There is
in the cosmos
no
secret
place
for one
who has done
an
evil
deed.
Your own self knows, my good man,
whether you are true
or false.
You underestimate the fine witness
that is yourself,
you with evil
in yourself
that then you hide.
The devas & Tathāgatas see the fool
who goes about
off-pitch in the cosmos.
Thus you should go about
self-governed,
mindful;
governed by the cosmos,
masterful,
absorbed in jhāna;
governed by the Dhamma,
acting in line
with the Dhamma.
The sage who makes an effort
in truth
doesn’t fall back.
Notes
1. The Ender: an epithet for Māra, who as repeated mortality keeps putting an end to things.
2. Such (tādin): An adjective applied to the mind of one who has attained the goal. It indicates that the mind “is what it is”—indescribable but not subject to change or alteration.
Origin URL: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN3_40.html