Dhammapada 10.3.p2

10.3.p2

Ekasmiñhi samaye satthā sāvatthiyaṃ piṇḍāya pavisanto antarāmagge sambahule kumārake ekaṃ gharasappajātikaṃ ahiṃ daṇḍakena paharante disvā ‘‘kumārakā kiṃ karothā’’ti pucchitvā ‘‘ahiṃ, bhante, daṇḍakena paharāmā’’ti vutte ‘‘kiṃ kāraṇā’’ti puna pucchitvā ‘‘ḍaṃsanabhayena, bhante’’ti vutte ‘‘tumhe ‘attano sukhaṃ karissāmā’ti imaṃ paharantā nibbattanibbattaṭṭhāne sukhalābhino na bhavissatha. Attano sukhaṃ patthentena hi paraṃ paharituṃ na vaṭṭatī’’ti vatvā anusandhiṃ ghaṭetvā dhammaṃ desento imā gāthā abhāsi –

For one day, as the Teacher was entering Sāvatthi for alms, he saw by the wayside a company of boys beating a house-snake with a stick. Thereupon he asked, "Boys, what are you doing?" "Reverend Sir," replied the boys, "we are beating a snake with a stick." "Why are you doing that?" "Reverend Sir, we are afraid he will bite us." Then said the Teacher, "If you beat this snake, thinking to yourselves, 'We shall thereby insure our own happiness,' the result will be that in the various places where you will be reborn you will not obtain happiness. They who seek to gain happiness for themselves should not strike another." So saying, he joined the connection, and preaching the Law, pronounced the following Stanzas,