5. The
Fool
Long is the night for the sleepless.
Long is the road for the weary. Long is samsara (the cycle of continued
rebirth) for the foolish, who have not recognised the true teaching. 60
If on one's way one does not
come across one's better or an equal, then one should press on resolutely
alone. There is no companionship with a fool. 61
"I've got children", "I've
got wealth." This is the way a fool brings suffering on himself. He does
not even own himself, so how can he have children or wealth? 62
A fool who recognises his own
ignorance is thereby in fact a wise man, but a fool who considers himself
wise - that is what one really calls a fool. 63
Even if a fool lived with a
wise man all his life, he would still not recognise the truth, like a wooden
spoon cann
Even if a man of intelligence
lives with a wise man only for a moment, he will immediately recognise
the truth, like one's tongue recognises the flavour of the soup. 65
Stupid fools go through life
as their own enemies, doing evil deeds which have bitter consequences.
66
A deed is not well done if
one suffers after doing it, if one bears the consequences sobbing and with
tears streaming down one's face. 67
But a deed is well done if
one does not suffer after doing it, if one experiences the consequences
smiling and contented. 68
A fool thinks it like honey
so long as the bad deed does not bear fruit, but when it does bear fruit
he experiences suffering. 69
Even if a fool were to take
his food month after month off the tip of a blade of grass, he would still
not be worth a fraction of those who have understood the truth. 70
Like fresh milk a bad deed
does not turn at once. It follows a fool scorching him like a smouldering
fire. 71
A fool acquires knowledge only
to his own disadvantage. It destroys what good he has, and turns his brains.
72
One may desire a spurious respect
and precedence among one's fellow monks, and the veneration of outsiders.
"Both monks and laity should think it was my doing. They should accept
my authority in all matters great or small." This is a fool's way of thinking.
His self-seeking and conceit just increase. 73, 74
One way leads to acquisition,
the other leads to nirvana. Realising this a monk, as a disciple of the
Buddha, should take no pleasure in the respect of others, but should devote
himself to solitude. 75
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