The Fools
60
Long is the night to the sleepless;
long is the league to the weary.
Long is worldly existence to fools
who know not the Sublime Truth.
61
Should a seeker not find
a companion who is better or equal,
let him resolutely pursue a solitary course;
there is no fellowship with the fool.
62
The fool worries, thinking,
"I have sons, I have wealth."
Indeed, when he himself is not his own,
whence are sons, whence is wealth?
63
A fool who knows his foolishness
is wise at least to that extent,
but a fool who thinks himself wise
is called a fool indeed.
64
Though all his life a fool associates
with a wise man,
he no more comprehends
the Truth
than a spoon tastes the flavour of the soup.
65
Though only for a moment
a discerning person associates
with the wise man,
quickly he comprehends the Truth,
just as the tongue tastes
the flavour of the soup.
66
Fools of little wit are enemies
unto themselves as they move about
doing evil deeds,
the fruits of which are bitter .
67
Ill done is that action doing
which one repents later,
and the fruit of which one,
weeping, reaps with tears.
68
Well done is that action doing
which one repents not later,
and the fruit of which one reaps
with delight and happiness.
69
So long as an evil deed has not ripened,*
the fool thinks it as sweet as honey.
But when the evil deed ripens,
the fool comes to grief.
70
Month after month
a fool may eat his food
with the tip of a blade of grass,
but he still is not worth
a sixteen part
of those who have comprehended
the Truth.
71
Truly, an evil deed committed
does not immediately bear fruit,
like milk that does not
turn sour all at once.
But smouldering, it follows the fool
like fire covered by ashes.
72
To his own ruin
the fool gains knowledge,
for it cleaves his head and
destroys his innate goodness.
73
The fool seeks undeserved reputation,
precedence among monks,
authority over monasteries,
and honour among householders.
74
"Let both laymen and monks
think that it was done by me.
In every work, great and small,
let them follow me"
-- such is the ambition of the fool;
this his desire and pride increase.
75
One is the quest for worldly gain,
and quite another is the path to Nibbana.
Clearly understanding this,
let not the monk,
the disciple of the Buddha,
be carried away by worldly acclaim,
but develop detachment instead.
*Ripened:
Karmic result not always immediate, but may fructify in a future lifetime.
