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Dhammapada

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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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.

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Dhp 110 From… Sahassavagga: The Thousands

Better to live a single day
ethical and absorbed in meditation
than to live a hundred years
unethical and lacking immersion.

Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 100–115 Sahassavagga: 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 SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 144–5 From… Daṇḍavagga: The Rod

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.


Read the entire 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 SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 58–59 From… Puppha Vagga: Flowers

58. In the roadside ditch, in a heap of rubbish, blooms a lotus, sweet smelling and pleasing to the eyes.

59. In the same way, among the rubbish heap of unaware ordinary people, the disciple of the Supreme Buddha shines brightly with wisdom.

Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 4 Puppha Vagga: Flowers (44-59) by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnananda Thero on SuttaFriends.org.

Dhp 91 From… Arahantavagga: The Perfected Ones

The mindful apply themselves;
they delight in no abode.
Like a swan gone from the marsh,
they leave home after home behind.

Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 90–99 Arahantavagga: 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.

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Dhp 240 From… Mala Vagga: Stain

240. As rust born from iron eats away the very iron that formed it, so does the reckless behaviour of a monk leads him to the plain of misery.

Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 18 Mala Vagga: Stain (235-255) 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 SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 162 From… Attavagga: The Self

One choked by immorality,
as a sal tree by a creeper,
does to themselves
what a foe only wishes.

Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 157–166 Attavagga: 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 one of 25 modern languages.

Dhp 49 From… Puppha Vagga: Flowers

49. 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.

Read the entire 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 SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read in one of 25 other modern languages.

Dhp 19 From… Yamakavagga: Pairs

Much though they may recite scripture,
if a negligent person does not apply them,
then, like a cowherd who counts the cattle of others,
they miss out on the blessings of the ascetic life.

Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 1–20 Yamakavagga: Pairs 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 111 From… Sahassa Vagga: The Thousands

111. Better it is to live one day wise and meditative than to live a hundred years without wisdom and stillness of mind.

Read the entire 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, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read in one of 24 other modern languages.

Dhp 282 from… Maggavagga: The Path

Wisdom springs from meditation; without meditation wisdom wanes. Having known these two paths of progress and decline, let a man so conduct himself that his wisdom may increase.

Read the complete translation of Dhammapada chapter 20 Maggavagga: the Path 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 SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read in one of 28 other modern languages.

Dhp 81–82 From… Paṇḍitavagga: The Astute

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.


Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 76–89 Paṇḍitavagga: The Astute 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 372 From… Bhikkhuvagga: The Monk

[In this verse, paññña is translated as insight instead of the more common wisdom.]

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.

Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 360–382 Bhikkhuvagga: The Monk by Ven Ācāriya Buddharakkhita 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.

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Dhp 311–314 From… Niriya Vagga: Hell

Just as sharp-bladed grass,
if wrongly held,
wounds the very hand that holds it–
the contemplative life, if wrongly grasped,
drags you down to hell.

Any slack act,
or defiled observance,
or fraudulent life of chastity
bears no great fruit.

If something’s to be done,
then work at it firmly,
for a slack going-forth
kicks up all the more dust.

It’s better to leave a misdeed
undone.
A misdeed burns you afterward.
Better that a good deed be done
that, after you’ve done it,
won’t make you burn.

Read the entire translation of Dhp Niriya Vagga: Hell 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.

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Dhp 375 From… Bhikkhuvagga: Mendicants

This is the very start of the path
for a wise mendicant:
guarding the senses, contentment,
and restraint in the monastic code.

Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 360–382 Bhikkhuvagga: by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net.

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Dhp 302 From… Pakiṇṇakavagga: Miscellaneous

Going forth is hard, it’s hard to be happy;
life at home is hard too, and painful,
it’s painful to stay when you’ve nothing in common.
A traveler is a prey to pain,
so don’t be a traveler,
don’t be prey to pain.

Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 302 Pakiṇṇakavagga: Miscellaneous 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 334-336 From… Taṇhā Vagga: Craving

334. 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.

335. Whoever is overcome by this miserable, wretched, and sticky craving, his sorrow grows like rapidly growing grass after rain.

336. Whoever overcomes this miserable, wretched craving that is difficult to overcome, from him sorrow falls away like water drips from a lotus leaf.

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 listen on SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 186–187 From… Buddhavagga: The Buddha

186. 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.

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

Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 179–196 Buddhavagga: 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.

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Dhp 316-319 From… Chapter 22 Niraya Vagga: Hell

Ashamed of what’s not shameful,
not ashamed of what is,
beings adopting wrong views
go to a bad destination.

Seeing danger where there is none,
& no danger where there is,
beings adopting wrong views
go to a bad destination.

Imagining error where there is none,
and no error where there is,
beings adopting wrong views
go to a bad destination.

But knowing error as error,
and non-error as non-,
beings adopting right views
    go to a good
    destination.


Read the entire translation of Dhammapada XXII . Hell 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 in other modern languages.

Dhp 273-276 From… Magga Vagga: The Path

273. 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.

274. This is the only path for purifying one’s vision of truth; there is no other. Follow it and you will bewilder Māra.

275. 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.

276. 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.

Read the entire 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 listen on SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read translations into 25 other modern languages on SuttaCentral.net.

Dhp 179–182 From… Buddhavagga: The Buddha

179. By what track can you trace that trackless Buddha of limitless range, whose victory nothing can undo, whom none of the vanquished defilements can ever pursue?

180. By what track can you trace that trackless Buddha of limitless range, in whom exists no longer, the entangling and embroiling craving that perpetuates becoming?

181. Those wise ones who are devoted to meditation and who delight in the calm of renunciation — such mindful ones, Supreme Buddhas, even the gods hold dear.

182. Hard is it to be born a man; hard is the life of mortals. Hard is it to gain the opportunity of hearing the Sublime Truth, and hard to encounter is the arising of the Buddhas.


Read the entire translation of Dhammapada 179–196 Buddhavagga: by Bhikkhu Ācāriya Buddharakkhita on SuttaCentral.net. 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, Farsi, Bengali, Čeština, Español, Français, Hebrew, हिन्दी, Magyar, Indonesian, Italiano, ಕನ್ನಡ, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Português, Română, ру́сский язы́к, සිංහල, Slovenščina, Srpski, ไทย, Tiếng Việt, or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

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