1. If one holds oneself dear, one should diligently watch oneself. Let the wise man keep vigil during any of the three watches of the night.

2. One should first establish oneself in what is proper; then only should one instruct others. Thus the wise man will not be reproached.

3. One should do what one teaches others to do; if one would train others, one should be well controlled oneself. Difficult, indeed, is self-control.

4. One truly is the protector of oneself; who else could the protector be? With oneself fully controlled, one gains a mastery that is hard to gain.

5. The evil a witless man does by himself, born of himself and produced by himself, grinds him as a diamond grinds a hard gem.

6. Just as a single creeper strangles the tree on which it grows, even so, a man who is exceedingly depraved harms himself as only an enemy might wish.

7. Easy to do are things that are bad and harmful to oneself. But exceedingly difficult to do are things that are good and beneficial.

8. Whoever, on account of perverted views, scorns the Teaching of the Perfected Ones, the Noble and Righteous Ones — that fool, like the bamboo, produces fruits only for self destruction. [14]

9. By oneself is evil done; by oneself is one defiled. By oneself is evil left undone; by oneself is one made pure. Purity and impurity depend on oneself; no one can purify another.

10. Let one not neglect one’s own welfare for the sake of another, however great. Clearly understanding one’s own welfare, let one be intent upon the good.

“Attavagga: The Self” (Dhp XII), translated from the Pali by Acharya Buddharakkhita. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 30 November 2013.
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157

If you hold yourself dear
then guard, guard yourself well.
The wise person would stay awake
nursing himself
in any of the three watches of the night,
the three stages of life.

158

First

he’d settle himself

in what is correct,

only then

teach others.

He wouldn’t stain his name

he is wise.

159

If you’d mold yourself
the way you teach others,
then, well-trained,
go ahead & tame —
for, as they say,
what’s hard to tame is you
yourself.

160

Your own self is
your own mainstay,
for who else could your mainstay be?
With you yourself well-trained
you obtain the mainstay
hard to obtain.

161

The evil he himself has done
— self-born, self-created —
grinds down the dullard,
as a diamond, a precious stone.

162

When overspread by extreme vice —
like a sal tree by a vine —
you do to yourself
what an enemy would wish.

163

They’re easy to do —
things of no good
& no use to yourself.
What’s truly useful & good
is truly harder than hard to do.

164

The teaching of those who live the Dhamma,
worthy ones, noble:
whoever maligns it
— a dullard,
inspired by evil view —
bears fruit for his own destruction,
like the fruiting of the bamboo.

165

Evil is done by oneself

by oneself is one defiled.
Evil is left undone by oneself

by oneself is one cleansed.
Purity & impurity are one’s own doing.
No one purifies another.
No other purifies one.

166

Don’t sacrifice your own welfare
for that of another,
no matter how great.
Realizing your own true welfare,
be intent on just that.

“Attavagga: Self” (Dhp XII), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 30 November 2013.
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