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256
Making an arbitrary decision
does not amount to justice.
Having considered arguments
for and against,
the wise decide the case.
257
By making decisions
based on truth and fairness
one safeguards the law
and is called righteous.
258
Those who speak much
are not necessarily possessed of wisdom.
The wise can be seen
to be at peace with life
and free from all enmity and fear.
259
Though one’s knowledge
may be limited,
if understanding and conduct
rightly accord with the Way
one is to be considered
well-versed in Dhamma.
260
Having grey hair
does not make you an elder;
ripe in years maybe,
but perhaps pointlessly so.
261
One who is truthful,
virtuous, impeccable in conduct,
free from all stains and wise
can be called an elder.
262 -263
Those who are envious,
stingy and manipulative
remain unappealing despite
good looks and eloquent speech.
But those who have freed themselves
from their faults
and arrived at wisdom
are attractive indeed.
264
Shaving your head
does not make you a renunciate,
if you are still full of
recklessness and deceit.
How could someone possessed
by craving and lust
be considered a renunciate?
265
You become a monk or nun
by letting go of all evil,
by renouncing all
unwholesomeness,
both great and small.
266
You are not a monk or nun
because you depend
on others for food,
but by submitting yourself
wholeheartedly
to the training of body,
speech and mind.
267
You become a monk or nun
by seeing through this world
with understanding,
by rising above good and bad
and living a life of purity
and contemplation.
268 - 269
Silence does not denote profundity
if you are ignorant and untrained.
Like one holding scales,
a sage weighs things up,
wholesome and unwholesome,
and comes to know
both the inner and outer worlds.
Therefore the sage is called wise.
270
Those who still cause harm
to living beings
cannot be considered as attained.
Those who are attained
maintain a harmless demeanour
toward all beings.
271 - 272
Do not rest contented
because you keep all the rules
and regulations,
nor because you achieve great learning.
Do not feel satisfied because you
attain meditative absorption,
nor because you can dwell in
the bliss of solitude.
Only when you arrive
at the complete eradication
of all ignorance and conceit
should you be content.
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© 2006 Aruna Publications |