Stains
A stain here is a fault that eats away at the person who carries it, like rust on iron. The chapter opens with a stark reminder that life is short and death waits, and urges the reader to make an island of themselves and remove their faults gradually, as a smith refines silver. It lists the stains of hymns, houses, beauty and givers, and names ignorance the worst stain of all. It says it is easy to see others’ faults and hard to see one’s own, and that always hunting for others’ flaws only makes one’s own grow. Greed, hate, delusion and craving are called the fire, the crime, the net and the river.
A note on these verses. Verses 235–238 speak of Yama, death’s realm, heaven and being born again; verse 242 reads harshly, calling misconduct “a woman’s stain”; verses 246–247 list killing, lying, stealing, adultery and drinking.
Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · public domain (CC0) · about 2 min · on SuttaCentral
235Today you’re like a withered leaf,Yama’s men await you.You stand at the departure gates,yet you have no supplies for the road.
236Make an island of yourself!Swiftly strive, learn to be wise!Purged of stains, flawless,you’ll go to the heavenly realm of the noble ones.
237You’ve journeyed the stages of life,and now you set out to meet Yama.Along the way there’s nowhere to stay,yet you have no supplies for the road.
238Make an island of yourself!Swiftly strive, learn to be wise!Purged of stains, flawless,you’ll not come again to rebirth and old age.
239A smart person would purgetheir own stains gradually,bit by bit, moment by moment,like a smith smelting silver.
240It is the rust born on the ironthat eats away the place it arose.And so it is their own deedsthat lead the overly-ascetic to a bad place.
241Not rehearsing is the stain of hymns.The stain of houses is neglect.Laziness is the stain of beauty.A guard’s stain is negligence.
242Misconduct is a woman’s stain.A giver’s stain is stinginess.Bad qualities are a stainin this world and the next.
243But a worse stain than theseis ignorance, the worst stain of all.Having given up that stain,be without stains, mendicants!
244Life is easy for the shameless.With all the rude courage of a crow,they live pushy,rude, and corrupt.
245Life is hard for the conscientious,always seeking purity,neither clinging nor rude,pure of livelihood and discerning.
246Take anyone in this worldwho kills living creatures,speaks falsely, steals,commits adultery,
247and indulges in drinkingbeer and wine.Right here they dig upthe root of their own self.
248Know this, my man:they are unrestrained and wicked.Don’t let that greed and unrighteousnessinflict pain on you for long.
249The people give according to their faith,according to their confidence.If you get upset over that,over others’ food and drink,you’ll not, by day or by night,become immersed in samādhi.
250Those who have cut that out,dug it up at the root, eradicated it,they will, by day or by night,become immersed in samādhi.
251There is no fire like greed,no crime like hate,no net like delusion,no river like craving.
252It’s easy to see the faults of others,hard to see one’s own.For the faults of othersare tossed high like hay,while one’s own are hidden,as a cheat hides a bad hand.
253When you look for the flaws of others,always finding fault,your defilements only grow,you’re far from ending defilements.
254In the atmosphere there is no track,there’s no true ascetic outside here.People enjoy proliferation,the Realized Ones are free of proliferation.
255In the atmosphere there is no track,there’s no true ascetic outside here.No conditions last forever,the Awakened Ones are not shaken.