8. The Thousands
Better than a thousand
meaningless sayings
is a single meaningful saying,
hearing which brings you peace.
Better than a thousand
meaningless verses
is a single meaningful verse,
hearing which brings you peace.
Better than reciting
a hundred meaningless verses
is a single saying of Dhamma,
hearing which brings you peace.
The supreme conqueror is
not he who conquers a million men in battle,
but he who conquers a single man:
himself.
It is surely better to conquer oneself
than all those other folk.
When a person has tamed themselves,
always living restrained,
no god nor centaur,
nor Māra nor divinity,
can undo the victory
of such a personage.
Rather than a thousandfold sacrifice,
every month for a full century,
it’s better to honor for a single hour
one who has developed themselves.
That offering is better
than the hundred year sacrifice.
Rather than serve the sacred flame
in the forest for a hundred years,
it’s better to honor for a single hour
a personage who has developed themselves.
That offering is better
than the hundred year sacrifice.
Whatever sacrifice or offering in the world
a seeker of merit may make for a year,
none of it is worth a quarter
of bowing to the sincere.
For one in the habit of bowing,
always honoring the elders,
four blessings grow:
lifespan, beauty, happiness, and strength.
Better to live a single day
ethical and absorbed in meditation
than to live a hundred years
unethical and lacking immersion.
Better to live a single day
wise and absorbed in meditation
than to live a hundred years
witless and lacking immersion.
Better to live a single day
energetic and strong,
than to live a hundred years
lazy and lacking energy.
Better to live a single day
seeing rise and fall
than to live a hundred years
blind to rise and fall.
Better to live a single day
seeing the state free of death
than to live a hundred years
blind to the state free of death.
Better to live a single day
seeing the supreme teaching
than to live a hundred years
blind to the supreme teaching.
