The Wise Man

Books: Sacred Books Of The East

If you see a man who shows you what is to be avoided, who administers

reproofs, and is intelligent, follow that wise man as you would one who

tells of hidden treasures; it will be better, not worse, for him who

follows him.



Let him admonish, let him teach, let him forbid what is improper!--he

will be beloved of the good, by the bad he will be hated.



Do not have evil-doers for friends, do not have low people for friends:

have virtuous people for friends, have for friends the best of men.



He who drinks in the law lives happily with a serene mind: the sage

rejoices always in the law, as preached by the elect.



Well-makers lead the water wherever they like; fletchers bend the arrow;

carpenters bend a log of wood; wise people fashion themselves.



As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, wise people falter not amidst

blame and praise.



Wise people, after they have listened to the laws, become serene, like a

deep, smooth, and still lake.



Good men indeed walk warily under all circumstances; good men speak not

out of a desire for sensual gratification; whether touched by happiness

or sorrow wise people never appear elated or depressed.



If, whether for his own sake, or for the sake of others, a man wishes

neither for a son, nor for wealth, nor for lordship, and if he does not

wish for his own success by unfair means, then he is good, wise, and

virtuous.



Few are there among men who arrive at the other shore (become Arhats);

the other people here run up and down the shore.



But those who, when the law has been well preached to them, follow the

law, will pass over the dominion of death, however difficult to cross.



A wise man should leave the dark state of ordinary life, and follow the

bright state of the Bhikshu. After going from his home to a homeless

state, he should in his retirement look for enjoyment where enjoyment

seemed difficult. Leaving all pleasures behind, and calling nothing his

own, the wise man should purge himself from all the troubles of the

mind.



Those whose mind is well grounded in the seven elements of knowledge,

who without clinging to anything, rejoice in freedom from attachment,

whose appetites have been conquered, and who are full of light, they are

free even in this world.