A Collection of Buddhist Wisdom Verses - Ancient Buddhist Texts

4: Good
Dhp 251 Pañca-upāsakavatthu
The Great Defilements
While the Buddha is preaching the Dhamma, of
five lay followers one falls asleep, another
scratches the earth, one shakes a tree, another
looks at the sky and only one listens attentively.
The Buddha explains they were a snake, an
earthworm, a monkey, an astrologer and a
student of the Vedas in their previous births and
behave accordingly now.
76. Natthi rāgasamo aggi, natthi dosasamo gaho,
Natthi mohasamaṁ jālaṁ, natthi taṇhāsamā nadī.
There is no fire quite like passion,
Nothing takes a hold like hatred,
There is no snare like delusion,
Nothing sweeps one away like craving.
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