Chapter I, Section 1d

He suffers when he thinks of the evil he has done; he suffers more when going on the evil path. 18. The virtuous man is happy in this world, and he is happy in the next; he is happy in both. He is happy when he thinks of the good he has done; he is still more happy when going on the good path. 19. The thoughtless man, even if he can recite a large portion (of the law), but is not a doer of it, has no share in the priesthood, but is like a cowherd counting the cows of others. [16. Like klish t a in the preceding verse, vi s uddhi in the present has a technical meaning. One of Buddhaghosa's most famous works is called Visuddhi-magga. See Burnouf, Lotus, p. 844; Beal, Dhammapada, p. 67. 17, 18. 'The evil path and the good path' are technical expressions for the descending and ascending scale of worlds through which all beings have to travel upward or downward, according to their deeds; see Bigandet; Life of Gaudama, p. 5, note 4, and p. 449; Burnouf, Introduction, p. 599; Lotus, p. 865, l. 7; l. 11. Fausböll translates 'heaven and hell,' which comes to the same; cf. vv. 126 , 306 . 19. In taking sahitam in the sense of sa m hitam or sa m hitâ, I follow the commentator who says, Tepi t akassa Buddhava k anass' eta m nâma m , but I cannot find another passage where the Tipi t aka, or any portion of it, is called Sahita. Sa m hita in vv. 100-102 has a different meaning. The fact that some followers of Buddha were allowed to learn short portions only of the sacred writings by heart, and to repeat them, while others had to learn a larger collection, is shown by the story of K akkhupâla, p. 3. of Mahâkâla, p. 26, &c. See Childers, s.v. sahita.] p. 8 20. The follower of the law, even if he can recite only a small portion (of the law), but, having forsaken passion and hatred and foolishness, possesses true knowledge and serenity of mind, he, caring for nothing in this world or that to come, has indeed a share in the priesthood. [20. Sâma ññ a, which I have rendered by 'priesthood,' expresses all that belongs to, or constitutes a real Sama n a or S rama n a, this being the Buddhist name corresponding to the Brâhma n a, or priest, of the orthodox Hindus. Buddha himself is frequently called the Good Sama n a. Fausböll takes the abstract word sâma ññ a as corresponding to the Sanskrit sâmânya, 'community,' but Weber has well shown that it ought to be taken as representing s râma n ya. He might have quoted the Sâma ññ a-phala-sutta, of which Burnouf has given such interesting details in his Lotus, p. 449 seq. Fausböll also, in his notes on v. 332, rightly explains sâma ññ atâ by s râma n yatâ. See Childers, s.v. sâma ññ a. Anupâdiyâno, which I have translated by 'caring for nothing,' has a technical meaning.