# Come People of the World - Vipassana Dohas --- **Day 1** Come, people of the world! Let us walk the path of Dhamma. On this path walk holy ones, on this path walk saints. The path of Dhamma is the path of peace, the path of Dhamma is the path of happiness. Whoever attains the path of Dhamma gains endless happiness. Come, men and women! Let us walk the path of Dhamma. Walking step by step, let us make an end of suffering. Observing breath after breath, the mind becomes still. Unwavering, the mind becomes pure and naturally finds liberation. Everyone talks about Dhamma but no one understands it. Practising purity of mind— this is true Dhamma. Dhamma is not Hindu or Buddhist, not Sikh, Muslim, or Jain; Dhamma is purity of heart, peace, happiness, serenity. **Day 2** Moment after moment after moment, life keeps slipping by. Make use of every moment; the moment past will never come again. Dhamma is not blind tradition, Dhamma is not wrong action, Dhamma is not false imaginings; Dhamma is the essence of truth. As you observe breath after breath the truth reveals itself. Observing truth after truth you come to Ultimate Truth. Sectarianism is not Dhamma; Dhamma raises no walls. Dhamma teaches oneness, Dhamma teaches love. In-breath, out-breath— if you keep unbroken awareness, the knots of kamma will be sundered, leading to the highest welfare. Whenever in the inner world mental defilement arise, I become agitated and make the outer world agitated. May I and may the world be free from agitation. This is the art of living, this is pure Dhamma. **Day 3** Transform your deeds of body, transform your deeds of speech, transform your mental deeds— this is the essence of Dhamma. Virtue lies in serving others; harming others is sin. Virtuous deeds bring happiness; sin causes torment. Right action is Dhamma, wrong action is sin. Right action creates happiness, wrong action—suffering and torment. Observe yourself. Understand yourself. Unless you know yourself, you cannot end the torments of existence. The Eightfold Path of Dhamma was shown by the Buddha, the Exalted One. Following it step by step, you will reach liberation, nibbāna. Sīla, samādhi and paññā— this is the essence of pure Dhamma. Transforming all actions of body, speech, and mind. This is the law of nature, which applies to one and all; a defiled mind remains agitated, an unstained mind is happy. **Day 4** Good to have mastery of speech, good to have physical mastery, but one who is master of his mind is a warrior of real courage. Sīla, samādhi and paññā— a treasury of well-being, conferring all happiness, removing all misery. Good to practise morality, good is right concentration, good is the awakening of insight which cures the ills of life. When a person of morality concentrates, insight awakens. The knots in the depths of the mind are easily untied. May wisdom arise, mighty in power, and spread throughout your being, enlivening every atom and purifying the mind. Sīla, samādhi and paññā— three streams have joined and flow together. By plunging into their confluence one crosses the ocean of suffering. **Day 5** The true Ganges, Jamunā and Sarasvatī are sīla, samādhi and paññā. Where these three streams converge nibbāna manifests. Correct your mental actions; mind is first and foremost. Deeds of body and speech are offspring of the mind. As is the volition of the mind, such will be the fruit; an impure mind yields misery, a pure mind gives happiness. The mind can be wicked or gentle, the mind can be a foe or friend. If the mind is transformed, all is transformed, so make your mind truly pure. **Day 6** The mind can be wicked or gentle, the mind can be a foe or friend. Peace and happiness spread in life when the mind becomes pure. Strive ardently, oh man, and burn! Purity comes from burning away the dross. Gold must pass through a crucible in order to be refined. Threefold is our bondage; craving, aversion, pride. Threefold is the way to break our bonds; Sīla, samādhi and paññā. Self-centeredness—this is the root of birth, decay, and death. Unless egoism is removed, the torment and fear of becoming will not end. **Day 7** Sīla is the foundation of Dhamma, samādhi forms the walls, paññā is the roof— the auspicious dwelling of happiness. Rolling and rolling in sense pleasures we keep tying knots. Observing, observing, observing we open all the knots. As long as there is craving in the mind, as long as in the mind is aversion, there will be suffering, only suffering; the mind cannot be purged of affliction. **Day 8** Dhamma is our master, Dhamma is our lord. We are always protected if Dhamma is always with us. Deeper the craving, deeper is the aversion. Deeper the aversion, deeper is the affliction. There is no disease like craving, there is no frailty like aversion. There is no folly like ignorance, there is no sanity like Dhamma. **Day 9** Dhamma is our brother, companion, helpmate, friend. Let us walk to the measure of Dhamma, giving our love to Dhamma. Not dancing when pleasure comes, not wailing when in pain, keeping equilibrium with both— this is real happiness. Achieved—this human life; achieved—the priceless Dhamma. Now with faith and effort untie the bonds of the mind! **Day 10** In this wretched world I see no one who is happy. May pure Dhamma arise in the world, bringing happiness to all. We are fortunate to have the soap and water of the Dhamma. Come now! We ourselves must wash the dirty linen of the mind. The blessed, blessed Dhamma bears auspicious fruit. Knots within are opened, the mind becomes stainless. By plunging deep within, the entire being has become so saturated with the colour of the Dhamma that no other colour can impinge. Of hatred and ill-will may not a trace remain. May love and goodwill fill body, mind, and life. May ripples of love spread through the pool of the mind. May every pore give forth the sound, May all beings be happy! May each man dwell in Dhamma, may each woman follow Dhamma, may the children be full of Dhamma, to make the family happy. **Day 11** May the merits I have acquired be shared by one and all. May this munificent Dhamma benefit one and all. May my happiness and peace be shared by one and all. May this munificent Dhamma benefit one and all. I pardon all, may all pardon me. All are my friends, I have no enemies. Let us pay respects to Dhamma! Dhamma confers welfare. Dhamma always protects us. Great is the power of Dhamma! May all pay respects to Dhamma! Dhamma confers welfare. Dhamma always brings happiness. Great is the power of Dhamma!