概要
意味のない千の言葉より、心に平安をもたらす一つの言葉に価値があると説くこの章は、量より質の大切さを教えます。千の戦いに勝つよりも自己に打ち克つことが最上の勝利であるという、力強いメッセージが響きます。
"Yo sahassaṁ sahassena, saṅgāme mānuse jine; ekañca jeyyamattānaṁ, sa ve saṅgāmajuttamo."
Sahassamapi ce vācā, anatthapadasaṁhitā; Ekaṁ atthapadaṁ seyyo, yaṁ sutvā upasammati.
Better than a thousand meaningless sayings is a single meaningful saying, hearing which brings you peace.
Sahassamapi ce gāthā, anatthapadasaṁhitā; Ekaṁ gāthāpadaṁ seyyo, yaṁ sutvā upasammati.
Better than a thousand meaningless verses is a single meaningful verse, hearing which brings you peace.
Yo ca gāthā sataṁ bhāse, anatthapadasaṁhitā; Ekaṁ dhammapadaṁ seyyo, yaṁ sutvā upasammati.
Better than reciting a hundred meaningless verses is a single saying of Dhamma, hearing which brings you peace.
Yo sahassaṁ sahassena, saṅgāme mānuse jine; Ekañca jeyyamattānaṁ, sa ve saṅgāmajuttamo.
The supreme conqueror is not he who conquers a million men in battle, but he who conquers a single man: himself.
Attā have jitaṁ seyyo, yā cāyaṁ itarā pajā; Attadantassa posassa, niccaṁ saññatacārino.
It is surely better to conquer oneself than all those other folk. When a person has tamed themselves, always living restrained,
Neva devo na gandhabbo, na māro saha brahmunā; Jitaṁ apajitaṁ kayirā, tathārūpassa jantuno.
no god nor centaur, nor Māra nor divinity, can undo the victory of such a personage.
Māse māse sahassena, yo yajetha sataṁ samaṁ; Ekañca bhāvitattānaṁ, muhuttamapi pūjaye; Sāyeva pūjanā seyyo, yañce vassasataṁ hutaṁ.
Rather than a thousandfold sacrifice, every month for a full century, it’s better to honor for a single hour one who has developed themselves. That offering is better than the hundred year sacrifice.
Yo ca vassasataṁ jantu, aggiṁ paricare vane; Ekañca bhāvitattānaṁ, muhuttamapi pūjaye; Sāyeva pūjanā seyyo, yañce vassasataṁ hutaṁ.
Rather than serve the sacred flame in the forest for a hundred years, it’s better to honor for a single hour a personage who has developed themselves. That offering is better than the hundred year sacrifice.
Yaṁ kiñci yiṭṭhaṁ va hutaṁ va loke, Saṁvaccharaṁ yajetha puññapekkho; Sabbampi taṁ na catubhāgameti, Abhivādanā ujjugatesu seyyo.
Whatever sacrifice or offering in the world a seeker of merit may make for a year, none of it is worth a quarter of bowing to the sincere.
Abhivādanasīlissa, niccaṁ vuḍḍhāpacāyino; Cattāro dhammā vaḍḍhanti, āyu vaṇṇo sukhaṁ balaṁ.
For one in the habit of bowing, always honoring the elders, four blessings grow: lifespan, beauty, happiness, and strength.
Yo ca vassasataṁ jīve, dussīlo asamāhito; Ekāhaṁ jīvitaṁ seyyo, sīlavantassa jhāyino.
Better to live a single day ethical and absorbed in meditation than to live a hundred years unethical and lacking immersion.
Yo ca vassasataṁ jīve, duppañño asamāhito; Ekāhaṁ jīvitaṁ seyyo, paññavantassa jhāyino.
Better to live a single day wise and absorbed in meditation than to live a hundred years witless and lacking immersion.
Yo ca vassasataṁ jīve, kusīto hīnavīriyo; Ekāhaṁ jīvitaṁ seyyo, vīriyamārabhato daḷhaṁ.
Better to live a single day energetic and strong, than to live a hundred years lazy and lacking energy.
Yo ca vassasataṁ jīve, apassaṁ udayabbayaṁ; Ekāhaṁ jīvitaṁ seyyo, passato udayabbayaṁ.
Better to live a single day seeing rise and fall than to live a hundred years blind to rise and fall.
Yo ca vassasataṁ jīve, apassaṁ amataṁ padaṁ; Ekāhaṁ jīvitaṁ seyyo, passato amataṁ padaṁ.
Better to live a single day seeing the state free of death than to live a hundred years blind to the state free of death.
Yo ca vassasataṁ jīve, apassaṁ dhammamuttamaṁ; Ekāhaṁ jīvitaṁ seyyo, passato dhammamuttamaṁ. Sahassavaggo aṭṭhamo.
Better to live a single day seeing the supreme teaching than to live a hundred years blind to the supreme teaching.
古代インドの文学では「千」は最大の数の象徴として頻繁に用いられました。ブッダはこの慣用的な表現を逆手に取り、世俗的な価値観の転換を図っています。千の供犠よりも一つの自制が、千の戦いの勝利よりも一つの自己克服が尊いと説くことで、バラモン教の大規模な祭祀文化や、当時のクシャトリヤ階級の武勇の価値観に対して、穏やかながらも根本的な問い直しを行っているのです。
「もっと多く、もっと速く」が求められる現代社会において、この章の教えは新鮮な視点を与えてくれます。千のSNS投稿より一つの誠実な対話、千の自己啓発本より一つの実践、千の競争での勝利より一度の自己克服——量的な成功を追い求めるのではなく、質的な深さを大切にする生き方への招きです。自分自身に打ち克つことが最上の勝利であるという教えは、外的な成功に振り回されがちな私たちの心に静かに響きます。
用語にカーソルを合わせると意味が表示されます