The Gospel of Buddha, Compiled from Ancient RecordsCarus, Paul
ReligionEastern
The Gospel of Buddha, Compiled from Ancient Records
Carus, Paul
Buddhism; Christianity and other religions -- Buddhism; Gautama Buddha; Gautama Buddha -- Teachings
The fool who knows his foolishness, is wise at least so far. But
a fool who thinks himself wise, he is a fool indeed. 23
To the evil-doer wrong appears sweet as honey; he looks upon it
as pleasant so long as it bears no fruit; but when its fruit
ripens, then he looks upon it as wrong. And so the good man looks
upon the goodness of the Dharma as a burden and an evil so long
as it bears no fruit; but when its fruit ripens, then he sees its
goodness. 24
A hater may do great harm to a hater, or an enemy to an enemy;
but a wrongly-directed mind will do greater mischief unto itself.
A mother, a father, or any other relative will do much good; but
a well-directed mind will do greater service unto itself. 25
He whose wickedness is very great brings himself down to that
state where his enemy wishes him to be. He himself is his
greatest enemy. Thus a creeper destroys the life of a tree on
which it finds support. 26
Do not direct thy thought to what gives pleasure, that thou
mayest not cry out when burning, "This is pain." The wicked man
burns by his own deeds, as if burnt by fire. 27
Pleasures destroy the foolish; the foolish man by his thirst for
pleasures destroys himself as if he were his own enemy. The
fields are damaged by hurricanes and weeds; mankind is damaged by
passion, by hatred, by vanity, and by lust. 28
Let no man ever take into consideration whether a thing is
pleasant or unpleasant. The love of pleasure begets grief and the
dread of pain causes fear; he who is free from the love of
pleasure and the dread of pain knows neither grief nor fear. 29
He who gives himself to vanity, and does not give himself to
meditation, forgetting the real aim of life and grasping at
pleasure, will in time envy him who has exerted himself in
meditation. 30
The fault of others is easily noticed, but that of oneself is
difficult to perceive. A man winnows his neighbor's faults like
chaff, but his own fault he hides, as a cheat hides the false die
from the gambler. 31
If a man looks after the faults of others, and is always inclined
to take offence, his own passions will grow, and he is far from
the destruction of passions. 32
Not about the perversities of others, not about their sins of
commission or omission, but about his own misdeeds and
negligences alone should a sage be worried. 33
Good people shine from afar, like the snowy mountains; had people
are concealed, like arrows shot by night. 34
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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