Vigilance
Vigilance is the path to the Deathless;
Negligence the path to death.
The vigilant do not die;
The negligent are as if already dead.
Knowing this distinction,
Vigilant sages rejoice in vigilance,
Delighting
In the field of the noble ones.
Absorbed in meditation, persevering,
Always steadfast,
The wise touch Nirvana,
The ultimate rest from toil.
Glory grows for a person who is
Energetic and mindful,
Pure and considerate in action,
Restrained and vigilant,
And who lives the Dharma.
Through effort, vigilance,
Restraint, and self-control,
The wise person can become an island
No flood will overwhelm.
Unwise, foolish people
Give themselves over to negligence.
The wise
Protect vigilance as the greatest treasure.
Don’t give yourself to negligence,
Don’t devote yourself to sensual pleasure.
Vigilant and absorbed in meditation,
One attains abundant happiness.
Driving away negligence with vigilance,
Ascending the tower of insight and free of sorrow,
A sage observes the sorrowing masses
As someone standing on a mountain observes
Fools on the ground below.
Vigilant among the negligent,
Wide awake among the sleeping,
The wise one advances
Like a swift horse leaving a weak one behind.
With vigilance, Indra became the greatest of the gods.
The gods praise vigilance,
Forever rejecting negligence.
The monastic who delights in vigilance
And fears negligence
Advances like a fire,
Burning fetters subtle and gross.
The monastic who delights in vigilance
And fears negligence
Is incapable of backsliding
And is quite close to Nirvana.
—The Dhammapada: A New Translation of the Buddhist Classic
Selections from Gil Fronsdal’s new translation of the Pali text that has inspired and guided countless practitioners on the Buddhist path.
