Cut off the stream energetically, holy one;
leave desires behind.
Knowing the destruction of all that is created,
you know the uncreated, holy one.
When the holy one has reached the other shore
in meditation and contemplation,
all bonds vanish for the one who knows.

For the one I call holy
there is neither this shore nor that shore nor both,
who is free from fear and free from shackles.
The one I call holy is thoughtful, detached, settled,
accomplished, desireless, and has attained the highest goal.

The sun shines by day; the moon lights up the night;
the warriors shine in their armor;
the holy one shines in meditation;
but the awakened shines radiantly all day and night.

Because a person has put aside wrong, one is called holy.
Because one lives serenely, one is called an ascetic.
Because one gets rid of impurities, one is called a pilgrim.

No one should hurt a holy one,
but no holy one should strike back.
Woe to the one who hurts a holy one;
more woe to the one who strikes back.

It is no small gain to a holy one
if one holds one’s mind back from the pleasures of life.
The sooner the wish to injure disappears,
the sooner all suffering will stop.
The one I call holy does not hurt by body, speech, or mind,
and is controlled in these three things.

Whoever has understood the law of justice
as taught by the well awakened one,
should revere the teacher,
as the priest worships the sacrificial fire.

Not by matted hair, not by lineage,
not by caste does one become holy.
One is holy in whom there is truth and virtue;
that one is blessed.

What is the use of matted hair, fool?
What is the use of clothes of goat-skins?
Inside you are full of craving; the outside you make clean.
The one I call holy wears thrown-away clothes,
is lean with veins showing,
and meditates alone in the forest.

I do not call one holy because of one’s family or mother.
If one has property, one is called superior.
The one I call holy is free of property and all attachment.
The one I call holy has cut all chains, never trembles,
has passed beyond attachments and is independent.
The one I call holy has cut the strap, the thong,
and the chain with all their encumbrances,
has removed the bar and is awakened.

The one I call holy, though having committed no offense,
patiently bears reproach, ill-treatment, and imprisonment,
has endurance for one’s force and strength for one’s army.

The one I call holy is free from anger, faithful to vows,
virtuous, free from lust, controlled,
and has received one’s last body.

The one I call holy does not cling to pleasures,
like water on a lotus leaf
or a mustard seed on the point of a needle.

The one I call holy
even here knows the end of suffering,
has laid down one’s burden, and is detached.

The one I call holy has deep wisdom and knowledge,
discerns the right way and the wrong,
and has attained the highest end.

The one I call holy
keeps away from both householders and the homeless,
rarely visits houses, and has few desires.

The one I call holy
does not hurt any creatures, weak or strong,
and neither kills nor causes death.

The one I call holy is tolerant with the intolerant,
peaceful with the violent,
and free from greed among the greedy.

The one I call holy
has let go of anger, hate, pride, and hypocrisy,
like a mustard seed falls from the point of a needle.

The one I call holy speaks true words
that are useful and not harsh so that no one is offended.

The one I call holy
does not take anything in the world
that is not given one,
be it long or short, small or large, good or bad.

The one I call holy
has no desires for this world or the next,
is free from desires and is independent.

The one I call holy has no longings,
in knowledge is free from doubt,
and has reached the depth of the eternal.

The one I call holy here
has passed beyond the attachments of good and bad,
is free from sorrow, free from desire, free from impurity.

The one I call holy is bright like the moon,
pure, serene, undisturbed,
in whom pleasure is extinguished.

The one I call holy
has gone beyond this muddy road of rebirth and delusion,
so difficult to pass,
has crossed over and reached the other shore,
is thoughtful, not agitated,
not doubting, not attached, and calm.

The one I call holy in this world,
giving up all desires, travels around without a home,
in whom all desire for existence is extinguished.

The one I call holy in this world,
giving up all craving, travels around without a home,
in whom all craving for existence is extinguished.

The one I call holy,
letting go of attachment to humans,
rises above attachment to gods,
and is independent from all attachments.

The one I call holy
gives up what is pleasurable and what is not pleasurable,
is cool and free from any seeds of renewal,
the hero who has conquered all the worlds.

The one I call holy
knows the destruction and the return of beings everywhere,
is free from attachment, living well, and is awakened.

The one I call holy,
whose path is not known by gods nor spirits nor humans,
whose desires are extinct, is a saint.

The one I call holy calls nothing one’s own,
whether it be in front, behind, or between,
is poor and free from attachment.

The one I call holy is fearless, noble, heroic,
all-wise, ever-pure, all-conquering,
has accomplished the goal and is awakened.

The one I call holy knows one’s former lives,
perceives heaven and hell,
has reached the end of births,
is a sage whose knowledge is perfect,
having accomplished complete perfection.

~Dhammapada