Dhp XVII : Anger

Abandon anger,

be done with conceit,

get beyond every fetter.

When for name & form

you have no attachment

–have nothing at all–

no sufferings, no stresses, invade.

When anger arises,

whoever keeps firm control

as if with a racing chariot:

him

I call a master charioteer.

Anyone else,

a rein-holder–

that’s all.

Conquer anger

with lack of anger;

bad with good;

stinginess with a gift;

a liar with truth.

By telling the truth;

by not growing angry;

by giving, when asked,

no matter how little you have:

by these three things

you enter the presence of devas.

Gentle sages,

constantly restrained in body,

go to the unwavering state

where, having gone,

there’s no grief.

Those who always stay wakeful,

training by day & by night,

keen on Unbinding:

their effluents come to an end.

This has come down from old, Atula,

& not just from today:

they find fault with one

who sits silent,

they find fault with one

who speaks a great deal,

they find fault with one

who measures his words.

There’s no one unfaulted in the world.

There never was,

will be,

nor at present is found

anyone entirely faulted

or entirely praised.

If knowledgeable people praise him,

having observed him

day after day

to be blameless in conduct, intelligent,

endowed with discernment & virtue:

like an ingot of gold–

who’s fit to find fault with him?

Even devas praise him.

Even by Brahma he’s praised.

Guard against anger

erupting in body;

in body, be restrained.

Having abandoned bodily misconduct,

live conducting yourself well

in body.

Guard against anger

erupting in speech;

in speech, be restrained.

Having abandoned verbal misconduct,

live conducting yourself well

in speech.

Guard against anger

erupting in mind;

in mind, be restrained.

Having abandoned mental misconduct,

live conducting yourself well

in mind.

Those restrained in body

–the enlightened–

restrained in speech & in mind

–enlightened–

are the ones whose restraint is secure.