin with a soft mind
And good words will gain fame;
[Anger] removed, there is no worry.

He who, together with other like-minded,
Collaborates in evil doing;
Company being parted, is left with anger,
With which fire he torments himself.

He who knows no moral fear or shame,
Who observes no precepts and is angry;
Is dragged on by anger
And never gets tired of the toil of existence.

The strong goes near [and clashes with] the warriors.
Those without strength go near the weak.
[But] endurance is indeed best;
One should always endure the weak.

A person slighted by all
Is endured by one with strength.
For endurance is indeed best;
One should always endure the weak.

We as much as others,
Have great fear regarding three
If we perceive the [mis-] deeds of others
We should destroy [the fault] within ourselves.

Do things from the view-points of both:
Ourselves as much as others.
If we perceive the [mis-] deeds of others
We should destroy [the faults] within ourselves.

The very wise excels the fools,
Who utter abuse and evil words.
He who wishes to win always,
Should remain silent to [abusive] words.

The doers of evil
Get retribution of anger for their anger,
Those who reciprocate not anger with anger,
Win over those defeated in clashes.

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.