Dhp 256
Dhp 256 · Vinicchayamahāmattavatthu
You don’t become justby passing hasty judgment.An astute person evaluates bothwhat is pertinent and what is irrelevant.
Na tena hoti dhammaṭṭho,yenatthaṁ sāhasā naye;Yo ca atthaṁ anatthañca,ubho niccheyya paṇḍito.
A wise one judges others without haste,justly and impartially;that guardian of the lawis said to be just.
Asāhasena dhammena,samena nayatī pare;Dhammassa gutto medhāvī,“dhammaṭṭho”ti pavuccati.
Dhp 258
Dhp 258 · Chabbaggiyavatthu
You’re not an astute scholarjust because you speak a lot.One who is secure, free of enmity and fear,is said to be astute.
Na tena paṇḍito hoti,yāvatā bahu bhāsati;Khemī averī abhayo,“paṇḍito”ti pavuccati.
Dhp 259
Dhp 259 · Ekudānakhīṇāsavavatthu
You’re not one who has memorized the teachingjust because you recite a lot.Someone who directly sees the teachingafter hearing only a littleis truly one who has memorized the teaching,for they can never forget it.
Na tāvatā dhammadharo,yāvatā bahu bhāsati;Yo ca appampi sutvāna,dhammaṁ kāyena passati;Sa ve dhammadharo hoti,yo dhammaṁ nappamajjati.
Dhp 260
Dhp 260 · Lakuṇḍakabhaddiyattheravatthu
You don’t become a seniorby getting some grey hairs;for one ripe only in age,is said to have aged in vain.
Na tena thero so hoti,yenassa palitaṁ siro;Paripakko vayo tassa,“moghajiṇṇo”ti vuccati.
One who is truthful and principled,harmless, restrained, and self-controlled,attentive, purged of stains,is said to be a senior.
Yamhi saccañca dhammo ca,ahiṁsā saṁyamo damo;Sa ve vantamalo dhīro,“thero” iti pavuccati.
Dhp 262
Dhp 262 · Sambahulabhikkhuvatthu
Not by mere enunciation,or a beautiful complexiondoes a person become holy,if they’re jealous, stingy, and devious.
Na vākkaraṇamattena,vaṇṇapokkharatāya vā;Sādhurūpo naro hoti,issukī maccharī saṭho.
But if they’ve cut that out,dug it up at the root, eradicated it,that intelligent one, purged of vice,is said to be holy.
Yassa cetaṁ samucchinnaṁ,mūlaghaccaṁ samūhataṁ;Sa vantadoso medhāvī,“sādhurūpo”ti vuccati.
Dhp 264
Dhp 264 · Hatthakavatthu
A liar and breaker of vows is no asceticjust because they shave their head.How on earth can one be an asceticwho’s full of desire and greed?
Na muṇḍakena samaṇo,abbato alikaṁ bhaṇaṁ;Icchālobhasamāpanno,samaṇo kiṁ bhavissati.
One who stops all wicked deeds,great and small,because of stopping wicked deedsis said to be an ascetic.
Yo ca sameti pāpāni,aṇuṁthūlāni sabbaso;Samitattā hi pāpānaṁ,“samaṇo”ti pavuccati.
Dhp 266
Dhp 266 · Aññatarabrāhmaṇavatthu
You don’t become a mendicantjust by begging from others.One who has undertaken domestic dutieshas not yet become a mendicant.
Na tena bhikkhu so hoti,yāvatā bhikkhate pare;Vissaṁ dhammaṁ samādāya,bhikkhu hoti na tāvatā.
But one living a spiritual life,who has banished both merit and evil,who wanders having appraised the world,is said to be a mendicant.
Yodha puññañca pāpañca,bāhetvā brahmacariyavā;Saṅkhāya loke carati,sa ve “bhikkhū”ti vuccati.
Dhp 268
Dhp 268 · Titthiyavatthu
You don’t become a sage by being sagelike,while still confused and ignorant.The astute one who holds the scales,taking only the best,
Na monena munī hoti,mūḷharūpo aviddasu;Yo ca tulaṁva paggayha,varamādāya paṇḍito.
and shunning the bad—that is a sage, <j>and that is how one becomes a sage.One who sagely weighs both in the world,is thereby said to be a sage.
Pāpāni parivajjeti,sa munī tena so muni;Yo munāti ubho loke,“muni” tena pavuccati.
Dhp 270
Dhp 270 · Bālisikavatthu
You don’t become a noble oneby harming living beings.One harmless toward all living beingsis said to be a noble one.
Na tena ariyo hoti,yena pāṇāni hiṁsati;Ahiṁsā sabbapāṇānaṁ,“ariyo”ti pavuccati.
Dhp 271
Dhp 271 · Sambahulasīlādisampannabhikkhuvatthu
Not by precepts and observances,nor by much learning,nor by meditative immersion,nor by living in seclusion,
Na sīlabbatamattena,bāhusaccena vā pana;Atha vā samādhilābhena,vivittasayanena vā.
do I experience the bliss of renunciationnot frequented by ordinary people.A mendicant cannot rest confidentwithout attaining the end of defilements.
Phusāmi nekkhammasukhaṁ,aputhujjanasevitaṁ;Bhikkhu vissāsamāpādi,appatto āsavakkhayaṁ.
Dhammaṭṭhavaggo ekūnavīsatimo.