Chapter XIX, Section 1a

p. 64 CHAPTER XIX. THE JUST. 256., 257. A man is not just if he carries a matter by violence; no, he who distinguishes both right and wrong, who is learned and leads others, not by violence, but by law and equity, and who is guarded by the law and intelligent, he is called just. 258. A man is not learned because he talks much; he who is patient, free from hatred and fear, he is called learned. 259. A man is not a supporter of the law because he talks much; even if a man has learnt little, but sees the law bodily, he is a supporter of the law, a man who never neglects the law. 260. A man is not an elder because his head is grey; his age may be ripe, but he is called 'Old-in-vain.' 261. He in whom there is truth, virtue, love, restraint, moderation, he who is free from impurity and is wise, he is called an elder. 262. An envious, greedy, dishonest man does not become respectable by means of much talking only, or by the beauty of his complexion. 263. He in whom all this is destroyed, and taken out with the very root, he, when freed from hatred and wise, is called respectable. [259. Buddhaghosa here takes law (dhamma) in the sense of the four great truths, see note to verse 190 . Could dhamma m kâyena passati mean, 'he observes the law in his acts?' Hardly, if we compare expressions like dhamma m vipassato, v. 373 .] p. 65 264. Not by tonsure does an undisciplined man who speaks falsehood become a Sama n a; can a man be a Sama n a who is still held captive by desire and greediness? 265. He who always quiets the evil, whether small or large, he is called a Sama n a (a quiet man), because he has quieted all evil. 266. A man is not a mendicant (Bhikshu) simply because he asks others for alms; he who adopts the whole law is a Bhikshu, not he who only begs. 267. He who is above good and evil, who is chaste, who with knowledge passes through the world, he indeed is called a Bhikshu. 268., 269. A man is not a Muni because he observes silence (mona, i.e. mauna), if he is foolish [265. This is a curious etymology, because it shows that at the time when this verse was written, the original meaning of s rama n a had been forgotten. S rama n a meant originally, in the language br the Brahmans, a man who performed hard penances, from s ram, 'to work hard,' &c. When it became the name of the Buddhist ascetics, the language had changed, and s rama n a was pronounced sama n a. Now there is another Sanskrit root, s am, 'to quiet,' which in Pâli becomes likewise sam, and from this root sam, 'to quiet,' and not from s ram, 'to tire,' did the popular etymology of the day and the writer of our verse derive the title of the Buddhist priests. The original form s rama n a became known to the Greeks as {Greek: Sarmanai }, that of sama n a as {Greek: Samanaioi }; the former through Megasthenes, the latter through Bardesanes, 80-60 B.C.