In short: Chapter 19 of the Dhammapada, The Just (Dhammaṭṭhavagga), verses 256 to 272. What really makes someone a judge, an elder, a sage: not appearance, but conduct and calm.
You don’t become just by passing hasty judgment. An astute person evaluates both what is pertinent and what is irrelevant.
Dhammapada 256, the chapter's first verse.
Pāli and English translation by Bhikkhu Sujato, from SuttaCentral. The introduction is ANEW's.
The verses in Pāli and English
| Verse | Pāli | English |
|---|---|---|
| 256 | Na tena hoti dhammaṭṭho, | You don’t become just |
| yenatthaṁ sāhasā naye; | by passing hasty judgment. | |
| Yo ca atthaṁ anatthañca, | An astute person evaluates both | |
| ubho niccheyya paṇḍito. | what is pertinent and what is irrelevant. | |
| 257 | Asāhasena dhammena, | A wise one judges others without haste, |
| samena nayatī pare; | justly and impartially; | |
| Dhammassa gutto medhāvī, | that guardian of the law | |
| “dhammaṭṭho”ti pavuccati. | is said to be just. | |
| 258 | Na tena paṇḍito hoti, | You’re not an astute scholar |
| yāvatā bahu bhāsati; | just because you speak a lot. | |
| Khemī averī abhayo, | One who is secure, free of enmity and fear, | |
| “paṇḍito”ti pavuccati. | is said to be astute. | |
| 259 | Na tāvatā dhammadharo, | You’re not one who has memorized the teaching |
| yāvatā bahu bhāsati; | just because you recite a lot. | |
| Yo ca appampi sutvāna, | Someone who directly sees the teaching | |
| dhammaṁ kāyena passati; | after hearing only a little | |
| Sa ve dhammadharo hoti, | is truly one who has memorized the teaching, | |
| yo dhammaṁ nappamajjati. | for they can never forget it. | |
| 260 | Na tena thero so hoti, | You don’t become a senior |
| yenassa palitaṁ siro; | by getting some grey hairs; | |
| Paripakko vayo tassa, | for one ripe only in age, | |
| “moghajiṇṇo”ti vuccati. | is said to have aged in vain. | |
| 261 | Yamhi saccañca dhammo ca, | One who is truthful and principled, |
| ahiṁsā saṁyamo damo; | harmless, restrained, and self-controlled, | |
| Sa ve vantamalo dhīro, | attentive, purged of stains, | |
| “thero” iti pavuccati. | is said to be a senior. | |
| 262 | Na vākkaraṇamattena, | Not by mere enunciation, |
| vaṇṇapokkharatāya vā; | or a beautiful complexion | |
| Sādhurūpo naro hoti, | does a person become holy, | |
| issukī maccharī saṭho. | if they’re jealous, stingy, and devious. | |
| 263 | Yassa cetaṁ samucchinnaṁ, | But if they’ve cut that out, |
| mūlaghaccaṁ samūhataṁ; | dug it up at the root, eradicated it, | |
| Sa vantadoso medhāvī, | that intelligent one, purged of vice, | |
| “sādhurūpo”ti vuccati. | is said to be holy. | |
| 264 | Na muṇḍakena samaṇo, | A liar and breaker of vows is no ascetic |
| abbato alikaṁ bhaṇaṁ; | just because they shave their head. | |
| Icchālobhasamāpanno, | How on earth can one be an ascetic | |
| samaṇo kiṁ bhavissati. | who’s full of desire and greed? | |
| 265 | Yo ca sameti pāpāni, | One who stops all wicked deeds, |
| aṇuṁthūlāni sabbaso; | great and small, | |
| Samitattā hi pāpānaṁ, | because of stopping wicked deeds | |
| “samaṇo”ti pavuccati. | is said to be an ascetic. | |
| 266 | Na tena bhikkhu so hoti, | You don’t become a mendicant |
| yāvatā bhikkhate pare; | just by begging from others. | |
| Vissaṁ dhammaṁ samādāya, | One who has undertaken domestic duties | |
| bhikkhu hoti na tāvatā. | has not yet become a mendicant. | |
| 267 | Yodha puññañca pāpañca, | But one living a spiritual life, |
| bāhetvā brahmacariyavā; | who has banished both merit and evil, | |
| Saṅkhāya loke carati, | who wanders having appraised the world, | |
| sa ve “bhikkhū”ti vuccati. | is said to be a mendicant. | |
| 268 | Na monena munī hoti, | You don’t become a sage by being sagelike, |
| mūḷharūpo aviddasu; | while still confused and ignorant. | |
| Yo ca tulaṁva paggayha, | The astute one who holds the scales, | |
| varamādāya paṇḍito. | taking only the best, | |
| 269 | Pāpāni parivajjeti, | and shunning the bad— |
| sa munī tena so muni; | that is a sage, and that is how one becomes a sage. | |
| Yo munāti ubho loke, | One who sagely weighs both in the world, | |
| “muni” tena pavuccati. | is thereby said to be a sage. | |
| 270 | Na tena ariyo hoti, | You don’t become a noble one |
| yena pāṇāni hiṁsati; | by harming living beings. | |
| Ahiṁsā sabbapāṇānaṁ, | One harmless toward all living beings | |
| “ariyo”ti pavuccati. | is said to be a noble one. | |
| 271 | Na sīlabbatamattena, | Not by precepts and observances, |
| bāhusaccena vā pana; | nor by much learning, | |
| Atha vā samādhilābhena, | nor by meditative immersion, | |
| vivittasayanena vā. | nor by living in seclusion, | |
| 272 | Phusāmi nekkhammasukhaṁ, | do I experience the bliss of renunciation |
| aputhujjanasevitaṁ; | not frequented by ordinary people. | |
| Bhikkhu vissāsamāpādi, | A mendicant cannot rest confident | |
| appatto āsavakkhayaṁ. | without attaining the end of defilements. |
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Questions people ask
What is chapter 19 of the Dhammapada about?
What really makes someone a judge, an elder, a sage: not appearance, but conduct and calm.
Which verses are in Dhammapada chapter 19?
Chapter 19, The Just (Dhammaṭṭhavagga), contains verses 256 to 272.