Attavagga: The Self
- If one holds oneself dear, one should diligently watch oneself. Let the wise man keep vigil during any of the three watches of the night.
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One should first establish oneself in what is proper; then only should one instruct others. Thus the wise man will not be reproached.
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One should do what one teaches others to do; if one would train others, one should be well controlled oneself. Difficult, indeed, is self-control.
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One truly is the protector of oneself; who else could the protector be? With oneself fully controlled, one gains a mastery that is hard to gain.
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The evil a witless man does by himself, born of himself and produced by himself, grinds him as a diamond grinds a hard gem.
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Just as a single creeper strangles the tree on which it grows, even so, a man who is exceedingly depraved harms himself as only an enemy might wish.
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Easy to do are things that are bad and harmful to oneself. But exceedingly difficult to do are things that are good and beneficial.
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Whoever, on account of perverted views, scorns the Teaching of the Perfected Ones, the Noble and Righteous Ones — that fool, like the bamboo, produces fruits only for self destruction. [14]
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By oneself is evil done; by oneself is one defiled. By oneself is evil left undone; by oneself is one made pure. Purity and impurity depend on oneself; no one can purify another. Continue reading