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Way to Enlightenment

The Pairs (Yamaka Vagga)

Verse 2

Pāli Source

Manopubbaṅgamā dhammā, manoseṭṭhā manomayā; manasā ce pasannena bhāsati vā karoti vā; tato naṃ sukhamanveti chāyāva anapāyinī.

English Translation

Every experience is shaped by mind first — mind leads, mind matters most, and what follows is mind’s own making. Speak or act from a mind that is clear and settled, and happiness follows, as steadily as a shadow that never leaves.

Way to Enlightenment draft translation — not yet reviewed for accuracy.

Editorial Note

Verse 2 mirrors verse 1 almost word for word, changing only "corrupted" to "clear/settled" and the consequence that follows — a deliberate pairing (hence the chapter’s name, "Yamaka," meaning "pairs").

Source

Pali critical edition: O. von Hinüber & K.R. Norman (Pali Text Society, 1995), digitized by the Dhammakaya Foundation via GRETIL, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

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