Dhammapada: The Mind

1The mind quivers and quakes,

2hard to guard, hard to curb.

3The discerning straighten it out,

4like a fletcher an arrow.

1Like a fish pulled from the sea

2and cast upon the shore,

3this mind flounders about,

4trying to throw off Māra’s dominion.

1Hard to hold back, flighty,

2alighting where it will;

3it’s good to tame the mind;

4a tamed mind leads to bliss.

1So hard to see, so subtle,

2alighting where it will;

3the discerning protect the mind,

4a guarded mind leads to bliss.

1The mind travels far, wandering alone;

2incorporeal, it lies hidden in the heart.

3Those who will restrain the mind

4are freed from Māra’s bonds.

1Those of unsteady mind,

2who don’t understand the true teaching,

3and whose confidence wavers,

4do not perfect their wisdom.

1One whose mind is not festering,

2whose heart is undamaged,

3who’s given up right and wrong,

4alert, has nothing to fear.

1Knowing this body breaks like a pot,

2and fortifying the mind like a citadel,

3attack Māra with the sword of wisdom,

4guard your conquest, and never settle.

1All too soon this body

2will lie upon the earth,

3bereft of consciousness,

4tossed aside like a worthless log.

1A wrongly directed mind

2would do you more harm

3than a hater to the hated,

4or an enemy to their foe.

1A rightly directed mind

2would do you more good

3than your mother or father

4or any other relative.