Sunday, April 30, 2006

The Brahmin

*The Dhammapada*
*/The Brahmin/*

Cross the river bravely,
Conquer all your passions,
Go beyond the world of fragments,
And know the deathless ground of life.

Cross the river bravely,
Conquer all your passions,
Go beyond your likes and dislikes
And all fetters will fall away.

Who is a true brahmin?
Him I call a brahmin
Who has neither likes nor dislikes,
And is free from the chains of fear.

Who is a true brahmin?
Him I call a brahmin
Who has trained his mind to be still
And reached the supreme goal of life.

The sun shines in the day;
In the night, the moon;
The warrior shines in battle;
In meditation, the brahmin.
But day and night the Buddha shines
In radiance of love for all.

Him I call a brahmin
Who has shed all evil.
He is called samana, “the serene,”
And pabbajita, “a pure one.”

Him I call a brahmin
Who is never angry,
Never causes harm to others
Even when he is harmed by them.

Him I call a brahmin
Who clings not to pleasure.
Do not cause sorrow to others:
No more sorrow will come to you.

Him I call a brahmin
Who does not hurt others
With unkind acts, words, or thoughts.
His body and mind obey him.

Him I call a brahmin
Who walks in the footsteps
Of the Buddha. Light your torch too
From the fire of his sacrifice.

Not matted hair nor birth
Makes a man a brahmin,
But the truth and love for all life
With which his heart is full.

Of what use is matted hair?
Of what use a skin of deer
On which to sit in meditation,
If your mind is seething with lust?

Saffron robe, outward show,
Does not make a brahmin,
But training of the mind and senses
Through practice of meditation.

Not riches nor high caste
Makes a man a brahmin.
Free yourself from selfish desires
And you will become a brahmin.

He has thrown off his chains;
He trembles not in fear.
No selfish bonds can ensnare him,
No impure thought pollute his mind.

Him I call a brahmin
Who fears not jail nor death.
He has the power of love
No army can defeat.

Him I call a brahmin
Who clings not to pleasure,
Like water on a lotus leaf,
Or mustard seed on a needle.

Him I call a brahmin
Ever true, ever kind.
He never asks what life can give,
But “What can I give life?”

Him I call a brahmin
Who has found his heaven,
Free from every selfish desire,
Free from every impurity.

For him no more sorrow will come.
On him no more burden will fall.

Him I call a brahmin
Who has risen above
The duality of this world,
Free from sorrow and free from sin.

He shines like the full moon
With no cloud in the sky.

Him I call a brahmin
Who has crossed the river,
Difficult, dangerous to cross,
And safely reached the other shore.

Wanting nothing at all,
Doubting nothing at all,
Master of his body and mind,
He has gone beyond time and death.

Him I call a brahmin
Who turns his back on himself.
Homeless, he is ever at home;
Egoless, he is ever full.

Him I call a brahmin
Who is free from bondage
To human beings and nature,
The hero who has conquered the world.

Self-will has left his mind;
It will never return.
Sorrow has left his life;
It will never return.

Him I call a brahmin,
Free from I, me, and mine,
Who knows the rise and fall of life.
He will not fall asleep again.

Him I call a brahmin
Whose way no one can know.
He lives free from past and future;
He lives free from decay and death.

Possessing nothing, desiring nothing
For his own pleasure, his own profit,
He has become a force for good,
Working for the freedom of all.

He has reached the end of the way;
He has crossed the river of life.
All that he had to do is done;
He has become one with all life.

This is the concluding chapter of the Dhammapada of the Compassionate
Buddha. The word brahmin literally means "one who is worthy of knowing
God" (Brahman). Translated by Eknath Easwaran in /The Dhammapada/
(Petaluma, California: Nilgiri Press, 1985)
*Because sometimes We need a refreshing reading that enable us to live a
simple but effective life.
Rama *

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