1) The mind gives rise to all mental states and governs them. Viewing what is inessential as essential leads one to dwell in wrong thought and never arrive at the true essence. 2) Mindfulness leads to the deathless state while inattention leads to death. The mindful do not die while the inattentive are as if already dead. 3) All things, whether conditioned or unconditioned, are impermanent and not self. Seeing this brings purification and rejection of suffering.

1. Words of the

2. All mental states are preceded by mind.
Mind is their ruler, mind fashions them.

3. Viewing the inessential as essential,
And the essential as inessential,
Dwelling in Wrong Thought,
One never arrives at the essence.

4. One who looks only for pleasure,
With senses and appetite unrestrained,
Indolent and dissipated
Will surely be overpowered by Mara
For the wind easily fells a rotten tree.

5. Mindfulness is the path to the Deathless.
Inattention is the path to death.
The mindful do not die.
The inattentive are as if already dead.

6. Regard this fleeting world
Like stars fading and vanishing at dawn,
Like bubbles on a fast moving stream,
Like morning dewdrops evaporating on blades of grass,
Like a candles flickering in a strong wind,
Echos, mirages, and phantoms, hallucinations,
And like a dream.

7. Everything arises and passes away.
When you see this, you are above sorrow.
This is the shining way.
Existence is sorrow.
Understand, and go beyond.

8. Master your senses,
What you taste and smell,
What you see, what you hear.
In all things be a master
Of what you do and say and think.

9. Awaken, reflect, watch.
Work with care and attention.
Live in the Way
And the light will grow in you.
By watching and working
The master makes for himself an island
Which the flood cannot overwhelm.

10. Like a fish out of water,
Stranded on the shore,
Thoughts thrash and quiver,
For how can they shake off desire?
They tremble, they are unsteady,
They wander at their own will.
It is good to control them,
And to master them brings happiness.

11. How will you become free?
With a quiet mind.
Come into that empty house, your heart,
And feel the joy of the way
Beyond the world.
Look within - the rising and the falling.

12. How much finer
Is the fragrance of virtue
Than of sandalwood, rosebay,
Of the blue lotus or jasmine!
Their fragrance
Does not travel far.
But the fragrance of virtue
Rises to the heavens.
Desire never crosses the path
Of virtuous and wakeful men.
Their brightness sets them free.

13. All conditioned things are impermanent.
All conditioned things are unsatisfactory.
All things, conditioned and
Unconditioned, are not-self.
Seeing this with wisdom,
One rejects suffering.
This is the path of purification.

14. Letting go of past,
Letting go of future,
Letting go of present -
Cross to the far shore of existence.
With mind abiding in liberation,
There is no return to birth and decay.

15. Our life is shaped by our mind;
We become what we think.
Joy follows a pure thought,
Like a shadow that never leaves.

16. The good renounce everything.
The virtuous prattle not of sense desires.
When touched by pleasure or by pain,
Neither elated nor dejected are the wise.

17. A solid rock is not shaken by wind.
The wise are not moved by praise or blame.

18. A corporeal phenomenon, a feeling, a
perception, a mental formation, a
consciousness which is permanent, eternal
and not subject to change… such a thing I
do not recognize.

19. The traveler has reached the end of the journey
In the freedom of the infinite.
He is free from all sorrows;
The fetters that bound him are thrown away,
And the burning fever of life is no more.

20. More than those who hate you,
More than all your enemies,
An undisciplined mind does greater harm.

21. Just as a tree, though cut down,
Can grow again and again
If its roots are undamaged and strong,
In the same way,
If the roots of craving are not wholly
uprooted,
Sorrows will come again and again.

22. “I am” is a vain thought;
“I am not” is a vain thought;
“I shall be” is a vain thought;
“I shall not be” is a vain thought.

23. Remember that this body is like froth,
No more than a mirage,
Breaking the flower-tipped arrows of Mara.
Never again will death touch you.

24. It is better to conquer yourself
Than to win a thousand battles.
Then the victory is yours;
It cannot be taken from you.

25. If, hoping to be happy,
You strike at others who also seek happiness,
You will be happy neither here nor hereafter.

26. Like the flight of birds in the sky,
It is hard to follow the path of the selfless.
With their senses under control,
They know the meaning of freedom.

27. Better than a speech of a thousand vain words
Is one thoughtful word which brings peace to the mind.