sutta » kn » dhp » Khuddakanikāya

Aññatarapurisavatthu

Dīghā jāgarato ratti,
Long is the night for the wakeful;
Long is the night for one who is awake,

dīghaṁ santassa yojanaṁ;
long is the league for the weary;
long is a yojana for one who is weary,

Dīgho bālāna saṁsāro,
long transmigrate the fools
long is saṁsāra for fools

saddhammaṁ avijānataṁ.
who don’t understand the true teaching.
who do not understand the true Dhamma.

Mahākassapasaddhivihārikavatthu

Carañce nādhigaccheyya,
If while wandering you find no partner
If you do not find a traveler

Seyyaṁ sadisamattano;
equal or better than yourself,
who is superior or equal to yourself,

Ekacariyaṁ daḷhaṁ kayirā,
then firmly resolve to wander alone—
then resolutely travel alone;

Natthi bāle sahāyatā.
there’s no fellowship with fools.
one cannot go with a fool.

Ānandaseṭṭhivatthu

Puttā matthi dhanaṁ matthi,
“Sons are mine, wealth is mine”—
A fool is tormented

iti bālo vihaññati;
thus the fool frets.
by thoughts of children and wealth;

Attā hi attano natthi,
For even your self is not your own,
but since one does not even possess oneself,

kuto puttā kuto dhanaṁ.
let alone your sons or wealth.
how could one possess children and wealth?

Gaṇṭhibhedakacoravatthu

Yo bālo maññati bālyaṁ,
The fool who thinks they’re a fool
A fool who conceives of foolishness

paṇḍito vāpi tena so;
is wise at least to that extent.
is wise in that regard;

Bālo ca paṇḍitamānī,
But the true fool is said to be one
but a fool who has the conceit of wisdom

sa ve “bālo”ti vuccati.
who imagines that they are wise.
can truly be called a fool.

Udāyittheravatthu

Yāvajīvampi ce bālo,
Though a fool attends to the wise
Even if a fool spends a lifetime

paṇḍitaṁ payirupāsati;
even for the rest of their life,
in the presence of the wise,

Na so dhammaṁ vijānāti,
they still don’t experience the teaching,
they do not understand the Dhamma,

dabbī sūparasaṁ yathā.
like a spoon the taste of the soup.
just as a spoon does not understand the flavor of soup.

Tiṁsapāveyyakabhikkhuvatthu

Muhuttamapi ce viññū,
If a clever person attends to the wise
Even if a discerning person spends only a moment

paṇḍitaṁ payirupāsati;
even just for an hour or so,
in the presence of the wise,

Khippaṁ dhammaṁ vijānāti,
they swiftly experience the teaching,
they quickly understand the Dhamma,

jivhā sūparasaṁ yathā.
like a tongue the taste of the soup.
just as a tongue understands the flavor of soup.

Suppabuddhakuṭṭhivatthu

Caranti bālā dummedhā,
Fools and simpletons behave
Unwise fools act as if

amitteneva attanā;
like their own worst enemies,
they are not even their own friends—

Karontā pāpakaṁ kammaṁ,
doing wicked deeds
they perform evil actions

yaṁ hoti kaṭukapphalaṁ.
that ripen as bitter fruit.
which yield bitter fruit.

Kassakavatthu

Na taṁ kammaṁ kataṁ sādhu,
It’s not good to do a deed
It is not good to perform an action

yaṁ katvā anutappati;
that plagues you later on,
which one will later regret,

Yassa assumukho rodaṁ,
for which you weep and wail,
when, weeping with a tearful face,

vipākaṁ paṭisevati.
as its effect stays with you.
one experiences its result.

Sumanamālākāravatthu

Tañca kammaṁ kataṁ sādhu,
It is good to do a deed
But it is good to perform an action

yaṁ katvā nānutappati;
that doesn’t plague you later on,
which one will not later regret,

Yassa patīto sumano,
that gladdens and cheers,
when, satisfied and uplifted,

vipākaṁ paṭisevati.
as its effect stays with you.
one experiences its result.

Uppalavaṇṇattherīvatthu

Madhuṁvā maññati bālo,
The fool imagines that evil is sweet,
A fool thinks that evil is sweet

yāva pāpaṁ na paccati;
so long as it has not yet ripened.
as long as its results have yet to fully manifest;

Yadā ca paccati pāpaṁ,
But as soon as that evil ripens,
but when the results of that evil fully manifest,

atha dukkhaṁ nigacchati.
they fall into suffering.
then they descend into suffering.

Jambukattheravatthu

Māse māse kusaggena,
Month after month a fool may eat
Month after month

bālo bhuñjeyya bhojanaṁ;
food from a grass-blade’s tip;
a fool might eat using the tip of a blade of grass;

Na so saṅkhātadhammānaṁ,
but they’ll never be worth a sixteenth part
but such a one is not worth even a sixteenth as much

kalaṁ agghati soḷasiṁ.
of one who has fathomed the teaching.
as those who comprehend the Dhamma.

Ahipetavatthu

Na hi pāpaṁ kataṁ kammaṁ,
For a wicked deed that has been done
Once an evil action has been performed,

Sajjukhīraṁva muccati;
does not curdle quickly like milk.
it is not released suddenly like milk;

Ḍahantaṁ bālamanveti,
Smoldering, it follows the fool,
burning, it follows a fool,

Bhasmacchannova pāvako.
like a fire smothered over with ash.
like fire concealed by ash.

Saṭṭhikūṭapetavatthu

Yāvadeva anatthāya,
Whatever fame a fool may get,
It brings no benefit

ñattaṁ bālassa jāyati;
it only gives rise to harm.
when fame comes to a fool;

Hanti bālassa sukkaṁsaṁ,
Whatever good features they have it ruins,
it destroys their good traits

muddhamassa vipātayaṁ.
and blows their head into bits.
and tears apart their head.

Cittagahapativatthu

Asantaṁ bhāvanamiccheyya,
They’d seek the esteem that they lack,
A fool wishes for a false existence—

Purekkhārañca bhikkhusu;
and status among the mendicants;
preeminence among monks,

Āvāsesu ca issariyaṁ,
authority over monasteries,
dominion in residences,

Pūjaṁ parakulesu ca.
and honor among other families.
and honor among other families.

Mameva kata maññantu,
“Let both layfolk and renunciants think
“May both renunciants and laypeople

gihī pabbajitā ubho;
the work was done by me alone.
think it was done by me alone;

Mamevātivasā assu,
In anything at all that’s to be done,
may I alone have the highest authority,

kiccākiccesu kismici;
let them fall under my sway alone.”
in determining what should or should not be done.”

Iti bālassa saṅkappo,
So thinks the fool,
In this way,

icchā māno ca vaḍḍhati.
their greed and pride only growing.
the attitude, desire, and conceit of a fool grows.

Vanavāsitissasāmaṇeravatthu

Aññā hi lābhūpanisā,
For the means to profit and the path to quenching
Knowledge is the cause of gain,

aññā nibbānagāminī;
are two quite different things.
knowledge leads to Nibbāna;

Evametaṁ abhiññāya,
A mendicant disciple of the Buddha,
since this is exactly what

bhikkhu buddhassa sāvako;
understanding what this really means,
a monastic disciple of the Buddha understands,

Sakkāraṁ nābhinandeyya,
would never delight in honors,
they do not delight in acclaim;

vivekamanubrūhaye.
but rather would foster seclusion.
they devote themselves to seclusion.

Bālavaggo pañcamo.