The Mind (DHP33-43)

The mind is wavering and unsteady,
Difficult to guard, hard to restrain.
The wise one sets it straight,
As a fletcher straightens the arrow’s shaft.

Like a fish thrown on land from its home in the
water,
This mind thrashes to escape Māra’s realm.

Good is the taming of the mind,
So difficult to control, so swift,
Jumping toward what it desires.
The tamed mind brings happiness.

The wise should guard the mind,
So difficult to perceive, so subtle,
Jumping at what it desires.
The protected mind brings happiness.

The mind wanders far and alone,
Incorporeal and resting in the cavern (of the body).
Those who restrain it
will be released from Māra’s bonds.

Wisdom does not mature in one of unsteady mind
And drifting faith,
Who knows not the true Dhamma.

For the one who is awake,
Whose mind is neither afflicted nor filled with desire,
Who has transcended merit and demerit,
There is no fear.

Having understood this body as a clay pot,
Having established this mind as a fortress,
One should battle Māra with the sword of wisdom,
And protect what has been conquered, clinging to nothing.

Soon indeed, this body will lie on the earth,
Without consciousness,
Cast away as a worthless log.

Whatever an enemy would do to an enemy,
A hater to one hated,
Worse than that is the harm that a wrongly directed
mind can do to itself.

Whatever mother, father, or other relative may do,
Better still, the good that a well-directed
mind can do for itself.

© Peter Feldmeier, 2013.

First published in Dhammapada — The Way of Truth : A Fresh Translation and Commentary on Buddhism’s Most Beloved Text by Buddhist Publication Society.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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