Chapter X, Section 1a

p. 36 CHAPTER X. PUNISHMENT. 129. All men tremble at punishment, all men fear death; remember that you are like unto them, and do not kill, nor cause slaughter. 130. All men tremble at punishment, all men love life; remember that thou art like unto them, and do not kill, nor cause slaughter. 131. He who seeking his own happiness punishes or kills beings who also long for happiness, will not find happiness after death. [129. One feels tempted, no doubt, to take upama in the sense of 'the nearest (der Nächste), the neighbour,' and to translate, 'having made oneself one's neighbour,' i.e. loving one's neighbour as oneself. But as upamäm, with a short a, is the correct accusative of upamâ, we must translate, 'having made oneself the likeness, the image of others, having placed oneself in the place of others.' This is an expression which occurs frequently in Sanskrit; cf. Hitopade s a I, 11: Prâ n â yathâtmano 'bhîsh t â bhûtânâm api te tathâ, Âtmaupamyena bhûteshu dayâ m kurvanti sâdhava h . 'As life is dear to oneself, it is dear also to other living beings: by comparing oneself with others, good people bestow pity on all beings.' See also Hit. I, 12; Râm. V, 23, 5, âtmânam upamâ m k ri tvâ sveshu dâreshu ramyatâm, 'making oneself a likeness, i.e. putting oneself in the position of other people, it is right to love none but one's own wife.' Dr. Fausböll has called attention to similar passages in the Mahâbhârata, XIII, 5569 seq. 130. Cf. St. Luke vi. 31 . 131. Dr. Fausböll points out the striking similarity between this verse and two verses occurring in Manu and the Mahâbhârata:-- Manu V, 45: Yo 'hi m sakâni bhûtâni hinasty âtmasukhe kkh ayâ, Sa g iva ms k a m ri tas k aiva na kva k it sukham edhate. Mahâbhârata XIII, 5568: Ahi m sakâni bhûtâni da nd ena vinihanti ya h , Âtmana h sukham i kkh an sa pretya naiva sukhî bhavet. If it were not for ahi m sakâni, in which Manu and the Mahâbhârata agree, I should say that the verses in both were Sanskrit modifications of the Pâli original. The verse in the Mahâbhârata presupposes the verse of the Dhammapada.] p. 37 132. He who seeking his own happiness does not punish or kill beings who also long for happiness, will find happiness after death. 133. Do not speak harshly to anybody; those who are spoken to will answer thee in the same way. Angry speech is painful, blows for blows will touch thee. 134. If, like a shattered metal plate (gong), thou utter not, then thou hast reached Nirvâ n a; contention is not known to thee. 135. As a cowherd with his staff drives his cows into the stable, so do Age and Death drive the life of men. 136. A fool does not know when he commits his evil deeds: but the wicked man burns by his own deeds, as if burnt by fire. 137.