[159] Bhikkhus, I will teach you the near shore and the far shore. Listen to it … And what, bhikkhus, is the near shore, and what is the far shore? The destruction of life (pāṇātipāta), bhikkhus, is the near shore; abstinence (veramaṇī) from the destruction of life is the far shore. Taking what is not given (adinnādāna) is the near shore; abstinence from taking what is not given is the far shore. Sexual misconduct (kāmesu micchācāra) is the near shore; abstinence from sexual misconduct is the far shore. False speech (musāvāda) is the near shore; abstinence from false speech is the far shore. Divisive speech (pisuṇā vācā) is the near shore; abstinence from divisive speech is the far shore. Harsh speech (pharusā vācā) is the near shore; abstinence from harsh speech is the far shore. Frivolous talk (samphappalāpa) is the near shore; abstinence from frivolous talk is the far shore. Covetousness (abhijjhā) is the near shore; non-covetousness is the far shore. Ill will (byāpāda) is the near shore; non-ill will is the far shore. Wrong view (micchādiṭṭhi) is the near shore; right view (sammādiṭṭhi) is the far shore. This, bhikkhus, is the near shore, and this is the far shore.
Few among human beings
are the people who go to the far shore;
the rest of this populace
merely runs along the bank.
But those people who, in the Dhamma rightly proclaimed,
practice in accordance with the Dhamma —
they will cross to the far shore,
beyond the realm of Death (maccudheyya), so hard to cross.
Having abandoned the dark state,
the wise one should develop the bright,
having come from home to the homeless,
into seclusion, where delight is hard to find.
There he should wish for delight,
having given up sensual pleasures, owning nothing;
the wise one should cleanse himself
of the defilements of the mind (citta).
Those whose mind is rightly well developed
in the factors of awakening (sambodhiyaṅga),
who, without clinging, delight
in the relinquishment of grasping —
with taints (āsava) destroyed, radiant,
they are fully quenched in the world.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.