Texts from the Buddhist canon : commonly known as Dhammapada

122 DHAMMAPADA.
"Amongst men there is no one who is not
blamed, from old time till now.^ Since they blame
the man of many words, they blame the patient and
they also blame the man who seeks the
quiet man ;
happy medium ; there is always blame in the world.
Those who desire to find fault with the righteous
(holy) man are never able to discriminate with
impartiality (take a middle course) ; they blame him
entirely or they praise him entirely, but it is all
done from some false idea of profit or fame.2 But
he whom the enlightened and wise praise, and whom
they consider and call upright and good, a^ man of
true wisdom and innocent life, without any ground
for censure in '
himself, as a Rabat for purity, there
is no blame for him—such an one the gods themr
selves must admire, even Brahma and ^akra must
praise such an one/'
Having concluded these stanzas, the World-honoured
One related this anecdote :— " There was in days gone by
a certain King, who loved above all things the flesh of the
wild goose for his daily food. Consequently he used to
keep a hunter (or fowler) for the express purpose of
snaring these birds, and providing flesh for the royal
table. One day the fowler having gone out for this pur-
pose, there came a flock of geese, 500 in number, with
their king at theu^ head, and alighted in search of food
just where the snares were set. In consequence the king
of the birds was trapped, and remained entangled in the
toils. Then the rest, in consternation, flew round and
round the place, but would not leave it. One of the geese
in particular kept flying close by the net, and, undaunted
by the arrows of the fowler, kept utteriag piteous cries,
1 Compare ver. 227 of the PaU. 2 These verses are very obseure.