Sutta Nipāta — Antologia de Discursos — 4.15 — Taking Up Arms

1Peril stems from those who take up arms—
just look how people conflict!
I shall extol how I came to be
stirred with a sense of urgency.

2I saw this population flounder,
like a fish in a little puddle.
Seeing them at odds with each other,
fear came upon me.

3The world around was volatile,
all directions were in turmoil.
Wanting a home for myself,
I saw nowhere unsettled.

4Yet even in their settlement they were at odds—
seeing that, I grew uneasy.
Then I saw a dart there,
so hard to see, stuck in the heart.

5When struck by that dart,
you run around in all directions.
But when that same dart has been plucked out,
you neither run around nor sink down.

6(On that topic, the trainings are recited.)
Whatever attachments there are in the world,
don’t pursue them.
Having pierced through sensual pleasures <j>in every way,
train yourself for extinguishment.

7Be truthful, not rude,
free of deceit, and rid of slander;
without anger, a sage would cross over
the evils of greed and avarice.

8Prevail over sleepiness, sloth, and drowsiness,
don’t abide in negligence,
A person intent on quenching
would not stand for arrogance.

9Don’t be led into lying,
or get caught up in affection for form.
Completely understand conceit,
and desist from hasty conduct.

10Don’t relish the old,
or welcome the new.
Don’t grieve for what is running out,
or get attached to things that pull you in.

11Greed, I say, is the great flood,
and longing is the current—
the basis, the compulsion,
the swamp of sensuality so hard to get past.

12The sage never strays from the truth;
the brahmin stands on solid ground.
Having given up everything,
they are said to be at peace.

13They have truly known, they’re a knowledge master,
understanding the teaching, they are independent.
They rightly proceed in the world,
not coveting anything here.

14One who has crossed over sensuality here,
the chain in the world so hard to get past,
grieves not, nor hopes;
they’ve cut the strings, they’re no longer bound.

15What came before, let wither away,
and after, let there be nothing.
If you don’t grasp at the middle,
you will live at peace.

16One who has no sense of ownership
in the whole realm of name and form,
does not grieve for that which is not,
they suffer no loss in the world.

17If you don’t think of anything
as belonging to yourself or others,
not finding any possessiveness,
you won’t grieve, thinking “I don’t have it”.

18Not bitter, not fawning,
unstirred, everywhere even;
when asked about one who is unwavering,
I declare that that is the benefit.

19For the unstirred who understand,
there’s no performance of deeds.
Desisting from instigation,
they see sanctuary everywhere.

20A sage doesn’t speak of themselves as being
among superiors, inferiors, or equals.
Peaceful, rid of stinginess,
they are neither ditching nor taking up.