Dhammapada 5.4: 4. Gaṇṭhibhedakacoravatthu

5.4.p1

Yo bāloti imaṃ dhammadesanaṃ satthā jetavane viharanto gaṇṭhibhedakacore ārabbha kathesi.

*The fool.* This religious instruction was given by the Teacher while he was in residence at Jetavana with reference to two thieves who broke their bonds.

5.4.p2

Te kira dve sahāyakā dhammassavanatthāya gacchantena mahājanena saddhiṃ jetavanaṃ gantvā eko dhammakathaṃ assosi, eko attano gayhūpagaṃ olokesi. Tesu eko dhammaṃ suṇamāno sotāpattiphalaṃ pāpuṇi, itaro ekassa dussante baddhaṃ pañcamāsakamattaṃ labhi. Tassa taṃ gehe pākabhattaṃ jātaṃ, itarassa gehe na paccati. Atha naṃ sahāyakacoro attano bhariyāya saddhiṃ uppaṇḍayamāno ‘‘tvaṃ atipaṇḍitatāya attano gehe pākabhattamūlampi na nipphādesī’’ti āha. Itaro pana ‘‘bālabhāveneva vatāyaṃ attano paṇḍitabhāvaṃ maññatī’’ti taṃ pavattiṃ satthu ārocetuṃ ñātīhi saddhiṃ jetavanaṃ gantvā ārocesi. Satthā tassa dhammaṃ desento imaṃ gāthamāha –

The story goes that these two men, who were boon companions, accompanied a great throng to Jetavana to hear the Law. One of them listened to the Law; the other watched for a chance to steal something. The first, through listening to the Law, obtained the Fruit of Conversion; the second found a matter of five farthings tied to the skirt of a certain man and stole the money. The confirmed thief had food cooked as usual in his house, but there was no cooking done in the house of the convert. His comrade the thief, and likewise the thief's wife, ridiculed him, saying, "You are so excessively wise that you cannot obtain money enough to have regular meals cooked in your own house." The convert thought to himself, "This man, just because he is a fool, does not think that he is wise." And going to Jetavana with his kinsfolk, he told the Teacher of the incident. The Teacher, instructing him in the Law, pronounced the following Stanza,

5.4.63

‘‘Yo bālo maññati bālyaṃ, paṇḍito vāpi tena so;
Bālo ca paṇḍitamānī, sa ve ‘bālo’ti vuccatī’’ti.

63. The fool who thinks he is a fool is for that very reason a wise man;
But the fool who thinks he is a wise man is rightly called a fool.

5.4.63_2

Tattha yo bāloti yo andhabālo apaṇḍito samāno ‘‘bālo aha’’nti attano bālyaṃ bālabhāvaṃ maññati jānāti. Tena soti tena kāraṇena so puggalo paṇḍito vāpi hoti paṇḍitasadiso vā. So hi ‘‘bālo aha’’nti jānamāno aññaṃ paṇḍitaṃ upasaṅkamanto payirupāsanto tena paṇḍitabhāvatthāya ovadiyamāno anusāsiyamāno taṃ ovādaṃ gaṇhitvā paṇḍito vā hoti paṇḍitataro vā. Sa ve bāloti yo ca bālo samāno ‘‘ko añño mayā sadiso bahussuto vā dhammakathiko vā vinayadharo vā dhutaṅgadharo vā atthī’’ti evaṃ paṇḍitamānī hoti. So aññaṃ paṇḍitaṃ anupasaṅkamanto apayirupāsanto neva pariyattiṃ uggaṇhāti, na paṭipattiṃ pūreti, ekantabālabhāvameva pāpuṇāti. So gaṇṭhibhedakacoro viya. Tena vuttaṃ ‘‘sa ve ‘bālo’ti vuccatī’’ti.

5.4.63_3

Desanāpariyosāne itarassa ñātakehi saddhiṃ mahājano sotāpattiphalādīni pāpuṇīti.

5.4.63_4

Gaṇṭhibhedakacoravatthu catutthaṃ.