42. The Bright Protectors (ITI42)

This was said by the Lord…

“Bhikkhus, these two bright principles protect the world. What are the two? Shame and fear of wrongdoing. If, bhikkhus, these two bright principles did not protect the world, there would not be discerned respect for mother or maternal aunt or maternal uncle’s wife or a teacher’s wife or the wives of other honoured persons, and the world would have fallen into promiscuity, as with goats, sheep, chickens, pigs, dogs, and jackals. But as these two bright principles protect the world, there is discerned respect for mother … and the wives of other honoured persons.”

Those in whom shame and fear of wrong
Are not consistently found
Have deviated from the bright root
And are led back to birth and death.

But those in whom shame and fear of wrong
Are consistently ever present,
Peaceful, mature in the holy life,
They put an end to renewal of being.

Translated from the Pali by John D. Ireland.

Digital Transcription Source: BPS Transcription Project

Extracted from The Udāna & the Itivuttaka, translated and introduced by John D. Ireland. Published in 1997.

The complete book, including introduction and notes by the translator, is available from the Buddhist Publication Society.

ISBN 955–24-0164-X

Copyright © 1997 by John D. Ireland.

This text has been made available by the kind permission of the Buddhist Publication Society. It was released under the following licence terms:

For free distribution. This work may be republished, reformatted, reprinted and redistributed in any medium. However, any such republication and redistribution is to be made available to the public on a free and unrestricted basis, and translations and other derivative works are to be clearly marked as such.

Buddhist Publication Society P.O. Box. 61 54, Sangharaja Mawatha Kandy, Sri Lanka

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Bhikkhu Sujato.