The Dhammapada

Intention is the leader of things; intention is first, they’re made by intention. If with corrupt intent you speak or act, suffering follows you, like a wheel, the ox’s foot.

The opening verse of the Dhammapada, teaching that the mind comes first and actions carry consequences.

For never is hatred laid to rest by hate, it’s laid to rest by love: this is an ancient teaching.

One of the most quoted Buddhist teachings: hatred is never ended by hatred, only by love.

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.

A vivid image of knowledge without practice: a cowherd who counts other people's cattle.

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.

The opening verse on heedfulness as the path to the deathless; tradition holds that similar words were among the Buddha's last.

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

The image of building an inner island that no flood can overwhelm.

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

Wakeful among the sleeping: the swift horse that leaves the weak one behind.

The mind quivers and quakes, hard to guard, hard to curb. The discerning straighten it out, like a fletcher an arrow.

The fletcher image: the wise straighten the restless mind as an arrow maker straightens an arrow.

Hard to hold back, flighty, alighting where it will; it’s good to tame the mind; a tamed mind leads to bliss.

A short, widely quoted line: a tamed mind brings happiness.

A rightly directed mind would do you more good than your mother or father or any other relative.

The claim that a well directed mind does more good than even one's mother or father.

A bee takes the nectar and moves on, doing no damage to the flower’s beauty and fragrance; and that’s how a sage should walk in the village.

The bee that takes nectar without harming the flower, a model for gentle living.

The fragrance of flowers doesn’t spread upwind, nor sandalwood, pinwheel, or jasmine; but the fragrance of the good spreads upwind; a true person’s virtue spreads in every direction.

The fragrance of virtue travels even against the wind.

From a heap of trash discarded on the highway, a lotus might blossom, fragrant and delightful.

The lotus blooming on a rubbish heap, a much loved image of wisdom arising anywhere.

“Sons are mine, wealth is mine”, thus the fool frets. For even your self is not your own, let alone your sons or wealth.

A sharp reflection on possessiveness: not even the self is one's own, let alone sons or wealth.

The fool who thinks they’re a fool is wise at least to that extent. But the true fool is said to be one who imagines that they are wise.

The well known saying that the fool who knows his folly is at least that much wise.

Though a fool attends to the wise even for the rest of their life, they still don’t understand the teaching, like a spoon the taste of the soup.

The spoon and the soup: being near wisdom is not the same as tasting it.

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

Regard the one who shows your faults as a guide to hidden treasure.

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

Like a solid rock unshaken by wind, the wise are unmoved by praise and blame.

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

Few reach the far shore; most run up and down this bank.

Those with nothing stored up, who have understood their food, whose domain is the liberation of the signless and the empty: their path is hard to trace, like birds in the sky.

The path of the liberated is as hard to trace as the flight of birds in the sky.

Their mind is peaceful, peaceful are their speech and deeds. Such a one is at peace, rightly freed through enlightenment.

Calm in mind, calm in speech, calm in action: a short portrait of inner peace.

Whether in village or wilderness, in a valley or the uplands, wherever the perfected ones live is a delightful place.

Wherever the perfected ones live, in village or forest, that place is delightful.

The supreme conqueror is not he who conquers a million men in battle, but he who conquers a single man: himself.

Perhaps the best known line on self-mastery: the greatest conqueror is one who conquers himself.

Better than a thousand meaningless sayings is a single meaningful saying, hearing which brings you peace.

One meaningful word that brings peace is better than a thousand empty ones.

Better to live a single day seeing the state free of death than to live a hundred years blind to the state free of death.

Linked by the commentary to Kisa Gotami, one of the most loved stories in Buddhist tradition.

Rush to do good, shield your mind from evil; for when you’re slow to do good, your thoughts delight in wickedness.

Hasten to do good: delay lets the mind drift toward wrongdoing.

Think not lightly of goodness, that it won’t come back to you. The pot is filled with water falling drop by drop; the attentive one is filled with goodness piled up bit by bit.

The water pot filled drop by drop: small good deeds add up.

Not in midair, nor mid-ocean, nor hiding in a mountain cleft; you’ll find no place on the planet to escape your wicked deeds.

No hiding place anywhere on earth from the results of one's own actions.

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

A classic statement of non-violence based on empathy: all fear the rod, so put yourself in their place.

If you still yourself like a broken gong, you reach extinguishment and know no conflict.

The striking image of being silent like a broken gong, free of quarrel.

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

True holiness is inner peace and harmlessness, not outward dress.

What is joy, what is laughter, when the flames are ever burning? Swathed in darkness, would you not seek a light?

The world is burning: why not seek a light while wrapped in darkness?

Transmigrating through countless rebirths, I’ve journeyed without reward, searching for the house-builder; painful is birth again and again.

With verse 154, held by tradition to be the Buddha's first words at his awakening.

Fancy chariots of kings wear out, and even this body gets old. But the truth of the good never gets old, so the good proclaim to the good.

Royal chariots and bodies decay, but the Dhamma of the good never ages.

One is indeed the lord of oneself, for who else would be one’s lord? By means of a well-tamed self, one gains a lord that’s rare indeed.

'The self is the master of the self': one of the most quoted lines on self-reliance.

For it is by oneself that evil’s done, one is corrupted by oneself. It’s by oneself that evil’s not done, one is purified by oneself. Purity and impurity are personal matters, no one can purify another.

Purity and impurity depend on oneself; no one can purify another.

The astute would avoid being corrupted by first grounding themselves in what is suitable, and then instructing others.

Set yourself right first, then teach others.

Look upon the world as a bubble or a mirage, then the King of Death won’t see you.

See the world as a bubble or a mirage, and the king of death will not see you.

Someone whose bad deed is supplanted by the good, shines upon this world, like the moon freed from clouds.

Linked by the commentary to Angulimala: anyone who turns to good can shine like the moon freed from clouds.

The fruit of stream-entry is better than being the one king of the earth, than going to heaven, than lordship over all the world.

Entering the stream to awakening is worth more than ruling the whole earth.

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

Often quoted as the summary of all Buddhist teaching: avoid evil, cultivate good, purify the mind.

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.

A well-known reminder of how rare and precious a human life and the chance to hear the Dhamma are.

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

With 191, it names the Three Refuges and the four noble truths in a single short passage.

Health is the ultimate blessing; contentment, the ultimate wealth; trust is the ultimate family; extinguishment, the ultimate happiness.

Widely quoted: health is the greatest gain, contentment the greatest wealth, trust the best relative, nibbana the highest happiness.

Victory breeds enmity; the defeated sleep badly. The peaceful sleep at ease, having left victory and defeat behind.

A short, memorable teaching that victory breeds hatred and that peace lies beyond winning and losing.

Let us live so very happily, loving among the hostile. Among hostile humans, let us live with love.

Opens the chapter's refrain "let us live happily", linked by the commentary to the Buddha calming a dispute over river water.

Sorrow springs from what we hold dear, fear springs from what we hold dear; one free from holding anything dear has no sorrow, let alone fear.

Begins the chapter's well-known refrain: from what is dear springs sorrow, from what is dear springs fear.

Sorrow springs from craving, fear springs from craving; one free from craving has no sorrow, let alone fear.

The refrain's last form names craving (tanha), the root cause of suffering in the four noble truths.

Just so, when one who has done good goes from this world to the next, their good deeds receive them there, as family welcomes home one they love.

A gentle image of good deeds welcoming a person after death like family greeting a loved one home.

Defeat anger with kindness, villainy with virtue, stinginess with giving, and lies with truth.

One of the most quoted verses: conquer anger with non-anger, evil with good, stinginess with giving, lies with truth.

When anger surges like a lurching chariot, keep it in check. That’s what I call a charioteer; others just hold the reins.

The vivid image of the true charioteer who reins in anger as it surges.

It’s always been this way, Atula, it’s not just today. They blame you when you’re silent, they blame you when you speak a lot, and even when you speak just right: no one in the world escapes blame.

A timeless observation, spoken to Atula, that people are blamed whether silent, talkative or measured.

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

A sharp, familiar observation: others' faults are easy to see, one's own are hard to see.

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

Names ignorance (avijja) as the worst stain, central to the Buddhist account of suffering.

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

The image of a silversmith shows purification as patient, gradual work.

You don’t become a senior by getting some grey hairs; for one ripe only in age, is said to have aged in vain.

Teaches that seniority is earned by character, not by grey hair or age alone.

You don’t become a noble one by harming living beings. One harmless toward all living beings is said to be a noble one.

Defines a noble one (ariya) simply as one who is harmless toward all living beings.

You’re not one who has memorized the teaching just because you recite a lot. Someone who directly sees the teaching after hearing only a little is truly one who has memorized the teaching, for they can never forget it.

Values living the teaching over reciting it: hearing a little and truly seeing it is enough.

You yourselves must do the work, the Realized Ones just show the way. Meditators practicing absorption are released from Māra’s bonds.

Perhaps the best-known statement of self-reliance in Buddhism: you must make the effort; the Buddhas only show the way.

All conditions are impermanent, when this is seen with wisdom, one grows disillusioned with suffering: this is the path to purity.

With 278 and 279, it states the three marks: impermanence, suffering and not-self.

Of paths, the eightfold is the best; of truths, the four statements; dispassion is the best of things, and the Clear-eyed One is the best of humans.

Names the eightfold path as the best of paths and the four noble truths as the best of truths.

The good shine from afar, like the Himalayan peaks, but the wicked are not seen, like arrows scattered in the night.

A memorable image: the good shine from afar like the Himalayas, while the wicked vanish like arrows shot at night.

The disciples of Gotama always wake up refreshed, who day and night constantly recollect the Buddha.

Opens a refrain on the recollection of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, a practice many Buddhists keep daily.

If by giving up material happiness one sees abundant happiness, the attentive would give up material happiness, seeing the abundant happiness.

A short teaching on wise choice: give up a lesser happiness to gain a greater one.

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.

A plain, practical rule: a bad deed is better left undone, since it torments later; a good deed is better done.

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.

The image of the guarded frontier city, urging people not to waste the present moment.

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

Closes the chapter on a hopeful note: right view, seeing fault and faultlessness truly, leads to a good destination.

Like an elephant struck with arrows in battle, I shall endure abuse, for so many folk are badly behaved.

The Buddha's resolve to bear insults patiently, like a war elephant bearing arrows.

Delight in diligence! Take good care of your mind! Pull yourself out of this pit, like an elephant sunk in a bog.

A rousing call to delight in diligence and pull oneself out like an elephant from the mud.

It’s better to wander alone, there’s no fellowship with fools. Wander alone and do no wrong, at ease like a tusker in the wilds.

Wise advice on companionship: better to walk alone than with a fool.

The gift of the teaching surmounts all other gifts; the taste of the teaching surmounts all other tastes; the joy of the teaching surmounts all other joys; the ending of craving surmounts all suffering.

A celebrated verse: the gift of the Dhamma excels all gifts, and the end of craving overcomes all suffering.

A tree grows back even when cut down, so long as its roots are strong and undamaged; suffering springs up again and again, so long as the tendency to craving is not pulled out.

The image of a cut tree regrowing from its roots shows why craving must be uprooted, not just trimmed.

I am the vanquisher of all, the knower of all, unsullied in the midst of all things. I’ve given up all, freed in the ending of craving. Since I know for myself, whose follower should I be?

Traditionally the Buddha's words to the wanderer Upaka soon after his awakening, on having found the truth for himself.

Self is indeed the lord of self, for who else would be one’s lord? Self is indeed the home of self, so restrain yourself, as a merchant his thoroughbred steed.

A key verse on self-reliance: one is one's own protector and refuge; who else could be?

No absorption for one without wisdom, no wisdom for one without absorption. But one with absorption and wisdom, they have truly drawn near to extinguishment.

States that meditation and wisdom need each other, and that together they bring one near nibbana.

A young mendicant devoted to the Buddha’s teaching, shines upon this world, like the moon freed from clouds.

The closing image of a young practitioner lighting up the world like the moon freed from clouds.

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

States the chapter's core idea: one is a brahmin not by matted hair, clan or birth, but by truth and Dhamma.

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

The Buddha says plainly that he does not call someone a brahmin because of the womb they were born from.

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

A clear statement of non-violence: one who lays down the rod toward all beings, neither killing nor causing to kill.