Dhammapada 423

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who knows his former abodes, who sees heaven and hell, has reached the end of births, is perfect in knowledge, a sage, and whose perfections are all perfect. 

Dhammapada 422

Him I call indeed a Brahmana, the manly, the noble, the hero, the great sage, the conqueror, the impassible, the accomplished, the awakened. 

IMAGE: Kishi Ganku, Buddhist Sage (1756) 

Dhammapada 421

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who calls nothing his own—whether it be before, behind, or between—who is poor, and free from the love of the world. 

IMAGE: James McNeill Whistler, Harmony in Blue and Silver (1865) 

Dhammapada 420

Him I call indeed a Brahmana whose path the gods do not know, nor spirits, nor men, whose passions are extinct, and who is venerable. 

IMAGE: Ma Yuan, Walking on a Mountain Path in Spring (c. 1200) 

Dhammapada 419

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who knows the destruction and the return of beings everywhere, who is free from bondage, welfaring, and awakened. 

Dhammapada 418

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who has left what gives pleasure and what gives pain, who is cool, and free from all germs of renewed life, the hero who has conquered all the worlds. 

IMAGE: William Degouve de Nuncques, Nocturn in the Parc Royal, Brussels (1897) 

Dhammapada 417

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who, after leaving all bondage to men, has risen above all bondage to the gods, and is free from all and every bondage. 

IMAGE: Shigeru Aoki, Escape from the Land of the Dead (1903) 

Dhammapada 416

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who, leaving all longings, travels about without a home, and in whom all covetousness is extinct. 

Dhammapada 415

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who in this world, leaving all desires, travels about without a home, and in whom all concupiscence is extinct. 

Dhammapada 414

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who has traversed this miry road, the impassable world and its vanity, who has gone through, and reached the other shore, is thoughtful, guileless, free from doubts, free from attachment, and content. 

IMAGE: Paul Nash, The Menin Road (1919) 

Dhammapada 413

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who is bright like the moon, pure, serene, undisturbed, and in whom all gaiety is extinct. 

Dhammapada 412

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who in this world is above good and evil, above the bondage of both, free from grief from sin, and from impurity. 

Dhammapada 411

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who has no interests, and when he has understood the truth, does not say "How, how?", and who has reached the depth of the Immortal. 

Dhammapada 410

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who fosters no desires for this world or for the next, has no inclinations, and is unshackled. 

IMAGE: Carl Bloch, Prometheus Unbound (1864) 

Dhammapada 409

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who takes nothing in the world that is not given him, be it long or short, small or large, good or bad. 

Dhammapada 408

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who utters true speech, instructive and free from harshness, so that he offend no one. 

IMAGE: Hedwig Öhring, The Conversation (c. 1900) 

Dhammapada 407

Him I call indeed a Brahmana from whom anger and hatred, pride and envy have dropped like a mustard seed from the point of a needle. 

Dhammapada 406

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who is tolerant with the intolerant, mild with fault-finders, and free from passion among the passionate. 

IMAGE: Jean Baptiste de Champaigne, Allegory of Peace (1668) 

Dhammapada 405

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who finds no fault with other beings, whether feeble or strong, and does not kill nor cause slaughter. 

Dhammapada 404

Him I call indeed a Brahmana who keeps aloof both from laymen and from mendicants, who frequents no houses, and has but few desires. 

IMAGE: Philip James de Loutherbourg, The Hermit (1798)