The Just

He is not just if he decides a case arbitrarily; the wise man should decide after considering both what is right and what is wrong.

The wise man who decides not arbitrarily but in accordance with the law is one who safeguards the law; he is to be called 'one who abides by the law (dhammattho).'

He is not a wise man just because he talks much; only he who is peaceful, free from enmity, and does no harm to others, is to be called 'a wise man'.

He is not "one versed in the Dhamma (Dhammadhara)" just because he talks much. He who hears only a little but comprehends the Dhamma, and is not unmindful is, indeed, "one versed in the Dhamma".

He is not a thera just because his head is grey; he who is ripe only in years is called "one grown old in vain".

Only a wise man who comprehends the Four Noble Truths and the Dhamma, who is harmless and virtuous, who restrains his senses and has rid himself of moral defilements is indeed called a thera.

Not by fine talk, nor by good looks could one be a good-hearted man, if he were envious, miserly and crafty.

A wise man who has cut off, uprooted and removed these and has rid himself of moral defilements is indeed called a good-hearted man.

Not by a shaven head does a man become a samana, if he lacks morality and austere practices and tells lies. How could he who is full of covetousness and greed be a samana?

He who has totally subdued all evil, great and small, is called a samana because he has overcome all evil.

He does not become a bhikkhu merely because he stands at the door for alms. He cannot become a bhikkhu because he acts according to a faith which is not in conformity with the Dhamma.

In this world, he who lays aside both good and evil, who leads the life of purity, and lives meditating on the khandha aggregates is indeed called a bhikkhu.

Not by silence does one become a muni, if one is dull and ignorant. Like one holding a pair of scales, the wise one takes what is good and rejects what is evil.

For this reason he is a muni. He who understands both internal and external aggregates is also, for that reason, called a muni.

He who harms living beings is, for that reason, not an ariya (a Noble One); he who does not harm any living being is called an ariya.

Not only by mere moral practice, nor by much learning, nor by acquiring concentration, nor by dwelling in seclusion, nor by assuring oneself,

"I enjoy the bliss of Anagami Fruition that is not enjoyed by common worldlings (puthujjanas)," should the bhikkhu, rest content without attaining the extinction of moral intoxicants (asavas) [i.e., without attaining arahatship].