The Arahant (DHP90-99)

There is no fever for one
Who has completed the journey,
Who is without sorrow,
Who has abandoned all fetters,
Who is freed in every way.

Those who are mindful depart;
They do not delight in a house.
They leave behind every home,
Like geese who abandon a pond.

The one who is not acquisitive,
Who knows well the role of food,
Whose field is empty, unmarked freedom,
Is like a bird in the sky
Whose destination is difficult to discern.

The one who has destroyed all toxins,
Who is unattached to food,
Whose field is empty, unmarked freedom,
Is like a bird in the sky
Whose path is difficult to discern.

One whose senses are as calm
As horses well-tamed by a charioteer,
Who has abandoned pride and is free from toxins,
Is envied even by the gods.

For one who, like the earth, does not oppose,
Who is like a pillar of Indra,
Who is deeply devout,
Who is like a deep unclouded pond,
There is no more wandering.

Calm is the mind, speech, and action
Of such a one freed by right understanding.

The one who is faithless [beyond believing], Who is ungrateful [knows the Uncreated], Who is a burglar [severs connections], Who destroys opportunities [breaks the chain of
rebirth], Who is despondent [throws off desire]: This is the ultimate person.

Whether in the village, forest, valley, or highland,
Wherever the arahants dwell is a place of delight.

Delightful are the forests where few find delight.
There, those who seek no sensual pleasures,
Who are free of passion, will delight.

© 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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