[882] When this was said, bhikkhus, Sakka, lord of the devas, spoke these verses:
"Let him think it or not, as he pleases:
'It is out of fear that this one endures me' —
of goods, one's own good is supreme;
nothing better than patience (khanti) is found.
Truly, when one who is strong
patiently endures the weak,
that they call the supreme patience;
the weak must ever be patient.
They call that strength no strength at all
whose strength is a fool's strength;
for the strong one guarded by Dhamma
no one is found to gainsay him.
He only makes it worse for himself
who returns anger upon one who is angry;
not returning anger upon the angry,
one wins a battle hard to win.
He fares for the good of both,
his own and the other's,
who, knowing that the other is enraged,
mindfully maintains his peace.
While he works the cure of both,
his own and the other's,
people think, 'He is a fool' —
those who are unskilled in the Dhamma."
And when these verses had been spoken by Sakka, lord of the devas, bhikkhus, the devas rejoiced in approval, but the asuras remained silent.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.