Twin Verses
by The Buddha
©1999 Penguin Putnam Inc.
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The mind —
This is the beginning and the end of it all.
The quality of one’s life depends on
- nothing but the mind.
If one’s words or deeds come from an impure mind,
- Then suffering will follow.
If one’s words and deeds come from a pure mind,
- then happiness walks with him as his own shadow.
How can such thoughts as,
He abused me, he cheated me, he robbed me,
- release one from the snares of anger?
Hatred is never banished by love.
This is a law that will never change.We are guests in this world,
- here for only a short while.
Those who know this truth do not waste their time
- with quibbling or gossip.
Living only for pleasure,
- stuffing oneself with this and that,
- being lazy and undisciplined.
This makes one powerless.
Maya’s illusion blows him about
- like a twig blown about in a storm.
One who chooses the beneficial over the pleasurable,
Who has his senses under control,
Who has faith and puts forth effort
He is a mountain
That stands unshaken by the winds of this world
As rain seeps through a poorly thatched roof,
Passion seeps through a poorly trained mind.
As rain is held back by a well-thatched roof,
Passion is held back by a well-trained mind.
One who knows the scriptures
But does not live by them
Does not share in the bounty of a holy life.
He is like the cowherd
Who count someone else’s cattle.
One who knows a few lines from the scriptures
And lives by them
- Harboring only good thoughts,
- Banishing hatred and delusion,
- Wanting nothing from this world or the next
He reaps the full bounty of a holy life.
Reprinted from Inner Treasure, collected and edited by Jonathan Star. Copyright 1999 by Tarcher/Putnam. Permission granted by Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc. All rights reserved.
