Dhammapada VI (Paṇḍitavagga / The Wise Man)

nidhīnaṁ va pavattāraṁ ~ yaṁ passe vajjadassinaṁ,

niggayhavādiṁ medhāviṁ ~ tādisaṁ paṇḍitaṁ bhaje,

tādisaṁ bhajamānassa ~ seyyo hoti na pāpiyo.

If you see an intelligent man who tells you where true treasures are to be found, who shows what is to be avoided, and administers reproofs, follow that wise man; it will be better, not worse, for those who follow him.

ovadeyyānusāseyya, ~ asabbhā ca nivāraye,

sataṁ hi so piyo hoti, ~ asataṁ hoti appiyo.

Let him admonish, let him teach, let him forbid what is improper!- -he will be beloved of the good, by the bad he will be hated. 

na bhaje pāpake mitte, ~ na bhaje purisādhame,

bhajetha mitte kalyāṇe, ~ bhajetha purisuttame. 

Do not have evil-doers for friends, do not have low people for friends: have virtuous people for friends, have for friends the best of men.

dhammapīti sukhaṁ seti, ~ vippasannena cetasā,

ariyappavedite dhamme ~ sadā ramati paṇḍito.

He who drinks in the law lives happily with a serene mind: the sage rejoices always in the law, as preached by the elect (Ariyas).

udakaṁ hi nayanti nettikā,

usukārā namayanti tejanaṁ,

dāruṁ namayanti tacchakā,

attānaṁ damayanti paṇḍitā.

Well-makers lead the water (wherever they like); fletchers bend the arrow; carpenters bend a log of wood; wise people fashion themselves.

selo yathā ekaghano ~ vātena na samīrati,

evaṁ nindāpasaṁsāsu ~ na samiñjanti paṇḍitā.

As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, wise people falter not amidst blame and praise.

yathā pi rahado gambhīro ~ vippasanno anāvilo,

evaṁ dhammāni sutvāna ~ vippasīdanti paṇḍitā.

Wise people, after they have listened to the laws, become serene, like a deep, smooth, and still lake.

sabbattha ve sappurisā vajanti,

na kāmakāmā lapayanti santo,

sukhena phuṭṭhā atha vā dukhena,
noccāvacaṁ paṇḍitā dassayanti.

Good people walk on whatever befall, the good do not prattle, longing for pleasure; whether touched by happiness or sorrow wise people never appear elated or depressed.

na attahetu na parassa hetu,
na puttam-icche na dhanaṁ na raṭṭhaṁ,
na iccheyya adhammena samiddhim-attano,
sa sīlavā paññavā dhammiko siyā.

If, whether for his own sake, or for the sake of others, a man wishes neither for a son, nor for wealth, nor for lordship, and if he does not wish for his own success by unfair means, then he is good, wise, and virtuous. 

appakā te manussesu ~ ye janā pāragāmino,

athāyaṁ itarā pajā ~ tīram-evānudhāvati. 

Few are there among men who arrive at the other shore (become Arhats); the other people here run up and down the shore.

ye ca kho sammad-akkhāte ~ dhamme dhammānuvattino

te janā pāram-essanti, ~ maccudheyyaṁ suduttaraṁ.

But those who, when the law has been well preached to them, follow the law, will pass across the dominion of death, however difficult to overcome. 

kaṇhaṁ dhammaṁ vippahāya ~ sukkaṁ bhāvetha paṇḍito,

okā anokaṁ āgamma ~ viveke yattha dūramaṁ. 

tatrābhiratim-iccheyya ~ hitvā kāme akiñcano,

pariyodapeyya attānaṁ ~ cittaklesehi paṇḍito.

A wise man should leave the dark state (of ordinary life), and follow the bright state (of the Bhikshu). After going from his home to a homeless state, he should in his retirement look for enjoyment where there seemed to be no enjoyment. Leaving all pleasures behind, and calling nothing his own, the wise man should purge himself from all the troubles of the mind.

yesaṁ sambodhi-aṅgesu ~ sammā cittaṁ subhāvitaṁ,

ādānapaṭinissagge ~ anupādāya ye ratā,

khīṇāsavā jutimanto ~ te loke parinibbutā.

Those whose mind is well grounded in the (seven) elements of knowledge, who without clinging to anything, rejoice in freedom from attachment, whose appetites have been conquered, and who are full of light, are free (even) in this world.