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Dhammapada

Dhp 217 From … Piya Vagga: The Dear

People hold dear him who embodies virtue and insight,
who is principled, has realized the truth,
and who himself does what he ought to be doing.

Read the entire translation of Dhammapada chapter 16 Piya Vagga: The Dear (209-220) by Ven. Acharya Buddharakkhita on AccessToInsight.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, or Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net. Or listen on Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 54–56 From… Pupphavagga: Blossoms

No flower’s scent
goes against the wind–
     not sandalwood,
          jasmine,
          tagara.

But the scent of the good
does go against the wind.
The person of integrity
wafts a scent
in every direction.

Sandalwood, tagara,
lotus, & jasmine:
     among these scents,
     the scent of virtue
     is unsurpassed.

Next to nothing, this scent
–sandalwood, tagara–
while the scent of virtuous conduct
wafts to the devas,
     supreme.

Read the entire translation of Dhammapada IV . Blossoms by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 383–423 From… Brāhmaṇavagga:Brahmins—Part 2

Deep in wisdom, intelligent,
expert in what is the path and what is not the path;
arrived at the highest goal:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

Mixing with neither
householders nor the homeless,
a migrant with no shelter, few in wishes:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They’ve laid aside violence
against creatures firm and frail;
not killing or making others kill:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

Not fighting among those who fight,
extinguished among those who are armed,
not taking among those who take:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They’ve discarded greed and hate,
along with conceit and contempt,
like a mustard seed off the point of a pin:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

The words they utter
are sweet, informative, and true,
and don’t offend anyone:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They don’t steal anything in the world,
long or short,
fine or coarse, beautiful or ugly:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They have no hope
in this world or the next.
with no need for hope, detached:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They have no clinging,
knowledge has freed them of indecision,
they’ve plunged into freedom from death:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They’ve escaped clinging
to both good and bad deeds;
sorrowless, stainless, pure:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

Pure as the spotless moon,
clear and undisturbed,
they’ve ended delight and future lives:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They’ve got past this grueling swamp
of delusion, transmigration.
Meditating in stillness, free of indecision,
they have crossed over to the far shore.
They’re extinguished by not grasping:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They’ve given up sensual stimulations,
and have gone forth from lay life;
they’ve ended rebirth in the sensual realm:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They’ve given up craving,
and have gone forth from lay life;
they’ve ended craving to be reborn:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They’ve given up craving,
and have gone forth from lay life;
they’ve ended craving to be reborn:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They’ve thrown off the human yoke,
and slipped out of the heavenly yoke;
unyoked from all yokes:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

Giving up discontent and desire,
they’re cooled and free of attachments;
a hero, master of the whole world:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They know the passing away
and rebirth of all beings;
unattached, holy, awakened:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

Gods, centaurs, and humans
don’t know their destiny;
the perfected ones with defilements ended:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They have nothing before or after,
or even in between.
Having nothing, taking nothing:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

Leader of the herd, excellent hero,
great seer and victor;
unstirred, washed, awakened:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They know their past lives,
seeing heaven and places of loss,
and have attained the end of rebirth;
that sage who has perfect insight,
at the summit of spiritual perfection:
that’s who I call a brahmin.


Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 383–423 Brāhmaṇavagga: Brahmins by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 383–423 From… Brāhmaṇavagga: Brahmins—Part 1

Strive and cut the stream!
Dispel sensual pleasures, brahmin.
Knowing the ending of conditions,
know the uncreated, brahmin.

When a brahmin
has gone beyond two things,
then they consciously
make an end of all fetters.

One for whom there is no crossing over
or crossing back, or crossing over and back;
stress-free, detached,
that’s who I call a brahmin.

Absorbed, rid of hopes,
their task completed, without defilements,
arrived at the highest goal:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

The sun blazes by day,
the moon glows at night,
the aristocrat shines in armor,
and the brahmin shines in absorption.
But all day and all night,
the Buddha shines with glory.

A brahmin’s so-calledsince they’ve banished evil,
an ascetic’s so-calledsince they live a serene life.
One who has renounced all stains
is said to be a “renunciant”.

One should never strike a brahmin,
nor should a brahmin retaliate.
Woe to the one who hurts a brahmin,
and woe for the one who retaliates.

Nothing is better for a brahmin
than to hold their mind back from attachment.
As cruelty in the mind gradually subsides,
suffering also subsides.

Who does nothing wrong
by body, speech or mind,
restrained in these three respects,
that’s who I call a brahmin.

You should graciously honor
the one from whom you learn the Dhamma
taught by the awakened Buddha,
as a brahmin honors the sacred flame.

Not by matted hair or family,
or birth is one a brahmin.
Those who have truth and principle:
they are pure, they are brahmins.

Why the matted hair, you fool,
and why the skin of deer?
The tangle is inside you,
yet you polish up your outsides.

A person who wears robes of rags,
lean, their limbs showing veins,
meditating alone in the forest,
that’s who I call a brahmin.

I don’t call someone a brahmin
after the mother or womb they came from.
If they still have attachments,
they’re just someone who says “sir”.
Having nothing, taking nothing:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

Having cut off all fetters
they have no anxiety.
They’ve slipped their chains and are detached:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They’ve cut the strap and harness,
the reins and bridle too,
with cross-bar lifted, they’re awakened:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

Abuse, killing, caging:
they endure these without anger.
Patience is their powerful army:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

Not irritable or stuck up,
dutiful in precepts and observances,
tamed, bearing their final body:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

Like water from a lotus leaf,
like a mustard seed off a pin-point,
sensual pleasures slip off them:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

They understand for themselves
the end of suffering in this life;
with burden put down, detached:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 383–423 Brāhmaṇavagga: Brahmins by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 360–382 Bhikkhuvagga: The Monk—Part 2

  1. Meditate, O monk! Do not be heedless. Let not your mind whirl on sensual pleasures. Heedless, do not swallow a red-hot iron ball, lest you cry when burning, “O this is painful!”
  2. There is no meditative concentration for him who lacks insight, and no insight for him who lacks meditative concentration. He in whom are found both meditative concentration and insight, indeed, is close to Nibbana.
  3. The monk who has retired to a solitary abode and calmed his mind, who comprehends the Dhamma with insight, in him there arises a delight that transcends all human delights.
  4. Whenever he sees with insight the rise and fall of the aggregates, he is full of joy and happiness. To the discerning one this reflects the Deathless. [25]
  5. Control of the senses, contentment, restraint according to the code of monastic discipline — these form the basis of holy life here for the wise monk.
  6. Let him associate with friends who are noble, energetic, and pure in life, let him be cordial and refined in conduct. Thus, full of joy, he will make an end of suffering.
  7. Just as the jasmine creeper sheds its withered flowers, even so, O monks, should you totally shed lust and hatred!
  8. The monk who is calm in body, calm in speech, calm in thought, well-composed and who has spewn out worldliness — he, truly, is called serene.
  9. By oneself one must censure oneself and scrutinize oneself. The self-guarded and mindful monk will always live in happiness.
  10. One is one’s own protector, one is one’s own refuge. Therefore, one should control oneself, even as a trader controls a noble steed.
  11. Full of joy, full of faith in the Teaching of the Buddha, the monk attains the Peaceful State, the bliss of cessation of conditioned things.
  12. That monk who while young devotes himself to the Teaching of the Buddha illumines this world like the moon freed from clouds.

Read the complete translation of Dhp 360–382 Bhikkhuvagga: The Monk by Acharya Buddharakkhita on accesstoinsight.org. Read the complete translation of Dhp 360–382 Bhikkhuvagga: The Monk by Acharya Buddharakkhita on accesstoinsight.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, or Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 360–382 Bhikkhuvagga: The Monk—Part 1

  1. Good is restraint over the eye; good is restraint over the ear; good is restraint over the nose; good is restraint over the tongue.
  2. Good is restraint in the body; good is restraint in speech; good is restraint in thought. Restraint everywhere is good. The monk restrained in every way is freed from all suffering.
  3. He who has control over his hands, feet and tongue; who is fully controlled, delights in inward development, is absorbed in meditation, keeps to himself and is contented — him do people call a monk.
  4. That monk who has control over his tongue, is moderate in speech, unassuming and who explains the Teaching in both letter and spirit — whatever he says is pleasing.
  5. The monk who abides in the Dhamma, delights in the Dhamma, meditates on the Dhamma, and bears the Dhamma well in mind — he does not fall away from the sublime Dhamma.
  6. One should not despise what one has received, nor envy the gains of others. The monk who envies the gains of others does not attain to meditative absorption.
  7. A monk who does not despise what he has received, even though it be little, who is pure in livelihood and unremitting in effort — him even the gods praise.
  8. He who has no attachment whatsoever for the mind and body, who does not grieve for what he has not — he is truly called a monk.
  9. The monk who abides in universal love and is deeply devoted to the Teaching of the Buddha attains the peace of Nibbana, the bliss of the cessation of all conditioned things.
  10. Empty this boat, O monk! Emptied, it will sail lightly. Rid of lust and hatred, you shall reach Nibbana.
  11. Cut off the five, abandon the five, and cultivate the five. The monk who has overcome the five bonds is called one who has crossed the flood.

Read the complete translation of Dhp 360–382 Bhikkhuvagga: The Monk by Acharya Buddharakkhita on accesstoinsight.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, or Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 334-359 Taṇhā Vagga: Craving—Part 2

347. Those who are obsessed with passion and have fallen into the flood of craving, are like a spider, caught in its own web. This, too, the wise cut off. In order to abandon all suffering, without any longing for sense pleasures, wise people become monks and nuns.

348. Let go of regret over the past, let go of dreaming over the future, and let go of clinging to the present. Go beyond existence. With the mind liberated in every way, do not come again and again to the world of birth and old age.

349. Some people are occupied with sensual thoughts. With a mind of strong lust, they focus on what is pleasant. In them, craving grows more and more. Indeed, they strengthen their bond of craving.

350. He who delights in subduing lustful thoughts, who meditates on the impurities of the body and is constantly mindful—it is he who will make an end of craving and will cut Māra’s bond.

351. The monk who has reached the end goal, Nibbāna, is fearless, free from craving, taintless, and has plucked out the spikes called existence—for him, this is the last body.

352. The monk who is free from craving and attachment, is skilled in teaching the true meanings of the Dhamma, and knows the meaning of words and phrases,—he, indeed, is the bearer of his final body. He is truly called the profoundly wise one, the great man.

353. I have conquered all unwholesome things. I have realized everything. I am stained by nothing. Abandoning all, I am freed through the destruction of craving. Having thus, directly realized all by myself, whom shall I call my teacher?

354. The gift of Dhamma surpasses all gifts. The taste of Dhamma surpasses all taste. The delight in Dhamma surpasses all delights. The destruction of cravings conquers all suffering.

355. Wealth destroys those who lack in wisdom, but, those who seek Nibbāna are not destroyed like that. The foolish person is destroyed by his own craving for wealth, as if he had made someone destroy him.

356. Weeds are the ruin of fields; passion is the ruin of people. Therefore, what is offered to those free of passion bears great fruit.

357. Weeds are the ruin of fields; hatred is the ruin of people. Therefore, what is offered to those free of hatred bears great fruit.

358. Weeds are the ruin of fields; delusion is the ruin of people. Therefore, what is offered to those free of delusion bears great fruit.

359. Weeds are the ruin of fields; desire is the ruin of people. Therefore, what is offered to those free of desire bears great fruit.

Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 24 Taṇhā Vagga: Craving (334-359) by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnananda Thero on SuttaFriends.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 334-359 Taṇhā Vagga: Craving—Part 1

  1. The craving of a person who lives negligently spreads like a creeping vine. Like a monkey who leaps from tree to tree in the forest seeking fruits, that person leaps from life to life, in this journey of misery.
  2. Whoever is overcome by this miserable, wretched, and sticky craving, his sorrow grows like rapidly growing grass after rain.
  3. Whoever overcomes this miserable, wretched craving that is difficult to overcome, from him sorrow falls away like water drips from a lotus leaf.
  4. This I say to you: Good luck to all assembled here! Dig up the root of craving like someone in search of the fragrant root of the bīrana grass. Do not let Māra crush you over and over again, as the flood crushes a bunch of bamboo trees on a bank of the river.
  5. Just as a tree, though cut down, grows again if its roots are strong and remain uncut, so does suffering sprout again and again until the tendency of craving in the mind is rooted out.
  6. Thirty-six streams of craving flow through pleasurable objects. The misguided person who is entangled by this craving is carried away to hell by the flood of lustful thoughts.
  7. The stream of craving flows through every sense base and the creeper of craving sprouts and grows throughout your life. In seeing that the creeper has sprouted in you, cut off its roots with the sword of wisdom.
  8. When craving flows through objects, feelings of pleasure arise in beings. They get attached to that pleasure and seek more enjoyment. Undoubtedly, these people are bound to the journey of birth and old age.
  9. Surrounded by craving, these people run around frightened like a trapped rabbit. Held by fetters and bonds of defilements, they suffer repeatedly over a long time.
  10. Surrounded by craving, these people run around frightened like a trapped rabbit. Therefore, the monk who wishes for passion-free Nibbāna should destroy his own craving.
  11. There is a person who, turning away from the forest of defilements called household life, delights in the monk life. But after being freed from the forest of defilements called the household life, he runs back to it. Look at that person! Though freed, he runs back to that very bondage!
  12. If a person was bound with chains made of iron, shackles made of wood, and ropes made of hemp grass, those bonds are not called strong bonds by the wise. Instead, the infatuation and longing for jewels, ornaments, children, and wives—
  13. that, they say, is a far stronger bond, which pulls one downwards all the way to hell, and, though seemingly loose, is hard to remove. This, too, the wise cut off. By abandoning sense pleasures, and without any longing, they become monks and nuns.

Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 24 Taṇhā Vagga: Craving (334-359) by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnananda Thero on SuttaFriends.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 320–333 Nāgavagga: Elephants

I–like an elephant in battle,
enduring an arrow shot from a bow–
will endure a false accusation,
for the mass of people
have no     principles.


320
The tamed is the one
they take into assemblies.
The tamed is the one
the king mounts.
The tamed who endures
a false accusation
is, among human beings,
     the best.
321

Excellent are tamed mules,
     tamed thoroughbreds,
     tamed horses from Sindh.
Excellent, tamed tuskers,
great elephants.
But even more excellent
are those     self-tamed.

For not by these mounts could you go
to the land unreached,
as the tamed one goes
by taming, well-taming, himself.
322-323

The tusker, Dhanapalaka,
deep in rut, is hard to control.
Bound, he won’t eat a morsel:
the tusker misses
the elephant wood.
324

When torpid & over-fed,
a sleepy-head lolling about
like a stout hog, fattened on fodder:
a dullard enters the womb
     over &
     over again.

325
Before, this mind went wandering
     however it pleased,
     wherever it wanted,
     by whatever way that it liked.
Today I will hold it aptly in check–
as one wielding a goad, an elephant in rut.
326

Delight in heedfulness.
Watch over your own mind.
Lift yourself up
from the hard-going way,
like a tusker sunk in the mud.
327

If you gain a mature companion–
a fellow traveler, right-living, enlightened–
overcoming all dangers
     go with him, gratified,
     mindful.

If you don’t gain a mature companion–
a fellow traveler, right-living, enlightened–
go alone
like a king renouncing his kingdom,
like the elephant in the Matanga wilds,
his herd.

Going alone is better.
There’s no companionship with a fool.
     Go alone,
doing no evil, at peace,
like the elephant in the Matanga wilds.
328-330

A blessing:   friends when the need arises.
A blessing:   contentment with whatever there is.
Merit at the ending of life is a blessing.
A blessing:   the abandoning of all suffering
          & stress.

A blessing in the world:   reverence to your mother.
A blessing:   reverence to your father as well.
A blessing in the world:   reverence to a contemplative.
A blessing:   reverence for a brahman, too.

A blessing into old age is virtue.
A blessing:   conviction established.
A blessing:   discernment attained.
The non-doing of evil things is
     a blessing.
331-333

Read this translation of Dhammapada XXIII . Elephants by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 306–319 Nirayavagga: Hell

A liar goes to hell,
as does one who denies what they did.
Both are equal in the hereafter,
those men of base deeds.

Many who wrap their necks in ocher robes
are unrestrained and wicked.
Being wicked, they are reborn in hell
due to their bad deeds.

It’d be better for the immoral and unrestrained
to eat an iron ball,
scorching, like a burning flame,
than to eat the nation’s alms.

Four things befall a heedless man
who sleeps with another’s wife:
wickedness, poor sleep,
ill-repute, and rebirth in hell.

He accrues wickedness and is reborn in a bad place,
all so a frightened couple may snatch a moment’s pleasure,
for which rulers impose a heavy punishment.
That’s why a man should not sleep with another’s wife.

When kusa grass is wrongly grasped
it only cuts the hand.
So too, the ascetic life, when wrongly taken,
drags you to hell.

Any lax act,
any corrupt observance,
or suspicious spiritual life,
is not very fruitful.

A bad deed is better left undone,
for it will plague you later on.
A good deed is better done,
one that does not plague you.

As a frontier city
is guarded inside and out,
so you should ward yourselves—
don’t let the moment pass you by.
For if you miss your moment
you’ll grieve when sent to hell.

Unashamed of what is shameful,
ashamed of what is not shameful;
beings who uphold wrong view
go to a bad place.

Seeing danger where there is none,
and blind to the actual danger,
beings who uphold wrong view
go to a bad place.

Seeing fault where there is none,
and blind to the actual fault,
beings who uphold wrong view
go to a bad place.

Knowing a fault as a fault
and the faultless as faultless,
beings who uphold right view
go to a good place.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 306–319 Nirayavagga: by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net.

Dhp 290–305 Pakinnakavagga: Miscellaneous

  1. If by renouncing a lesser happiness one may realize a greater happiness, let the wise man renounce the lesser, having regard for the greater.
  2. Entangled by the bonds of hate, he who seeks his own happiness by inflicting pain on others, is never delivered from hatred.
  3. The cankers only increase for those who are arrogant and heedless, who leave undone what should be done and do what should not be done.
  4. The cankers cease for those mindful and clearly comprehending ones who always earnestly practice mindfulness of the body, who do not resort to what should not be done, and steadfastly pursue what should be done.
  5. Having slain mother (craving), father (self-conceit), two warrior-kings (eternalism and nihilism), and destroyed a country (sense organs and sense objects) together with its treasurer (attachment and lust), ungrieving goes the holy man.
  6. Having slain mother, father, two brahman kings (two extreme views), and a tiger as the fifth (the five mental hindrances), ungrieving goes the holy man.
  7. Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily who day and night constantly practice the Recollection of the Qualities of the Buddha.
  8. Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily who day and night constantly practice the Recollection of the Qualities of the Dhamma.
  9. Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily who day and night constantly practice the Recollection of the Qualities of the Sangha.
  10. Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily who day and night constantly practice Mindfulness of the Body.
  11. Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily whose minds by day and night delight in the practice of non-violence.
  12. Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily whose minds by day and night delight in the practice of meditation.
  13. Difficult is life as a monk; difficult is it to delight therein. Also difficult and sorrowful is the household life. Suffering comes from association with unequals; suffering comes from wandering in samsara. Therefore, be not an aimless wanderer, be not a pursuer of suffering.
  14. He who is full of faith and virtue, and possesses good repute and wealth — he is respected everywhere, in whatever land he travels.
  15. The good shine from afar, like the Himalaya mountains. But the wicked are unseen, like arrows shot in the night.
  16. He who sits alone, sleeps alone, and walks alone, who is strenuous and subdues himself alone, will find delight in the solitude of the forest.

Read this translation of Dhp 290–305 Pakinnakavagga: Miscellaneous by Acharya Buddharakkhita on accesstoinsight.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, or Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 273–289 Magga Vagga: The Path

  1. Of all paths, the Noble Eight Fold Path is the best. Of all truths, the Four Noble Truth is the best. Of all things, the passionless state, Nibbāna, is the best. Of all humans, the one with eyes of the Dhamma, Buddha, is the best.
  2. This is the only path for purifying one’s vision of truth; there is no other. Follow it and you will bewilder Māra.
  3. By following the Noble Eight Fold Path you can put an end to suffering. I have taught you this path which pulls out arrows of defilements.
  4. You, yourself, must make a strong effort to attain Nibbāna. Buddhas only point the way. Those who follow the path and those who meditate will be freed from Māra’s bonds.
  5. “All conditioned things are impermanent”—when one sees this with wisdom, one gives up admiration for suffering which is disguised as happiness. This is the path to purification, Nibbāna.
  6. “All conditioned things are suffering”— when one sees this with wisdom, one gives up admiration for suffering which is disguised as happiness. This is the path to purification, Nibbāna.
  7. “All things are not-self”—when one sees this with wisdom, one gives up admiration for suffering which is disguised as happiness. This is the path to purification, Nibbāna.
  8. The inactive one who does not exert himself when he should, who though young and strong is full of laziness, with a mind full of vain thoughts—such an indolent person does not find the path to wisdom.
  9. Let a person be watchful in speech, well restrained in mind, and not commit evil by the body. Let him purify these three courses of action and fulfill the path taught by the sages.
  10. Wisdom arises from calm and insight meditation. Without meditation wisdom decays. Knowing this two-way path for progress and decline, conduct yourself on the path which grows wisdom.
  11. Oh monks, cut down the trees of defilements, but not the trees in the forest. From the trees of defilements, fear is born. Having cut down both large and small trees of defilements, be without defilements.
  12. As long as the underbrush of desire, even the slightest, of a man towards a woman is not cut down, his mind is in bondage, like the suckling calf to its mother.
  13. Cut off craving as one plucks with his hand an autumn lotus. Cultivate only the path to excellent peace, Nibbāna, as taught by the Well-Gone One, the Buddha.
  14. “Here I will live in the rainy season, here in winter and summer”—thus thinks the fool. He does not realize the danger that death might intervene.
  15. Some people live clinging to and intoxicated by children and wealth. Suddenly they are carried away to death by Māra, as a great flood carries away a sleeping village to the ocean.
  16. For someone who is seized by Māra, there is no protection by relatives. No one can save him—not sons, not father, and not relatives.
  17. Realizing this truth, let the wise person restrain himself with virtue. Let him quickly clear the path to Nibbāna.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 20 Magga Vagga: The Path (273-289) by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnananda Thero on SuttaFriends.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 256–272 Dhammaṭṭhavagga: The Judge


To pass judgment hurriedly
doesn’t mean you’re a judge.
The wise one, weighing both
the right judgment & wrong,
judges others impartially–
unhurriedly, in line with the Dhamma,
     guarding the Dhamma,
     guarded by Dhamma,
     intelligent:
he’s called a judge.
256-257

Simply talking a lot
doesn’t mean one is wise.
Whoever’s secure–
     no
          hostility,
          fear–
is said to be wise.

Simply talking a lot
doesn’t maintain the Dhamma.
Whoever
–although he’s heard next to nothing–
     sees Dhamma through his body,
     is not heedless of Dhamma:
he’s one who maintains the Dhamma.
258-259

A head of gray hairs
doesn’t mean one’s an elder.
Advanced in years,
one’s called an old fool.

But one in whom there is
truth, restraint,
rectitude, gentleness,
self-control–
he’s called an elder,
his impurities disgorged,
enlightened.
260-261

Not by suave conversation
or lotus-like coloring
does an envious, miserly cheat
become an exemplary man.

But one in whom this is
     cut through
     up-rooted
     wiped out–
he’s called exemplary,
     his aversion disgorged,
          intelligent.
262-263

A shaven head
doesn’t mean a contemplative.
The liar observing no duties,
filled with greed & desire:
what kind of contemplative’s he?

But whoever tunes out
the dissonance
of his evil qualities
–large or small–
in every way
by bringing evil to consonance:
     he’s called a contemplative.
264-265

Begging from others
doesn’t mean one’s a monk.
As long as one follows
householders’ ways,
one is no monk at all.

But whoever puts aside
both merit & evil and,
living the chaste life,
     judiciously
goes through the world:
     he’s called a monk.
266-267

Not by silence
does someone confused
     & unknowing
turn into a sage.

But whoever–wise,
as if holding the scales,
     taking the excellent–
     rejects evil deeds:
he is a sage,
that’s how he’s a sage.
Whoever can weigh
both sides of the world:
     that’s how he’s called
     a sage.
268-269

Not by harming life
does one become noble.
One is termed
          noble
     for being
          gentle
to all living things.
270

     Monk,
don’t
on account of
     your habits & practices,
     great erudition,
     concentration attainments,
     secluded dwelling,
     or the thought, ‘I touch
     the renunciate ease
     that run-of-the-mill people
     don’t know’:
ever let yourself get complacent
     when the ending of effluents
     is still unattained.
271-272

Read this translation of Dhp 256–272 Dhammaṭṭhavagga: The Judge by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 235–255 Malavagga:

Today you’re like a withered leaf,
Yama’s men await you.
You stand at the departure gates,
yet you have no supplies for the road.

Make an island of yourself!
Swiftly strive, learn to be wise!
Purged of stains, flawless,
you’ll go to the divine realm of the noble ones.

You’ve journeyed the stages of life,
and now you set out to meet Yama.
Along the way there’s nowhere to stay,
yet you have no supplies for the road.

Make an island of yourself!
Swiftly strive, learn to be wise!
Purged of stains, flawless,
you’ll not come again to rebirth and old age.

A smart person would purge
their own stains gradually,
bit by bit, moment by moment,
like a smith smelting silver.

It is the rust born on the iron
that eats away the place it arose.
And so it is their own deeds
that lead the overly-ascetic to a bad place.

Not reciting is the stain of hymns.
The stain of houses is neglect.
Laziness is the stain of beauty.
A guard’s stain is negligence.

Misconduct is a woman’s stain.
A giver’s stain is stinginess.
Bad qualities are a stain
in this world and the next.

But a worse stain than these
is ignorance, the worst stain of all.
Having given up that stain,
be without stains, mendicants!

Life is easy for the shameless.
With all the rude courage of a crow,
they live pushy,
rude, and corrupt.

Life is hard for the conscientious,
always seeking purity,
neither clinging nor rude,
pure of livelihood and discerning.

Take anyone in this world
who kills living creatures,
speaks falsely, steals,
commits adultery,

and indulges in drinking
alcohol and liquor.
Right here they dig up
the root of their own self.

Know this, good sir:
they are unrestrained and wicked.
Don’t let greed and hate
subject you to pain for long.

The people give according to their faith,
according to their confidence.
If you get upset over that,
over other’s food and drink,
you’ll not, by day or by night,
become immersed in samādhi.

Those who have cut that out,
dug it up at the root, eradicated it,
they will, by day or by night,
become immersed in samādhi.

There is no fire like greed,
no crime like hate,
no net like delusion,
no river like craving.

It’s easy to see the faults of others,
hard to see one’s own.
For the faults of others
are tossed high like chaff,
while one’s own are hidden,
as a cheat hides a bad hand.

When you look for the flaws of others,
always finding fault,
your defilements only grow,
you’re far from ending defilements.

In the sky there is no track,
there’s no true ascetic outside here.
People enjoy proliferation,
the Realized Ones are free of proliferation.

In the sky there is no track,
there’s no true ascetic outside here.
No conditions last forever,
the Awakened Ones are not shaken.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 235–255 Malavagga: by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 221–234 Kodhavagga: Anger

  1. One should give up anger, renounce pride, and overcome all fetters. Suffering never befalls him who clings not to mind and body and is detached.
  2. He who checks rising anger as a charioteer checks a rolling chariot, him I call a true charioteer. Others only hold the reins.
  3. Overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth.
  4. Speak the truth; yield not to anger; when asked, give even if you only have a little. By these three means can one reach the presence of the gods.
  5. Those sages who are inoffensive and ever restrained in body, go to the Deathless State, where, having gone, they grieve no more.
  6. Those who are ever vigilant, who discipline themselves day and night, and are ever intent upon Nibbana — their defilements fade away.
  7. O Atula! Indeed, this is an ancient practice, not one only of today: they blame those who remain silent, they blame those who speak much, they blame those who speak in moderation. There is none in the world who is not blamed.
  8. There never was, there never will be, nor is there now, a person who is wholly blamed or wholly praised.
  9. But the man whom the wise praise, after observing him day after day, is one of flawless character, wise, and endowed with knowledge and virtue.
  10. Who can blame such a one, as worthy as a coin of refined gold? Even the gods praise him; by Brahma, too, is he praised.
  11. Let a man guard himself against irritability in bodily action; let him be controlled in deed. Abandoning bodily misconduct, let him practice good conduct in deed.
  12. Let a man guard himself against irritability in speech; let him be controlled in speech. Abandoning verbal misconduct, let him practice good conduct in speech.
  13. Let a man guard himself against irritability in thought; let him be controlled in mind. Abandoning mental misconduct, let him practice good conduct in thought.
  14. The wise are controlled in bodily action, controlled in speech and controlled in thought. They are truly well-controlled.

Read this translation of Dhp 221–234 Kodhavagga: Anger by Acharya Buddharakkhita on accesstoinsight.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 209–220 Piya Vagga: The Dear

  1. Some people practice what they should not; they do not practice the greatest thing, the Dhamma. Clinging to what is dear, they abandon what is beneficial, but later they envy those who have succeeded in Dhamma practice.
  2. Do not get too attached, even to your loved ones. Have no fellowship with disagreeable people. Not seeing your loved ones is suffering; seeing the disagreeable is also suffering.
  3. Therefore, hold nothing dear, for separation from all that is dear is painful. There are no bonds for those who have nothing agreeable or disagreeable.
  4. Longing gives rise to sorrow; longing gives rise to fear. For someone released from longing, there is no sorrow; so, from what would fear arise?
  5. Affection gives rise to sorrow; affection gives rise to fear. For someone released from affection, there is no sorrow; so, from what would fear arise?
  6. Desire gives rise to sorrow; desire gives rise to fear. For someone released from desire, there is no sorrow; so, from what would fear arise?
  7. Sense desire gives rise to sorrow; sense desire gives rise to fear. For someone released from sense desire, there is no sorrow; so, from what would fear arise?
  8. Craving gives rise to sorrow; craving gives rise to fear. For someone released from craving, there is no sorrow; so, from what would fear arise?
  9. If someone is virtuous, has insight into the Four Noble Truths, is established in the Dhamma, is truthful, and is endowed with righteous living—people hold that person dear.
  10. The person who aspires to Nibbāna, though he does not reveal his goal to anyone, experiences Nibbāna in his mind. He is not bound by sense pleasures. Such a person is called “one bound up stream.”
  11. Relatives, friends, and companions welcome a long-absent person returning from abroad.
  12. Like wise in passing from this world to the next, the merit one has collected welcomes him.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 16 Piya Vagga: The Dear (209-220) by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnananda Thero on SuttaFriends.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 197–208 Sukhavagga: Happy

How very happily we live,
free from hostility
among those who are hostile.
Among hostile people,
free from hostility we dwell.

How very happily we live,
free from misery
among those who are miserable.
Among miserable people,
free from misery we dwell.

How very happily we live,
free from busyness
among those who are busy.
Among busy people,
free from busyness we dwell.

How very happily we live,
we who have nothing.
We will feed on rapture
like the Radiant gods.
197-200

Winning gives birth to hostility.
Losing, one lies down in pain.
The calmed lie down with ease,
     having set
     winning & losing
          aside.
201

There’s no fire like passion,
no loss like anger,
no pain like the aggregates,
no ease other than peace.

Hunger: the foremost illness.
Fabrications: the foremost pain.
For one knowing this truth
as it has come to be,
     Unbinding
is the foremost ease.

Freedom from illness: the foremost good fortune.
Contentment: the foremost wealth.
Trust: the foremost kinship.
Unbinding: the foremost ease.
202–204

Drinking the nourishment,
          the flavor,
of seclusion & calm,
one is freed from evil, devoid
     of distress,
refreshed with the nourishment
of rapture in the Dhamma.
205

It’s good to see Noble Ones.
Happy their company–always.
Through not seeing fools
constantly, constantly
     one would be happy.

For, living with a fool,
one grieves a long time.
Painful is communion with fools,
as with an enemy–
     always.
Happy is communion
with the enlightened,
as with a gathering of kin.

     So:
the enlightened man–
discerning, learned,
enduring, dutiful, noble,
intelligent, a man of integrity:
     follow him
     –one of this sort–
     as the moon, the path
     of the zodiac stars.
206–208

Read this translation of Dhp 197–208 Sukhavagga: Happy by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 179–196 Buddhavagga:

He whose victory may not be undone,
a victory unrivaled in all the world;
by what track would you trace that Buddha,
who leaves no track in his infinite range?

Of craving, the weaver, the clinger, he has none:
so where can he be traced?
By what track would you trace that Buddha,
who leaves no track in his infinite range?

The wise intent on absorption,
who love the peace of renunciation,
the Buddhas, ever mindful,
are envied by even the gods.

It’s hard to gain a human birth;
the life of mortals is hard;
it’s hard to hear the true teaching;
the arising of Buddhas is hard.

Not to do any evil;
to embrace the good;
to purify one’s mind:
this is the instruction of the Buddhas.

Patient acceptance is the ultimate fervor.
Extinguishment is the ultimate, say the Buddhas.
No true renunciate injures another,
nor does an ascetic hurt another.

Not speaking ill nor doing harm;
restraint in the monastic code;
moderation in eating;
staying in remote lodgings;
commitment to the higher mind—
this is the instruction of the Buddhas.

Even if it were raining money,
you’d not be sated in sensual pleasures.
An astute person understands that sensual pleasures
offer little gratification and much suffering.

Thus they find no delight
even in celestial pleasures.
A disciple of the fully awakened Buddha
delights in the ending of craving.

So many go for refuge
to mountains and forest groves,
to tree-shrines in tended parks;
those people are driven by fear.

But such refuge is no sanctuary,
it is no supreme refuge.
By going to that refuge,
you’re not released from suffering.

One gone for refuge to the Buddha,
to his teaching and to the Saṅgha,
sees the four noble truths
with right understanding:

suffering, suffering’s origin,
suffering’s transcendence,
and the noble eightfold path
that leads to the stilling of suffering.

Such refuge is a sanctuary,
it is the supreme refuge.
By going to that refuge,
you’re released from all suffering.

It’s hard to find a thoroughbred man
they’re not born just anywhere.
A family where that sage is born
prospers in happiness.

Happy, the arising of Buddhas!
Happy, the teaching of Dhamma!
Happy is the harmony of the Saṅgha,
and the striving of the harmonious is happy.

When a person venerates the worthy—
the Buddha or his disciple,
who have transcended proliferation,
and have left behind grief and lamentation,

quenched, fearing nothing from any quarter—
the merit of one venerating such as these,
cannot be calculated by anyone,
saying it is just this much.


Read this translation of Dhammapada 179–196 Buddhavagga: by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 167–178 Lokavagga: The World

  1. Follow not the vulgar way; live not in heedlessness; hold not false views; linger not long in worldly existence.
  2. Arise! Do not be heedless! Lead a righteous life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next.
  3. Lead a righteous life; lead not a base life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next.
  4. One who looks upon the world as a bubble and a mirage, him the King of Death sees not.
  5. Come! Behold this world, which is like a decorated royal chariot. Here fools flounder, but the wise have no attachment to it.
  6. He who having been heedless is heedless no more, illuminates this world like the moon freed from clouds.
  7. He, who by good deeds covers the evil he has done, illuminates this world like the moon freed from clouds.
  8. Blind is the world; here only a few possess insight. Only a few, like birds escaping from the net, go to realms of bliss.
  9. Swans fly on the path of the sun; men pass through the air by psychic powers; the wise are led away from the world after vanquishing Mara and his host.
  10. For a liar who has violated the one law (of truthfulness) who holds in scorn the hereafter, there is no evil that he cannot do.
  11. Truly, misers fare not to heavenly realms; nor, indeed, do fools praise generosity. But the wise man rejoices in giving, and by that alone does he become happy hereafter.
  12. Better than sole sovereignty over the earth, better than going to heaven, better even than lordship over all the worlds is the supramundane Fruition of Stream Entrance.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 167–178 Lokavagga: The World by Acharya Buddharakkhita on accesstoinsight.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, or Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 157-166 Atta Vagga: Oneself

  1. If one holds oneself dear, one should guard oneself with care. Avoiding evil, the wise person should watch over himself at least in one of these three stages of life—childhood, adulthood, or old age.
  2. One should first establish oneself in good qualities; then only should one instruct others. Thus, the wise person will not be stained.
  3. As one instructs others, so should one act; if one would tame others, one should first be well tamed. Truly, it is very hard to tame oneself.
  4. Oneself, indeed, is one’s own protector. Who else could the protector be? With oneself well tamed, one can obtain the protection of Dhamma which is hard to obtain.
  5. The evil a foolish person does by himself, born of himself, and produced by himself, grinds him as the diamond which was produced by the gems grinds similar types of gems.
  6. The plant vines with big leaves cover the sal tree on which it grows. As a result, eventually the tree breaks down. In the same way, the person who completely covers himself with his own corrupt conduct does to himself what an enemy wishes for him.
  7. Easy to do are things that are bad and harmful to oneself. However, it is very difficult to do things that are good and beneficial for oneself.
  8. The fool, relying on evil views, scorns the teaching of the liberated ones who live righteously. The fool produces fruit that destroys himself, like the bamboo tree produces fruit bringing its own destruction.
  9. Through one’s own evil deeds one is defiled. By avoiding evil deeds one is purified. Purity or impurity entirely depends on oneself; no one can purify another.
  10. Do not lose your own welfare for the sake of others’ welfare. Clearly understand your own welfare which is the attainment of enlightenment. Therefore, work hard to be a liberated one.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 12 Atta Vagga: Oneself (157-166) by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnananda Thero on SuttaFriends.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 146-156 Jarāvagga: Aging

What laughter, why joy,
when constantly aflame?
     Enveloped in darkness,
don’t you look for a lamp?
146

Look at the beautified image,
a heap of festering wounds, shored up:
ill, but the object
     of many resolves,
where there is nothing
     lasting or sure.
147

Worn out is this body,
a nest of diseases, dissolving.
This putrid conglomeration
is bound to break up,
for life is hemmed in with death.
148

On seeing these bones
     discarded
like gourds in the fall,
     pigeon-gray:
          what delight?
149

A city made of bones,
plastered over with flesh & blood,
whose hidden treasures are:
     pride & contempt,
     aging & death.
150

Even royal chariots
well-embellished
get run down,
and so does the body
succumb to old age.
But the Dhamma of the good
doesn’t succumb to old age:
the good let the civilized know.
151

This unlistening man
matures like an ox.
His muscles develop,
his discernment      not.
152

Through the round of many births I roamed
     without reward,
     without rest,
seeking the house-builder.
     Painful is birth again
          & again.

House-builder, you’re seen!
You will not build a house again.
All your rafters broken,
the ridge pole dismantled,
immersed in dismantling, the mind
has attained to the end of craving.
153-154

Neither living the chaste life
nor gaining wealth in their youth,
they waste away like old herons
in a dried-up lake
depleted of fish.

Neither living the chaste life
nor gaining wealth in their youth,
they lie around,
misfired from the bow,
sighing over old times.
155-156

Read this translation of Dhp 146-156 Jarāvagga: Aging by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 129–145 Daṇḍavagga: The Rod

All tremble at the rod,
all fear death.
Treating others like oneself,
neither kill nor incite to kill.

All tremble at the rod,
all love life.
Treating others like oneself,
neither kill nor incite to kill.

Creatures love happiness,
so if you harm them with a stick
in search of your own happiness,
after death you won’t find happiness.

Creatures love happiness,
so if you don’t hurt them with a stick
in search of your own happiness,
after death you will find happiness.

Don’t speak harshly,
they may speak harshly back.
For aggressive speech is painful,
and the rod may spring back on you.

If you still yourself
like a broken gong,
you’re quenched
and conflict-free.

As a cowherd drives the cows
to pasture with the rod,
so too old age and death
drive life from living beings.

The fool does not understand
the evil that they do.
But because of those deeds, that dullard
is tormented as if burnt by fire.

One who violently attacks
the peaceful and the innocent
swiftly falls
to one of ten bad states:

harsh pain; loss;
the breakup of the body;
serious illness;
mental distress;

hazards from rulers;
vicious slander;
loss of kin;
destruction of wealth;

or else their home
is consumed by fire.
When their body breaks up, that witless person
is reborn in hell.

Not nakedness, nor matted hair, nor mud,
nor fasting, nor lying on bare ground,
nor wearing dust and dirt, or squatting on the heels,
will cleanse a mortal not free of doubt.

Dressed-up they may be, but if they live well—
peaceful, tamed, committed to the spiritual path,
having laid aside violence towards all creatures—
they are a brahmin, an ascetic, a mendicant.

Can a person constrained by conscience
be found in the world?
Who shies away from blame,
like a fine horse from the whip?

Like a fine horse under the whip,
be keen and full of urgency.
With faith, ethics, and energy,
immersion, and investigation of principles,
accomplished in knowledge and conduct, mindful,
give up this vast suffering.

While irrigators guide water,
fletchers shape arrows,
and carpenters carve timber—
those true to their vows tame themselves.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 129–145 Daṇḍavagga: The Rod by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 116–128 Papavagga: Evil

  1. Hasten to do good; restrain your mind from evil. He who is slow in doing good, his mind delights in evil.
  2. Should a person commit evil, let him not do it again and again. Let him not find pleasure therein, for painful is the accumulation of evil.
  3. Should a person do good, let him do it again and again. Let him find pleasure therein, for blissful is the accumulation of good.
  4. It may be well with the evil-doer as long as the evil ripens not. But when it does ripen, then the evil-doer sees (the painful results of) his evil deeds.
  5. It may be ill with the doer of good as long as the good ripens not. But when it does ripen, then the doer of good sees (the pleasant results of) his good deeds.
  6. Think not lightly of evil, saying, “It will not come to me.” Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the fool, gathering it little by little, fills himself with evil.
  7. Think not lightly of good, saying, “It will not come to me.” Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.
  8. Just as a trader with a small escort and great wealth would avoid a perilous route, or just as one desiring to live avoids poison, even so should one shun evil.
  9. If on the hand there is no wound, one may carry even poison in it. Poison does not affect one who is free from wounds. For him who does no evil, there is no ill.
  10. Like fine dust thrown against the wind, evil falls back upon that fool who offends an inoffensive, pure and guiltless man.
  11. Some are born in the womb; the wicked are born in hell; the devout go to heaven; the stainless pass into Nibbana.
  12. Neither in the sky nor in mid-ocean, nor by entering into mountain clefts, nowhere in the world is there a place where one may escape from the results of evil deeds.
  13. Neither in the sky nor in mid-ocean, nor by entering into mountain clefts, nowhere in the world is there a place where one will not be overcome by death.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 116–128 Papavagga: Evil by Acharya Buddharakkhita on accesstoinsight.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 100-115 Sahassa Vagga: The Thousands

  1. Better than a thousand unbeneficial words is one beneficial word which, having been heard, brings peace.
  2. Better than a thousand unbeneficial verses is one beneficial line of verse which, having been heard, brings peace.
  3. Better than reciting a hundred unbeneficial verses is one line of Dhamma which, having been heard, brings peace.
  4. Greater than a person who conquers a thousand people in battle a thousand times is the person who conquers himself in the battle of defilements.
  5. Certainly it is better to conquer oneself than others. The person who tames himself and always restrains sense faculties wins the battle.
  6. Neither a god, nor a divine musician, nor Māra, nor brahma, can turn into defeat the victory of a person who has conquered himself.
  7. Better than a thousand ritual sacrifices offered every month for a hundred years is one moment’s gift offered to a liberated one who has fully developed his mind.
  8. Better than a hundred years in the forest tending a ritual fire is one moment’s gift offered to a liberated one who has fully developed his mind.
  9. Whatever gift or offering a merit seeker might perform in an entire year is not worth one-fourth as much as worshipping the liberated ones.
  10. For the person who worships virtuous people and always reveres and serves the elders, four things increase: long life, beauty, happiness, and power.
  11. Better it is to live one day virtuous and meditative than to live a hundred years without virtue and stillness of mind.
  12. Better it is to live one day wise and meditative than to live a hundred years without wisdom and stillness of mind.
  13. Better it is to live one day energetic and resolute than to live a hundred years lazy and sluggish.
  14. Better it is to live one day seeing the arising and passing of the five groups of clinging than to live a hundred years without ever seeing their arising and passing.
  15. Better it is to live one day experiencing Nibbāna than to live a hundred years without ever experiencing Nibbāna.
  16. Better it is to live one day realizing the Supreme Dhamma than to live a hundred years without ever realizing the Supreme Dhamma.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 8 Sahassa Vagga: The Thousands (100-115) by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnananda Thero on SuttaFriends.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 90–99 Arahantavagga: Arahants

    In one who
has gone the full distance,
is free from sorrow,
is everywhere
    fully released,
has abandoned all bonds:
    no fever is found.
90

The mindful keep active,
don’t delight in settling back.
They renounce every home,
        every home,
like swans taking off from a lake.
91

Not hoarding,
having comprehended food,
their pasture–emptiness
& freedom without sign:
    their course,
like that of birds through space,
    can’t be traced.

Effluents ended,
independent of nutriment,
their pasture–emptiness
& freedom without sign:
    their trail,
like that of birds through space,
    can’t be traced.
92-93

He whose senses are steadied
    like stallions
well-trained by the charioteer,
his conceit abandoned,
    free of effluent,
    Such:
even devas adore him.

Like the earth, he doesn’t react–
    cultured,
    Such,
like Indra’s pillar,
like a lake free of mud.
For him
    –Such–
there’s no traveling on.
Calm is his mind,
calm his speech
     & his deed:
one who’s released through right knowing,
    pacified,
    Such.
94-96

        The man
faithless / beyond conviction
ungrateful / knowing the Unmade
a burglar / who has severed connections
    who’s destroyed
his chances / conditions
who eats vomit: / has disgorged expectations:
    the ultimate person.
97

In village or wilds,
valley, plateau:
that place is delightful
where arahants dwell.
98

Delightful wilds
where the crowds don’t delight,
those free from passion
    delight,
for they’re not searching
for sensual pleasures.
99

Read this translation of Dhammapada VII . Arahants by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 76–89 Paṇḍitavagga: The Astute

Regard one who sees your faults
as a guide to a hidden treasure.
Stay close to one so wise and astute
who corrects you when you need it.
Sticking close to such an impartial person,
things get better, not worse.

Advise and instruct;
curb wickedness:
for you shall be loved by the good,
and disliked by the bad.

Don’t mix with bad friends,
nor with the worst of men.
Mix with spiritual friends,
and with the best of men.

Through joy in the teaching you sleep at ease,
with clear and confident heart.
An astute person always delights in the teaching
proclaimed by the Noble One.

Irrigators guide water,
fletchers straighten arrows,
carpenters carve timber,
the astute tame themselves.

As the wind cannot stir
a solid mass of rock,
so too blame and praise
do not affect the wise.

Like a deep lake,
clear and unclouded,
so clear are the astute
when they hear the teachings.

True persons give up everything,
they don’t cajole for the things they desire.
Though touched by sadness or happiness,
the astute appear neither depressed nor elated.

Never wish for success by unjust means,
for your own sake or that of another,
desiring children, wealth, or nation;
rather, be virtuous, wise, and just.

Few are those among humans
who cross to the far shore.
The rest just run around
on the near shore.

When the teaching is well explained,
those who practice accordingly
will cross over
Death’s domain so hard to pass.

Rid of dark qualities,
an astute person should develop the bright.
Leaving home behind
for the seclusion so hard to enjoy,

find delight there,
having left behind sensual pleasures.
With no possessions, an astute person
would cleanse themselves of mental corruptions.

Those whose minds are rightly developed
in the awakening factors;
who, letting go of attachments,
delight in not grasping:
with defilements ended, brilliant,
they in this world are quenched.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 76–89 Paṇḍitavagga: by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 60–75 Bālavagga: The Fool

  1. Long is the night to the sleepless; long is the league to the weary. Long is worldly existence to fools who know not the Sublime Truth.
  2. Should a seeker not find a companion who is better or equal, let him resolutely pursue a solitary course; there is no fellowship with the fool.
  3. The fool worries, thinking, “I have sons, I have wealth.” Indeed, when he himself is not his own, whence are sons, whence is wealth?
  4. A fool who knows his foolishness is wise at least to that extent, but a fool who thinks himself wise is a fool indeed.
  5. Though all his life a fool associates with a wise man, he no more comprehends the Truth than a spoon tastes the flavor of the soup.
  6. Though only for a moment a discerning person associates with a wise man, quickly he comprehends the Truth, just as the tongue tastes the flavor of the soup.
  7. Fools of little wit are enemies unto themselves as they move about doing evil deeds, the fruits of which are bitter.
  8. Ill done is that action of doing which one repents later, and the fruit of which one, weeping, reaps with tears.
  9. Well done is that action of doing which one repents not later, and the fruit of which one reaps with delight and happiness.
  10. So long as an evil deed has not ripened, the fool thinks it as sweet as honey. But when the evil deed ripens, the fool comes to grief.
  11. Month after month a fool may eat his food with the tip of a blade of grass, but he still is not worth a sixteenth part of the those who have comprehended the Truth.
  12. Truly, an evil deed committed does not immediately bear fruit, like milk that does not turn sour all at once. But smoldering, it follows the fool like fire covered by ashes.
  13. To his own ruin the fool gains knowledge, for it cleaves his head and destroys his innate goodness.
  14. The fool seeks undeserved reputation, precedence among monks, authority over monasteries, and honor among householders.
  15. “Let both laymen and monks think that it was done by me. In every work, great and small, let them follow me” — such is the ambition of the fool; thus his desire and pride increase.
  16. One is the quest for worldly gain, and quite another is the path to Nibbana. Clearly understanding this, let not the monk, the disciple of the Buddha, be carried away by worldly acclaim, but develop detachment instead

Read this translation of Dhammapada 60–75 Bālavagga: The Fool by Acharya Buddharakkhita on accesstoinsight.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 44-59 Puppha Vagga: Flowers

  1. Who will overcome this earth? Who will overcome this plane of misery? Who will overcome this world with its gods? Who will realize the well-taught words of the Dhamma, as an expert garland maker selects beautiful flowers?
  2. The trainee in the Dhamma path will overcome this earth. He will overcome the plane of misery. He will overcome this world with its gods. The trainee will realize the well-taught words of the Dhamma, as an expert garland maker selects beautiful flowers.
  3. Understanding that this body is fragile like foam, realizing life’s mirage-like nature, cutting off Māra’s flowers of defilements, go beyond the sight of Māra!
  4. The person obsessed by sense pleasures chases after them as a garland maker searches for flowers. Māra carries away that person to the plane of misery like a great flood sweeps away a sleeping village.
  5. The person obsessed by sense pleasures chases after them as a garland maker searches for flowers. Although he has not fully satisfied himself with sense pleasures, Māra brings him under his control.
  6. As a bee gathers nectar from the flower and flies away without harming the flower’s beauty or its fragrance, just so the sage goes on his alms round in the village.
  7. Do not consider what is false in what others say or what they have or have not done. Consider instead what you have or have not done.
  8. A beautiful flower that is colourful but without fragrance is not perfect. In the same way, the well spoken-words of the Buddha become fruitless for the person who does not practice them.
  9. A beautiful flower that is colourful and also fragrant is perfect. In the same way, the well-spoken words of the Buddha become fruitful for the person who practices them.
  10. As an expert garland maker makes many garlands from a heap of flowers, you who obtained the human life should do many wholesome deeds.
  11. The scent of flowers does not go against the wind. The scent of sandalwood, jasmine, and rosebay does not go against the wind. But the scent of a grateful person does travel against the wind. The scent of his virtues spreads in all directions.
  12. Of all the fragrances—sandalwood, rosebay, water lily, and jasmine—the fragrance of virtue is the sweetest.
  13. Slight is the scent of rosebay or sandalwood, but the scent of the virtuous is supreme, drifting even to heaven.
  14. The liberated ones are virtuous and practice the Dhamma diligently. They are freed from suffering by the realization of the Noble Truths. Māra never finds the path by which they are liberated.
  15. In the roadside ditch, in a heap of rubbish, blooms a lotus, sweet smelling and pleasing to the eyes.
  16. In the same way, among the rubbish heap of unaware ordinary people, the disciple of the Supreme Buddha shines brightly with wisdom.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 4 Puppha Vagga: Flowers (44-59) by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnananda Thero on SuttaFriends.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 33–43 Cittavagga: The Mind

Quivering, wavering,
hard to guard,
to hold in check:
     the mind.
The sage makes it straight–
like a fletcher,
the shaft of an arrow.

Like a fish
pulled from its home in the water
& thrown on land:
this mind flips & flaps about
     to escape Mara’s sway.

Hard to hold down,
     nimble,
alighting wherever it likes:
     the mind.
Its taming is good.
The mind well-tamed
     brings ease.

So hard to see,
so very, very subtle,
alighting wherever it likes:
     the mind.
The wise should guard it.
The mind protected
     brings ease.

Wandering far,
going alone,
bodiless,
lying in a cave:
     the mind.
Those who restrain it:
     from Mara’s bonds
     they’ll be freed.
33-37

For a person of unsteady mind,
not knowing true Dhamma,
     serenity
     set     adrift:
discernment doesn’t grow full.
38

For a person of unsoddened mind,
          unassaulted awareness,
abandoning merit & evil,
     wakeful,
there is
     no danger
     no fear.
39

Knowing this body
     is like a clay jar,
securing this mind
     like a fort,
          attack Mara
     with the spear of discernment,
then guard what’s won
     without settling there,
     without laying claim.
40

All too soon, this body
will lie on the ground
     cast off,
bereft of consciousness,
like a useless scrap
     of wood.
41

Whatever an enemy might do
to an enemy,
or a foe to a foe,
the ill-directed mind
can do to you
     even worse.

Whatever a mother, father
or other kinsman
might do for you,
the well-directed mind
can do for you
     even better.
42-43

Read this translation of Dhammapada III . The Mind by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 21–32 Appamādavagga: Diligence

Heedfulness is the state free of death;
heedlessness is the state of death.
The heedful do not die,
while the heedless are like the dead.

Understanding this distinction
when it comes to heedfulness,
the astute rejoice in heedfulness,
happy in the noble ones’ domain.

They who regularly meditate,
always staunchly vigorous;
those wise ones realize quenching,
the supreme sanctuary from the yoke.

For the hard-working and mindful,
pure of deed and attentive,
restrained, living righteously, and diligent,
their reputation only grows.

By hard work and diligence,
by restraint and by self-control,
a smart person would build an island
that the floods cannot overflow.

Fools and half-wits
devote themselves to negligence.
But the wise protect diligence
as their best treasure.

Don’t devote yourself to negligence,
or delight in sexual intimacy.
For if you’re diligent and meditate,
you’ll attain abundant happiness.

When the astute dispel negligence
by means of diligence,
ascending the palace of wisdom,
sorrowless, they behold this generation of sorrow,
as a wise man on a mountain-top
beholds the fools below.

Heedful among the heedless,
wide awake while others sleep—
a true sage leaves them behind,
like a swift horse passing a feeble.

Maghavā became chief of the gods
by means of diligence.
People praise diligence,
while negligence is always deplored.

A mendicant who loves to be diligent,
seeing fear in negligence—
advances like fire,
burning up fetters big and small.

A mendicant who loves to be diligent,
seeing fear in negligence—
such a one can’t decline,
and has drawn near to extinguishment.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 21–32 Appamādavagga: by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 1–20 Yamakavagga: Pairs

  1. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.
  2. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow.
  3. “He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me.” Those who harbor such thoughts do not still their hatred.
  4. “He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me.” Those who do not harbor such thoughts still their hatred.
  5. Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal.
  6. There are those who do not realize that one day we all must die. But those who do realize this settle their quarrels.
  7. Just as a storm throws down a weak tree, so does Mara overpower the man who lives for the pursuit of pleasures, who is uncontrolled in his senses, immoderate in eating, indolent, and dissipated.
  8. Just as a storm cannot prevail against a rocky mountain, so Mara can never overpower the man who lives meditating on the impurities, who is controlled in his senses, moderate in eating, and filled with faith and earnest effort.
  9. Whoever being depraved, devoid of self-control and truthfulness, should don the monk’s yellow robe, he surely is not worthy of the robe.
  10. But whoever is purged of depravity, well-established in virtues and filled with self-control and truthfulness, he indeed is worthy of the yellow robe.
  11. Those who mistake the unessential to be essential and the essential to be unessential, dwelling in wrong thoughts, never arrive at the essential.
  12. Those who know the essential to be essential and the unessential to be unessential, dwelling in right thoughts, do arrive at the essential.
  13. Just as rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, so passion penetrates an undeveloped mind.
  14. Just as rain does not break through a well-thatched house, so passion never penetrates a well-developed mind.
  15. The evil-doer grieves here and hereafter; he grieves in both the worlds. He laments and is afflicted, recollecting his own impure deeds.
  16. The doer of good rejoices here and hereafter; he rejoices in both the worlds. He rejoices and exults, recollecting his own pure deeds.
  17. The evil-doer suffers here and hereafter; he suffers in both the worlds. The thought, “Evil have I done,” torments him, and he suffers even more when gone to realms of woe.
  18. The doer of good delights here and hereafter; he delights in both the worlds. The thought, “Good have I done,” delights him, and he delights even more when gone to realms of bliss.
  19. Much though he recites the sacred texts, but acts not accordingly, that heedless man is like a cowherd who only counts the cows of others — he does not partake of the blessings of the holy life.
  20. Little though he recites the sacred texts, but puts the Teaching into practice, forsaking lust, hatred, and delusion, with true wisdom and emancipated mind, clinging to nothing of this or any other world — he indeed partakes of the blessings of a holy life.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 1–20 Yamakavagga: Pairs by Acharya Buddharakkhita on accesstoinsight.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, or Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

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