Theragāthā 199

Verses of the Senior Monks 5.2

The Book of the Fives

Chapter One

Subhūta

1 When a person, wishing for a certain outcome,

applies themselves where they ought not;

not achieving what they worked for,

they say: “That’s a sign of my bad luck.”

2 When a misfortune is extracted and beaten,

to surrender it in part would be like losing at dice;

but to surrender it all you’d have to be blind,

not seeing the even and the uneven.

3 You should only say what you would do;

you shouldn’t say what you wouldn’t do.

The wise will recognize

one who talks without doing.

4 Just like a glorious flower

that’s colorful but lacks fragrance;

well-spoken speech is fruitless

for one who does not act on it.

5 Just like a glorious flower

that’s both colorful and fragrant,

well-spoken speech is fruitful

for one who acts on it.