Bibliotheca Polyglotta

evaṃ manodhāraṇayā krameṇa vyapohya kiṃ cit samupohya kiṃ cit |
dhyānāni catvāry adhigamya yogī prāpnoty abhijñā niyamena pañca ||

16.1 Thus, by methodically taking possession of the mind, getting rid of something and gathering something together,
The practitioner makes the four dhyānas his own, and duly acquires the five powers of knowing:

ṛddhipravekaṃ ca bahuprakāraṃ parasya cetaś caritāvabodham |
atītajanmasmaraṇaṃ ca dīrghaṃ divye viśuddhe śruticakṣuṣī ca ||

16.2 The principal transcendent power, taking many forms; then being awake to what others are thinking;
And remembering past lives from long ago; and divine lucidity of ear; and of eye.

ataḥparaṃ tattvaparīkṣaṇena mano dadhāty āsravasaṃkṣayāya |
tato hi duḥkhaprabhṛtīni samyak catvāri satyāni padāny avaiti ||

16.3 From then on, through investigation of what is, he applies his mind to eradicating the polluting influences,
For on this basis he fully understands suffering and the rest, the four true standpoints:

bādhātmakaṃ duḥkham idaṃ prasaktaṃ duḥkhasya hetuḥ prabhavātmako ’yam |
duḥkhakṣayo niḥsaraṇātmako ’yaṃ trāṇātmako ’yaṃ praśamāya mārgaḥ ||

16.4 This is suffering, which is constant and akin to trouble; this is the cause of suffering, akin to starting it;
This is cessation of suffering, akin to walking away. And this, akin to a refuge, is a peaceable path.

ity āryasaryāny avabudhya buddhyā catvāri samyak pratividhya caiva |
sarvāsravān bhāvanayābhibhūya na jāyate śāntim avāpya bhūyaḥ ||

16.5 Understanding these noble truths, by a process of reasoning, while getting to know the four as one,
He prevails over all pollutants, by the means of mental development, and, on finding peace, is no longer subject to becoming.

abodhato hy aprativedhataś ca tattvātmakasyāsya catuṣṭayasya |
bhāvad bhavaṃ yāti na śāntim eti saṃsāradolām adhiruhya lokaḥ ||

16.6 For by failing to wake up and come round to this four, whose substance is the reality of what is,
Humankind goes from existence to existence without finding peace, hoisted in the swing of saṁsāra.

tasmāj jarāder vyasanasya mūlaṃ samāsato duḥkham avaihi janma |
sarvauṣadhīnām iva bhūr bhavāya sarvāpadāṃ kṣetram idaṃ hi janma ||

16.7 Therefore, at the root of a tragedy like growing old, see, in short, that birth is suffering.
For, as the earth supports the life of all plants, this birth is the field of all troubles.

yaj janma rūpasya hi sendriyasya duḥkhasya tan naikavidhasya janma |
yaḥ saṃbhavaś cāsya samucchrayasya mṛtyoṣ ca rogasya ca saṃbhavaḥ saḥ ||

16.8 The birth of a sentient bodily form, again, is the birth of suffering in all its varieties;
And he who begets such an outgrowth is the begetter of death and of disease.

sad vāpy asad vā viṣamiṣram annaṃ yathā vināśāya na dhāraṇāya |
loke tathā tiryag uparyadho vā duḥkhāya sarvaṃ na sukḥāya janma ||

16.9 Good food or bad food, if mixed with poison, makes for ruin and not for sustenance.
Likewise, whether in a world on the flat or above or below, all birth makes for hardship and not for ease.

jarādayo naikavidhā parajānāṃ satyāṃ pravṛttau prabhavanty anarthāḥ |
pravātsu ghoeṣv api māruteṣu na hy aprasūtās taravaś calanti ||

16.10 The many and various disappointments of men, like old age, occur as long as their doing goes on.
(For, even when violent winds blow, trees do not shake that never sprouted.)

ākāsayoniḥ pavano yathā hi yathā śamīgarbhaśayo hutāśaḥ |
āpo yathāntarvasudhāśayāś ca duḥkhaṃ tathā cittaśarīrayoni ||

16.11 As wind is born from the air, as fire sleeps in the womb of śamī wood,
And as water gestates inside the earth, so does suffering spring from an expectant mind-and-body.

apāṃ dravatvaṃ kaṭhinatvam urvyā vāyoś calatvaṃ dhruvam auṣṇyam agneḥ |
yathā svabhāvo hi tathā svabhāvo duḥkhaṃ śarīrasya ca cetasaś ca ||

16.12 The fluidity of water, the solidity of earth, the motion of wind, and the constant heat of fire
Are innate in them; as also it is in the nature of both the body and the mind to suffer.

kāye sati vyādhijarādi duḥkhaṃ kṣuttarṣavarṣoṣṇahimādi caiva |
rupāśrite cetasi sānubandhe śokāratikrodhabhayādi duḥkham ||

16.13 Insofar as there is a body, there is the suffering of sickness, aging and so on; and also of hunger and thirst, and of the rains, and summer heat and winter cold.
Insofar as a mind is bonded, tied to phenomena, there is the suffering of grief, discontent, anger, fear and so on.

pratyakṣam ālokya ca janmaduḥkhaṃ duḥkhaṃ tathātītam apīti viddhi |
yathā ca tad duḥkham idaṃ ca duḥkhaṃ duḥkhaṃ tathānāgatam apy avehi ||

16.14 Seeing now before your eyes that birth is suffering, recognise that likewise in the past it was suffering.
And just as that was suffering and this is suffering, know that likewise in the future it will be suffering.

bījasvabhāvo hi yatheha dṛṣṭo bhūto ’pi bhavyo ’pi tathānumeyaḥ |
pratyakṣataś ca jvalano yathoṣṇo bhūto ’pi bhavyo ’pi tathoṣṇa eva ||

16.15 For just as it is evident to us now what kind of thing a seed is, we can infer that it was so in the past and that it will be so in the future.
And just as fire burning before us is hot, so was it hot and so will it be hot.

tan nāmarūpasya guṇānurūpaṃ yatraiva nirvṛtti udāravṛtta |
tatraiva duḥkhaṃ na hi tadvimuktaṃ duḥkhaṃ bhaviṣyaty abhavad bhaved vā ||

16.16 In conformity with its kind, then, psycho-physicality develops, wherein, O man of noble conduct,
Suffering exists, right there – for nowhere else will suffering exist or has it existed or could it exist.

pravṛttiduḥkhasya ca tasya loke tṛṣṇādayo doṣagaṇā nimittam |
naiveṣvaro na prakṛtir na kālo nāpi svabhāvo na vidhir yadṛcchā ||

16.17 And this, the suffering of doing, in the world, has its cause in clusters of faults which start with thirsting –
The cause is certainly not in God, nor in primordial matter, nor in time; nor either in the intrinsic existence of a thing, nor in predestination or self-will.

jñātavyam etena ca kāraṇena lokasya doṣebhya iti pravṛttiḥ |
yasmān mriyante sarajastamaskā na jāyate vītarajastmaskaḥ ||

16.18 Again, you must understand how, due to this cause, because of men’s faults, the cycle of doing goes on,
So that they succumb to death who are afflicted by the dust of the passions and by darkness; but he is not reborn who is free of dust and darkness.

icchāviṣeśe sati tatra tatra yānāsanāder bhavati prayogaḥ |
yasmād atas tarṣavaśāt tathaiva janma prajānām iti veditavyam ||

16.19 Insofar as the specific desire exists to do this or that, an action like going or sitting happens;
Hence, in just the same way, by the force of their thirsting living creatures are reborn – as is to be observed:

sattvāny abhiṣvaṅgavaśāni dṛṣṭvā svajātiṣu prītiparāṇy atīva |
abhyāsayogād upapāditāni tair eva doṣair iti tāni viddhi ||

16.20 See sentient beings in the grip of attachment, dead set on pleasure among their own kind;
And, from their habitual practice of faults, observe them presenting with those very faults

krodhapraharṣādibhir āśrayāṇām utpadyate ceha yathā viśeṣaḥ |
tathaiva janmasv api naikarūpo nirvartate kleśakṛto viśeṣaḥ ||

16.21 Just as the anger, lust, and so on of sufferers of those afflictions give rise in the present to a personality trait,
So too in new lives, in various manifestations, does the affliction-created trait develop:

doṣādhike janmani tīvradoṣa utpadyate rāgiṇi tīvrarāgaḥ |
mohādhike mohabalādhikaś ca tadalpadoṣe ca tadalpadoṣaḥ ||

16.22 In a life dominated by anger arises violent anger, in the lover of passion arises burning passion,
And in one dominated by ignorance arises overwhelming ignorance. In one who has a lesser fault, again, the lesser fault develops.

phalaṃ hi yādṛk samavaiti sākṣāt tadāgamād bījam avaity atītam |
avetya bījaprakṛtiṃ ca sākṣād anāgataṃ tatphalam abhyupaiti ||

16.23 Seeing what kind of fruit is before one’s eyes, one knows it was that kind of seed in the past.
And having identified a seed before one’s eyes, one knows the fruit it may be in the future.

doṣakṣayo jātiṣu yāsu yasya vairāgyatas tāsu na jāyate saḥ |
doṣāśayas tiṣṭhati yasya yatra tasyopapattir vivaśasya tatra ||

16.24 In whichever realms of existence a man has ended faults, thanks to that dispassion he is not born in those realms.
Wherever he remains susceptible to a fault, that is where he makes his appearance, whether he likes it or not.

taj janmano naikavidhasya saumya tṛṣṇādayo hetava ity avetya |
tāṃś chindhi duḥkhād yadi nirmumukṣā kāryakṣayaḥ kāraṇasaṃkṣayād dhi ||

16.25 So my friend, with regard to the many forms of becoming, know their causes to be [the faults] that start with thirsting
And cut out those [faults], if you wish to be freed from suffering; for ending of the effect follows from eradication of the cause.

duḥkhakṣayo hetuparikṣayāc ca śāntanaṃ śivaṃ sākṣikuruṣva dharmam |
tṛṣṇāvirāgaṃ layanaṃ nirdohaṃ sanātanaṃ trāṇam ahāryam āryam ||

16.26 Again, the ending of suffering follows from the disappearance of its cause. Experience that reality for yourself as peace and well-being,
A place of rest, a cessation, an absence of the red taint of thirsting, a primeval refuge which is irremovable and noble,

yasmin na jātir na jarā na mṛtyur na vyādhayo nāpriyasaṃprayogaḥ |
necchāvipanna priyaviprayogaḥ kṣemaṃ padaṃ naiṣṭhikam acyutaṃ tat ||

16.27 In which there is no being born, no aging, no dying, no illness, no being touched by unpleasantness,
No disappointment, and no separation from what is pleasant: It is an ultimate and indestructible step, in which to dwell at ease.

dīpo yathā nirvṛtim abhyupeto naivāvaniṃ gacchati nānatarikṣam |
diśaṃ na kāṃ cid vidiṣaṃ na kāṃ cit snehakṣayāt kevalam eti śāntim ||

16.28 A lamp that has gone out reaches neither to the earth nor to the sky,
Nor to any cardinal nor to any intermediate point: because its oil is spent it reaches nothing but extinction.

evaṃ kṛtī nirvṛtim abhyupeto naivāvaniṃ gacchati nāntarikṣam |
diśaṃ na kāṃ cid vidiśaṃ na kāṃ cit kleśakṣayāt kevalam eti sāntim ||

16.29 In the same way, a man of action who has come to quiet reaches neither to the earth nor to the sky,
Nor to any cardinal nor to any intermediate point: from the ending of his afflictions he attains nothing but extinction.

asyābhyupāyo ’dhingamāya mārgaḥ prajñātrikalpaḥ praśamadvikalpaḥ |
sa bhāvanīyo vidhivad budhena śīle śucau tripamukhe sthitena ||

16.30 A means for gaining that end is the path of threefold wisdom and twofold tranquillity.
It is to be cultivated by a wakeful person working to principle – abiding in untainted threefold integrity.

vākkarma samyak sahakāyakarma yathāvad ājīvanayaś ca śuddhaḥ |
idaṃ trayaṃ vṛttavidhau pravṛttaṃ śīlāśrayaṃ karmaparigrahāya ||

16.31 Using the voice well and the body well in tandem, and making a clean living in a suitable manner:
These three, pertaining to conduct, are for the mastery, based on integrity, of one’s dharma-duty.

satyeṣu duḥkhādiṣu dṛṣṭir āryā samyagvitarkaś ca parākramaś ca |
idaṃ trayaṃ jñānavidhau pravṛttaṃ prajñāśrayaṃ kleśaparikṣayāya ||

16.32 Noble insight into suffering and the other truths, along with thinking straight, and initiative:
These three, pertaining to know-how, are for dissolution, based on wisdom, of the afflictions.

nyāyena satyādhigamāya yuktā samyak smṛtiḥ samyag atho samādhiḥ |
idaṃ dvayaṃ yogavidhau pravṛttaṃ śamāśrayaṃ cittaparigrahāya ||

16.33 True mindfulness, properly harnessed so as to bring one close to the truths; and true balance:
These two, pertaining to practice, are for mastery, based on tranquillity, of the mind.

kleśāṅkurān na pratanoti śīlaṃ bījāṅkurān kāla ivāvṛttaḥ |
śucau hi śīle puruṣasya doṣā manaḥ salajjā iva dharṣayanti ||

16.34 Integrity no more propagates the shoots of affliction than a bygone spring propagates shoots from seeds.
The faults, as long as a man’s integrity is untainted, venture only timidly to attack his mind.

kleśāṃs tu viṣkambhayate samādhir vegān ivādrir mahaot nadīnām |
sthite samādhau hi na dharṣayanti doṣā bhujaṅgā iva mantrabaddhāḥ ||

16.35 But balance casts off the afflictions like a mountain casts off the mighty torrents of rivers.
The faults do not attack a man who is standing firm in balanced stillness: like charmed snakes, they are spellbound.

prajñā tv aśeṣeṇa nihanti doṣāṃs tīradrumān prāvṛṣi nimnageva |
dagdhā yayā na prabhavanti doṣā vajrāgninevānusṛtena vṛkṣāḥ ||

16.36 And wisdom destroys the faults without trace, as a mountain stream in the monsoon destroys the trees on its banks.
Faults consumed by it do not stand a chance, like trees in the fiery wake of a thunderbolt.

triskandham etaṃ pravigāhya mārgaṃ praspaṣṭam aṣṭāṅgam ahāryam āryam |
duḥkhasya hetūn prajahāti doṣān prāpnoti cātyantaśivaṃ padaṃ tat ||

16.37 Giving oneself to this path with its three divisions and eight branches – this straightforward, irremovable, noble path –
One abandons the faults, which are the causes of suffering, and comes to that step which is total well-being.

asyopacāre dhṛtir ārjavaṃ ca hrīr apramādaḥ praviviktatā ca |
alpecchatā tuṣṭir asaṃgatā ca lokapravṛttāv aratiḥ kṣamā ca ||

16.38 Attendant on it are constancy and straightness; modesty, attentiveness, and reclusiveness;
Wanting little, contentment, and freedom from forming attachments; no fondness for worldly activity, and forbearance.

yāthātmyato vindati yo hi duḥkhaṃ tasyodbhavaṃ tasya ca yo nirdodham |
āryeṇa mārgeṇa sa sāntim eti kalyāṇamitraiḥ saha vartamānaḥ ||

16.39 For he who knows suffering as it really is, who knows its starting and its stopping:
It is he who reaches peace by the noble path – going along with friends in the good.

yo vyādhito vyādhim avaiti samyag vyādher nidānaṃ ca tadauṣadhaṃ ca |
ārogyam āpnoti hi so ’cireṇa mitrair abhijñair upacaryamāṇaḥ ||

16.40 He who fully appreciates his illness, as the illness it is, who sees the cause of the illness and its remedy:
It is he who wins, before long, freedom from disease – attended by friends in the know.

tad vyādhisaṃjñāṃ kuru duḥkhasatye doṣeṣv api vyādhinidānasaṃjñām |
ārogyasaṃjñāṃ ca nirdohasatye bhaiṣajyasaṃjñām api mārgasatye ||

16.41 So with regard to the truth of suffering, see suffering as an illness; with regard to the faults, see the faults as the cause of the illness;
With regard to the truth of stopping, see stopping as freedom from disease; and with regard to the truth of a path, see a path as a remedy.

tasmāt pravṛttiṃ parigaccha duḥkhaṃ pravartakān apy avagaccha doṣān |
nivṛttim āgaccha ca tannirodhaṃ nivartakaṃ cāpy avagaccha mārgam ||

16.42 Comprehend, therefore, that suffering is doing; witness the faults impelling it forward;
Realise its stopping as non-doing; and know the path as a turning back.

śirasy atho vāsasi saṃpradīpte satyāvabodhāya matir vicāryā |
dagdhaṃ jagat satyanayaṃ hy adṛṣṭvā pradahyate saṃprati dhakṣyate ca ||

16.43 Though your head and clothes be on fire direct your mind so as to be awake to the truths.
For in failing to see the purport of the truths, the world has burned, it is burning now, and it will burn.

yadaiva yaḥ paśyati nāmarūpaṃ kṣayīti taddarśanam asya samyak |
samyak ca nirvedam upaiti paśyān nandīkṣayāc ca kṣayam eti rāgaḥ ||

16.44 When a man sees psycho-physicality as subject to dissolution, that insight of his is accurate;
In seeing accurately he is disenchanted, and from the ending of exuberance ends the red taint of passion.

tayoś ca nandīrajasoḥ kṣayeṇa samyag vimuktaṃ pravadāmi cetaḥ |
samyag vimuktir manasaś ca tābhyāṃ na cāsya bhūyaḥ karaṇīyam asti ||

16.45 By the ending of the duality which is exuberance and gloom, I submit, his mind is fully set free.
And when his mind is fully liberated from that duality, there is nothing further for him to do.

yathāsvabhāvena hi nāmarūpaṃ tad dhetum evāstagamaṃ ca tasya |
vijānataḥ paśyata eva cāhaṃ bravīmi samyak kṣayam āsravāṇām ||

16.46 For in him who sees psycho-physicality as it is, and who sees its origin and passing away,
From the very fact of his knowing and seeing, I predict the complete eradication of the pollutants.

tasmāt paraṃ saumya vidhāya vīryaṃ śīghraṃ ghaṭasv āsravasaṃkṣayāya |
duḥkhān anityāṃś ca nirātmakāṃś ca dhātūn viśeṣeṇa parīkṣamāṇāḥ ||

16.47 So my friend garner your energy greatly and strive quickly to put an end to polluting influences,
Examining in particular the elements – as suffering, as impermanent and as devoid of self.

dhātūn hi ṣaḍ bhūsalilānalādīn sāmānyataḥ svena ca lakṣaṇena |
avaiti yo nānyam avaiti tebhyaḥ so ’tyantikaṃ mokṣam avaiti tebhyaḥ ||

16.48 For in knowing the six elements of earth, water, fire and the rest, generically, and each as specific to itself,
He who knows nothing else but those elements, knows total release from those elements.

kleśaprahāṇāya ca niścitena kālo ’bhyupāyaś ca parīkṣitavyaḥ |
yogo ’py akāle hy anupāyataś ca bhavaty anarthāya na tadguṇāya ||

16.49 One set on abandoning the afflictions, then, should attend to timing and method;
For even practice itself, done at the wrong time and relying on wrong means, makes for disappointment and not for the desired end.

ajātavatsāṃ yadi gāṃ duhīta naivāptuyāt kṣīram akāladohī |
kāle ’pi vā syān na payo labheta mohena śṛṅgād yadi gāṃ duhīta ||

16.50 If a cow is milked before her calf is born, milking at the wrong time will yield no milk.
Or even at the right time no milk will be got if, through ignorance, a cow is milked by the horn.

ārdrāc ca kāṣṭhā jvalanābhikāmo naiva prayatnād api vahnim ṛcchet |
kāṣṭhāc ca śuṣkād api pātganena naivāgnim āpnoty anupāapūrvam ||

16.51 Again, one who wants fire from damp wood, try as he might, will not get fire.
And even if he lays down dry wood, he won’t get fire from that, with bad bushcraft.

tad deśakālau vidhivat parīkṣya yogasya mātrām api cābhyupāyam |
balābale cātmani saṃpradhārya kāryāḥ prayatno na tu tadviruddhaḥ ||

16.52 Having given due consideration to the time and place as well as to the extent and method of one’s practice,
One should, reflecting on one’s own strength and weakness, persist in an effort that is not inconsistent with them.

pragrāhakaṃ yat tu nimittam uktam uddanyamāne hṛdi tan na sevyam |
evaṃ hi cittaṃ praśamaṃ na yāti [na vahri] nā vahnir iveryamāṇaḥ ||

16.53 That factor said to be “garnering” does not serve when the emotions are inflamed,
For thus the mind does not come to quiet, like a fire being fanned by the wind.

śamāya yat syān niyataṃ nimittaṃ jātoddhave cetasi tasya kālaḥ |
evaṃ hi cittaṃ praśamaṃ niyacchet pradīpyamāno ’gnir ivodakena ||

16.54 A factor ascertained to be calming has its time when one’s mind is excited;
For thus the mind subsides into quietness, like a blazing fire [doused] with water.

śamāvahaṃ yan niyataṃ nimittaṃ sevyaṃ na tac cetasi līyamāne |
evaṃ hi bhūyo layameti cittam anīryamāṇo ’gnir ivālpasāraḥ ||

16.55 A factor ascertained to bring calm does not serve when one’s mind is dormant;
For thus the mind sinks further into lifelessness, like a feeble fire left unfanned.

pragrāhakaṃ yan niyataṃ nimittaṃ layaṃ gate cetasi tasya kālaḥ |
kriyāsamarthaṃ hi manas tathā syān mandāyamāno ’gnir ivendhanena ||

16.56 A factor determined to be garnering, has its time when one’s mind is lifeless,
For thus the mind becomes fit for work, like a feebly-burning fire [plied] with fuel.

aupekṣikaṃ nāpi nimittam iṣṭaṃ layaṃ gate cetasi soddhave vā |
evaṃ hi tīvraṃ janayed anartham upekṣito vyādhir ivāturasya ||

16.57 Nor is equanimity a valid factor when one’s mind is either lifeless or excited.
For that might engender severe adversity, like the neglected illness of a sick man.

yat syād upekṣāniyataṃ nimittaṃ sāmyaṃ gate cetasi tasya kālaḥ |
evaṃ hi kṛtyāya bhavet prayogo ratho vidheyāśva iva prayātaḥ ||

16.58 A factor ascertained to conduce to equanimity has its time when one’s mind is in its normal state;
For thus one may set about work to be done, like a wagon setting off with well-trained horses.

rāgoddhavyākulite ’pi citte maitropasaṃhāravidhir na kāryaḥ |
rāgātmako muhyati maitrayā hi senhaṃ kaphakṣobha ivopayujya ||

16.59 Again, when the mind is filled with the red joys of passion, direction towards oneself of loving-kindness is not to be practised;
For a passionate type is stupefied by love, like a sufferer from phlegm taking oil.

rāgoddhate cetasi dhairyam etya niṣevitavyaṃ tv aśubhaṃ nimittam |
rāgātmako hy evam upaiti śarma kaphātmako rūkṣam ivopayujya ||

16.60 Steadiness lies, when the mind is excited by ardour, in resorting to an unpleasant factor;
For thus a passionate type obtains relief, like a phlegmatic type taking an astringent.

vyāpādadoṣeṇa manasy udīrṇe na sevitavyaṃ tv aśubhaṃ nimittam |
dveṣātmakasya hy aśubhā vadhāya pittātmanas śīta ivopacāraḥ ||

16.61 When the mind is wound up, however, with the fault of malice, unpleasantness is not the factor to be deployed;
For unpleasantness is destructive to a hating type, as acid treatment is to a man of bilious nature.

vyāpādadoṣakṣubhite tu citte sevyā svapakṣopanayena maitrī |
dveṣātmano hi praśamāya maitrī pittātmanaḥ śīta ivopacarāḥ ||

16.62 When the mind is agitated by the fault of malice, loving-kindness should be cultivated, by directing it towards oneself.
For loving-kindness is calming to a hate-afflicted soul, as cooling treatment is to the man of bilious nature.

mohānubaddhe manasaḥ pracāre maitrāśubhā caiva bhavaty ayogaḥ |
tābhyāṃ hi saṃmoham upaiti bhūyo vāyvātmako rūkṣam ivopanīya ||

16.63 When there is wandering of the mind, tied to delusion, both loving-kindness and unpleasantness are unsuitable,
For a deluded man is further deluded by these two, like a windy type given an astringent.

mohātmaikāyāṃ mansaḥ pravṛttau sevyas tv idaṃ pratyayatāvihāraḥ |
mūḍhe manasy eṣa hi śāntimārgo vāyvātmake snigdha ivopacāraḥ ||

16.64 When working of the mind is delusory, one should appreciate the causality therein;
For this is a path to peace when the mind is bewildered, like treating a wind condition with oil.

ulkāmukhastaṃ hi yathā suvarṇaṃ suvarṇakāro dhamatīha kāle |
kāle pariprokṣayate jalena krameṇa kāle samupekṣate ca ||

16.65 Holding gold in the mouth of a furnace, a goldsmith in this world blows it at the proper time,
Douses it with water at the proper time, and gradually, at the proper time, he leaves it be.

dahet suvarṇaṃ hi dhamann akāle jale kṣipan saṃśamayed akāle |
na cāpi samyak paripākam enaṃ nayed akāle samupekṣamāṇaḥ ||

16.66 For he might burn the gold by blowing at the wrong time, he might make it unworkable by plunging it into water at the wrong time,
And he would not bring it to full perfection if at the wrong time he were just to leave it be.

saṃpragrahasya praśamasya caiva tathaiva kāle samupekṣaṇasya |
samyaṅnimittaṃ manasā tv avekṣyaṃ nāśo hi yatno ’py anupāyapūrvaḥ ||

16.67 Likewise, for garnering as also for calming, as also when appropriate for leaving well alone,
One should readily attend to the appropriate factor; because even diligence is destructive when accompanied by a wrong approach.”

ity evam anyāyanivartanaṃ ca nyāyaṃ ca tasmai sugato babhāṣe |
bhūyaś ca tat tac caritaṃ viditvā vitarkahānāya vidhīn uvāca ||

16.68 Thus, on retreat from muddling through, and on the principle to come back to, the One Who Went Well spoke to [Nanda];
And knowing the varieties of behaviour, he detailed further the directions for abandoning ideas.

yathā bhiṣak pittakaphānilānāṃ ya eva kopaṃ samupaiti doṣaḥ |
śamāya tasyaiva vidhatte vyadhatta doṣeṣu tathairva buddhaḥ ||

16.69 Just as, for a disorder of bile, phlegm, or wind – for whatever disorder of the humours has manifested the symptoms of disease –
A doctor prescribes a course of treatment to cure that very disorder; so did the Buddha prescribe for the faults:

ekena kalpena sacen na hanyāt svabhyastabhāvād aśubhān vitarkān |
tato dvitīyaṃ kramam ārabheta na tv eva heyo guṇavān prayogaḥ ||

16.70 “It may not be possible, following a single method, to kill off bad ideas that habit has so deeply entrenched;
In that case, one should commit to a second course but never give up the good work.

anādikālopacitātmakatvād balīyasaḥ kleśagaṇasya caiva |
samyakprayogasya ca duṣkaratvāc chettuṃ na śakyāḥ sahasā hi doṣāḥ ||

16.71 Because of the instinct-led accumulation, from time without beginning, of the powerful mass of afflictions,
And because true practice is so difficult to do, the faults cannot be cut off all at once.

añvyā yathāṇyā vipulāṇir anyā nirvāhyate tadviduṣā nareṇa |
tadvad tad evākuśalaṃ nimittaṃ kṣipen nimittāntarasevanena ||

16.72 Just as a deep splinter, by means of the point of another sharp object, is removed by a man skilled in that task,
Likewise an unpromising stimulus may be dispensed with through deployment of a different stimulus.

tathāpy athādhyātmanavagrahatvān naivopaśāmyed aśubho vitarkaḥ |
heyaḥ sa taddoṣaparīkṣaṇena saśvāpado mārga ivādhvagena ||

16.73 There again, because of your personal inexperience, a bad idea might not give way.
You should abandon it by observing the fault in it, as a traveller abandons a path on which there is a wild beast.

yathā kṣudhārto ’pi viṣeṇa pṛktaṃ jijīviṣur necchati bhoktum annam |
tathaiva doṣāvaham ity avetya jahāti vidvān aśubhaṃ nimittam ||

16.74 A man who wishes to live, even when starving, declines to eat poisoned food.
Likewise, observing that it brings with it a fault, a wise person leaves alone an unpleasant stimulus.

na doṣataḥ paśyati yo hi doṣaṃ kas taṃ tato vārayituṃ samarthaḥ |
guṇaṃ guṇe paśyati yaś ca yantra sa vāryamāṇo ’pi tataḥ prayāti ||

16.75 When a man does not see a fault as a fault, who is able to restrain him from it?
But when a man sees the good in what is good, he goes towards it despite being restrained.

vyapatrapante hi kulaprasūtā mahaḥpracārair aśubhaiḥ pravṛttaiḥ |
kaṇṭhe manasvīva yuvā vapuṣmān acākṣuṣair aprayatair viṣaktaiḥ ||

16.76 For those born into a noble house are ashamed of unpleasant occurrences going on in the mind,
As one who is bright, young and good-looking is ashamed of unsightly, ill-arranged [objects] hanging around his neck.

nirdhūyamānās tv atha leśato ’pi tiṣṭheyur evākuśalā vitarkāḥ |
kāryāntarair adhyayanakriyād yaiḥ sevyo vidhir vismaraṇāya teṣām ||

16.77 If, though they are being shaken off, a trace persists of unhelpful thoughts,
One should resort to different tasks, such as study or physical work, as a means of consigning those thoughts to oblivion.

svaptavyam apy eva vicakṣaṇena kāyaklamo vāpi niṣevitavyaḥ |
na tv eva saṃcintyam asannimittaṃ yatrāvasaktasya bhaved anarthaḥ ||

16.78 A clear-sighted person should even sleep or resort to physical exhaustion,
But should never dwell on a bad stimulus, pending on which might be an adverse reaction.

yathā hi bhīto niśi taskarebhyo dvāraṃ priyebhyo ’pi na dātum icchet |
prājñas tathā saṃharati prayogaṃ samaṃ śubhasyāpy aśubhasya doṣaiḥ ||

16.79 For just as a man afraid of thieves in the night would not open his door even to friends,
So does a wise man withhold consent equally to the doing of anything bad or anything good that involves the faults.

evaṃprakārair api yady upāyair nivāryamāṇā na parāñmukhāḥ syuḥ |
tato yathāsthūlanibarhaṇena suvarṇadoṣā iva te praheyāḥ ||

16.80 If, though fended off by such means, [faults] do not turn back,
Then, eliminated in order of their grossness, they must be driven out like impurities from gold.

drutaprayāṇaprabhṛtīṃś ca tīkṣṇāt kāmaprayogāt parikhidyamānaḥ |
yathā naraḥ saṃśrayate tathaiva prājñena doṣeṣv api varitavyam ||

16.81 Just as a man who feels depressed following a torrid love affair takes refuge in activities like quick marching, so should a wise person proceed with regard to the faults.

te ced alabdhapratipakṣabhāvā naivopaāmyeyur asadvitarkāḥ |
muhūrtam apy aprativadhyamānā gṛhe bhujaṅgā iva nādhivāsyāḥ ||

16.82 If their counteragent cannot be found and unreal fancies do not subside,
They must not for a moment be left unchecked: no whiff of them should be tolerated, as if they were snakes in the house.

dante ’pi dantaṃ praṇidhāya kāmaṃ tālvagram utpīḍya ca jihvayāpi |
cittena cittaṃ prarigṛhya cāpi kāryaḥ prayatno na tu te ’nuvṛttāḥ ||

16.83 Grit tooth against tooth, if you will, press the tongue forward and up against the palate,
And grip the mind with the mind – make an effort, but do not yield to them.

kim atra citram yadi vītamoho vanaṃ gataḥ svasthamanā na muhyet |
ākṣipyamāṇo hṛdi tannimittair na kṣobhyate yaḥ sa kṛtī sa dhīraḥ ||

16.84 Is it any wonder that a man without any delusions should not become deluded when he has contentedly repaired to the forest?
[But] a man who is not shaken when challenged to the core by the stimuli of the aforementioned [ideas, thoughts, and fancies]: he is a man of action; he is a steadfast man.

tad āryasatyādhigamāya pūrvaṃ viśodhayānena nayena mārgam |
yātrāgataḥ śatruvinigrahārthaṃ rājevy lakṣmīm ajitāṃ jigīṣan ||

16.85 So, in order to make the noble truths your own, first clear a path according to this plan of action,
Like a king going on campaign to subdue his foes, wishing to conquer unconquered dominions.

etāny araṇyāny abhitaḥ śivāni yogānukūlāny ajaneritāni |
kāyasya kṛtvā pravivekamātraṃ kleśaprahāṇāya bhajasva mārgam ||

16.86 These salubrious wilds that surround us are suited to practice and not thronged with people.
Furnishing the body with ample solitude, cut a path for abandoning the afflictions.

kauṇḍinyananadakṛmilāniruddhās tipyopasenau vimalo ’tha rādhaḥ |
bāṣpottarau dhautakimoharājau kātyāyanadravyapinindavatsāḥ ||

16.87 Kauṇḍinya, Nanda, Kṛmila, Aniruddha, Tiṣya, Upasena, Vimala, Rādha,
Vāśpa, Uttara, Dhautaki, Moha-rāja, Kātyāyana, Dravya, Pilinda-vatsa,

bhaddālibhadrāyaṇasarpadāsasubhūtigodattsujātavatsāḥ |
saṃgrāmajidbhadrajidaśvajic ca śroṇaś ca śoṇaś ca sa koṭikarṇaḥ ||

16.88 Bhaddāli, Bhadrāyaṇa, Sarpa-dāsa, Subhūti, Go-datta, Sujāta, Vatsa,
Saṁgrāmajit, Bhadrajit, and Aśvajit, Śrona and Sona Koṭikarna,

kṣemājito nandakanandamātā vupālivāgīśayaśāoyaśodāḥ |
mahāhvayo valkalirāṣṭrapālau sudarśaanasvāgatameghikāś ca ||

16.89 Kṣemā, Ajita, the mothers of Nandaka and Nanda, Upāli, Vāgīśa, Yaśas, Yaśoda,
Mahāhvaya, Valkalin, Rāṣṭra-pāla, Sudarśana, Svāgata and Meghika,

sa kapphinaḥ kāśyapa auruvilvo mahāmahākāśyapatiṣyanandāḥ |
pūrṇaś ca pūrṇaś ca sa pūrṇakaś ca śonāparāntaś ca sa pūrṇa eva ||

16.90 Kapphina, Kāśyapa of Uruvilvā, The great Mahā-kāśyapa, Tiṣya, Nanda,
Pūrṇa and Pūrṇa as well as Pūrṇaka and Pūrṇa Śonāparānta,

śāradvatīputrasubāhucundāḥ kondeyakāpyabhṛgukuṇṭhadhānāḥ |
saśaivalau revatakauṣṭhilau ca maudgalyagotraś ca gavāṃ patiś ca ||

16.91 The son of Śāradvatī, Subāhu, Cunda, Kondeya, Kāpya, Bhṛgu, Kuṇṭha-dhāna,
Plus Śaivala, Revata and Kauṣṭhila, and he of the Maudgalya clan and Gavām-pati –

yaṃ vikramaṃ yogavidhāv akurvaṃs tam eva śīghraṃ vidhivat kuruṣva |
tataḥ padaṃ prāpsyasi tair avāptaṃ sukhāvṛtais tvaṃ nivataṃ niyataṃ yaśaś ca ||

16.92 Be quick to show the courage that they have shown in their practice, working to principle.
Then you will assuredly take the step that they took and will realise the splendour that they realised.

dravyaṃ yathā syāt kaṭukaṃ rasena tac copayuktaṃ madhuraṃ vipāke |
tathaiva vīryaṃ kaṭukaṃ śrameṇa tasyārthasiddhyai madhuro vipākaḥ ||

16.93 Just as a fruit may have flesh that is bitter to the taste and yet is sweet when eaten ripe,
So heroic effort, through the struggle it involves, is bitter and yet, in accomplishment of the aim, its mature fruit is sweet.

vīryaṃ paraṃ kāryakṛtau hi mūlaṃ vīryād ṛte kā cana nāsti siddhiḥ |
udeti vīryād iha sarvasaṃpan nirvīryatā cet sakalaś ca pāpmā ||

16.94 Directed energy is paramount: for, in doing what needs to be done, it is the foundation; without directed energy there is no accomplishment at all;
All success in this world arises from directed energy – and in the absence of directed energy wrongdoing is rampant.

alabdhasyālābho niyatam upalabdhasya vigamas tathaivātmāvajñā kṛpañam adhikebhyaḥ paribhavaḥ |
tamo nistejastvaṃ śrutiniyamatuṣṭivyuparamo nṛṇāṃ nirvīryāṇāṃ bhavati vinipātaś ca bhavati ||

16.95 No gaining of what is yet to be gained, and certain loss of what has been gained,
Along with low self-esteem, wretchedness, the scorn of superiors,
Darkness, lack of spirit, and the breakdown of learning, restraint and contentment:
For men without directed energy a great fall awaits.

nayaṃ śrutvā śakto yad ayam abhivṛddhiṃ na labhate paraṃ dharmaṃ jñātvā yad upari nivāsaṃ na labhate |
|gṛhaṃ tyaktvā muktau yad ayam upaśāntiṃ na labhate
nimittaṃ kausīdyaṃ bhavati puruṣasyātra na ripuḥ ||

16.96 When a capable person hears the guiding principle but realises no growth,
When he knows the most excellent method but realises no upward repose,
When he leaves home but in freedom realises no peace:
The cause is the laziness in him and not an enemy.

anikṣiptotsāho yadi khanati gāṃ vāri labhate prasaktaṃ vyāmathnan jvalanam araṇibhyāṃ janayati |
prayuktā yoge tu dhruvam upalabhante śramaphalaṃ
drutaṃ nityaṃ yānto girim api hi bhindanti saritaḥ ||

16.97 A man obtains water if he digs the ground with unflagging exertion,
And produces fire from fire-sticks by continuous twirling.
But those are sure to reap the fruit of their effort whose energies are harnessed to practice,
For rivers that flow swiftly and constantly cut through even a mountain.

kṛṣṭvā gāṃ paripālya ca śramaśatair aśnoti sasyaśāriyaṃ yatnena pravigāhya sāgarajalaṃ ratnaśriyā krīḍati |
śatrūṇām avadhūya vīryam iṣubhir bhuṅkte narendraśriyaṃ
tad vīryaṃ kuru śāntaye viniyataṃ vīrye hi sarvardddhayaḥ ||

16.98 After ploughing and protecting the soil with great pains, [a farmer] gains a bounteous crop of corn;
After striving to plumb the ocean’s waters, [a diver] revels in a bounty of coral and pearls;
After seeing off with arrows the endeavour of rival kings, [a king] enjoys royal dominion.
So direct your energy in pursuit of peace, for in directed energy, undoubtedly, lies all growth.”

saundarananade mahākāvya āryasatyavyākhyāno nāma ṣoḍaśaḥ sargaḥ ||

The 16th Canto in the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled “Communicating the Noble Truths.”

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