|
To
control the eye is good; to control the ear is good,
to control the nose and the tongue is good.
It
is good to control one's actions, words, mind. Control
in all things is good. The Bhikkhu who controls himself
entirely is delivered from all suffering.
The
man who is master over his hands, his feet and his
tongue, who controls himself wholly, who delights
in meditation, who is calm and leads a solitary life,
can be called a Bhikkhu.
The
Bhikkhu who is master over his tongue and is moderate
in speech, who is modest, who luminously interprets
the Doctrine, in truth his words are as sweet as honey.
The
Bhikkhu who lives by the Doctrine, who delights in
the Doctrine, who meditates on the Doctrine, who knows
the Doctrine thoroughly, surely cannot fall away from
the Doctrine.
The
Bhikkhu should not treat his own progress (in wisdom
and goodness) lightly, nor envy the progress of others,
for the Bhikkhu who is envious cannot achieve concentration.
Even
if the progress he has made is slight, the Bhikkhu
should not despise it, if his life is pure and his
effort persevering, the gods themselves shall praise
him for it.
One
who is not attached to name and form, who does
not think, "This belongs to me", and who does not
grieve over what does not exist, he, in truth,
iv called a Bhikkhu.
The
Bhikkhu who lives a life of loving kindness and
who is filled with faith in the teaching of the
Enlightened One, that Bhikkhu will attain the peace
of Nirvana, the supreme bliss from which every conditioned
element has vanished.
Empty
this boat, 0 Bhikkhu; once lightened, the boat
of your body will sail more lightly and having
rejected desire and hatred you shall enter
Nirvana.
Break
the five bonds (belief in the ego, doubt, belief
in vain rites and ceremonies, craving and bad will)
Renounce these five other bonds (the desire to
live in the world of forms, the desire to live
in the subtle world, pride, restlessness and
ignorance). Cultivate these five (faith, energy,
mindfulness, meditation, and wisdom). The Bhikkhu
who is thus five times free iv said to be "he
who has crossed over the flood".
Meditate,
0 Bhikkhus, do not be negligent. Your minds
should not turn towards the pleasures of the senses,
for it by negligence you swallowed a red-hot iron
ball, when you felt the burning you would lament,
crying, "Oh, how painful it is!"
For
one without knowledge there is no meditation;
without meditation there is no knowledge. One in
whom there is both meditation and knowledge is
near to Nirvana.
The
Bhikkhu who has entered the abode of emptiness,
the Bhikkhu of serene mind, enjoys delight beyond
the human, in the clear vision of the Doctrine.
Each
time that he concentrates on the appearance and
disappearance of all conditioned things, he enjoys
the happiness and the delight of those who
have attained immortality.
These
things are for the wise Bhikkhu the very basis
of the religious life: mastery of the senses, contentment,
conduct according to the code of discipline, association
with noble friends who lead a life of constant purity.
The
Bhikkhu should be cordial, kind and polite, thus
in the fullness of his joy, he will put an end
to suffering.
Just
as the jasmine sheds its faded petals, so also the
Bhikkhu sheds desire and hatred.
Calm
in action, calm in speech, calm in mind, serene,
emptied of all earthly appetites, this Bhikkhu
is called "The Serene One".
Let
him arouse himself, let him examine himself,- thus
self-guarded and vigilant, the Bhikkhu will live
in happiness.
In
truth, one is one's own protector, one's own refuge.
Know therefore how to control yourself as the horse-dealer
controls a noble steed.
Filled
with gladness and faith by the teaching of the Buddha,
the Bhikkhu attains the state of perfect peace,
The Brahmin cessation of all compounded
existence.
The
young Bhikkhu who consecrates himself to the Teaching
of the Enlightened One illumines this world like the
moon coming forth from behind the clouds.
|