Sutta Nipāta — Antologia de Discursos — 1.12 — The Sage

1Peril stems from intimacy,
dust comes from an abode.
Freedom from abode and intimacy:
that is the sage’s vision.

2Having cut down what’s grown, <j>they wouldn’t replant,
nor would they nurture what’s growing.
That’s who they call a sage wandering alone,
the great seer has seen the state of peace.

3Having appraised the fields and measured the seeds,
they wouldn’t nurture them with moisture.
Truly that sage who sees the ending of rebirth
has left speculation behind and is beyond reckoning.

4Understanding all the planes of rebirth,
not wanting a single one of them;
truly that sage freed of greed
need not swim, <j>for they have reached the far shore.

5The vanquisher of all, knower of all, so very intelligent,
unsullied in the midst of all things,
has given up all, freed in the ending of craving:
that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

6Strong in wisdom, <j>with precepts and observances intact,
serene, loving absorption, mindful,
released from chains, kind, undefiled:
that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

7The diligent sage wandering alone,
is unshaken by blame and praise—
like a lion not startled by sounds,
like wind not caught in a net,
like water not sticking to a lotus.
Leader of others, not by others led:
that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

8Steady as a post in a bathing-place
when others speak endlessly against them,
freed of greed, with senses stilled:
that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

9Steadfast, straight as a spindle,
horrified by wicked deeds,
discerning the just and the unjust:
that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

10Restrained, they do no evil,
young or middle-aged, the sage is self-controlled.
Irreproachable, he does not insult anyone:
that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

11When one who lives on charity receives alms,
from the top, the middle, or the leftovers,
they think it unworthy to praise or put down:
that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

12The sage lives refraining from sex,
even when young is not tied down,
refraining from indulgence and negligence, freed:
that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

13Understanding the world, <j>the seer of the ultimate goal,
the unaffected one, <j>having crossed the flood and the ocean,
has cut the ties, unattached and undefiled:
that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

14The two are not the same, <j>far apart in lifestyle and conduct—
the householder providing for a wife, <j>and the selfless one true to their vows.
The unrestrained householder kills other creatures,
while the restrained sage <j>always protects living creatures.

15As the crested blue-necked peacock <j>flying through the sky
never approaches the speed of the swan,
so the householder cannot compete <j>with the mendicant,
the sage meditating secluded in the woods.