1-2. na tena hoti dhammaṭṭho, yenatthaṃ sāhasā naye.
yo ca atthaṃ anatthañca, ubho niccheyya paṇḍito.

asāhasena dhammena, samena nayatī pare.
dhammassa gutto medhāvī, 'dhammaṭṭho'ti pavuccati.
Not by passing arbitrary judgments does a man become just; a wise man is he who investigates both right and wrong.
He who does not judge others arbitrarily, but passes judgment impartially according to the truth, that sagacious man is a guardian of law and is called just.

3. na tena paṇḍito hoti, yāvatā bahu bhāsati.
khemī averī abhayo, 'paṇḍito'ti pavuccati.
One is not wise because one speaks much. He who is peaceable, friendly and fearless is called wise.

4. na tāvatā dhammadharo, yāvatā bahu bhāsati.
yo ca appampi sutvāna, dhammaṃ kāyena passati.
sa ve dhammadharo hoti, yo dhammaṃ nappamajjati.
A man is not versed in Dhamma because he speaks much. He who, after hearing a little Dhamma, realizes its truth directly and is not heedless of it, is truly versed in the Dhamma.

5-6. na tena thero so hoti, yenassa palitaṃ siro.
paripakko vayo tassa, 'moghajiṇṇo'ti vuccati.

yamhi saccañca dhammo ca, ahiṃsā saṃyamo damo.
sa ve vantamalo dhīro, 'thero' iti pavuccati.
A monk is not an elder because his head is gray. He is but ripe in age, and he is called one grown old in vain.
One in whom there is truthfulness, virtue, inoffensiveness, restraint and self-mastery, who is free from defilements and is wise - he is truly called an Elder.

7-8. na vākkaraṇamattena, vaṇṇapokkharatāya vā.
sādhurūpo naro hoti, issukī maccharī saṭho.

yassa cetaṃ samucchinnaṃ, mūlaghaccaṃ samūhataṃ.
sa vantadoso medhāvī, 'sādhurūpo'ti vuccati.
Not by mere eloquence nor by beauty of form does a man become accomplished, if he is jealous, selfish and deceitful.
But he in whom these are wholly destroyed, uprooted and extinct, and who has cast out hatred - that wise man is truly accomplished.

9-10. na muṇḍakena samaṇo, abbato alikaṃ bhaṇaṃ.
icchālobhasamāpanno, samaṇo kiṃ bhavissati.

yo ca sameti pāpāni, aṇuṃ thūlāni sabbaso.
samitattā hi pāpānaṃ, 'samaṇo'ti pavuccati.
Not by shaven head does a man who is indisciplined and untruthful become a monk. How can he who is full of desire and greed be a monk?
He who wholly subdues evil both small and great is called a monk, because he has overcome all evil.

11-12. na tena bhikkhu so hoti, yāvatā bhikkhate pare.
vissaṃ dhammaṃ samādāya, bhikkhu hoti na tāvatā.

yodha puññañca pāpañca, bāhetvā brahmacariyavā.
saṅkhāya loke carati, sa ve 'bhikkhū'ti vuccati.
He is not a monk just because he lives on others' alms. Not by adopting outward form does one become a true monk.
Whoever here (in the Dispensation) lives a holy life, transcending both merit and demerit, and walks with understanding in this world - he is truly called a monk.

13-14. na monena munī hoti, mūḷharūpo aviddasu.
yo ca tulaṃva paggayha, varamādāya paṇḍito.

pāpāni parivajjeti, sa munī tena so muni.
yo munāti ubho loke, 'muni' tena pavuccati.
Not by observing silence does one become a sage, if he be foolish and ignorant. But that man is wise who, as if holding a balance-scale accepts only the good.
The sage (thus) rejecting the evil, is truly a sage. Since he comprehends both (present and future) worlds, he is called a sage.

15. na tena ariyo hoti, yena pāṇāni hiṃsati.
ahiṃsā sabbapāṇānaṃ, 'ariyo'ti pavuccati.
He is not noble who injures living beings. He is called noble because he is harmless towards all living beings.

16-17. na sīlabbatamattena, bāhusaccena vā pana.
atha vā samādhilābhena, vivittasayanena vā.

phusāmi nekkhammasukhaṃ, aputhujjanasevitaṃ.
bhikkhu vissāsamāpādi, appatto āsavakkhayaṃ.
Not by rules and observances, not even by much learning, nor by gain of absorption, nor by a life of seclusion, nor by thinking, "I enjoy the bliss of renunciation, which is not experienced by the worldling" should you, O monks, rest content, until the utter destruction of cankers (Arahantship) is reached.