8. Puṣpa
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Patna Dharmapada
Patna Dhammapada
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8. Puṣpa
8. The Chapter about Flowers
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napuṣpagandho paṭivātam eti na candanaṁ tagaraṁ vāhlikaṁ vā ।
The fragrance of flowers goes not against the wind, nor does sandalwood or pinwheel or saffron,
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satān tu gandho paṭivātam eti sabbā diśā sappuruṣo pravāti ।।
but the fragrance of the good goes against the wind, the true person’s fragrance permeates all directions.
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candanaṁ tagaraṁ cāpi uppalaṁ atha vāśśikiṁ ।
Sandalwood, pinwheel, then water lily and striped jasmine,
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etesāṁ gandhajātānāṁ śīlagandho anuttaro ।।
amongst these kinds of fragrance virtue’s fragrance is unsurpassed.
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appāmātro ayaṁ gaṁdho yoyaṁ tagaracandane ।
Pinwheel and sandalwood fragrance are insignificant,
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yo tu śīlavatāṁ gandho vāti devesu uttamo ।।
but the fragrance of those who have virtue flutters supreme amongst the gods.
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tesāṁ sampannaśīlānāṁ apramādavihāriṇāṁ ।
Māra cannot find the path of those endowed with virtue, who live heedfully,
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sammadaṁñāvimuttānāṁ māro māggaṁ na viṇḍati ।।
and who are freed through right and deep knowledge.
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yathā pi ruciraṁ puṣpaṁ vannavantaṁ agandhakaṁ ।
Just like a beautiful flower, which has colour, but lacks fragrance,
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evaṁ subhāṣitā vācā aphalā hoti akurvvato ।।
so are well-spoken words fruitless for the one who acts not on them.
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yathā pi ruciraṁ puṣpaṁ vannavantaṁ sagaṁdhakaṁ ।
Just like a beautiful flower, which has colour, and has fragrance,
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evaṁ subhāṣitā vācā saphalā hoti kurvvato ।।
so are well-spoken words fruitful for the one who does act on them.
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yathā pi bhramaro puṣpā vannagandham aheḍayaṁ ।
Just as a bee, without hurting the flower, its colour or scent,
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praḍeti rasam ādāya evaṁ ggrāme munī care ।।
gathers its nectar and escapes, so should the seer roam in the village.
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puṣpāṇi heva pracinantaṁ vyāsattamanasaṁ naraṁ ।
Death takes up and carries away the one whose mind is attached to collecting flowers,
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suttaṁ ggrāmaṁ mahogho vā maccu-r-ādāya gacchati ।।
like a great flood carries off a sleeping village.
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puṣpāṇi heva pracinantaṁ vyāsattamanasaṁ naraṁ ।
The End-Maker takes control of the one whose mind is attached to collecting flowers,
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asaṁpunnesu kāmesu antako kurute vaśe ।।
though he is unfulfilled with sense pleasures.
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yathā pi puṣparāśimhā kayirā mālāguṇe bahū ।
Just as from a heap of flowers one might make a lot of garlands,
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evaṁ jātena māccena kātavvaṁ kuśalaṁ bahuṁ ।
so should many good deeds be done by one who is born a mortal.
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ko imaṁ paṭhaviṁ vijehiti yamalokaṁ va imaṁ sadevakaṁ ।
Who will conquer this earth and the lower realm, together with the gods?
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ko dhammapade sudeśite kuśalo puṣpam iva prajehiti ।
Who will win the well-taught verses of Dhamma as a good man wins a flower?
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śekho paṭhaviṁ vijehiti yamalokaṁ va imaṁ sadevakaṁ ।
The trainee will conquer this earth and the lower realm, together with the gods.
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so dhammapade sudeśite kuśalo puṣpam iva prajehiti ।।
He will win the well-taught verses of Dhamma as a good man wins a flower.
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vāśśikī-r-iva puṣpāṇi mañcakāni pramuñcati ।
Just as striped jasmine casts off its (…) flowers,
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evaṁ rāgañ ca doṣañ ca vipramuñcatha bhikkhavo ।।
so, monastics, cast off all passion and hatred.
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phenopamaṁ lokam imaṁ vidittā marīcidhammaṁ abhisaṁbudhānāṁ ।
Knowing that this world is just like froth, it has the nature of a mirage to those who understand,
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chettāna mārassa prapuṣpakāni addaṁśanaṁ maccurājassa gacche ।।
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows, one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.
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yathā saṁkārakūṭamhi ujjhitamhi mahāpathe ।
Just as in a forsaken rubbish heap along the highway
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padumaṁ ubbhidaṁ assa śucigandhaṁ manoramaṁ ।।
a lotus might spring forth, with a pure fragrance, delighting the mind,
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evaṁ saṁkārabhūtesu andhabhūte pṛthujjane ।
so amongst the forsaken, the Perfect Sambuddha’s disciple
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atirocanti praṁñāya saṁmāsabuddhasāvakā ।।
outshines the blind and ordinary folk through his wisdom.
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Puṣpavarggaḥ
The Chapter about Flowers
SuttaCentral (suttacentral.net), from the bilara-data and sc-data repositories. Licence: CC0 1.0 (root); CC BY-SA 3.0 (translation). Source.