Nagarjunas Tree of Wisdom A Translation

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Oh, swan, who knew how to separate water and milk, What has become of your knowledge to-day? Any man who has work, great or small, And desires to do it, And in this endeavour does his best, Is considered to be doing a lion's work. So, in protecting his kingdom And in overcoming his venturesome rivals, A king should not rely on his subjects But do it personally in this present life. He who says to himself, 'who is the loved one and who the other,' Who acts affectionately, magnanimously And broadmindedly, such a man Controls the whole earthly globe.

By always uttering pleasant speeches It is easy for a king to beguile his people. But as regards profitable words, which are like medicine, The speaker is rarer than the listener. If you understand the purport of the doctrine As when the beam is at fault when weighing is done, Even if it was constructed by a reputed wise man, It is better to let your own conviction be the winner.

If he is equal in wealth and ability, If he knows the essential vital point and is diligent, A follower of this kind is sure to injure you. No enemy will injure you as he will. If the fear comes from the protector Who is there to protect you from this fear? A drum when not adjusted, does not give forth pleasant sounds. Even when adjusted the sound emitted is not sweet.

The world is like a small drum. It should be so adjusted as to give forth a melodious sound. The lord of the earth, being influenced by passionate desires, does not discriminate between benefit and injury. He conducts himself as he pleases, like a lust-maddened elephant.

Tortured by remorse, he falls over the precipice of despondent misery.

He blames those around and is ignorant of his own fault. In a time of disputes a king, rather than acquire wealth, Should preserve his life by abandoning property. Just as when the butcher shears the sheep's fleece The sheep thinks the sparing of its life to be a great gain. When there is a snake at the root and an eagle above, Monkeys climbing in the branches and the flowers surrounded by bees, Where a resting place is provided for all savage animals, Pay no heed to beware of such a sandalwood tree.

By whatever means you control your enemies It is not the physical ability but the method which matters. See how the crow with the string of golden beads Got the snake killed. He who has understanding is mighty. What can you do with might without understanding? How strong the lion was, Yet he was killed by the hare. If you want to have proper method in your work Consult those possessed of understanding. What need is there to speak of obtaining health, wealth and happiness? Even if you fail it will still look well. The conduct of the morally virtuous is self-evident, But how can it cure evil persons?

The man against whom you feel anger in your heart Is not to be admonished by words. Catch your enemy by the feet and Then admonish him with the weapon of words. In as far as danger has not been encountered In so far is danger to be feared. At the time of real danger It should be vanquished like a mistake which is acknowledged. As regards one who has imbibed the truth, Is it clever to impose upon such a man? Even when young, rejoice in the intense tranquillity of the old. Be not proud of what you know, even when learned. However great your glory, be forbearing in your manner.

However high you may rise, be not proud. Those who ever delight to benefit all creatures Are supreme like the lamp made from a jewel, Which relies not on oil Nor on the vessel nor on the wick for its light. A doctor taking food and not digesting it, A king speaking falsehoods, and A man of good birth misbehaving himself, These three are very unbecoming. By association with the exalted, Who would not become exalted? The thread on which the flowers are strung as a garland is attached to the head. He who preaches at the timely season And speaks when opportunity arises Will be very much remarked And obtain worldly greatness.

He who is possessed of diligence, courage, Might, wisdom, the power to subdue others, And perseverance, these six virtues, Is feared even by the gods.

As regards your former enemy, now defeated, Trust him not even when he wishes to become your friend. See how in the cave where the owls were gathered The raven lit a fire and they were burned. Eating, sleeping, fearing and copulating-- Man and the brutes are alike in these. By the practice of religion mankind is elevated If religion is not understood, is man not on a level with the brutes?

Those who speak ill of religion, Although they go and come by day, Are like the smith' s bellows: They have breath but they are not alive. Leaving the patron, Buddha, And bowing to other gods, Is like a fool who comes to the bank of the Ganges And being thirsty digs a well. Although you may remain in a country for a very long time It is absolutely certain that you will have to leave Whatever may be the difference in the parting.

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The actual going cannot be avoided. By compulsory separation excessive pain is infinitely caused to the mind. But if the giving-up is voluntary Infinite peaceful happiness will be obtained. One's desire is to be attractive and happy, And wealth is of course pleasant. But yet this world of existence Is like a healthy drunken person being carried. For living beings there is no moral defilement equal to lust. Nothing injures others as envy does, None is so fawning as a beggar, There is no friend or relative to equal generosity.

There is no eye like that of wisdom, There is no darkness like spiritual darkness, There is no enemy like disease, There is no danger to equal death. Comparing these, the most inexorable Is death, which will certainly come. Therefore let your mind be turned from desire And rejoice in the True Religion. It is well to have this friend and that gem.

The topaz being treated as the best of gems , Such a gem causes the ruin of the world. Whatever there be on the earth's surface, grain, Gold, cattle and good health, Not all these will suffice to satisfy one man. If you understand this you will obtain tranquillity. Wealth, hoarded with great pains And fondled handled at intervals, How it resembles the starving mouse who hoards his store. Wealth is merely a source of misery. Earthly life is not stable, Wealth and enjoyment are not stable, Wife and child are not abiding, Therefore trust in religion and good reputation.

A king is not satisfied with great riches, A clever man is insatiable for elegant sayings, The ocean is never sated with water, The world has never enough of the sight of beauty, Fire is not to be satisfied with wood, Nor is it possible to satisfy a child's desires. Moral conduct, self-restraint, And the control of the mind,-- Whoever bears these earnestly in mind And remains so, then what more does he need?

If you remain utterly contented You are far from the plane of the evil man. Pleasures which are bound by the ties of carnal desire Beget trouble at every step. This so-called body, full of faults, Has however one great moral quality. Whatever it encounters in this temporal life Its movements depend upon the steersman you. The forest elephant is powerful although he lives on grass. The serpent, although he lives on air, is not lean. The ascetics who have only a little grass and fruit are not of the past do not die.

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Thus, modesty and contentment are the only objects of attainment. Where is the solitary retreat where there is not Vegetation and dustless water? The moon is the public light. What is the use of personal property? The surest possession is real contentment. It is not difficult to earn your livelihood, whatever it may be. It is like places where there are grass, leaves and water. There is no place where these are not to be found. The tiger is chief of the forest and the elephant is leader.

Make of the grass your seat and your garments of tree-bark, And have the fruit of the trees for food. The evil society of poor relations is not real life. The man who, either in a good or bad style , Adapts himself somehow to what he has And continues to keep his body from impurity , What is the attraction of wealth to him?

With the price of great good actions The ship of your present body has been bought. So long as it is not wrecked, Strive to cross the ocean of human misery. For so long as the moon of pleasant times is waxing, And so long as Death, the planet Saturn, does not find you, So long live chastely And let your actions be right actions. When your eyes are fixed in unconsciousness And you have come to your last breath through constant hiccoughing, As one led in the dark to a great precipice, Of what assistance can child and wife be then?

He who yearns in pity, whose passions are controlled, who rejoices in contentment, Who is passionless, rejoices at the general happiness, lives in the woods, eats fallen fruits, Wears bark on his emaciated body, cries 'victor, victor' in the sweetest fashion to him who At Benares triumphed over the power of death, will yet have to discard this mortal body. Salvation is not to be found in believing in religious books not yet in freedom from bodily suffering.

Nagarjuna's Tree of Wisdom

If the thoughts are controlled by wisdom Then salvation is very near. To get rid of the contamination of moral faults What is the use of shaving your head? To him who has no covering for his mind What is the use of a cotton robe? He whose mind is imbued with compassion for all sentient beings, That is the way of salvation and divine wisdom. Ashes and long hair do not constitute the religious robe. He who is subdued in the prime of life I know for a really subdued person.

Over friends and kinred in the burning place There cames a change when the smoke has dispersed. As regards that which always accompanies you, If you are convinced that it is your own works, then practise acts of virtue. Wealth, acquired through great misery Or by acts contrary to religion, Or by bending before your enemy, Such wealth is not proper wealth. The holy man who is very firm in his longing to act nobly Is always miserable through the fear of being decried in society.

But the shameless man who spreads the root of perverse conduct, And does not discriminate between the proper and improper is happier on the whole. He who has not the sense to distinguish between the proper and improper, Who has abandoned all heed and observance of vows, Who only wishes to be filled with good food, What difference is there between a rich man of this kind and the beasts? The great source of virtues, both visible and invisible, is knowledge. Therefore, if you are striving to procure them. Take hold of wisdom in its entirety. A hero is born among a hundred, A clever man is found among a thousand, But the wise hero in a hundred thousand May be born in a thousand or not at all.

By the wise all sciences will be studied even when they are past middle age. Although there may be no results in this life It will become easier for them to obtain such in another life. Even when white-haired and wrinkled Learning from others should be treasured. Wherever the man of much learning may go He will not obtain the aggregate of learning. A king and an accomplished man-- These two are not alike. A king is esteemed in his own country, An accomplished man is esteemed everywhere.

Although the accomplished man have faults Philosophers will not grieve. Although the moon may become spotted stained The firm look at it with pleasure. Although the holy man may live far away His virtues act as a messenger. Through sniffing the perfume of the kitaka flower The bees are attracted themselves. If you are persevering in virtue What is the use of your haughty attitude?

The cow which has no milk, Even if a bell be attached to it, will not be purchased. Our existence is short but science is of many kinds. We may estimate life but we do not know how long it will be. So, like the swan which separates milk from water, Devote yourself to whatever you undertake. Although many large stars are gleaming And the moon too shines as an ornament of the earth, yet Whenever the sun sets it becomes night.

Except for the sun there is no meaning attached to the terms 'east' and 'west'. On whatever it shines Darkness is dispelled and light produced. The shining of the sun being supreme What is there in the shining of the other bodies? The man who accomplishes one single act thoroughly Excels all sentient beings--what need for many acts? As the moon, when full, lights the earth's surface-- A great multitude of stars have not this power. The growth of moral virtue depends on one's self.

The acquisition of property depends on previous merit. Why blame anybody for this? Moral virtues are to be obtained by making an effort, And as this effort rests with yourself, To say that others possess moral virtues-- Who could endure to lead such a life? Of those who understand the meaning of the scriptures There are many even among the crippled. It is a matter for rejoicing to find the sharp-pointed sword by which the enemy is conquered.

Rich men are to be found even among the barbarians And there are many heroes among the beasts, But holy men who can explain the various truths are the rarest of all. There are not sandalwood trees on all hills, Nor does one get pearls from all elephants. The learned who can explain the meaning of the Real Are not to be found everywhere. Real Truth is a virtue to the talented But a harmful thing to those without talent. The water of the river is very free from impurity; But, entering the ocean, it becomes undrinkable.

The cultured delight in culture: The uncultured find no pleasure in it. The bee is attracted from the forest by the lotus. The frogs, although living together, are not thus. The fame of the sagacious Increases among the sagacious themselves, As valuables among experts And heroes in battle. The swan does not look well in an assemblage of hawks, Nor the horse among the donkeys, Nor the lion among the foxes, Nor the clever man among fools.

That which is placed on their heads i. Though possessing it themselves unproclaimed While others have it in small measure, Holy men delight in such moral virtue. How remarkable is such conduct! The virtues of the omniscient Are comprehended only by the omniscient. If people mutually advertise each others' virtues, Even he who possesses none will acquire them. But he who proclaims his own virtues, Even were he Indra, would not be respected. There where the possession of learning is not respected Why should the learned man go thither? Alas, this stupid world Has not obtained personal independence i.

Of the two, the buffoon and the clever man, To the fool the laughter-maker is superior. The buffoon acquires wealth But the learned man goes empty-handed. By means of various records of profitable meaning The sage passes his time. The indigence consequent on abandoning religion May be acquired even in sleeping. He who in an assembly of many persons Makes no effort to obtain the virtues of the holy, What is the profit in such a one being born who is driven away by his own mother's pains?

The way of the wise man is knowledge, The way of the cuckoo is a sweet note, The way of the ascetic is patience, The way of a woman is perversity. Astronomy itself and doctrinal principles, The Eagle-spell and the repeating of spells, Of these the essential meaning should be seized.

Tree of Wisdom

Knowledge contained in books And wealth procured from others, When the time for needing them arrives, Are neither knowledge nor wealth. The accomplishments of the teacher of the arts Are but accomplishments for earning a living, But the study of the termination of earthly incarnation Why should that not be the accomplishment?

See, how for only giving a place to a monkey The man was made homeless. Some devote themselves to speech preaching , Some gain their object without speaking. The reed-flower has no fruit, The walnut has both flower and fruit. The fruit of the kataka tree Clears all water, But, if its name only be mentioned, This does not cause the mud in the water to subside.

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Although a man may be learned in written works, Yet if he does not apply what he knows He resembles the blind man who even with a lamp in his hand cannot see the road. Like the moon which waxes and wanes, In having recourse to the holy or impious A little virtue may be increased Or vast accomplishments may be decreased.

It is easier to have a clever man for one's enemy Than to be friends with the stupid unlearned. As in the stories of the protection of the Brahmin by a thief And of the monkey who squeezed the king's eyes. The clever, the disciplined, The contented and the truth-tellers, It is better for such to die Than to live in the kingdom of the evil. In the matter of a snake's venom and that of an evil man, An evil man is more venomons than a snake, For the snake's venom may be overeome by drugs and spells But what can soothe the venom of an evil man?

Although the evil may be benefited by a hundred talents Yet, even when happy, they use abusive language. He who is well edueated is firm. Although poor as a faqir he will not abandon virtue. The naturally evil man Is like the weighing scales-- A little thing sends him up And a little thing sends him down. Although smeared with sandalwood, musk and camphor The natural strong smell of garlic is not driven out. Although many texts may be well studied One does not drive out the natural evil in one's disposition.

There are no lotuses on the face of a holy man's son, Nor do horns grow on the heads of prostitutes' sons. But in so far as there was perversion in the act In so far is that the essential characteristic of the bastard. The word which is uttered is one thing And different from the thought in the mind. Alas, then, for the crooked-minded! Who can change this natural disposition? He assiduously retains his vices And ever discards the moral virtues. In retaining vice and discarding virtue The evil man resembles a strainer.

He who has been refuted by an evil man Loses confidence even in the holy. When a child's mouth has been scalded by hot milk He will drink curds only after blowing on them. Seeing the stars' reflection on the lake by night, The swan is disappointed in taking them for lotus shoots, So that even when he sees the real lotus shoot by day he will not eat it. When once refuted by a liar one will doubt even the truthful. A woman's appetite is twice that of a man , Her deceitfulness four times as much , Her shame six times, And her passions eight times--so it is said.

Not by gifts nor by attentions, Not by worship nor by veneration, Not by constant association nor by assiduity,-- By none of these is a woman to be resisted? By them one's object and religion are completely destroyed, They create an obstacle in the attainment of salvation, They become the cause of all mischief. Rather therefore avoid other men's womenfolk. If even one written verse of truth Is given by a Lama to his pupil, The gift given would be supreme. All worldly pleasures should be abandoned, But, if you are unable to abandon them, Then cling to the holy. That is the cure for it.

All desires should be abandoned, But, if you cannot abandon them, Let your desire be for salvation. The unhelpful relative is like a stranger, But he who helps, even if he be an outsider, is a relative. Like the body and its diseases which are with us And the beneficial medicine of solitude. If you hold, with assiduity, A pot half full of water On your head; so also if respected The evil man becomes excited angry. Whatever may be agreeable to your mind, Although it be far away is yet near.

That which is not kept firmly in mind, Although by your side is yet afar off. Though we may live in the society of the impious There is no intimacy like the water and the lotus. The holy may ever live far apart, Yet they rejoice like the moon and the water-lily. If you are ever desirous of friendship Then do not do these three: Laying wagers, money transactions, And speaking privily with women.

When milk is got from a horn, When the reed-flower drops honey, Then, when a woman is true, The lotus will grow in dry ground. A man possessed of very little moral merit, Even should he obtain abundance, knows not how to enjoy it, Like a dog on a lake of snow glacier Which, when thirsty, licks with its tongue. Those who do work in this world Would not properly carry provisions for the journey without payment; But beggars and the poor, without its being evident.

Have a hundredfold profit in the future. As we have to go, leaving wealth behind, Therefore men give alms.

As, even if you die your property is not lost, Realize that giving alms is like the act of a clever miser? Hesitating to impoverish themselves by charity, The miserly do not give alms. But this wealth being the real danger The learned man distributes his wealth. From your food, why not give about half to the beggars? The desire and the reward which charity brings Will be obtained at some time. Although you may get no results from your actions, still do not be grieved, For you can still give alms from what you possess.

Leaves, flowers, fruit, water and medicines, All these can ultimately be rendered inimitable by the power of mental dedication. As regards wealth which is devoid of charity and enjoyment neither given away nor enjoyed , To be the owner of such wealth is to err. Further, this is the place lit. Whatever may be done here, That same will certainly be enjoyed there i. The wealth, rank, beauty and health of others, Why be grieved in seeing these here below? If you desire these, is not the getting of the fruits of work from the seed of virtuous action applicable to you too?

If you have possessions and do not distribute them, What is the use of keeping them by you? The fruit of the kimpaka May grow, but what is its use in hunger? Whoever gives alms which do not harm others-- His various resulting pleasures will neither be carried away by water Nor burned by fire nor stolen by thieves. Such possessions will never be utterly destroyed. He who does not try a remedy for the disease of Hell i. Holy men are seized by the snake of words which comes from the pit of savage men.

As a means of allaying this poison Drink the medicine of wisdom and patience. But if your own anger be slain, That is to slay the real enemy. The mighty are not amenable to reform, Therefore why exercise patience with them. With, those who are disciplined and peaceful in conduct What necessity is there for patience?

If you are merely angry owing to an injury, Then why not be angry with anger which obviously destroys religious aims and salvation? He who, having seen the excellence of others, Is afflicted by disturbance in his own mind, Will not gain even a little of the Truth. Such a being destroys his own merit.

Let all hear this moral maxim, And having heard it keep it well: Whatever is not pleasing to yourself Do not that unto others. As regards the leaving of this mortal life, Who is not clever in knowing and speaking about it? To recognize the path that they forge for us and the wisdom to see it. All of our lives we have pretended and hidden our feelings from others.

We have tried hard to believe that there is this distance between us. In this misperception, we thought we could find comfort in isolation. But this comfort is fleeting when the soul speaks up in a longing for something more meaningful. It's about how to stop pretending and start being true to yourself. It's about stopping to make excuses and taking responsibility for your actions.

All of our life has been a struggle in trying to be free but the reality is the life you have created has been all about you. This is because you have allowed your ego to rule over you. In this realization comes a sense of freedom, a release from your self-imposed prison. When you have the key, you can unlock the doors of this dungeon and step into the light of the divine love of the way.

She-rab Dong-bu (The Tree of Wisdom) by Nagarjuna

Once in the light, you'll see that we all are brothers and sisters, all part of something bigger than we can imagine. In this oneness, there is a liberation of knowing that life and death are only illusions. Yes, the Tree of Wisdom contains this timeless knowledge for those who quest for it, that have a thirst for the cool waters of the fountain of life. The Tree of Wisdom by Nagarjuna is a treatise on morals and ethics written over 2, years ago. It's remarkable that this is only the second English translation of this ancient text from this incredible Indian philosopher.

The first translation into English was done by W. At the time of Campbell's translation, there was so already much lost to history in the allegories that the meaning couldn't be extrapolated for all the verses. This version has been interpreted into a more modern new age style yet it still possess the essence of the message that Nagarjuna implied.

I prefer to use the word interpretation over the word translation as this is more of a rendering constructed to clarify the meaning in such a way that it is easy to grasp the concepts. However, there are a few verses that have been left in the original Campbell translation as their relevance hasn't changed. The primary difference between the Tree of Wisdom and the Tao Te Ching is the Tree of Wisdom takes a more "matter of fact" practical approach to life where the Tao Te Ching is more spiritual and esoteric.

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