a rare excerpt from the Dhammapada

It's rare that I quote from the Buddhist scripture called the Dhammapada (dhamma is the Pali way to say dharma, a word that translates many ways, e.g., law, nature, teaching, role, etc.). In fact, I don't think I've ever quoted it on this blog before. It's a scripture that's more associated with Theravada/Hinayana Buddhism than with Mahayana Buddhism, the latter being the style of Buddhism I'm more familiar with. 

I've added my own commentary in blue. This is from a chapter called "The Fool."

60. Long is the night to the sleepless; long is the league to the weary. Long is worldly existence to fools who know not the Sublime Truth.

I'm strangely reminded of every stupid student I've ever taught. Stupid students are the ones most likely to get restless in class and to declare, regarding whatever the activity might be, "This is stupid." Smart kids, by contrast, find something interesting no matter what situation they find themselves in. For stupid kids, school must be a hellish eternity. Fools, being obtuse, are circumscribed by their own unawareness, making almost everything they engage in a form of drudgery. Fools always pick the most difficult, inefficient path. This calls to mind the Buddhist concept of upaya, skillful means. Rather than speak of good or bad, Buddhists often frame thoughts and actions in terms of skillful and unskillful.

61. Should a seeker not find a companion who is better or equal, let him resolutely pursue a solitary course; there is no fellowship with the fool.

Don't hang with fools or losers. Then again, losers could be a subtype of fool.

62. The fool worries, thinking, "I have sons; I have wealth." Indeed, when he himself is not his own, whence are sons, whence is wealth?

I admit this one stumps me. What do you think the above means?

63. A fool who knows his foolishness is wise at least to that extent, but a fool who thinks himself wise is a fool indeed.

Thousands of years ago, they understood the Dunning-Kruger effect. Fools often have courage and confidence born of stupidity. They certainly tend to think they are more competent than they really are. Quite a few people are this way.

64. Though all his life, a fool associates with a wise man, he no more comprehends the Truth than a spoon tastes the flavor of the soup.

In Christian language, we're talking about throwing pearls before swine.

65. Though only for a moment, a discerning person associates with a wise man, quickly he comprehends the Truth, just as the tongue tastes the flavor of the soup.

The key, of course, is to be discerning. When you're discerning, you have the mind that accepts and gathers wisdom from the wise. When you lack discernment... well, we're back to pearls and swine again.

66. Fools of little wit are enemies unto themselves as they move about doing evil deeds, the fruits of which are bitter.

Ah, to be stupid and unaware of the consequences of your stupidity. How nice it must be to bumble around, causing havoc without noticing the mayhem.

67. Ill done is that action of doing which one repents later, and the fruit of which one, weeping, reaps with tears.

I suppose even a fool might regret some moronic action.

68. Well done is that action of doing which one repents not later, and the fruit of which one reaps with delight and happiness.

This and the previous bit of wisdom sound as if they have to do with karma (Pali kamma), the law of cause and effect, or the law of action. I don't really believe in karma as a type of blind, universal justice. In the real world, bad and stupid people get away with horrible actions all the time. They pay no price, and many of them die happy. A more naturalistic interpretation of karma, though, may be possible. Act like an asshole to everyone, and eventually, someone's going to act like an asshole to you.

69. So long as an evil deed has not ripened, the fool thinks it as sweet as honey. But when the evil deed ripens, the fool comes to grief.

Cheat on your partner, and it's all fun and games until she finds out.

70. Month after month, a fool may eat his food with the tip of a blade of grass, but he still is not worth a sixteenth part of the those who have comprehended the Truth.

I assume the "blade of grass" image has to do with disciplined eating. The proverb may be saying that simply aping holy, disciplined actions is not enough—that is merely a hollow, external gesture, not a deep, internal reality.

71. Truly, an evil deed committed does not immediately bear fruit, like milk that does not turn sour all at once. But smoldering, it follows the fool like fire covered by ashes.

Our actions may have consequences that take time to make themselves known.

72. To his own ruin, the fool gains knowledge, for it cleaves his head and destroys his innate goodness.

I'm having a hard time understanding this one. It could mean that the gaining of knowledge—which "cleaves the head"—is what happens when the mind gets bogged down in its own dualistic, discriminatory nature, i.e., the world of me/you, this/that, yes/no, true/false, etc. We traffic in these binaries because they help us make sense of our world, but were we to see the world truly, we would understand that the world simply is, existing in its own nondualistic suchness. One's innate goodness is destroyed as one's mind becomes more and more dualistic and discriminatory.

73. The fool seeks undeserved reputation, precedence among monks, authority over monasteries, and honor among householders.

This one is more straightforward. It feels almost biblical. And while the concept of vainly seeking authority, honor, and reputation is being applied to fools, it also applies to overtly evil people, too. M. Scott Peck's People of the Lie gets into the question of evil, with Dr. Peck concluding that, among the many things evil is, evil is malignant narcissism. Evil people compulsively see themselves as good and shy away from being exposed for who/what they really are. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, it's said.

74. "Let both laymen and monks think that it was done by me. In every work, great and small, let them follow me" — such is the ambition of the fool; thus his desire and pride increase.

So here, we're obviously talking about vanity, which can be seen as a species of narcissism. Fools and evil people want to be seen as people of virtue, pillars of the community.

75. One is the quest for worldly gain, and quite another is the path to Nibbana (Skt. nirvana). Clearly understanding this, let not the monk, the disciple of the Buddha, be carried away by worldly acclaim, but develop detachment instead.

The path to nirvana is therefore not the path of vanity or self-aggrandizement.

I've got the Dhammapada in my tiny library here in Seoul. Maybe I should set about reading it systematically. It's been a while since I really plunged into any sort of scripture.