TEN PRECEPTS FROM DHAMMAPADA.
“The whole of the Dhammapada is a string of 423 moral precepts which for their beauty and moral worth are unsurpassed by any similar collection of precepts made in any age or country. . . . Who is not struck by the remarkable coincidence of these noble precepts with those preached five hundred years after in Palestine by the gentle and pure-souled Jesus Christ?”—Civilisation in Ancient India, vol. i. p. 366, 367.
Return Love for Hatred.
Hate for hatred if ye render, Hatred lives and mortal strife; Love return for bitter hatred, Hatred dies, and sweet is life! (5)
Precepts without Acts.
Pious precepts, gentle friend, Never acted, wisely meant, Are like gay and coloured flowers,— Without fragrance, without scent! (51)
The Golden Rule.
As you dread all pain and suffering, Love your life and death abhor, So doth every living creature, Harm not things that live and breathe. (129, 130)
Live without Hatred among Men you Hate.
With the men who live in hatred Ye shall live devoid of hate, Unto men who smite in anger Show your love and meekness great. (197)
Good Works survive.
Good works done endure for ever, And in higher life will meet, E’en as gentle loving kinsmen Home-returning kinsmen greet! (200)
Overcome Anger by Love.
Anger by your love o’ermaster, Good for evil acts return; By charity the miser conquer, By your truth let false men learn! (223)
The Faults of other Men.
Faults of other men ye question, Not the fault that ye have done! Like chaff your neighbour’s vices winnow, Like a false die hide your own! (252)
The Elder and the Sage.
Not an Elder, not a Sage, Is the man advanced in age; Truth and virtue, love and pureness, Make the Elder and the Sage. (260, 261)
Assumed and True Holiness.
Not by skins and plaited hair, Not by family or birth, But by truth and righteousness Is the Brâhman known on earth. (393)
There is Ravening within.
Wherefore wear the plaited hair, Wherefore garment wild of skin, What avails this outward penance When there’s ravening within! (394)