Minor Collection

Sayings of the Dhamma 33–43

3. The Mind

dhp33:1 The mind quivers and quakes,

dhp33:2 hard to guard, hard to curb.

dhp33:3 The discerning straighten it out,

dhp33:4 like a fletcher an arrow.

dhp34:1 Like a fish pulled from the sea

dhp34:2 and cast upon the shore,

dhp34:3 this mind flounders about,

dhp34:4 trying to throw off Satan’s dominion.

dhp35:1 Hard to hold back, flighty,

dhp35:2 alighting where it will;

dhp35:3 it’s good to tame the mind;

dhp35:4 a tamed mind leads to bliss.

dhp36:1 So hard to see, so subtle,

dhp36:2 alighting where it will;

dhp36:3 the discerning protect the mind,

dhp36:4 a guarded mind leads to bliss.

dhp37:1 The mind travels far, wandering alone;

dhp37:2 incorporeal, it lies hidden in the heart.

dhp37:3 Those who will restrain the mind

dhp37:4 are freed from Satan’s bonds.

dhp38:1 Those of unsteady mind,

dhp38:2 who don’t understand the true teaching,

dhp38:3 and whose confidence wavers,

dhp38:4 do not perfect their wisdom.

dhp39:1 One whose mind is not festering,

dhp39:2 whose heart is undamaged,

dhp39:3 who’s given up right and wrong,

dhp39:4 alert, has nothing to fear.

dhp40:1 Knowing this body breaks like a pot,

dhp40:2 and fortifying the mind like a citadel,

dhp40:3 attack Satan with the sword of wisdom,

dhp40:4 guard your conquest, and never settle.

dhp41:1 All too soon this body

dhp41:2 will lie upon the earth,

dhp41:3 bereft of consciousness,

dhp41:4 tossed aside like a worthless log.

dhp42:1 A wrongly directed mind

dhp42:2 would do you more harm

dhp42:3 than a hater to the hated,

dhp42:4 or an enemy to their foe.

dhp43:1 A rightly directed mind

dhp43:2 would do you more good

dhp43:3 than your mother or father

dhp43:4 or any other relative.