1Na tena hoti dhammaṭṭho,
You don’t become just
2yenatthaṁ sāhasā naye;
by passing hasty judgment.
3Yo ca atthaṁ anatthañca,
An astute person evaluates both
4ubho niccheyya paṇḍito.
what is pertinent and what is irrelevant.
5Asāhasena dhammena,
A wise one judges others without haste,
6samena nayatī pare;
justly and impartially;
7Dhammassa gutto medhāvī,
that guardian of the law
8“dhammaṭṭho”ti pavuccati.
is said to be just.
9Na tena paṇḍito hoti,
You’re not an astute scholar
10yāvatā bahu bhāsati;
just because you speak a lot.
11Khemī averī abhayo,
One who is secure, free of enmity and fear,
12“paṇḍito”ti pavuccati.
is said to be astute.
13Na tāvatā dhammadharo,
You’re not one who has memorized the teaching
14yāvatā bahu bhāsati;
just because you recite a lot.
15Yo ca appampi sutvāna,
Someone who directly sees the teaching
16dhammaṁ kāyena passati;
after hearing only a little
17Sa ve dhammadharo hoti,
is truly one who has memorized the teaching,
18yo dhammaṁ nappamajjati.
for they can never forget it.
19Na tena thero so hoti,
You don’t become a senior
20yenassa palitaṁ siro;
by getting some grey hairs;
21Paripakko vayo tassa,
for one ripe only in age,
22“moghajiṇṇo”ti vuccati.
is said to have aged in vain.
23Yamhi saccañca dhammo ca,
One who is truthful and principled,
24ahiṁsā saṁyamo damo;
harmless, restrained, and self-controlled,
25Sa ve vantamalo dhīro,
attentive, purged of stains,
26“thero” iti pavuccati.
is said to be a senior.
27Na vākkaraṇamattena,
Not by mere enunciation,
28vaṇṇapokkharatāya vā;
or a beautiful complexion
29Sādhurūpo naro hoti,
does a person become holy,
30issukī maccharī saṭho.
if they’re jealous, stingy, and devious.
31Yassa cetaṁ samucchinnaṁ,
But if they’ve cut that out,
32mūlaghaccaṁ samūhataṁ;
dug it up at the root, eradicated it,
33Sa vantadoso medhāvī,
that wise one, purged of vice,
34“sādhurūpo”ti vuccati.
is said to be holy.
35Na muṇḍakena samaṇo,
A liar and breaker of vows is no ascetic
36abbato alikaṁ bhaṇaṁ;
just because they shave their head.
37Icchālobhasamāpanno,
How on earth can one be an ascetic
38samaṇo kiṁ bhavissati.
who’s full of desire and greed?
39Yo ca sameti pāpāni,
One who stops all wicked deeds,
40aṇuṁthūlāni sabbaso;
great and small,
41Samitattā hi pāpānaṁ,
because of stopping wicked deeds
42“samaṇo”ti pavuccati.
is said to be an ascetic.
43Na tena bhikkhu so hoti,
You don’t become a mendicant
44yāvatā bhikkhate pare;
just by begging from others.
45Vissaṁ dhammaṁ samādāya,
One who has undertaken domestic duties
46bhikkhu hoti na tāvatā.
has not yet become a mendicant.
47Yodha puññañca pāpañca,
But one living a spiritual life,
48bāhetvā brahmacariyavā;
who has banished both merit and evil,
49Saṅkhāya loke carati,
who wanders having appraised the world,
50sa ve “bhikkhū”ti vuccati.
is said to be a mendicant.
51Na monena munī hoti,
You don’t become a sage by being sagelike,
52mūḷharūpo aviddasu;
while still confused and ignorant.
53Yo ca tulaṁva paggayha,
The astute one who holds the scales,
54varamādāya paṇḍito.
taking only the best,
55Pāpāni parivajjeti,
and shunning the bad—
56sa munī tena so muni;
that is a sage, <j>and that is how one becomes a sage.
57Yo munāti ubho loke,
One who sagely weighs both in the world,
58“muni” tena pavuccati.
is thereby said to be a sage.
59Na tena ariyo hoti,
You don’t become a noble one
60yena pāṇāni hiṁsati;
by harming living beings.
61Ahiṁsā sabbapāṇānaṁ,
One harmless towards all living beings
62“ariyo”ti pavuccati.
is said to be a noble one.
63Na sīlabbatamattena,
Not by precepts and observances,
64bāhusaccena vā pana;
nor by much learning,
65Atha vā samādhilābhena,
nor by meditative immersion,
66vivittasayanena vā.
nor by living in seclusion,
67Phusāmi nekkhammasukhaṁ,
do I experience the bliss of renunciation
68aputhujjanasevitaṁ;
not frequented by ordinary people.
69Bhikkhu vissāsamāpādi,
A mendicant cannot rest confident
70appatto āsavakkhayaṁ.
without attaining the end of defilements.