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Thag 6:12 Brahmadatta
This poem repeats a poem attributed to the Buddha in SN 7:2. The second and third stanzas also appear in a poem attributed to Sakka the deva-king in SN 11:5.
Whence is there anger
in one without anger
tamed, calmed, living in tune,
released through right knowing,
Such?
You make things worse
when you flare up
at someone who’s angry.
Whoever doesn’t flare up
at someone who’s angry
wins a battle
hard to win.
You live for the good of both
—your own, the other’s—
when, knowing the other’s provoked,
you mindfully grow calm.
When you work the cure of both
—your own, the other’s—
those who think you a fool
know nothing of Dhamma.
If anger arises,
reflect on the saw simile.1
If craving for savor,
remember the son’s-flesh simile.2
If your mind runs loose
after sensual pleasures
& states of becoming,
quickly restrain it with mindfulness
as you would a bad ox
eating grain.3
Notes
1. See MN 21 and MN 28.
2. See SN 12:63.
3. See MN 19.