Verses of the Senior Monks 6.12

The Book of the Sixes

Chapter One

Brahmadatta

Whence anger for one free of anger,

tamed, living justly,

freed by right knowledge,

peaceful and unaffected?

When you get angry at an angry person

you just make things worse for yourself.

When you don’t get angry at an angry person

you win a battle hard to win.

When you know that the other is angry,

you act for the good of both

yourself and the other

if you’re mindful and stay calm.

People inexpert in the teaching

consider one who heals both

oneself and the other

to be a fool.

If anger arises in you,

reflect on the simile of the saw;

if craving for flavors arises in you,

remember the simile of the child’s flesh.

If your mind runs off

to sensual pleasures and future lives,

quickly curb it with mindfulness,

as one would curb a greedy cow eating grain.