The flickering , fickle
mind,
Difficult to guard, difficult to control,
The wise man straightens,
As a fletcher straightens an arrow.
Like a fish drawn its
watery abode
And thrown upon land,
Even so does the mind flutter,
Hence should the realm of passions be shunned.
Good is it to control
the mind
Which is hard to check and swift
And flits wherever it desires.
A subdued mind is conducive to happiness.
Hard to perceive and extremely
subtle is this mind,
It roams wherever it desires.
Let the wise man guard it;
A guarded mind is conducive to happiness.
Faring afar, solitary,
incorporeal
Lying in the body, is the mind.
Those who subdue it are freed
From the bond od Mara.
He whose mind is inconstant,
He who knows not the true doctrine,
He whose confidence wavers -
The wisdom of such a one is never fulfilled.
He who is vigilant,
He whose mind is not overcome by lust and hatred,
He who has discarded both good and evil -
For such a one there is no fear.
Realizing that body is
fragile as a pot,
Establishing one's mind as firm as a fortified city,
Let one attack let one guard one's conqust
And afford no rest to Mara.
Soon, alas! will this
body lie
Upon the ground, unheeded,
Devoid of consciousness,
Even as useless log.
Whatever harm a foe may
do to a foe,
Or a hater to a hater,
An ill-directed mind
Can harm one even more.
What neither mother ,nor
father,
Nor any other relative can do,
A well-directed mind does
And thereby elevates one. |