Excerpt: Two

56.
Your mirror at home is costly—
gaze at it and your heart stays light!
Mine is shattered,
yet this very mirror keeps my soul alive.
Don't call me to your room
to see myself in that radiant glass!
And you, friend, don't come to mine,
I'm content with what I have.

57.
My child is blind and lame?
So what? I feed and clothe him still!
You have no children at all, brother.
Tell me—what precious thing do you own?

58.
Some minds, when they stay silent, are truly beautiful;
but let them move, and out comes a stench like filth.

59.
An invitation to your table? I need it not, my friend;
if you withhold it, my honor is safe—
but if you give it, I lose face either way.

60.
Kings walk on your street—walking there is no simple thing.
Does everyone wish to be a king? I chose to be a subject instead.

61.
Your salve is marvelous—you apply it yourself.
Mine happens to be dark; why do you keep looking this way?

62.
Why do you judge me by your own measure?
Will heaven slip from your grasp because of my sin?

63.
A woman's heart covets another's glory;
a man's eye desires another's wife.
Longing for others' splendor is woman's treasure,
and coveting another's wife—that is man's bent.

64.
Everyone says they want truth, they truly want truth!
Speak the truth and see—there's no one, nowhere at all.

65.
Whom you gave happiness,
they gave you sorrow in return.
Whom you gave nothing,
why do you chase after their joy?

66.
In every breath, whether it's heaven or hell they invoke,
whoever brings all that to your face—
with them, friend, there dwells no peace, whatever else may come.

67.
Everyone thinks you're righteous; they believe you're of worth.
Only I know—your so-called dharma is nothing but sin.

68.
Sweet words
hide a knife.
Harsh speech
masters distance.

69.
Let something be amiss—
let the feet understand the earth.

70.
Forget a kindness done, and sin diminishes;
such a man is ungrateful, like a snake.

71.
When trouble comes, a true friend stretches out his hand.
The rest merely move their lips in prayer.

72.
Though time's help may seem as small as a sesame seed,
the good man sees in it the worth of a palm tree.

73.
Even in debt one builds wealth—
such is the shameless heart's nature.

74.
Borrow in hardship;
when hardship passes, who remembers whom?

75.
Won't speak, won't look, and more besides!
Once self-interest is served, anger and pride vanish quick enough.

76.
One who stays silent through ten of your good deeds,
yet rushes at you fiercely the moment he finds one fault—
such a man is no friend, brother, but a slanderer.
You'll be far better off if that life leaves you alone.