The Dhammapada, selected stanzas ...

These are stanzas from "The Dhammapada," an ancient Buddhist text attributed to Gautama Buddha that serves as a spiritual resource for all Buddhists.

I.

Leader - With our minds, we make the world. Speak or act with meanness and unhappiness will follow you as surely as a cart follows the ox that pulls it.

Leader - "He insulted me, he beat me; he threw me down and robbed me." Dwell on such thoughts, and your hatred will never cease.

Everyone - "He insulted me, he beat me; he threw me down and robbed me." Put away such thoughts and hatred will never arise.

Leader - For in this world, hate never yet has dispelled hate. Only love dispells hate. This law is ancient and will last forever.

(Chapter 1)

II.

Leader - Those who mistake false for true and true for false miss the truth of life and fill themselves with harmful passions.

Everyone - Those who see false as false and true as true see their true nature and follow right desires.

Leader - How easily the wind topples a tree with shallow roots. Seek happiness only in pleasures, eating and sleeping too much and you too will be uprooted.

Everyone - As the wind cannot overturn a mountain, so will the man stay upright who controls his passions well and earnestly follows the noble path of the Dharma.

Leader - An unreflecting mind is a poor roof. Passion, like the rain, floods the house. But if the roof is strong, there is shelter. Give up ignorance and find the noble life.

(Chapter I)

III.

Leader - Like water on a lotus leaf or a mustard seed on the point of a needle, the awakened ones do not cling to pleasures. Want nothing until you need nothing. Only then can you freely use things.

Everyone - Do not look for bad company or live with those who do not care. Find friends who love the truth and follow the noble life.

Leader - Pleasures do not bring lasting contentment. The rain could turn into gold, and still you would be thirsty for more. He is a wise man who understands his passions. He is a Buddha who has mastered them.

Everyone - Live in joy and in kindness even among those who hate. Live in joy and in health even among the sick.

Leader - Live in joy and in peace even among the troubled. Live in joy and in freedom as the shining ones.

(Chapters VI, XIV, XV)

IV.

Leader - Do not make light of your faults saying, "They don't bother me." Just as a jug fills drop by drop, a fool becomes filled with his folly.

Everyone - Do not belittle good actions saying, "I can do nothing." Just as a jug fills drop by drop, a wise man purifies himself.

Leader - A fool is happy until his mischief turns against him. A good man may suffer until his goodness flowers.

Everyone - Those who are ever mindful who study regularly and strive after nirvana will become pure in the end.

Leader - All things that are valuable must be worked at. An unrepaired house soon falls into ruin. So, the sacred scriptures must be used or their meaning is lost.

(Chapters IX, XVII, XVIII)

V.

Leader - All beings tremble before violence. All love life, all fear death. If you see yourself in others then whom can you injure?

Everyone - Others seek happiness like yourself. Harsh words bring harsh words in return and injury touches you both. Make yourself still like a broken bell.

Leader - Why be proud of this frail body? Even the splendid chariots of kings have worn away. So also the body comes to old age, sickness and death. Awaken to the wisdom which death cannot hurt.

Everyone - The ignorant man is like an ox. He grows in size but not in wisdom. Sad is the man who in his youth wasted his time and learned nothing.

Leader - Therefore, master yourself according to the Dhamma. As the moon slips from behind a cloud, so the master comes out from behind his ignorance and shines for all the world to see.

(Chapters X, XI, XIII)

VI.

Leader - Understand that the body is merely the foam of a wave, the shadow of a shadow. It is like a fragile jar, ready to be broken. Know this and make a castle of your mind.

Everyone - How can a troubled mind understand the way to nirvana? If a person does not understand the true law of Dharma, and thereby calm his mind, he will never have perfect wisdom.

Leader - Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own mind, unguarded. But once mastered, no one can help you as much, not even your father or mother.

Everyone - Through mindfulness, the wise man overcomes carelessness and drives away desire. Mindful among the mindless, awake while others sleep, he advances in the Dhamma like a swift horse leaving the others behind.

Leader - Just as the beautiful and fragrant lotus flower grow out of the mud and litter by the highway, in the same way, earnestly follow the Buddha's teaching and from among the blind the light of your wisdom will shine out purely.

(Chapters 11, III)

VII.

Leader - Hard is it to be born into human life and hard is the human life we are born into. Hard is it to hear the true Dhamma and hard is the rise to enlightenment.

Everyone - The fool who makes fun of the noble teachings carries the seeds of his own misery. The self is indeed difficult to control. First establish yourself on the path and then teach others.

Leader - He who has taken refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha sees with right knowledge the Four Noble Truths: Suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering and the Eightfold Noble Path which leads to the end of suffering.

Everyone - No matter how young, those who follow the path of enlightenment shine bright over the world like the full moon in a clear sky.

Leader - Follow then the shining ones, the wise, the awakened, the loving, for they know how to work and be patient. Follow them as the moon follows the path of the stars.

(Chapters XIV, XV, XXVI)

VIII.

Leader - Do not be reckless and look just for the pleasures of life. Free yourself from attachment to pleasure and pain. For in craving pleasure or in nursing pain there is only sorrow.

Everyone - Be ever mindful. For if you cannot concentrate and steady your mind, how will you ever listen? What will you ever learn?

Leader - Reject the baits of the world. Let fall selfishness and hatred. Be quiet in body and mind. And awaken to the highest joy.

Everyone - If you meet a wise man who can show you your mistakes, follow his advice just as you would seek a treasure.

Leader - Let him advise and teach you and keep you from foolish ways. Evil men may hate him but good men love him.

(Chapters VI, XVI, XXIV, XXV)

IX.

Leader - The awakened look deeply into things and see them as they are. By so doing, they become free and noble. Fear and confusion have no hold on them.

Everyone - Such a noble one does not hurt others by body, speech or mind. When others treat him badly, he endures it patiently.

Leader - He moves with love among the unloving and with peace among the angry. Yet, he is never proud and does not talk down to others.

Everyone - The awakened are rare and hard to find. How happy the house where such a person awakens. Blessed is his birth and his teaching, and blessed is the understanding of those who follow it.

Leader - To avoid evil, to do good, and to purify your mind, this is the teaching of the Buddha.

(Chapters XIV, XXVI)

X.

Leader - If a traveler on the Buddha's path can find no friend to go along with him, let him travel alone. There is no good friendship with a fool.

Everyone - The fool is his own worst enemy. For a while, his deeds may seem sweet as honey. But eventually, his deeds bear bitter fruit and then the fool suffers bitterly.

Leader - Fresh milk takes time to sour. So a fool's deeds take time to catch up with him. Like the embers of a fire, they smolder within him waiting to ignite.

Everyone - The fool is tormented thinking, "These children are mine," "This wealth is mine." He himself does not belong to himself. How can sons or wealth be his?

Leader - The fool who knows he is a fool is that much wiser. The fool who thinks he is wise is a fool indeed.

(Chapter V)