The Art of Wise Choices — The Dhammapada

If you give up a small pleasure and see a bigger one, leave the small and reach for the great. Anyone who hurts others to feel good stays trapped in hate and never gets free. Unruly people skip what they should do and chase what they should not. Their wants keep growing. But people who watch their body, avoid wrong, and keep doing right see their wants fade instead of multiply.

A true Brahmana goes free even after cutting what binds like father, mother, and kings. That is a picture of cutting false ties, not praising harm. Buddha's disciples stay awake day and night. Their thoughts stay on Buddha, the law, the church, and the body. Their minds delight in compassion and meditation through ordinary hours.

Life is hard everywhere. Leaving the world is hard. Enjoying it is hard. Dwelling with equals is painful, and the wandering mendicant's life brings its own pain. A good, faithful person is respected wherever he goes. Good people shine from far away like snowy mountains. Bad people stay hidden like arrows shot at night. The person who sits alone and sleeps alone, who trains himself and cuts desire, rejoices as if living in a forest.