The Enlightened One
![buddha1[1]](https://eddietwohawks.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/buddha11.jpg)
He conquers and is not conquered,
none in the world enters what he conquers,
he is the Buddha, the enlightened one,
infinitely aware, leader of himself,
impossible to describe in the languages of men.
No desires like nets trap him,
no passions like poison affect him.
He is the Buddha, the enlightened one,
infinitely aware, leader of himself,
impossible to describe in the languages of men.
Even the gods imitate wise men,
the enlightened, the dignified, the meditating, the free.
Hard it is to get born human,
hard it is to live like a human;
hard it is to listen to the Dhamma,
hard to achieve the state of enlightenment.
Avoid evil, do good, cleanse your mind,
this is the teaching of the enlightened one.
Be patient, long patience is high penance.
Nothing is higher than Nirvana.
No monk hurts, no ascetic oppresses another.
No malice, no injury,
disciplined eating and behaving,
high thinking and simple living,
this is the teaching of the enlightened ones.
A rain of gold coins will not quench passion.
The wise man knows, “Passions are passing and painful.”
Devine pleasures will not quench passion.
Delight lies only in the destruction of desire.
Afraid, man runs to a place of safety,
to mountains, forests, sacred trees, and shrines.
Nothing is safe, not one of these is safe!
when he arrives there, his passions accompany him.
The only safety is the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha,
the Four Noble Truths-the enlightened one knows this.
Suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering,
and the noble Eightfold Path that leads to the end of suffering…
That is your refuge, that only is safe;
having reached that safety, all sorrows cease.
A noble man is hard to find.
The house where he is born prospers.
Blessed is the birth of the enlightened one,
blessed is the teaching of Dhamma,
blessed are they who make the Sangha,
blessed are they who live in harmony.
The man who respects those worthy of respect
(whether the enlightened one or his disciples),
those who have conquered and crossed the stream of sorrow,
The man who pays respect to those
who are free from the world, free from fear,
such a man’s merit is measureless.
Buddha (Dhammapada)
Dhamma: the path of discipline in Buddhism
Sangha: a community of ordained Buddhist monks or nuns
EddieTwoHawks 
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