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Punishment

from The Dhammapada by Jason Espada

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lyrics

10. Punishment

All fear punishment, all fear death.
Therefore, do not kill, or cause to kill.
Do as you would want done to you.

All fear punishment, all love life.
Therefore, do not kill, or cause to kill.
Do as you would want done.

A man seeks his happiness and strikes with a stick
others who seek happiness just like himself.
He will not find happiness after his death.

Another seeks his happiness and does not strike others
who seek happiness just like himself.
He will find happiness after his death.

Speak gently, and they will respond.
Angry words hurt, and rebound on the speaker.

Nirvana:
When the agitated mind is as still as
a broken gong.

Like a cowherd with his staff pushing cattle into new pasture,
old age with death pushes the world's creatures into new lives.

How will a fool doing evil deeds know this?
He learns the hard way, burning in the fire of his deeds.

The man who punishes those who do not deserve punishment,
or offends the inoffensive, punishes and offends himself.

He suffers one of ten punishments:
grief, infirmity, disease, injury, insanity;
falling from royal favor, dreadful allegation,
loss of precious wealth, death of relatives;

or lightning falling on his house;
and when he dies, he goes to hell.

Sitting naked and still will not help,
matted hair, fasting, and dust will not help,
ash rubbed on body, lying supine will not help,
if the mind is not purified within.

What matters if he dresses well?
If his mind is serene, chaste, firm,
if he practices nonviolence,
he is the Brahmin, the ascetic, the bhikku.

Who is there in the world so chastened by conscience
that he never needs prodding?
For a good horse the whip is useless.

Be like the good horse,
swift, energetic when spurred.
Devotion, faith, knowledge, meditation,
energy and practice of the Dhamma will set you free.

Planners make canals,
archers shoot arrows,
craftsmen fashion woodwork,
the wise man molds himself.

credits

from The Dhammapada, released October 15, 2017

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Jason Espada San Francisco, California

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