The Dhammapada

Chapter Twenty-Six -- The Holy Person

Exert yourself, O holy person! Cut off the
stream (of craving) and discard sense desires
Knowing the destruction of all conditioned things,
become, O holy person, a knower of the Uncreate (Nibbana)!

When a holy person has reached the summit
of the two paths (meditative concentration and
insight), that person knows the Truth and all fetters
fall away.

One for whom there is neither this shore
nor the other shore, nor yet both, one who is free of
cares and is unfettered--such a one do I call
a holy person.

One who is meditative and stainless, settled
and whose work is done, free from cankers, having
reached the highest goal--such a one do I call
a holy person.

The sun shines by day, the moon shines by
night. The warrior shines in armour, the holy
person shines in meditation. But the Buddha shines
resplendent all day and all night.

Because one has discarded evil, one is called
a holy person. Because one is serene in conduct,
one is called a recluse. And because one has
renounced one's impurities, one is called a renunciate.

One should not strike a holy person, nor
should a holy person, when struck, give way to
anger. Shame on one who strikes a holy person,
and more shame on one who gives way to anger.

Nothing is better for a holy person than
when one holds one's mind back from what is endearing.
To the extent that thoughts of harming
wear away, to that extent does suffering subside.

One who does no evil in deed, word and
thought, who is restrained in these three ways--
such a one do I call a holy person.

Just as a brahmin priest reveres his sacrificial
fire, even so should one devoutly revere the
person from whom one has learned the Dhamma
taught by the Buddha.

Not by matted hair, nor by lineage,
nor by birth does one become a holy person.
But one in whom truth and righteousness exist
--such a one is pure and is a holy person.

What is the use of your matted hair,
O witless person? What of your garment of antelope's
hide? Within you is the tangle (of passion),
only outwardly do you cleanse yourself.

The person who wears a robe made from
rags, who is lean, with veins showing all over the
body, and who meditates alone in the forest--
such a one do I call a holy person.

I do not call one a holy person because of
one's lineage or one's high-born mother. If one has
impeding attachments, one is just a supercilious
person. But one who is free from impediments and
clinging--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who, having cut off all fetters, trembles
no more, who has overcome all attachments and is
emancipated--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who has cut off the thong (of hatred),
the band (of craving), and the rope (of false views),
together with the appurtenances (latent evil
tendencies), one who has removed the crossbar
(ignorance) and is enlightened--such a one do I call
a holy person.

One who without resentment endures
abuse, beating and punishment, whose power,
real might, is patience--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who is free from anger, devout,
virtuous, without craving, self-subdued, bearing
one's final body--such a one do I call a holy person.

Like water on a lotus leaf or a mustard
seed on the point of a needle, one who does not
cling to sensual pleasures--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who in this very life realizes for oneself
the end of suffering, who has laid aside the burden
and become emancipated--such a one do I call a holy person.

One of profound knowledge, wise, skilled
in discerning the right or wrong path, who has
reached the highest goal--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who holds aloof from householders
and ascetics alike, and wanders about with no
fixed abode and but few wants--such a one do I call
a holy person.

One who has renounced violence towards
all living beings, weak or strong, who neither kills
no causes others to kill--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who is friendly amidst the hostile,
peaceful amidst the violent, and unattached amidst
the attached--such a one do I call a holy person.

One from whom lust and hatred, pride and
hypocrisy have fallen off like a mustard seed from
the point of a needle--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who utters gentle, instructive and truthful
words, who imprecates none--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who in this world takes nothing that
is not given to one, be it long or short, small or
big, good or bad--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who wants nothing of either this world
or the next, who is desire-free and emancipated--
such a one do I call a holy person.

One who has no attachment, who through
perfect knowledge is free from doubts and has
plunged into the Deathless--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who in this world has transcended the
ties of both merit and demerit, who is sorrowless,
stainless and pure--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who, like the moon, is spotless and
pure, serene and clear, who has destroyed the
delight in existence--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who, having traversed this miry, perilous
and delusive round of existence, has crossed
over and reached the other shore, meditative,
calm and free from doubt, clinging to nothing,
attained to Nibbana--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who, having abandoned sensual pleasures,
renounced the household life and become a
homeless one, has destroyed both sensual desire
and continued existence--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who, having abandoned craving, renounced
the household life and become a homeless
one, has destroyed both craving and continued
existence--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who, casting off human bonds and
transcending celestial ties, is wholly delivered of
all bondages--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who, having cast off likes and dislikes,
has become tranquil, rid of the substrata of
existence and like a hero has conquered all the
worlds--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who, in every way, knows the death
and rebirth of all beings, and is totally detached,
blessed and enlightened--such a one do I call a holy person.

One whose track no gods, no angels, no
humans trace, the Arahat who has destroyed all
cankers--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who clings to nothing of the past,
present and future, who has no attachment and
holds on to nothing--such a one do I call a holy person.

One, the Noble, the Excellent, the Heroic,
the Great Sage, the Conqueror, the Passionless,
the Pure, the Enlightened--such a one do I call a holy person.

One who knows one's former births, who
sees heaven and hell, who has reached the end of
births and attained to the perfection of insight,
the sage who has reached the summit of spiritual
excellence--such a one do I call a holy person.

v.383. "Holy person" is used rather than Buddharakkhita's "holy man" as a gender neutral term. "Holy man" was used as a makeshift rendering for brahmana, intended to reproduce the ambiguity of the Indian word. Originally men of spiritual stature, by the time of the Buddha the brahmins had turned into a privileged priesthood which defined itself by means of birth and lineage rather than by genuine inner sanctity. The Buddha attempted to restore to the word brahmana its original connotation by identifying the true "holy man" as the Arahat, who merits the title through his inward purity and holiness regardless of family lineage. The contrast between the two meanings is highlighted in verses 393 and 396. Those who led a contemplative life dedicated to gaining Arahatship could also be called brahmins, as in verses 383, 389 and 390.

v.385. This shore: the six sense organs; the other shore: their corresponding objects; both: I-ness and my-ness.

v.394. In the time of the Buddha, such ascetic practices as wearing matted hair and garments of hides were considered marks of holiness.