DhammapadaDhammapada chapter 14: The Buddha (The Awakened)
Verses 179 to 196, in Max Muller's translation.
About this chapter
The Awakened One: the verses describe the Buddha as one whose victory cannot be undone and give the summary of the teaching: to avoid all evil, to do good and to purify one's mind.
It has 17 verses (179 to 196). « Chapter 13 · Chapter 15 »
He whose conquest is not conquered again, into whose conquest no one in this world enters, by what track can you lead him, the Awakened, the Omniscient, the trackless?
He whom no desire with its snares and poisons can lead astray, by what track can you lead him, the Awakened, the Omniscient, the trackless?
Even the gods envy those who are awakened and not forgetful, who are given to meditation, who are wise, and who delight in the repose of retirement (from the world).
Difficult (to obtain) is the conception of men, difficult is the life of mortals, difficult is the hearing of the True Law, difficult is the birth of the Awakened (the attainment of Buddhahood).
Not to commit any sin, to do good, and to purify one's mind, that is the teaching of (all) the Awakened.
The Awakened call patience the highest penance, long-suffering the highest Nirvana; for he is not an anchorite (pravragita) who strikes others, he is not an ascetic (sramana) who insults others.
Not to blame, not to strike, to live restrained under the law, to be moderate in eating, to sleep and sit alone, and to dwell on the highest thoughts,--this is the teaching of the Awakened.
There is no satisfying lusts, even by a shower of gold pieces; he who knows that lusts have a short taste and cause pain, he is wise;
Even in heavenly pleasures he finds no satisfaction, the disciple who is fully awakened delights only in the destruction of all desires.
Men, driven by fear, go to many a refuge, to mountains and forests, to groves and sacred trees.
But that is not a safe refuge, that is not the best refuge; a man is not delivered from all pains after having gone to that refuge.
He who takes refuge with Buddha, the Law, and the Church; he who, with clear understanding, sees the four holy truths:--
Viz. pain, the origin of pain, the destruction of pain, and the eightfold holy way that leads to the quieting of pain;--
That is the safe refuge, that is the best refuge; having gone to that refuge, a man is delivered from all pain.
A supernatural person (a Buddha) is not easily found, he is not born everywhere. Wherever such a sage is born, that race prospers.
Happy is the arising of the awakened, happy is the teaching of the True Law, happy is peace in the church, happy is the devotion of those who are at peace.
He who pays homage to those who deserve homage, whether the awakened (Buddha) or their disciples, those who have overcome the host (of evils), and crossed the flood of sorrow, he who pays homage to such as have found deliverance and know no fear, his merit can never be measured by anybody.
The verses are F. Max Muller's English translation of 1881, in the public domain; its wording is of its time. The notes are our own. This site is an introduction and not a substitute for a teacher, and it is independent of any Buddhist organisation.