Thag 6.12 - Brahmadatta
Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Source: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/thag/thag.06.12.than.html
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Copyright: ©2003 Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
License notice: The text of this page ("Brahmadatta", by Thanissaro Bhikkhu) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of the license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions.
Attribution: ©2003 Thanissaro Bhikkhu. The text of this page ("Brahmadatta", by Thanissaro Bhikkhu) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of the license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. Transcribed from a file provided by the translator. Last revised for Access to Insight on 30 November 2013. How to cite this document (a suggested style): "Brahmadatta" (Thag 6.12), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 30 November 2013, https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/thag/thag.06.12.than.html .
Changes: Presentation only: original HTML markup reflowed into plain text; wording, numbering and source repetitions retained. No repetitions expanded.
Completeness: ABBREVIATED. Every source-unit character is preserved, including introductions, notes and verse structure. Thanissaro's collection-level note explicitly states that repetitions were cut: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/about.html. This is evidence about the translation method, not an assertion that every individual unit contains an omission; no repetitions reconstructed.

Whence is there anger in one without anger tamed, calmed, living in tune, released through right gnosis, 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.

2. See SN 12.63.

3. See MN 19.

See also: SN 7.2, SN 11.5