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273. Of paths, the eightfold is the best.
Of truths, the four statements.
Detachment is the best of dhammas.
And of two-footed ones, the one endowed with eyes.
274. Just this path, There is no other
For purity of vision.
Do ye go along this [path];
This is what will bewilder Mara.
275. Entered upon this,
An end of misery you will make.
Proclaimed indeed is the path by me,
Having known the extrication of the arrows.
276. By you is the task strenuously to be done;
Tathagatas are proclaimers.
Entered upon this path, the meditators
Are released from the bond of Mara.
277. When through wisdom one perceives,
“All samkharas are transient,”
Then one is detached as to misery.
This is the path of purity.
278. When through wisdom one perceives,
“All samkharas are suffering,”
Then one is detached as to misery.
This is the path of purity.
279. When through wisdom one perceives,
“All dhammas are without self,”
Then one is detached as to misery.
This is the path of purity.
280. Who is not exerting at the time for exertion,
Young, strong, possessed of laziness,
With mind filled with confused notions, indolent, lethargic –
Does not find the way to wisdom.
281. Watchful of speech, well restrained in mind,
One would not do what is unwholesome by body too.
These three modes of action one would purify.
Let one fulfill the path made known by the sages.
282. From meditativeness arises the great;
From its absence, there is destruction of the great.
Having known this twofold path for gain and loss
Let one conduct oneself so that the great increases.
283. Cut down the forest! Not a tree.
From the forest, fear arises.
Having cut down both forest and underbrush,
O bhikkhus, be ye without forests.
284. Insofar as the underbrush is not cut away,
Even to the smallest bit, of a man for women,
Insofar is he one having [his] mind tethered,
Like a suckling calf to its mother.
285. Cut down affection for yourself,
As with the hand, an autumn lily.
Foster just the path to peace, Nibbana,
Taught by the One Who Has Travelled Well.
286. “Here I shall dwell during the rains,
Here in winter and summer, too.
So the childish one thinks.
He does not know of the danger.
287. That man of entangled mind,
Inebriated by sons and cattle,
Death carries away
Like a great flood, a sleeping village.
288. No sons there are for protection,
Neither father nor even relations,
For one seized by the End-Maker;
Among relations there is no protection.
289. Knowing this fact,
The wise one, restrained by virtue,
Would make clear, right quickly,
The path leading to Nibbana.