9. Twin Verses (T210.9)

Mind is the origin of events
They have mind as their chief, and are mind-impelled.
If one harbors an evil thought in the mind
And then speaks or acts;
Suffering pursues one necessarily,
As a cart [necessarily] rolls over the track.

Mind is the origin of events
They have mind as their chief, and are mind-impelled.
If one harbors an evil thought in the mind
And then speaks or acts;
Happiness pursues one necessarily,
As a shadow [necessarily] follows its substance.

One who accords with an improper mental attitude,
And, bound by foolishness, enters into darkness,
Who is arrogant, and [accepts] no Dharma
—How can such a man understand the well-spoken?

One who accords with a proper mental attitude,
Who understands clearly.
And has no envy,
—Such a man promptly understands the well-spoken.

One who resents the enemies
Is never without an enemy.
By not resenting [enmity] ceases naturally
—This is the way to pursue.

Not delighting in blaming others
One should examine oneself
—He who realizes this,
Will forever be noble and free.

One who lives seeing the body as pure,
Unrestrained in the senses,
Immoderate in food,
Lazy and timid
—Such a one is overcome by Evil,
Like grass by wind.

One who contemplates the body as impure,
Restrained in the senses.
Moderate in food.
And always delighting in effort
—Such a person is unmoved by Evil,
Like a huge mountain [unmoved] by wind.

One who does not vomit the poisons within,
Whose craving mind races about,
Who has not tamed himself;
Is unworthy of the robe.

One who can vomit the poisons within,
Who is ethically aligned and mentally appeased,
Who has subdued the mind and is tamed,
Is worthy of the robe.

Taking the real to be unreal,
And the unreal, real;
This is false thinking,
And one will not get the benefit of the real.

Knowing the real as real,
And the unreal, unreal;
This is right thinking,
And one surely gets the benefit of the real.

As when a house is well-roofed
The rain will not get in.
Mind restrained and actions watched,
Lust will not arise.

The case of an evil man influencing another
Is like that of one being near a foul thing;
Being increasingly deluded and practicing wrong
One unknowingly soon becomes evil.

The case of a virtuous man influencing another
Is like that of one being near a fragrant thing
Advancing in wisdom and practicing good,
One becomes pure and fragrant in his actions.

There is sorrow in doing, and sorrow afterwards;
For the evil doer, there is a two-fold sorrow.
He is sorrowful, he is fearful on reflection,
Seeing his evil, his mind is afflicted.

There is joy in doing, and joy afterwards;
For a doer of good, there is a two-fold joy.
He is joyful, he is delighted on reflection;
Seeing his merit, his mind is happy.

He repents now, he repents afterwards;
An evil doer repents doubly.
His is a trouble of his own making
His evil retributed, he is tormented.

He is delighted now, he is delighted afterwards;
He who does good is doubly delighted.
His is a blessing of his own making
His merit retributed, he is happy.

Those speaking craftily and longing for much,
Indulgent, observing no training rules,
Having within lust, anger, and delusion,
And not practicing concentration and insight.
—Such people gather like a herd of cows.
They are not followers of the Buddha.

Those speaking timely and seeing for little,
Living the spiritual life in accordance with the Dharma,
Eliminating lust, hatred, and delusion,
Possessing right thoughts and a liberated mind,
Whose views are right, and not giving rise to [false ones]
—Such people are 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.