547. Planning in advance for a good future, if one acts understanding what is beneficial and unbeneficial, he is very wise. Neither enemies nor friends will see a weak spot in him.
548. One should practice mindfulness of breathing exactly as taught by the Buddha. If one completes and develops mindfulness very well like that, he can illuminate this world, like the moon freed from clouds.
549. Truly, my mind is now well purified. Since it has been well developed without limit, putting forth energy wisely, the mind illuminates all the directions.
550. Even after the loss of his wealth, the wise person lives. But, if one doesn’t have wisdom, no matter how rich he is, he doesn’t live.
551. Once wisdom is the key factor, it connects the Dhamma one has heard to one’s life. The same wisdom generates fame and good reputation for that person. In this world, the person with wisdom finds happiness even in painful situations.
552. The following truth is not only relevant to today. This is not even amazing or strange. If someone is born, that person dies. What indeed is strange in that?
553. At the very same moment one is born, that birth is tied to death. As long as one is born, one has to die. That is the nature of all beings.
554. When someone cries over a dead body, it doesn’t do that dead one any good. Fame and praise cannot be gained by weeping over a dead body in this world. Such weeping is not praised by recluses and brāhmins.
555. Weeping impairs the eyes and the body. The good appearance of the body fades away. Mindfulness and awareness get weakened. The weeper’s enemies become joyful. His relatives and friends become unhappy.
556. Therefore, those householders should desire to associate with wise noble ones who are well versed in the Dhamma. Those noble ones act through great wisdom. Their lives are like a ship crossing to the far shore of a great river.
These verses were said by Arahant Mahā Kappina.
