The Dhammapada, an anthology of verses attributed to the Buddha, has long been recognized as one of the masterpieces of early Buddhist literature. Only more recently have scholars realized that it is also one of the early masterpieces in the Indian tradition of kavya, or belles lettres.

This translation of the Dhammapada is an attempt to render the verses into English in a way that does justice to both of the traditions to which the text belongs. Although it is tempting to view these traditions as distinct, dealing with form (kavya) and content (Buddhism), the ideals of kavya aimed at combining form and content into a seamless whole. At the same time, the early Buddhists adopted and adapted the conventions of kavya in a way that skillfully dovetailed with their views of how teaching and listening played a role in their path of practice. My hope is that the translation presented here will convey the same seamlessness and skill.

As an example of kavya, the Dhammapada has a fairly complete body of ethical and aesthetic theory behind it, for the purpose of kavya was to instruct in the highest ends of life while simultaneously giving delight. The ethical teaching of the Dhammapada is expressed in the first pair of verses: the mind, through its actions (kamma), is the chief architect of one’s happiness and suffering both in this life and beyond. The first three chapters elaborate on this point, to show that there are two major ways of relating to this fact: as a wise person, who is heedful enough to make the necessary effort to train his/her own mind to be a skillful architect; and as a fool, who is heedless and sees no reason to train the mind.

The work as a whole elaborates on this distinction, showing in more detail both the path of the wise person and that of the fool, together with the rewards of the former and the dangers of the latter: the path of the wise person can lead not only to happiness within the cycle of death and rebirth, but also to total escape into the Deathless, beyond the cycle entirely; the path of the fool leads not only to suffering now and in the future, but also to further entrapment within the cycle. The purpose of the Dhammapada is to make the wise path attractive to the reader so that he/she will follow it – for the dilemma posited by the first pair of verses is not one in the imaginary world of fiction; it is the dilemma in which the reader is already placed by the fact of being born.

To make the wise path attractive, the techniques of poetry are used to give “savor” (rasa) to the message. Ancient Indian aesthetic treatises devoted a great deal of discussion to the notion of savor and how it could be conveyed. The basic theory was this: Artistic composition expressed states of emotion or states of mind called “bhava.” The standard list of basic emotions included love (delight), humor, grief, anger, energy, fear, disgust, and astonishment. The reader or listener exposed to these presentations of emotion did not participate in them directly; rather, he/she savored them as an aesthetic experience at one remove from the emotion. Thus, the savor of grief is not grief, but compassion. The savor of energy is not energy itself, but admiration for heroism. The savor of love is not love but an experience of sensitivity. The savor of astonishment is a sense of the marvelous. The proof of the indirectness of the aesthetic experience was that some of the basic emotions were decidedly unpleasant, while the savor of the emotion was to be enjoyed.

Although a work of art might depict many emotions, and thus – like a good meal – offer many savors for the reader/listener to taste, one savor was supposed to dominate. Writers made a common practice of announcing the savor they were trying to produce, usually stating in passing that their particular savor was the highest of all. The Dhammapada [354] states explicitly that the savor of Dhamma is the highest savor, which indicates that that is the basic savor of the work. Classic aesthetic theory lists the savor of Dhamma, or justice, as one of the three basic varieties of the heroic savor (the other two deal with generosity and war): thus we would expect the majority of the verses to depict energy, and in fact they do, with their exhortations to action, strong verbs, repeated imperatives, and frequent use of the imagery from battles, races, and conquests.

Dhamma, in the Buddhist sense, implies more than the “justice” of Dhamma in aesthetic theory. However, the long section of the Dhammapada devoted to “The Judge” – beginning with a definition of a good judge, and continuing with examples of good judgment – shows that the Buddhist concept of Dhamma has room for the aesthetic meaning of the term as well.

Classic theory also holds that the heroic savor should, especially at the end of a piece, shade into the marvelous. This, in fact, is what happens periodically throughout the Dhammapada, and especially at the end, where the verses express astonishment at the amazing and paradoxical qualities of a person who has followed the path of heedfulness to its end, becoming “pathless” [92-93; 179-180] – totally indescribable, transcending conflicts and dualities of every sort. Thus the predominant emotions that the verses express in Pali – and should also express in translation – are energy and astonishment, so as to produce qualities of the heroic and marvelous for the reader to savor. This savor is then what inspires the reader to follow the path of wisdom, with the result that he/she will reach a direct experience of the true happiness, transcending all dualities, found at the end of the path.

Classic aesthetic theory lists a variety of rhetorical features that can produce savor. Examples from these lists that can be found in the Dhammapada include: accumulation (padoccaya) [137-140], admonitions (upadista) [47-48, 246-248, et. al.], ambiguity (aksarasamghata) [97, 294-295], benedictions (asis) [337], distinctions (visesana) [19-20, 21-22, 318-319], encouragement (protsahana) [35, 43, 46, et. al.], etymology (nirukta) [388], examples (drstanta) [30], explanations of cause and effect (hetu) [1-2], illustrations (udaharana) [344], implications (arthapatti) [341], rhetorical questions (prccha) [44, 62, 143, et. al.], praise (gunakirtana) [54-56, 58-59, 92-93, et. al.], prohibitions (pratisedha) [121-122, 271-272, 371, et. al.], and ornamentation (bhusana) [passim].

Of these, ornamentation is the most complex, including four figures of speech and ten “qualities.” The figures of speech are simile [passim], extended metaphor [398], rhyme (including alliteration and assonance), and “lamps” [passim]. This last figure is a peculiarity of Pali – a heavily inflected language – that allows, say, one adjective to modify two different nouns, or one verb to function in two separate sentences. (The name of the figure derives from the idea that the two nouns radiate from the one adjective, or the two sentences from the one verb.) In English, the closest we have to this is parallelism combined with ellipsis. An example from the translation is in verse 7 –

– where “overcomes” functions as the verb in both clauses, even though it is elided from the second. This is how I have rendered lamps in most of the verses, although in two cases [174, 206] I found it more effective to repeat the lamp-word.

The ten “qualities” are more general attributes of sound, syntax, and sense, including such attributes as charm, clarity, delicacy, evenness, exaltation, sweetness, and strength. The ancient texts are not especially clear on what some of these terms mean in practice. Even where they are clear, the terms deal in aspects of Pali/Sanskrit syntax not always applicable to English. What is important, though, is that some qualities are seen as more suited to a particular savor than others: strength and exaltation, for example, best convey a taste of the heroic and marvelous. Of these characteristics, strength (ojas) is the easiest to quantify, for it is marked by long compounded words. In the Dhammapada, approximately one tenth of the verses contain compounds that are as long as a whole line of verse, and one verse [39] has three of its four lines made up of such compounds. By the standards of later Sanskrit verse, this is rather mild, but when compared with verses in the rest of the Pali Canon and other early masterpieces of kavya, the Dhammapada is quite strong.

The text also explicitly adds to the theory of characteristics in saying that “sweetness” is not just an attribute of words, but of the person speaking [363]. If the person is a true example of the virtue espoused, his/her words are sweet. This point could be generalized to cover many of the other qualities as well.

Another point from classic aesthetic theory that may be relevant to the Dhammapada is the principle of how a literary work is given unity. Although the text does not provide a step-by-step sequential portrait of the path of wisdom, as a lyric anthology it is much more unified than most Indian examples of that genre. The classic theory of dramatic plot construction may be playing an indirect role here. On the one hand, a plot must exhibit unity by presenting a conflict or dilemma, and depicting the attainment of a goal through overcoming that conflict. This is precisely what unifies the Dhammapada: it begins with the duality between heedless and heedful ways of living, and ends with the final attainment of total mastery. On the other hand, the plot must not show smooth, systematic progress; otherwise the work would turn into a treatise. There must be reversals and diversions to maintain interest. This principle is at work in the fairly unsystematic ordering of the Dhammapada’s middle sections. Verses dealing with the beginning stages of the path are mixed together with those dealing with later stages and even stages beyond the completion of the path.

One more point is that the ideal plot should be constructed with a sub-plot in which a secondary character gains his/her goal, and in so doing helps the main character attain his or hers. In addition to the aesthetic pleasure offered by the sub-plot, the ethical lesson is one of human cooperation: people attain their goals by working together. In the Dhammapada, the same dynamic is at work. The main “plot” is that of the person who masters the principle of kamma to the point of total release from kamma and the round of rebirth; the “sub-plot” depicts the person who masters the principle of kamma to the point of gaining a good rebirth on the human or heavenly planes. The second person gains his/her goal, in part, by being generous and respectful to the first person [106-109, 177], thus enabling the first person to practice to the point of total mastery. In return, the first person gives counsel to the second person on how to pursue his/her goal [76-77, 363]. In this way the Dhammapada depicts the play of life in a way that offers two potentially heroic roles for the reader to choose from, and delineates those roles in such a way that all people can choose to be heroic, working together for the attainment of their own true well being.

Perhaps the best way to summarize the confluence of Buddhist and kavya traditions in the Dhammapada is in light of a teaching from another early Buddhist text, the Samyutta Nikaya (SN 55:5), on the factors needed to attain one’s first taste of the goal of the Buddhist path. Those factors are four: associating with people of integrity, listening to their teachings, using appropriate attention to inquire into the way those teachings apply to one’s life, and practicing in line with the teachings in a way that does them justice. Early Buddhists used the traditions of kavya – concerning savor, rhetoric, structure, and figures of speech – primarily in connection with the second of these factors, in order to make the teachings appealing to the listener. However, the question of savor is related to the other three factors as well. The words of a teaching must be spoken by a person of integrity who embodies their message in his/her actions if their savor is to be sweet [158, 363]. The listener must reflect on them appropriately and then put them into practice if they are to have more than a passing, superficial taste. Thus both the speaker and listener must act in line with the words of a teaching if it is to bear fruit. This point is reflected in a pair of verses from the Dhammapada itself [51-52]:

Appropriate reflection, the first step a listener should follow in carrying out the well-spoken word, means contemplating one’s own life to see the dangers of following the path of foolishness and the need to follow the path of wisdom. The Buddhist tradition recognizes two emotions as playing a role in this reflection. The first is samvega, a strong sense of dismay that comes with realizing the futility and meaningless of life as it is normally lived, together with a feeling of urgency in trying to find a way out of the meaningless cycle. The second emotion is pasada, the clarity and serenity that come when one recognizes a teaching that presents the truth of the dilemma of existence and at the same time points the way out. One function of the verses in the Dhammapada is to provide this sense of clarity, which is why verse 82 states that the wise grow serene on hearing the Dhamma, and 102 states that the most worthwhile verse is the meaningful one that, on hearing, brings peace.

However, the process does not stop with these preliminary feelings of peace and serenity. The listener must carry through with the path of practice that the verses recommend. Although much of the impetus for doing so comes from the emotions of samvega and pasada sparked by the content of the verses, the heroic and marvelous savor of the verses plays a role as well, by inspiring the listener to rouse within him or herself the energy and strength that the path will require. When the path is brought to fruition, it brings the peace and delight of the Deathless [373-374]. This is where the process initiated by hearing or reading the Dhamma bears its deepest savor, surpassing all others. It is the highest sense in which the meaningful verses of the Dhammapada bring peace.

In preparing the following translation, I have kept the above points in mind, motivated both by a firm belief in the truth of the message of the Dhammapada, and by a desire to present it in a compelling way that will induce the reader to put it into practice. Although trying to stay as close as possible to the literal meaning of the text, I’ve also tried to convey its savor. I’m operating on the classic assumption that, although there may be a tension between giving instruction (being scrupulously accurate) and giving delight (providing an enjoyable taste of the mental states that the words depict), the best translation is one that plays with that tension without submitting totally to one side at the expense of the other.

To convey the savor of the work, I have aimed at a spare style flexible enough to express not only its dominant emotions–energy and astonishment–but also its transient emotions, such as humor, delight, and fear. Although the original verses conform to metrical rules, the translations are in free verse. This is the form that requires the fewest deviations from literal accuracy and allows for a terse directness that conforms with the heroic savor of the original. The freedom I have used in placing words on the page also allows many of the poetic effects of Pali syntax–especially the parallelism and ellipsis of the “lamps”–to shine through.

I have been relatively consistent in choosing English equivalents for Pali terms, especially where the terms have a technical meaning. Total consistency, although it may be a logical goal, is by no means a rational one, especially in translating poetry. Anyone who is truly bilingual will appreciate this point. Words in the original were chosen for their sound and connotations, as well as their literal sense, so the same principles–within reasonable limits – have been used in the translation. Deviations from the original syntax are rare, and have been limited primarily to six sorts. The first four are for the sake of immediacy: occasional use of the American “you” for “one”; occasional use of imperatives (“Do this!”) for optatives (“One should do this”); substituting active for passive voice; and replacing “he who does this” with “he does this” in many of the verses defining the true brahman in Chapter 26. The remaining two deviations are: making minor adjustments in sentence structure to keep a word at the beginning or end of a verse when this position seems important (e.g., 158, 384); and changing the number from singular (“the wise person”) to plural (“the wise”) when talking about personality types, both to streamline the language and to lighten the gender bias of the original Pali. (As most of the verses were originally addressed to monks, I have found it impossible to eliminate the gender bias entirely, and so apologize for whatever bias remains.)

In verses where I sense that a particular Pali word or phrase is meant to carry multiple meanings, I have explicitly given all of those meanings in the English, even where this has meant a considerable expansion of the verse. (Many of these verses are discussed in the notes.) Otherwise, I have tried to make the translation as transparent as possible, in order to allow the light and energy of the original to pass through with minimal distortion.

The Dhammapada has for centuries been used as an introduction to the Buddhist point of view. However, the text is by no means elementary, either in terms of content or style. Many of the verses presuppose at least a passing knowledge of Buddhist doctrine; others employ multiple levels of meaning and wordplay typical of polished kavya. For this reason, I have added notes to the translation to help draw out some of the implications of verses that might not be obvious to people who are new to either of the two traditions that the text represents.

I hope that whatever delight you gain from this translation will inspire you to put the Buddha’s words into practice, so that you will someday taste the savor, not just of the words, but of the Deathless to which they point.

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.[1]

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.[2]

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 cow-herd 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.

21.Heedfulness is the path to the Deathless. Heedlessness is the path to death. The heedful die not. The heedless are as if dead already.3

22.Clearly understanding this excellence of heedfulness, the wise exult therein and enjoy the resort of the Noble Ones.[4]

23.The wise ones, ever meditative and steadfastly persevering, alone experience Nibbana, the incomparable freedom from bondage.

24.Ever grows the glory of him who is energetic, mindful and pure in conduct, discerning and self-controlled, righteous and heedful.

25.By effort and heedfulness, discipline and self-mastery, let the wise one make for himself an island which no flood can overwhelm.

26.The foolish and ignorant indulge in heedlessness, but the wise one keeps his heedfulness as his best treasure.

26.The Noble Ones (ariya): those who have reached any of the four stages of supramundane attainment leading irreversibly to Nibbana.

27.Do not give way to heedlessness. Do not indulge in sensual pleasures. Only the heedful and meditative attain great happiness.

8.Just as one upon the summit of a mountain beholds the groundlings, even so when the wise man casts away heedlessness by heedfulness and ascends the high tower of wisdom, this sorrowless sage beholds the sorrowing and foolish multitude.

29.Heedful among the heedless, wide-awake among the sleepy, the wise man advances like a swift horse leaving behind a weak jade.

30.By Heedfulness did Indra become the overlord of the gods. Heedfulness is ever praised, and heedlessness ever despised.5

31.The monk who delights in heedfulness and looks with fear at heedlessness advances like fire, burning all fetters, small and large.

32.The monk who delights in heedfulness and looks with fear at heedlessness will not fall. He is close to Nibbana.

33.Just as a fletcher straightens an arrow shaft, even so the discerning man straightens his mind – so fickle and unsteady, so difficult to guard.

34.As a fish when pulled out of water and cast on land throbs and quivers, even so is this mind agitated. Hence should one abandon the realm of Mara.

35.Wonderful, indeed, it is to subdue the mind, so difficult to subdue, ever swift, and seizing whatever it desires. A tamed mind brings happiness.

36.Let the discerning man guard the mind, so difficult to detect and extremely subtle, seizing whatever it desires. A guarded mind brings happiness.

37.Dwelling in the cave (of the heart), the mind, without form, wanders far and alone. Those who subdue this mind are liberated from the bonds of Mara.

38.Wisdom never becomes perfect in one whose mind is not steadfast, who knows not the Good Teaching and whose faith wavers.

39.There is no fear for an awakened one, whose mind is not sodden (by lust) nor afflicted (by hate), and who has gone beyond both merit and demerit.6

40.Realizing that this body is as fragile as a clay pot, and fortifying this mind like a well-fortified city, fight out Mara with the sword of wisdom. Then, guarding the conquest, remain unattached.

41.Ere long, alas! this body will lie upon the earth, unheeded and lifeless, like a useless log.

42.Whatever harm an enemy may do to an enemy, or a hater to a hater, an ill-directed mind inflicts on oneself a greater harm.

43.Neither mother, father, nor any other relative can do one greater good than one’s own well-directed mind.

44.Who shall overcome this earth, this realm of Yama and this sphere of men and gods? Who shall bring to perfection the well-taught path of wisdom as an expert garland-maker would his floral design?

45.A striver-on-the path shall overcome this earth, this realm of Yama and this sphere of men and gods. The striver-on-the-path shall bring to perfection the well-taught path of wisdom, as an expert garland-maker would his floral design.7

46.Realizing that this body is like froth, penetrating its mirage-like nature, and plucking out Mara’s flower-tipped arrows of sensuality, go beyond sight of the King of Death!

47.As a mighty flood sweeps away the sleeping village, so death carries away the person of distracted mind who only plucks the flowers (of pleasure).

48.The Destroyer brings under his sway the person of distracted mind who, insatiate in sense desires, only plucks the flowers (of pleasure).

49.As a bee gathers honey from the flower without injuring its color or fragrance, even so the sage goes on his alms-round in the village.8

50.Let none find fault with others; let none see the omissions and commissions of others. But let one see one’s own acts, done and undone.

51.Like a beautiful flower full of color but without fragrance, even so, fruitless are the fair words of one who does not practice them.

52.Like a beautiful flower full of color and also fragrant, even so, fruitful are the fair words of one who practices them.

53.As from a great heap of flowers many garlands can be made, even so should many good deeds be done by one born a mortal.

54.Not the sweet smell of flowers, not even the fragrance of sandal, tagara, or jasmine blows against the wind. But the fragrance of the virtuous blows against the wind. Truly the virtuous man pervades all directions with the fragrance of his virtue.9

55.Of all the fragrances – sandal, tagara, blue lotus and jasmine – the fragrance of virtue is the sweetest.

56.Faint is the fragrance of tagara and sandal, but excellent is the fragrance of the virtuous, wafting even amongst the gods.

57.Mara never finds the path of the truly virtuous, who abide in heedfulness and are freed by perfect knowledge.

58.Upon a heap of rubbish in the road-side ditch blooms a lotus, fragrant and pleasing.

59.Even so, on the rubbish heap of blinded mortals the disciple of the Supremely Enlightened One shines resplendent in wisdom.

60.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.

61.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.

62.The fool worries, thinking, “I have sons, I have wealth.” Indeed, when he himself is not his own, whence are sons, whence is wealth?

63.A fool who knows his foolishness is wise at least to that extent, but a fool who thinks himself wise is a fool indeed.

64.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.

65.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.

66.Fools of little wit are enemies unto themselves as they move about doing evil deeds, the fruits of which are bitter.

67.Ill done is that action of doing which one repents later, and the fruit of which one, weeping, reaps with tears.

68.Well done is that action of doing which one repents not later, and the fruit of which one, reaps with delight and happiness.

69.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.

70.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.

71.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.

72.To his own ruin the fool gains knowledge, for it cleaves his head and destroys his innate goodness.

73.The fool seeks undeserved reputation, precedence among monks, authority over monasteries, and honor among householders.

74.“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.

75.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.

76.Should one find a man who points out faults and who reproves, let him follow such a wise and sagacious person as one would a guide to hidden treasure. It is always better, and never worse, to cultivate such an association.

77.Let him admonish, instruct and shield one from wrong; he, indeed, is dear to the good and detestable to the evil.

78.Do not associate with evil companions; do not seek the fellowship of the vile. Associate with the good friends; seek the fellowship of noble men.

79.He who drinks deep the Dhamma lives happily with a tranquil mind. The wise man ever delights in the Dhamma made known by the Noble One (the Buddha).

80.Irrigators regulate the rivers; fletchers straighten the arrow shaft; carpenters shape the wood; the wise control themselves.

81.Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame.

82.On hearing the Teachings, the wise become perfectly purified, like a lake deep, clear and still.

83.The good renounce (attachment for) everything. The virtuous do not prattle with a yearning for pleasures. The wise show no elation or depression when touched by happiness or sorrow.

84.He is indeed virtuous, wise, and righteous who neither for his own sake nor for the sake of another (does any wrong), who does not crave for sons, wealth, or kingdom, and does not desire success by unjust means.

85.Few among men are those who cross to the farther shore. The rest, the bulk of men, only run up and down the hither bank.

86.But those who act according to the perfectly taught Dhamma will cross the realm of Death, so difficult to cross.

87-88.Abandoning the dark way, let the wise man cultivate the bright path. Having gone from home to homelessness, let him yearn for that delight in detachment, so difficult to enjoy. Giving up sensual pleasures, with no attachment, let the wise man cleanse himself of defilements of the mind.

89.Those whose minds have reached full excellence in the factors of enlightenment, who, having renounced acquisitiveness, rejoice in not clinging to things – rid of cankers, glowing with wisdom, they have attained Nibbana in this very life.10

90.The fever of passion exists not for him who has completed the journey, who is sorrowless and wholly set free, and has broken all ties.

91.The mindful ones exert themselves. They are not attached to any home; like swans that abandon the lake, they leave home after home behind.

92.Those who do not accumulate and are wise regarding food, whose object is the Void, the Unconditioned Freedom – their track cannot be traced, like that of birds in the air.

93.He whose cankers are destroyed and who is not attached to food, whose object is the Void, the Unconditioned Freedom – his path cannot be traced, like that of birds in the air.

94.Even the gods hold dear the wise one, whose senses are subdued like horses well trained by a charioteer, whose pride is destroyed and who is free from the cankers.

95.There is no more worldly existence for the wise one who, like the earth, resents nothing, who is firm as a high pillar and as pure as a deep pool free from mud.

96.Calm is his thought, calm his speech, and calm his deed, who, truly knowing, is wholly freed, perfectly tranquil and wise.

97.The man who is without blind faith, who knows the Uncreate, who has severed all links, destroyed all causes (for karma, good and evil), and thrown out all desires – he, truly, is the most excellent of men.11

98.Inspiring, indeed, is that place where Arahats dwell, be it a village, a forest, a vale, or a hill.

99.Inspiring are the forests in which worldlings find no pleasure. There the passionless will rejoice, for they seek no sensual pleasures.

100.Better than a thousand useless words is one useful word, hearing which one attains peace.

101.Better than a thousand useless verses is one useful verse, hearing which one attains peace.

102.Better than reciting a hundred meaningless verses is the reciting of one verse of Dhamma, hearing which one attains peace.

103.Though one may conquer a thousand times a thousand men in battle, yet he indeed is the noblest victor who conquers himself.

104-105.Self-conquest is far better then the conquest of others. Not even a god, an angel, Mara or Brahma can turn into defeat the victory of a person who is self-subdued and ever restrained in conduct.12

106.Though month after month for a hundred years one should offer sacrifices by the thousands, yet if only for a moment one should worship those of perfected minds that honor is indeed better than a century of sacrifice.

107.Though for a hundred years one should tend the sacrificial fire in the forest, yet if only for a moment one should worship those of perfected minds, that worship is indeed better than a century of sacrifice.

108.Whatever gifts and oblations one seeking merit might offer in this world for a whole year, all that is not worth one fourth of the merit gained by revering the Upright Ones, which is truly excellent.

109.To one ever eager to revere and serve the elders, these four blessing accrue: long life and beauty, happiness and power.

110.Better it is to live one day virtuous and meditative than to live a hundred years immoral and uncontrolled.

111.Better it is to live one day wise and meditative than to live a hundred years foolish and uncontrolled.

112.Better it is to live one day strenuous and resolute than to live a hundred years sluggish and dissipated.

113.Better it is to live one day seeing the rise and fall of things than to live as hundred years without ever seeing the rise and fall of things.

114.Better it is to live one day seeing the Deathless than to live a hundred years without ever seeing the Deathless.

115.Better it is to live one day seeing the Supreme Truth than to live a hundred years without ever seeing the Supreme Truth.

116.Hasten to do good; restrain your mind from evil. He who is slow in doing good, his mind delights in evil.

117.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.

118.Should a person do good, let him do it again and again. let him fin pleasure therein, for blissful is the accumulation of good.

119.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.

120.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.

121.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.

122.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.

123.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.

124.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.

125.Like fine dust thrown against the wind, evil falls back upon that fool who offends an inoffensive, pure and guiltless man.

126.Some are born in the womb; the wicked are born in hell; the devout go to heaven; the stainless pass into Nibbana.

127.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.

128.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 will not be overcome by death.

129.All tremble at violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.

130.All tremble at violence; life is dear to all. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.

131.One who, while himself seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will not attain happiness hereafter.

132.One who, while himself seeking happiness, does not oppress with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will find happiness hereafter.

133.Speak not harshly to anyone, for those thus spoken to might retort. Indeed, angry speech hurts, and retaliation may overtake you.

134.If, like a broken gong, you silence yourself, you have approached Nibbana, for vindictiveness is no longer in you.

135.Just as a cowherd drives the cattle to pasture with a staff, so do old age and death drive the life force of beings (from existence to existence).

136.When the fool commits evil deeds, he does not realize (their evil nature). The witless man is tormented by his own deeds, like one burnt by fire.

137.He who inflicts violence on those who are unarmed, and offends those who are inoffensive, will soon come upon one of these ten states:

138-140Sharp pain, or disaster, bodily injury, serious illness, or derangement of mind, trouble from the government, or grave charges, loss of relatives, or loss of wealth, or houses destroyed by ravaging fire; upon dissolution of the body that ignorant man is born in hell.

141.Neither going about naked, nor matted locks, nor filth, nor fasting, nor lying on the ground, nor smearing oneself with ashes and dust, nor sitting on the heels (in penance) can purify a mortal who has not overcome doubt.

142.Even though he be well-attired, yet if he is poised, calm, controlled and established in the holy life, having set aside violence towards all beings – he, truly, is a holy man, a renunciate, a monk.

143.Only rarely is there a man in this world who, restrained by modesty, avoids reproach, as a thoroughbred horse avoids the whip.

144.Like a thoroughbred horse touched by the whip, be strenuous, be filled with spiritual yearning. By faith and moral purity, by effort and meditation, by investigation of the truth, by being rich in knowledge and virtue, and by being mindful, destroy this unlimited suffering.

145.Irrigators regulate the waters, fletchers straighten arrow shafts, carpenters shape wood, and the good control themselves.

146.When this world is ever ablaze, why this laughter, why this jubilation? Shrouded in darkness, will you not see the light?

147.Behold this body – a painted image, a mass of heaped up sores, infirm, full of hankering – of which nothing is lasting or stable!

148.Fully worn out is this body, a nest of disease, and fragile. This foul mass breaks up, for death is the end of life.

149.These dove-colored bones are like gourds that lie scattered about in autumn. Having seen them, how can one seek delight?

150.This city (body) is built of bones, plastered with flesh and blood; within are decay and death, pride and jealousy.

151.Even gorgeous royal chariots wear out, and indeed this body too wears out. But the Dhamma of the Good does not age; thus the Good make it known to the good.

152.The man of little learning grows old like a bull. He grows only in bulk, but, his wisdom does not grow.

153.Through many a birth in samsara have I wandered in vain, seeking in the builder of this house (of life). Repeated birth is indeed suffering!

154.O house-builder, you are seen! You will not build this house again. For your rafters are broken and your ridgepole shattered. My mind has reached the Unconditioned; I have attained the destruction of craving.13

155.Those who in youth have not led the holy life, or have failed to acquire wealth, languish like old cranes in the pond without fish.

156.Those who in youth have not lead the holy life, or have failed to acquire wealth, lie sighing over the past, like worn out arrows (shot from) a bow.

157.If one holds oneself dear, one should diligently watch oneself. Let the wise man keep vigil during any of the three watches of the night.

158.One should first establish oneself in what is proper; then only should one instruct others. Thus the wise man will not be reproached.

159.One should do what one teaches others to do; if one would train others, one should be well controlled oneself. Difficult, indeed, is self-control.

160.One truly is the protector of oneself; who else could the protector be? With oneself fully controlled, one gains a mastery that is hard to gain.

161.The evil a witless man does by himself, born of himself and produced by himself, grinds him as a diamond grinds a hard gem.

162.Just as a single creeper strangles the tree on which it grows, even so, a man who is exceedingly depraved harms himself as only an enemy might wish.

163.Easy to do are things that are bad and harmful to oneself. But exceedingly difficult to do are things that are good and beneficial.

164.Whoever, on account of perverted views, scorns the Teaching of the Perfected Ones, the Noble and Righteous Ones – that fool, like the bamboo, produces fruits only for self destruction.14

165.By oneself is evil done; by oneself is one defiled. By oneself is evil left undone; by oneself is one made pure. Purity and impurity depended on one-self; no one can purify another.

166.Let one not neglect one’s own welfare for the sake of another, however great. Clearly understanding one’s own welfare, let one be intent upon the good.

167.Follow not the vulgar way; live not in heedlessness; hold not false views; linger not long in worldly existence.

168.Arise! Do not be heedless! Lead a righteous life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next.

169.Lead a righteous life; lead not a base life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next.

170.One who looks upon the world as a bubble and a mirage, him the King of Death sees not.

171.Come! Behold this world, which is like a decorated royal chariot. Here fools flounder, but the wise have no attachment to it.

172.He who having been heedless is heedless no more, illuminates this world like the moon freed from clouds.

173.He, who by good deeds covers the evil he has done, illuminates this world like the moon freed from clouds.

174.Blind is the world; here only a few possess insight. Only a few, like birds escaping from the net, go to realms of bliss.

175.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.

176.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.

177.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.

178.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.15

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.

183.To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one’s mind – this is the teaching of the Buddhas.

184.Enduring patience is the highest austerity. “Nibbana is supreme,” say the Buddhas. He is not a true monk who harms another, nor a true renunciate who oppresses others.

185.Not despising, not harming, restraint according to the code of monastic discipline, moderation in food, dwelling in solitude, devotion to meditation – this is the teaching of the Buddhas.

186-187.There is no satisfying sensual desires, even with the rain of gold coins. For sensual pleasures give little satisfaction and much pain. Having understood this, the wise man finds no delight even in heavenly pleasures. The disciple of the Supreme Buddha delights in the destruction of craving.

188.Driven only by fear, do men go for refuge to many places – to hills, woods, groves, trees and shrines.

189.Such, indeed, is no safe refuge; such is not the refuge supreme. Not by resorting to such a refuge is one released from all suffering.

190-191.He who has gone for refuge to the Buddha, the Teaching and his Order, penetrates with transcendental wisdom the Four Noble Truths – suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the Noble Eightfold Path leading to the cessation of suffering.16

192.This indeed is the safe refuge, this the refuge supreme. Having gone to such a refuge, one is released from all suffering.

193.Hard to find is the thoroughbred man (the Buddha); he is not born everywhere. Where such a wise man is born, that clan thrives happily.

194.Blessed is the birth of the Buddhas; blessed is the enunciation of the sacred Teaching; blessed is the harmony in the Order, and blessed is the spiritual pursuit of the united truth-seeker.

195-196.He who reveres those worthy of reverence, the Buddhas and their disciples, who have transcended all obstacles and passed beyond the reach of sorrow and lamentation – he who reveres such peaceful and fearless ones, his merit none can compute by any measure.

197.Happy indeed we live, friendly amidst the hostile. Amidst hostile men we dwell free from hatred.

198.Happy indeed we live, friendly amidst the afflicted (by craving). Amidst afflicted men we dwell free from affliction.

199.Happy indeed we live, free from avarice amidst the avaricious. Amidst the avaricious men we dwell free from avarice.

200.Happy indeed we live, we who possess nothing. Feeders on joy we shall be, like the Radiant Gods.

201.Victory begets enmity; the defeated dwell in pain. Happily the peaceful live, discarding both victory and defeat.

202.There is no fire like lust and no crime like hatred. There is no ill like the aggregates (of existence) and no bliss higher than the peace (of Nibbana).17

203.Hunger is the worst disease, conditioned things the worst suffering. Knowing this as it really is, the wise realize Nibbana, the highest bliss.

204.Health is the most precious gain and contentment the greatest wealth. A trustworthy person is the best kinsman, Nibbana the highest bliss.

205.Having savored the taste of solitude and peace (of Nibbana), pain-free and stainless he becomes, drinking deep the taste of the bliss of the Truth.

206.Good is it to see the Noble Ones; to live with them is ever blissful. One will always be happy by not encountering fools.

207.Indeed, he who moves in the company of fools grieves for longing. Association with fools is ever painful, like partnership with an enemy. But association with the wise is happy, like meeting one’s own kinsmen.

208.Therefore, follow the Noble One, who is steadfast, wise, learned, dutiful and devout. One should follow only such a man, who is truly good and discerning, even as the moon follows the path of the stars. 12

209.Giving himself to things to be shunned and not exerting where exertion is needed, a seeker after pleasures, having given up his true welfare, envies those intent upon theirs.

210.Seek no intimacy with the beloved and also not with the unloved, for not to see the beloved and to see the unloved, both are painful.

211.Therefore hold nothing dear, for separation from the dear is painful. There are no bonds for those who have nothing beloved or unloved.

212.From endearment springs grief, from endearment springs fear. From him who is wholly free from endearment there is no grief, whence then fear?

213.From affection springs grief, from affection springs fear. From him who is wholly free from affection there is no grief, whence then fear?

214.From attachment springs grief, from attachment springs fear. From him who is wholly free from attachment there is no grief, whence then fear?

215.From lust springs grief, from lust springs fear. From him who is wholly free from craving there is no grief; whence then fear?

216.From craving springs grief, from craving springs fear. From him who is wholly free from craving there is no grief; whence then fear?

217.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.

218.One who is intent upon the Ineffable (Nibbana), dwells with mind inspired (by supramundane wisdom), and is no more bound by sense pleasures – such a man is called “One Bound Upstream.”18

219.When, after a long absence, a man safely returns from afar, his relatives, friends and well-wishers welcome him home on arrival.

220.As kinsmen welcome a dear one on arrival, even so his own good deeds will welcome the doer of good who has gone from this world to the next.

221.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.

222.He who checks rising anger as a charioteer checks a rolling chariot, him I call a true charioteer. Others only hold the reins.

223.Overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth.

224.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.

225.Those sages who are inoffensive and ever restrained in body, go to the Deathless State, where, having gone, they grieve no more.

226.Those who are ever vigilant, who discipline themselves day and night, and are ever intent upon Nibbana – their defilements fade away.

227.O Atula! Indeed, this is an ancient practice, not one only of today: they blame those who remain silent, they blame those speak much, they blame those who speak in moderation. There is none in the world who is not blamed.

228.There never was, there never will be, nor is there now, a person who is wholly blamed or wholly praised.

229.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.

230.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.

231.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.

232.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.

233.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.

234.The wise are controlled in bodily action, controlled in speech and controlled in thought. They are truly well-controlled.

235.Like a withered leaf are you now; death’s messengers await you. You stand on the eve of your departure, yet you have made no provision for your journey!

236.Make an island for yourself! Strive hard and become wise! Rid of impurities and cleansed of stain, you shall enter the celestial abode of the Noble Ones.

237.Your life has come to an end now; You are setting forth into the presence of Yama, the king of death. No resting place is there for you on the way, yet you have made no provision for the journey!

238.Make an island unto yourself! Strive hard and become wise! Rid of impurities and cleansed of stain, you shall not come again to birth and decay.

239.One by one, little by little, moment by moment, a wise man should remove his own impurities, as a smith removes his dross from silver.

240.Just as rust arising from iron eats away the base from which it arises, even so, their own deeds lead transgressors to states of woe.

241.Non-repetition is the bane of scriptures; neglect is the bane of a home; slovenliness is the bane of personal appearance, and heedlessness is the bane of a guard.

242.Unchastity is the taint in a woman; niggardliness is the taint in a giver. Taints, indeed, are all evil things, both in this world and the next.

243.A worse taint than these is ignorance, the worst of all taints. Destroy this one taint and become taintless, O monks!

244.Easy for life is the shameless one who is impudent as a crow, is backbiting and forward, arrogant and corrupt.

245.Difficult is life for the modest one who always seeks purity, is detached and unassuming, clean in life, and discerning.

246-247.One who destroys life, utters lies, takes what is not given, goes to another man’s wife, and is addicted to intoxicating drinks – such a man digs up his own root even in this world.-13

248.Know this, O good man: evil things are difficult to control. Let not greed and wickedness drag you to protracted misery.

249.People give according to their faith or regard. If one becomes discontented with the food and drink given by others, one does not attain meditative absorption, either by day of night.

250.But he in who this (discontent) is fully destroyed, uprooted and extinct, he attains absorption, both by day and by night.

251.There is no fire like lust; there is no grip like hatred; there is no net like delusion; there is no river like craving.

252.Easily seen is the fault of others, but one’s own fault is difficult to see. Like chaff one winnows another’s faults, but hides one’s own, even as a crafty fowler hides behind sham branches.

253.He who seeks another’s faults, who is ever censorious – his cankers grow. He is far from destruction of the cankers.

254.There is no track in the sky, and no recluse outside (the Buddha’s dispensation). Mankind delights in worldliness, but the Buddhas are free from worldliness.19

255.There is not track in the sky, and no recluse outside (the Buddha’s dispensation). There are no conditioned things that are eternal, and no instability in the Buddhas.

256.Not by passing arbitrary judgments does a man become just; a wise man is he who investigates both right and wrong.

257.He who does not judge others arbitrarily, but passes judgment impartially according to the truth, that sagacious man is a guardian of law and is called just.

258.One is not wise because one speaks much. He who is peaceable, friendly and fearless is called wise.

259.A man is not versed in Dhamma because he speaks much. He who, after hearing a little Dhamma, realizes its truth directly and is not heedless of it, is truly versed in the Dhamma. 4

260.A monk is not Elder because his head is gray. He is but ripe in age, and he is called one grown old in vain.

261.One in whom there is truthfulness, virtue, inoffensiveness, restraint and self-mastery, who is free from defilements and is wise – he is truly called an Elder.

262.Not by mere eloquence nor by beauty of form does a man become accomplished, if he is jealous, selfish and deceitful.

263.But he in whom these are wholly destroyed, uprooted and extinct, and who has cast out hatred – that wise man is truly accomplished.

264.Not by shaven head does a man who is indisciplined and untruthful become a monk. How can he who is full of desire and greed be a monk?

265.He who wholly subdues evil both small and great is called a monk, because he has overcome all evil.

266.He is not a monk just because he lives on others’ alms. Not by adopting outward form does one become a true monk.

267.Whoever here (in the Dispensation) lives a holy life, transcending both merit and demerit, and walks with understanding in this world – he is truly called a monk.

268.Not by observing silence does one become a sage, if he be foolish and ignorant. But that man is wise who, as if holding a balance-scale accepts only the good.

269.The sage (thus) rejecting the evil, is truly a sage. Since he comprehends both (present and future) worlds, he is called a sage.

270.He is not noble who injures living beings. He is called noble because he is harmless towards all living beings.

271-272.Not by rules and observances, not even by much learning, nor by gain of absorption, nor by a life of seclusion, nor by thinking, “I enjoy the bliss of renunciation, which is not experienced by the worldling” should you, O monks, rest content, until the utter destruction of cankers (Arahatship) is reached.

273.Of all the paths the Eightfold Path is the best; of all the truths the Four Noble Truths are the best; of all things passionlessness is the best: of men the Seeing One (the Buddha) is the best.

274.This is the only path; there is none other for the purification of insight. Tread this path, and you will bewilder Mara.

275.Walking upon this path you will make an end of suffering. Having discovered how to pull out the thorn of lust, I make known the path.

276.You yourselves must strive; the Buddhas only point the way. Those meditative ones who tread the path are released from the bonds of Mara.

277.“All conditioned things are impermanent” – when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification.

278.“All conditioned things are unsatisfactory” – when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification.

279.“All things are not-self” – when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification.

280.The idler who does not exert himself when he should, who though young and strong is full of sloth, with a mind full of vain thoughts – such an indolent man does not find the path to wisdom.

281.Let a man be watchful of speech, well controlled in mind, and not commit evil in bodily action. Let him purify these three courses of action, and win the path made known by the Great Sage.

282.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.

283.Cut down the forest (lust), but not the tree; from the forest springs fear. Having cut down the forest and the underbrush (desire), be passionless, O monks!20

284.For so long as the underbrush of desire, even the most subtle, of a man towards a woman is not cut down, his mind is in bondage, like the sucking calf to its mother.

285.Cut off your affection in the manner of a man plucks with his hand an autumn lotus. Cultivate only the path to peace, Nibbana, as made known by the Exalted One.

286.“Here shall I live during the rains, here in winter and summer” – thus thinks the fool. He does not realize the danger (that death might intervene).

287.As a great flood carries away a sleeping village, so death seizes and carries away the man with a clinging mind, doting on his children and cattle.

288.For him who is assailed by death there is no protection by kinsmen. None there are to save him – no sons, nor father, nor relatives.

289.Realizing this fact, let the wise man, restrained by morality, hasten to clear the path leading to Nibbana.

290.If by renouncing a lesser happiness one may realize a greater happiness, let the wise man renounce the lesser, having regard for the greater.

291.Entangled by the bonds of hate, he who seeks his own happiness by inflicting pain on others, is never delivered from hatred.

292.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.

293.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.

294.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.

295.Having slain mother, father, two brahmin kings (two extreme views), and a tiger as the fifth (the five mental hindrances), ungrieving goes the holy man.

296.Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily who day and night constantly practice the Recollection of the Qualities of the Buddha.

297.Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily who day and night constantly practice the Recollection of the Qualities of the Dhamma.

298.Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily who day and night constantly practice the Recollection of the Qualities of the Sangha.

299.Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily who day and night constantly practice Mindfulness of the Body.

300.Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily whose minds by day and night delight in the practice of non-violence.

301.Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily whose minds by day and night delight in the practice of meditation.

302.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.

303.He who is full of faith and virtue, and possesses good repute and wealth – he is respected everywhere, in whatever land he travels.

304.The good shine from afar, like the Himalaya mountains. But the wicked are unseen, like arrows shot in the night.

305.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.

306.The liar goes to the state of woe; also he who, having done (wrong), says, “I did not do it.” Men of base actions both, on departing they share the same destiny in the other world.

307.There are many evil characters and uncontrolled men wearing the saffron robe. These wicked men will be born in states of woe because of their evil deeds.

308.It would be better to swallow a red-hot iron ball, blazing like fire, than as an immoral and uncontrolled monk to eat the alms of the people.

309.Four misfortunes befall the reckless man who consorts with another’s wife: acquisition of demerit, disturbed sleep, ill-repute, and (rebirth in) states of woe.

310.Such a man acquires demerit and an unhappy birth in the future. Brief is the pleasure of the frightened man and woman, and the king imposes heavy punishment. Hence, let no man consort with another’s wife.

311.Just as kusa grass wrongly handled cuts the hand, even so, a recluse’s life wrongly lived drags one to states of woe.

312.Any loose act, any corrupt observance, any life of questionable celibacy – none of these bear much fruit.

313.If anything is to be done, let one do it with sustained vigor. A lax monastic life stirs up the dust of passions all the more.

314.An evil deed is better left undone, for such a deed torments one afterwards. But a good deed is better done, doing which one repents not later.

315.Just as a border city is closely guarded both within and without, even so, guard yourself. Do not let slip this opportunity (for spiritual growth). For those who let slip this opportunity grieve indeed when consigned to hell.

316.Those who are ashamed of what they should not be ashamed of, and are not ashamed of what they should be ashamed of – upholding false views, they go to states of woe.

317.Those who see something to fear where there is nothing to fear, and see nothing to fear where there is something to fear – upholding false views, they go to states of woe.

318.Those who imagine evil where there is none, and do not see evil where it is – upholding false views, they go to states of woe.

319.Those who discern the wrong as wrong and the right as right – upholding right views, they go to realms of bliss.

320.As an elephant in the battlefield withstands arrows shot from bows all around, even so shall I endure abuse. There are many, indeed, who lack virtue.

321.A tamed elephant is led into a crowd, and the king mounts a tamed elephant. Best among men is the subdued one who endures abuse.

322.Excellent are well-trained mules, thoroughbred Sindhu horses and noble tusker elephants. But better still is the man who has subdued himself.

323.Not by these mounts, however, would one go to the Untrodden Land (Nibbana), as one who is self-tamed goes by his own tamed and well-controlled mind.

324.Musty during rut, the tusker named Dhanapalaka is uncontrollable. Held in captivity, the tusker does not touch a morsel, but only longingly calls to mind the elephant forest.

325.When a man is sluggish and gluttonous, sleeping and rolling around in bed like a fat domestic pig, that sluggard undergoes rebirth again and again.

326.Formerly this mind wandered about as it liked, where it wished and according to its pleasure, but now I shall thoroughly master it with wisdom as a mahout controls with his ankus [sic] an elephant in rut.

327.Delight in heedfulness! Guard well your thoughts! Draw yourself out of this bog of evil, even as an elephant draws himself out of the mud.

328.If for company you find a wise and prudent friend who leads a good life, you should, overcoming all impediments, keep his company joyously and mindfully.

329.If for company you cannot find a wise and prudent friend who leads a good life, then, like a king who leaves behind a conquered kingdom, or like a lone elephant in the elephant forest, you should go your way alone.

330.Better it is to live alone; there is no fellowship with a fool. Live alone and do no evil; be carefree like and elephant in the elephant forest.

331.Good are friends when need arises; good is contentment with just what one has; good is merit when life is at an end, and good is the abandoning of all suffering (through Arahatship).

332.In this world, good it is to serve one’s mother, good it is to serve one’s father, good it is to serve the monks, and good it is to serve the holy men.

333.Good is virtue until life’s end, good is faith that is steadfast, good is the acquisition of wisdom, and good is the avoidance of evil.

334.The craving of one given to heedless living grows like a creeper. Like the monkey seeking fruits in the forest, he leaps from life to life (tasting the fruit of his kamma).

335.Whoever is overcome by this wretched and sticky craving, his sorrows grow like grass after the rains.

336.But whoever overcomes this wretched craving, so difficult to overcome, from him sorrows fall away like water from a lotus leaf.

337.This I say to you: Good luck to all assembled here! Dig up the root of craving, like one in search of the fragrant root of the birana grass. Let not Mara crush you again and again, as a flood crushes a reed.

338.Just as a tree, though cut down, sprouts up again if its roots remain uncut and firm, even so, until the craving that lies dormant is rooted out, suffering springs up again and again.

339.The misguided man in whom the thirty-six currents of craving strongly rush toward pleasurable objects, is swept away by the flood of his passionate thoughts.21

340.Everywhere these currents flow, and the creeper (of craving) sprouts and grows. Seeing that the creeper has sprung up, cut off its root with wisdom.

341.Flowing in (from all objects) and watered by craving, feelings of pleasure arise in beings. Bent on pleasures and seeking enjoyment, these men fall prey to birth and decay.

342.Beset by craving, people run about like an entrapped hare. Held fast by mental fetters, they come to suffering again and again for a long time.

343.Beset by craving, people run about like an entrapped hare. Therefore, one who yearns to be passion-free should destroy his own craving.

344.There is one who, turning away from desire (for household life) takes to the life of the forest (i.e., of a monk). But after being freed from the household, he runs back to it. Behold that man! Though freed, he runs back to that very bondage!22

345-.That is not a strong fetter, the wise say, which is made of iron, wood or hemp. But the infatuation and longing for jewels and ornaments, children and wives – that, they say, is a far stronger fetter, which pulls one downward and, though seemingly loose, is hard to remove. This, too, the wise cut off. Giving up sensual pleasure, and without any longing, they renounce the world.

346.That is not a strong fetter, the wise say, which is made of iron, wood or hemp. But the infatuation and longing for jewels and ornaments, children and wives – that, they say, is a far stronger fetter, which pulls one downward and, though seemingly loose, is hard to remove. This, too, the wise cut off. Giving up sensual pleasure, and without any longing, they renounce the world.

347.Those who are lust-infatuated fall back into the swirling current (of samsara) like a spider on its self-spun web. This, too, the wise cut off. Without any longing, they abandon all suffering and renounce the world.

348.Let go of the past, let go of the future, let go of the present, and cross over to the farther shore of existence. With mind wholly liberated, you shall come no more to birth and death.

349.For a person tormented by evil thoughts, who is passion-dominated and given to the pursuit of pleasure, his craving steadily grows. He makes the fetter strong, indeed.

350.He who delights in subduing evil thoughts, who meditates on the impurities and is ever mindful – it is he who will make an end of craving and rend asunder Mara’s fetter.

351.He who has reached the goal, is fearless, free from craving, passionless, and has plucked out the thorns of existence – for him this is the last body.

352.He who is free from craving and attachment, is perfect in uncovering the true meaning of the Teaching, and knows the arrangement of the sacred texts in correct sequence – he, indeed, is the bearer of his final body. He is truly called the profoundly wise one, the great man.

353.A victor am I over all, all have I known. Yet unattached am I to all that is conquered and known. Abandoning all, I am freed through the destruction of craving. Having thus directly comprehended all by myself, whom shall I call my teacher?23

354.The gift of Dhamma excels all gifts; the taste of the Dhamma excels all tastes; the delight in Dhamma excels all delights. The Craving-Freed vanquishes all suffering.

355.Riches ruin only the foolish, not those in quest of the Beyond. By craving for riches the witless man ruins himself as well as others.

356.Weeds are the bane of fields, lust is the bane of mankind. Therefore, what is offered to those free of lust yields abundant fruit.

357.Weeds are the bane of fields, hatred is the bane of mankind. Therefore, what is offered to those free of hatred yields abundant fruit.

358.Weeds are the bane of fields, delusion is the bane of mankind. Therefore, what is offered to those free of delusion yields abundant fruit.

359.Weeds are the bane of fields, desire is the bane of mankind. Therefore, what is offered to those free of desire yields abundant fruit.

360.Good is restraint over the eye; good is restraint over the ear; good is restraint over the nose; good is restraint over the tongue.

361.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.

362.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.

363.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.

364.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.

365.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.

366.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.

367.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.

368.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.

369.Empty this boat, O monk! Emptied, it will sail lightly. Rid of lust and hatred, you shall reach Nibbana.

370.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.24

371.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!”

372.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.

373.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.

374.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

375.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.

376.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.

377.Just as the jasmine creeper sheds its withered flowers, even so, O monks, should you totally shed lust and hatred!

378.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.

379.By oneself one must censure oneself and scrutinize oneself. The self-guarded and mindful monk will always live in happiness.

380.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.

381.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.

382.That monk who while young devotes himself to the Teaching of the Buddha illumines this world like the moon freed from clouds.

383.Exert yourself, O holy man! Cut off the stream (of craving), and discard sense desires. Knowing the destruction of all the conditioned things, become, O holy man, the knower of the Uncreate (Nibbana)!26

384.When a holy man has reached the summit of two paths (meditative concentration and insight), he knows the truth and all his fetters fall away.

385.He for whom there is neither this shore nor the other shore, nor yet both, he who is free of cares and is unfettered – him do I call a holy man.27

386.He who is meditative, stainless and settled, whose work is done and who is free from cankers, having reached the highest goal – him do I call a holy man.

387.The sun shines by day, the moon shines by night. The warrior shines in armor, the holy man shines in meditation. But the Buddha shines resplendent all day and all night.

388.Because he has discarded evil, he is called a holy man. Because he is serene in conduct, he is called a recluse. And because he has renounced his impurities, he is called a renunciate.

389.One should not strike a holy man, nor should a holy man, when struck, give way to anger. Shame on him who strikes a holy man, and more shame on him who gives way to anger.

390.Nothing is better for a holy man than when he holds his mind back from what is endearing. To the extent the intent to harm wears away, to that extent does suffering subside.

391.He who does no evil in deed, word and thought, who is restrained in these three ways – him do I call a holy man.

392.Just as a brahmin priest reveres his sacrificial fire, even so should one devoutly revere the person from whom one has learned the Dhamma taught by the Buddha.

393.Not by matted hair, nor by lineage, nor by birth does one become a holy man. But he in whom truth and righteousness exist – he is pure, he is a holy man.

394.What is the use of your matted hair, O witless man? What of your garment of antelope’s hide? Within you is the tangle (of passion); only outwardly do you cleanse yourself.28

395.The person who wears a robe made of rags, who is lean, with veins showing all over the body, and who meditates alone in the forest – him do I call a holy man.

396.I do not call him a holy man because of his lineage or high-born mother. If he is full of impeding attachments, he is just a supercilious man. But who is free from impediments and clinging – him do I call a holy man.

397.He who, having cut off all fetters, trembles no more, who has overcome all attachments and is emancipated – him do I call a holy man.

398.He who has cut off the thong (of hatred), the band (of craving), and the rope (of false views), together with the appurtenances (latent evil tendencies), he who has removed the crossbar (of ignorance) and is enlightened – him do I call a holy man.

399.He who without resentment endures abuse, beating and punishment; whose power, real might, is patience – him do I call a holy man.

400.He who is free from anger, is devout, virtuous, without craving, self-subdued and bears his final body – him do I call a holy man.

401.Like water on a lotus leaf, or a mustard seed on the point of a needle, he who does not cling to sensual pleasures – him do I call a holy man.

402.He who in this very life realizes for himself the end of suffering, who has laid aside the burden and become emancipated – him do I call a holy man.

403.He who has profound knowledge, who is wise, skilled in discerning the right or wrong path, and has reached the highest goal – him do I call a holy man.

404.He who holds aloof from householders and ascetics alike, and wanders about with no fixed abode and but few wants – him do I call a holy man.

405.He who has renounced violence towards all living beings, weak or strong, who neither kills nor causes others to kill – him do I call a holy man.

406.He who is friendly amidst the hostile, peaceful amidst the violent, and unattached amidst the attached – him do I call a holy man.

407.He whose lust and hatred, pride and hypocrisy have fallen off like a mustard seed from the point of a needle – him do I call a holy man.

408.He who utters gentle, instructive and truthful words, who imprecates none – him do I call a holy man.

409.He who in this world takes nothing that is not given to him, be it long or short, small or big, good or bad – him do I call a holy man.

410.He who wants nothing of either this world or the next, who is desire-free and emancipated – him do I call a holy man.

411.He who has no attachment, who through perfect knowledge is free from doubts and has plunged into the Deathless – him do I call a holy man.

412.He who in this world has transcended the ties of both merit and demerit, who is sorrowless, stainless and pure – him do I call a holy man.

413.He, who, like the moon, is spotless and pure, serene and clear, who has destroyed the delight in existence – him do I call a holy man.

414.He who, having traversed this miry, perilous and delusive round of existence, has crossed over and reached the other shore; who is meditative, calm, free from doubt, and, clinging to nothing, has attained to Nibbana – him do I call a holy man.

415.He who, having abandoned sensual pleasures, has renounced the household life and become a homeless one; has destroyed both sensual desire and continued existence – him do I call a holy man.

416.He who, having abandoned craving, has renounced the household life and become a homeless one, has destroyed both craving and continued existence – him do I call a holy man.

417.He who, casting off human bonds and transcending heavenly ties, is wholly delivered of all bondages – him do I call a holy man.

418.He who, having cast off likes and dislikes, has become tranquil, is rid of the substrata of existence and like a hero has conquered all the worlds – him do I call a holy man.

419.He who in every way knows the death and rebirth of all beings, and is totally detached, blessed and enlightened – him do I call a holy man.

420.He whose track no gods, no angels, no humans trace, the Arahat who has destroyed all cankers – him do I call a holy man.

421.He who clings to nothing of the past, present and future, who has no attachment and holds on to nothing – him do I call a holy man.

422. He, the Noble, the Excellent, the Heroic, the Great Sage, the Conqueror, the Passionless, the Pure, the Enlightened one – him do I call a holy man.

423. He who knows his former births, who sees heaven and hell, who has reached the end of births and attained to the perfection of insight, the sage who has reached the summit of spiritual excellence – him do I call a holy man.

There are many versions of the Dhammapada now extant: several recensions of the Pali Dhammapada from Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Thailand; two incomplete manuscripts of a Gandhari Dharmapada found in central Asia; and a manuscript of a Buddhist Hybrid-Sanskrit Dharmapada found in a library in Tibet, called the Patna Dharmapada because photographs of this manuscript are now kept in Patna, India. There is also a Chinese translation of the Dharmapada made in the third century c.e. from a aPrakrit original, now no longer extant, similar to–but not identical with–the Pali Dhammapada. Parts of a Dharmapada text are included in the Mahavastu, a text belonging to the Lokottaravadin Mahasanghika school. In addition, there are Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese versions of a text called the Udanavarga, which is known in at least four recensions, all of them containing many verses in common with the Dhammapada/Dharmapada (Dhp) texts. To further complicate matters, there are Jain anthologies that contain verses clearly related to some of those found in these Buddhist anthologies as well.

Despite the many similarities among these texts, they contain enough discrepancies to have fueled a small scholarly industry. The different recensions of the Pali Dhp contain so many variant readings that there isn’t yet – even after more than a century of Western scholarship on the topic – a single edition covering them all. The discrepancies among the Pali and non-Pali versions are even greater. They arrange verses in different orders, each contains verses not found in the others, and among the verses in different versions that are related, the similarity in terms of imagery or message is sometimes fairly tenuous.

Fortunately for anyone looking to the Dhp for spiritual guidance, the differences among the various recensions–though many in number – range in importance from fairly minor to minor in the extreme. Allowing for a few obvious scribal errors, none of them fall outside the pale of what has long been accepted as standard early Buddhist doctrine as derived from the Pali discourses. For example, does the milk in verse 71 come out or does it curdle? Is the bond in verse 346 subtle, slack, or elastic? Is the brahman in verse 393 happy or is he pure? For all practical purposes, these questions hardly matter. They become important only when one is forced to take sides in choosing which version to translate, and even then the nature of the choice is like that of a conductor deciding which of the many versions of a Handel oratorio to perform.

Unfortunately for the translator, though, the scholarly discussions that have grown around these issues have tended to blow them all out of proportion, to the point where they call into question the authenticity of the Dhp as a whole. Because the scholars who have devoted themselves to this topic have come up with such contradictory advice for the potential translator–including the suggestion that it’s a waste of time to translate some of the verses at all–we need to sort through the discussions to see what, if any, reliable guidance they give.

Those who have worked on the issues raised by the variant versions of Dhp have, by and large, directed the discussion to figuring out which version is the oldest and most authentic, and which versions are later and more corrupt. Lacking any outside landmarks against which the versions can be sighted, scholars have attempted to reconstruct what must have been the earliest version by triangulating among the texts themselves. This textual trigonometry tends to rely on assumptions from among the following three types:

Thus, although the scholarship devoted to the different recensions of the Dhp has provided a useful service in unearthing so many variant readings of the text, none of the assumptions used in trying to sort through those readings for “the original” Dhp have led to any definite conclusions. Their positive success has been limited mainly to offering food for academic speculation and educated guesses.

On the negative side, though, they have succeeded in accomplishing something totally useless: a wholesale sense of distrust for the early Buddhist texts, and the poetic texts in particular. If the texts contain so many varying reports, the feeling goes, and if their translators and transmitters were so incompetent, how can any of them be trusted? This distrust comes from accepting, unconsciously, the assumptions concerning authorship and authenticity within which our modern, predominately literate culture operates: that only one version of a verse could have been composed by its original author, and that all other versions must be later corruptions. In terms of the Dhp, this comes down to assuming that there was only one original version of the text, and that it was composed in a single language.

However, these assumptions are totally inappropriate for analyzing the oral culture in which the Buddha taught and in which the verses of the Dhp were first anthologized. If we look carefully at the nature of that culture – and in particular at clear statements from the early Buddhist texts concerning the events and principles that shaped those texts – we will see that it is perfectly natural that there should be a variety of reports about the Buddha’s teachings, all of which might be essentially correct. In terms of the Dhp, we can view the multiple versions of the text as a sign, not of faulty transmission, but of an allegiance to their oral origins.

Oral prose and poetry are very different from their written counterparts. This fact is obvious even in our own culture. However, we have to make an active effort of the imagination to comprehend the expectations placed on oral transmission between speakers and listeners in a culture where there is no written word to fall back on. In such a setting, the verbal heritage is maintained totally through repetition and memorization. A speaker with something new to say has to repeat it often to different audiences–who, if they feel inspired by the message, are expected to memorize at least its essential parts. Because communication is face-to-face, a speaker is particularly prized for an ability to tailor his/her message to the moment of communication, in terms of the audience’s background from the past, its state of mind at present, and its hoped - for benefits in the future.

This puts a double imperative on both the speaker and the listener. The speaker must choose his/her words with an eye both to how they will affect the audience in the present and to how they will be memorized for future reference. The listener must be attentive, both to appreciate the immediate impact of the words and to memorize them for future use. Although originality in teaching is appreciated, it is only one of a constellation of virtues expected of a teacher. Other expected virtues include a knowledge of common culture and an ability to play with that knowledge for the desired effect in terms of immediate impact or memorability. The Pali Dhp (verse 45) itself makes this point in comparing the act of teaching, not to creating something totally new out of nothing, but to selecting among available flowers to create a pleasing arrangement just right for the occasion.

Of course, there are situations in an oral culture where either immediate impact or memorability is emphasized at the expense of the other. In a classroom, listening for impact is sacrificed to the needs of listening for memorization, whereas in a theater, the emphasis is reversed. All indications show, however, that the Buddha as a teacher was especially sensitive to both aspects of oral communication, and that he trained his listeners to be sensitive to both as well. On the one hand, the repetitious style of many of his recorded teachings seems to have been aimed at hammering them into the listener’s memory; also, at the end of many of his discourses, he would summarize the main points of the discussion in an easy-to-memorize verse.

On the other hand, there are many reports of instances in which his listeners gained immediate Awakening while listening to his words. And, there is a delightful section in one of his discourses (the Samaññaphala Suttanta, DN 2) satirizing the teachers of other religious sects for their inability to break away from the formulaic mode of their teachings to give a direct answer to specific questions (“It’s as if, when asked about a mango, one were to answer with a breadfruit,” one of the interlocutors comments, “or, when asked about a breadfruit, to answer with a mango.”) The Buddha, in contrast, was famous for his ability to speak directly to his listeners’ needs.

This sensitivity to both present impact and future use is in line with two well-known Buddhist teachings: first, the basic Buddhist principle of causality, that an act has repercussions both in the present and on into the future; second, the Buddha’s realization, early on in his teaching career, that some of his listeners would attain Awakening immediately on hearing his words, whereas others would be able to awaken only after taking his words, contemplating them, and putting them into prolonged practice.

A survey of the Buddha’s prose discourses recorded in the Pali Canon gives an idea of how the Buddha met the double demands placed on him as a teacher. In some cases, to respond to a particular situation, he would formulate an entirely original teaching. In others, he would simply repeat a formulaic answer that he kept in store for general use: either teachings original with him, or more traditional teachings – sometimes lightly tailored, sometimes not – that fit in with his message. In still others, he would take formulaic bits and pieces, and combine them in a new way for the needs at hand. A survey of his poetry reveals the same range of material: original works; set pieces – original or borrowed, occasionally altered in line with the occasion; and recyclings of old fragments in new juxtapositions.

Thus, although the Buddha insisted that all his teachings had the same taste – that of release – he taught different variations on the theme of that taste to different people on different occasions, in line with his perception of their short - and long-term needs. In reciting a verse to a particular audience, he might change a word, a line, or an image, to fit in with their backgrounds and individual needs.

Adding to this potential for variety was the fact that the people of northern India in his time spoke a number of different dialects, each with its own traditions of poetry and prose. The Pali Cullavagga (V.33.1) records the Buddha as insisting that his listeners memorize his teachings, not in a standardized lingua franca, but in their own dialects. There is no way of knowing whether he himself was multi-lingual enough to teach all of his students in their own dialects, or expected them to make the translations themselves. Still, it seems likely that, as a well-educated aristocrat of the time, he would have been fluent in at least two or three of the most prevalent dialects. Some of the discourses – such as DN 21 – depict the Buddha as an articulate connoisseur of poetry and song, so we can expect that he would also have been sensitive to the special problems involved in the effective translation of poetry – alive, for instance, to the fact that skilled translation requires more than simply substituting equivalent words. The Mahavagga (V.13.9) reports that the Buddha listened, with appreciation, as a monk from the southern country of Avanti recited some of his teachings – apparently in the Avanti dialect–in his presence. Although scholars have often raised questions about which language the Buddha spoke, it might be more appropriate to remain open to the possibility that he spoke – and could compose poetry in–several. This possibility makes the question of “the” original language or “the” original text of the Dhp somewhat irrelevant.

The texts suggest that even during the Buddha’s lifetime his students made efforts to collect and memorize a standardized body of his teachings under a rubric of nine categories: dialogues, narratives of mixed prose and verse, explanations, verses, spontaneous exclamations, quotations, birth stories, amazing events, question and answer sessions. However, the act of collecting and memorizing was pursued by only a sub-group among his monks, while other monks, nuns, and lay people doubtlessly had their own individual memorized stores of teachings they had heard directly from the Buddha or indirectly through the reports of their friends and acquaintances.

The Buddha had the foresight to ensure that this less standardized fund of memories not be discounted by later generations; at the same time, he established norms so that mistaken reports, deviating from the principles of his teachings, would not be allowed to creep into the accepted body of doctrine. To discourage fabricated reports of his words, he warned that anyone who put words in his mouth was slandering him (AN 2:23). This, however, could in no way prevent mistaken reports based on honest misunderstandings. So, shortly before his death, he summarized the basic principles of his teachings: the 37 Wings to Awakening (bodhi-pakkhiya dhamma – see the note to verse 301) in the general framework of the development of virtue, concentration, and discernment, leading to release. Then he announced the general norms by which reports of his teachings were to be judged. The Mahaparinibbana Suttanta (DN 16) quotes him as saying:

“There is the case where a monk says this: ‘In the Blessed One’s presence have I heard this, in the Blessed One’s presence have I received this... In the presence of a community with well-known leading elders... In a monastery with many learned elders who know the tradition... In the presence of a single elder who knows the tradition have I heard this, in his presence have I received this: This is the Dhamma, this is the Vinaya, this is the Teacher’s instruction.’ His statement is neither to be approved nor scorned. Without approval or scorn, take careful note of his words and make them stand against the discourses and tally them against the Vinaya. If, on making them stand against the discourses and tallying them against the Vinaya, you find that they don’t stand with the discourses or tally with the Vinaya, you may conclude: ‘This is not the word of the Blessed One; this monk has misunderstood it’–and you should reject it. But if... they stand with the discourses and tally with the Vinaya, you may conclude: ‘This is the word of the Blessed One; this monk has understood it rightly.’”

Thus, a report of the Buddha’s teachings was to be judged, not on the authority of the reporter or his sources, but on the principle of consistency: did it fit in with what was already known of the doctrine? This principle was designed to ensure that nothing at odds with the original would be accepted into the standard canon, but it did open the possibility that teachings in line with the Buddha’s, yet not actually spoken by him, might find their way in. The early redactors of the canon seem to have been alert to this possibility, but not overly worried by it. As the Buddha himself pointed out many times, he did not design or create the Dhamma. He simply found it in nature. Anyone who developed the pitch of mental strengths and abilities needed for Awakening could discover the same principles as well. Thus the Dhamma was by no means exclusively his.

This attitude was carried over into the passages of the Vinaya that cite four categories of Dhamma statements: spoken by the Buddha, spoken by his disciples, spoken by seers (non-Buddhist sages), spoken by heavenly beings. As long as a statement was in accordance with the basic principles, the question of who first stated it did not matter. In an oral culture, where a saying might be associated with a person because he authored it, approved it, repeated it often, or inspired it by his/her words or actions, the question of authorship was not the overriding concern it has since become in literate cultures. The recent discovery of evidence that a number of teachings associated with the Buddha may have pre - or post-dated his time would not have fazed the early Buddhists at all, as long as those teachings were in accordance with the original principles.

Shortly after the Buddha’s passing away, the Cullavagga (XI) reports, his disciples met to agree on a standardized canon of his teachings, abandoning the earlier nine-fold classification and organizing the material into something approaching the canon we have today. There is clear evidence that some of the passages in the extant canon do not date to the first convocation, as they report incidents that took place afterwards. The question naturally arises as to whether there are any other later additions not so obvious. This question is particularly relevant with regard to texts like the Dhp, whose organization differs considerably from redaction to redaction, and leads naturally to the further question of whether a later addition to the canon can be considered authentic. The Cullavagga (XI.1.11) recounts an incident that sheds light on this issue:

In other words, Ven. Purana maintained – and undoubtedly taught to his followers – a record of the Buddha’s teachings that lay outside the standardized version, but was nevertheless authentic. As we have already noted, there were monks, nuns, and lay people like him even while the Buddha was alive, and there were probably others like him who continued maintaining personal memories of the Buddha’s teachings even after the latter’s death.

This story shows the official early Buddhist attitude toward such differing traditions: each accepted the trustworthiness of the others. As time passed, some of the early communities may have made an effort to include these “external” records in the standardized canon, resulting in various collections of prose and verse passages. The range of these collections would have been determined by the material that was available in, or could be effectively translated into, each individual dialect. Their organization would have depended on the taste and skill of the individual collectors. Thus, for instance, we find verses in the Pali Dhp that do not exist in other Dhps, as well as verses in the Patna and Gandhari Dhps that the Pali tradition assigns to the Jataka or Sutta Nipata. We also find verses in one redaction composed of lines scattered among several verses in another. In any event, the fact that a text was a later addition to the standardized canon does not necessarily mean that it was a later invention. Given the ad hoc way in which the Buddha sometimes taught, and the scattered nature of the communities who memorized his teachings, the later additions to the canons may simply represent earlier traditions that escaped standardization until relatively late.

When Buddhists began committing their canons to writing, approximately at the beginning of the common era, they brought a great change to the dynamic of how their traditions were maintained. The advantages of written over oral transmission are obvious: the texts are saved from the vagaries of human long-term memory and do not die out if those who have memorized them die before teaching others to memorize them as well. The disadvantages of written transmission, however, are less obvious but no less real. Not only is there the possibility of scribal error, but – because transmission is not face-to-face–there can also be the suspicion of scribal error. If a reading seems strange to a student, he has no way of checking with the scribe, perhaps several generations distant, to see if the reading was indeed a mistake. When confronted with such problems, he may “correct” the reading to fit in with his ideas of what must be right, even in cases where the reading was correct, and its perceived strangeness was simply a result of changes in the spoken dialect or of his own limited knowledge and imagination. The fact that manuscripts of other versions of the text were also available for comparison in such instances could have led scribes to homogenize the texts, removing unusual variants even when the variants themselves may have gone back to the earliest days of the tradition.

These considerations of how the Dhp may have been handed down to the present–and especially the possibility that (1) variant recensions might all be authentic, and that (2) agreement among the recensions might be the result of later homogenization–have determined the way in which I have approached this translation of the Pali Dhp. Unlike some other recent translators, I am treating the Pali Dhp as a text with its own integrity – just as each of the alternative traditions has its own integrity – and have not tried to homogenize the various traditions. Where the different Pali recensions are unanimous in their readings, even in cases where the reading seems strange (e.g., 71, 209, 259, 346), I have stuck with the Pali without trying to “rectify” it in light of less unusual readings given in the other traditions. Only in cases where the different Pali redactions are at variance with one another, and the variants seem equally plausible, have I checked the non-Pali texts to see which variant they support. The translation here is drawn from three editions of the text: the Pali Text Society (PTS) edition edited by O. von Hinüber and K.R. Norman (1995); the Oxford edition edited by John Ross Carter and Mahinda Palihawadana, together with its extensive notes (1987); and the Royal Thai edition of the Pali Canon (1982). The pts edition gives the most extensive list of variant readings among the Pali recensions, but even it is not complete. The Royal Thai edition, for example, contains 49 preferred and 8 variant readings not given in the PTS version at all. Passages where I have differed from the PTS reading are cited in the End Notes.

Drawing selectively on various recensions in this way, I cannot guarantee that the resulting reading of the Dhp corresponds exactly to the Buddha’s words, or to any one text that once existed in ancient India. However, as I mentioned at the beginning of this note, all the recensions agree in their basic principles, so the question is immaterial. The true test of the reading – and the resulting translation – is if the reader feels engaged enough by the verses to put their principles into practice and finds that they do indeed lead to the release that the Buddha taught. In the final analysis, nothing else really counts.

1-2: The fact that the word mano is paired here with dhamma would seem to suggest that it is meant in its role as “intellect,” the sense medium that conveys knowledge of ideas or mental objects (two possible meanings for the word “dhamma”). However, the illustrations in the second sentence of each verse show that it is actually meant in its role as the mental factor responsible for the quality of one’s actions (as in mano-kamma), the factor of will and intention, shaping not only mental events but also physical reality (on this point, see SN 35:145). Thus, following a Thai tradition, I have rendered it here as “heart.”

The images in these verses are carefully chosen. The cart, representing suffering, is a burden on the ox pulling it, and the weight of its wheels obliterates the ox’s track. The shadow, representing happiness, is no weight on the body at all.

All Pali recensions of this verse give the reading, manomaya = made of the heart, while all other recensions give the reading manojava = impelled by the heart.

7-8: Focused on the foul: A meditative exercise in focusing on the foul aspects of the body so as to help undercut lust and attachment for the body (see MN 119). AN 3:16 gives a standard definition for restraint with the senses: “And how does a monk guard the doors to his sense faculties? There is the case where a monk, on seeing a form with the eye, does not grasp at any theme or particulars by which–if he were to dwell without restraint over the faculty of the eye–evil, unskillful qualities such as greed or distress might assail him. He practices with restraint. He guards the faculty of the eye. He achieves restraint with regard to the faculty of the eye. (Similarly with the ear, nose, tongue, body & intellect.) This is how a monk guards the doors to his sense faculties.

11-12: Wrong resolves = mental resolves for sensuality, ill will, or harmfulness. Right resolves = mental resolves for freedom from sensuality, for freedom from ill will, and for harmlessness.

17-18: “Destination” in these two verses and throughout the text means one’s destination after death.

21: The Deathless = Unbinding (nibbana/nirvana), which gives release from the cycle of death and rebirth.

22: “The range of the noble ones”: Any of the four stages of Awakening, as well as the total Unbinding to which they lead. The four stages are: (1) stream-entry, at which one abandons the first three mental fetters tying one to the round of rebirth: self-identity views, uncertainty, and grasping at habits and practices; (2) once-returning, at which passion, aversion, and delusion are further weakened; (3) non-returning, at which sensual passion and irritation are abandoned; and (4) arahantship, at which the final five fetters are abandoned: passion for form, passion for formless phenomena, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance. For other references to the “range of the noble ones,” see 92-93 and 179-180.

37: “Lying in a cave”: According to the Dhp Commentary (hereafter referred to as DhpA), “cave” here means the physical heart, as well as the four great properties – earth (solidity), water (liquidity), fire (heat), and wind (motion) – that make up the body. Sn 4:2 also compares the body to a cave.

39: According to DhpA, “unsoddened mind” means one into which the rain of passion doesn’t penetrate (see 13-14); “unassaulted awareness” means a mind not assaulted by anger. “Beyond merit & evil”: The arahant is beyond merit and evil in that he/she has none of the mental defilements – passion, aversion, or delusion – that would lead to evil actions, and none of the attachments that would cause his/her actions to bear kammic fruit of any sort, good or bad.

40: “Without settling there, without laying claim”: two meanings of the word anivesano.

42: AN 7:60 illustrates this point with seven ways that a person harms him/herself when angry, bringing on results that an enemy would wish: He/she becomes ugly, sleeps badly, mistakes profit for loss and loss for profit, loses wealth, loses his/her reputation, loses friends, and acts in such a way that–after death – he/she reappears in a bad rebirth.

44-45: “Dhamma-saying”: This is a translation for the term dhammapada. To ferret out the well-taught Dhamma - saying means to select the appropriate maxim to apply to a particular situation, in the same way that a flower-arranger chooses the right flower, from a heap of available flowers (see 53), to fit into a particular spot in the arrangement. “The learner-on-the-path”: A person who has attained any of the first three of the four stages of Awakening (see note 22).

48: According to DhpA, the End-maker is death. According to another ancient commentary, the End-maker is Mara.

53: The last line of the Pali here can be read in two ways, either “even so, many a skillful thing should be done by one born & mortal” or “even so, many a skillful thing should be done with what’s born & mortal.” The first reading takes the phrase jatena maccena, born & mortal, as being analogous to the flower-arranger implicit in the image. The second takes it as analogous to the heap of flowers explicitly mentioned. In this sense, “what’s born & is mortal” would denote one’s body, wealth, and talents.

54-56: Tagara = a shrub that, in powdered form, is used as a perfume. AN 3:79 explains the how the scent of a virtuous person goes against the wind and wafts to the devas, by saying that those human and celestial beings who know of the good character of a virtuous person will broadcast one’s good name in all directions.

57: “Right knowing”: the knowledge of full Awakening.

71: “Doesn’t – like ready milk –ccome out right away”: All Pali recensions of this verse give the verb muccati – “to come out” or “to be released”–whereas DhpA agrees with the Sanskrit recensions in reading the verb as if it were mucchati/murchati, “to curdle.” The former reading makes more sense, both in terms of the image of the poem – which contrasts coming out with staying hidden – and with the plain fact that fresh milk doesn’t curdle right away. The Chinese translation of Dhp supports this reading, as do two of three scholarly editions of the Patna Dhp.

79: “Drinking the Dhamma, refreshed by the Dhamma”: two meanings of the word, dhammapiti. “Clear … calm”: two meanings of vipasannena.

83: “Stand apart”: reading cajanti with DhpA and many Asian editions.

86: The syntax of this verse yields the best sense if we take param as meaning “across,” and not as “the far shore.”

89: Factors for self-awakening = mindfulness, analysis of qualities, persistence, rapture, serenity, concentration, and equanimity.

92-93: “Having understood food …. independent of nutriment”: The first question in the Novice’s Questions (Khp 4) is “What is one?” The answer: “All animals subsist on nutriment.” The concept of food and nutriment here refers to the most basic way of understanding the causal principle that plays such a central role in the Buddha’s teaching. As SN 12:64 points out, “There are these four nutriments for the establishing of beings who have taken birth or for the support of those in search of a place to be born. Which four? Physical nutriment, gross or refined; contact as the second, consciousness the third, and intellectual intention the fourth.” The present verses make the point that the arahant has so fully understood the process of physical and mental causality that he/she is totally independent of it, and thus will never take birth again. Such a person cannot be comprehended by any of the forms of understanding that operate within the causal realm.

94: “Such (tadin)”: an adjective used to describe one who has attained the goal of Buddhist practice, indicating that the person’s state is indefinable but not subject to change or influences of any sort. “Right knowing”: the knowledge of full Awakening.

95: Indra’s pillar = a post set up at the gate of a city. According to DhpA, there was an ancient custom of worshipping this post with flowers and offerings, although those who wanted to show their disrespect for this custom would urinate and defecate on the post. In either case, the post did not react.

97: This verse is a series of puns. The negative meanings of the puns are on the left side of the slashes; the positive meanings, on the right. The negative meanings are so extremely negative that they were probably intended to shock their listeners. One scholar has suggested that the last word – uttamaporiso, the ultimate person – should also be read as a pun, with the negative meaning, “the extreme of audacity,” but that would weaken the shock value of the verse.

100: According to DhpA, the word sahassam in this and the following verses means “by the thousands” rather than “a thousand.” The same principle would also seem to hold for satam – “by the hundreds” rather than “a hundred” – in 102.

108: “Doesn’t come to a fourth”: DhpA: The merit produced by all sacrificial offerings given in the world in the course of a year doesn’t equal even one fourth of the merit made by paying homage once to one who has gone the straight way to Unbinding.

121-122: “(‘It won’t amount to much’)”: reading na mattam agamissati with the Thai edition. Other editions read, na mantam agamissati, “It won’t come to me.”

126: Heaven and hell, in the Buddhist view of the cosmos, are not eternal states. One may be reborn on one of the various levels of heaven or hell as the result of one’s kamma on the human plane, and then leave that level when that particular store of kamma wears out.

143: Some translators have proposed that the verb apabodheti, here translated as “awakens” should be changed to appam bodheti, “to think little of.” This, however, goes against the sense of the verse and of a recurrent image in the Canon, that the better-bred the horse, the more sensitive it is even to the idea of the whip, to say nothing of the whip itself. See, for example, AN 4:113.

The question raised in this verse is answered in SN 1:18:

152: Muscles: This is a translation of the Pali mansani, which is usually rendered in this verse as “flesh.” However, because the Pali word is in the plural form, “muscles” seems more accurate – and more to the point.

153-154: DhpA: These verses were the Buddha’s first utterance after his full Awakening. For some reason, they are not reported in any of the other canonical accounts of the events following on the Awakening.

DhpA: “House” = selfhood; house-builder = craving. “House” may also refer to the nine abodes of beings – the seven stations of consciousness and two spheres (see Khp 4 and DN 15).

The word anibbisam in 153 can be read either as the negative gerund of nibbisati (“earning, gaining a reward”) or as the negative gerund of nivisati, altered to fit the meter, meaning “coming to a rest, settled, situated.” Both readings make sense in the context of the verse, so the word is probably intended to have a double meaning: without reward, without rest.

157: “The three watches of the night”: this is the literal meaning of the verse, but DhpA shows that the image of staying up to nurse someone in the night is meant to stand for being wakeful and attentive throughout the three stages of life: youth, middle age, and old age. The point here is that it is never too early or too late to wake up and begin nurturing the good qualities of mind that will lead to one’s true benefit. On this point, see AN 3:51-52, where the Buddha counsels two old brahmans, nearing the end of their life span, to begin practicing generosity along with restraint in thought, word, and deed.

162: DhpA completes the image of the poem by saying that one’s vice brings about one’s own downfall, just as a maluva creeper ultimately brings about the downfall of the tree it overspreads. See note 42.

164: A bamboo plant bears fruit only once and then dies soon after.

165: “No one purifies another. No other purifies one.” These are the two meanings of the one phrase, nañño aññam visodhaye.

166: AN 4:95 lists four types of people in descending order: those devoted to their own true welfare as well as that of others, those devoted to their own true welfare but not that of others, those devoted to the true welfare of others but not their own, and those devoted neither to their own true welfare nor that of others. SN 47:19 makes the point that if one is truly devoted to one’s own welfare, others automatically benefit, in the same way that an acrobat maintaining his/her own balance helps his/her partner stay balanced as well.

170: Sn 5:15 reports a conversation between the Buddha and the brahman Mogharaja with a point similar to that of this verse:

176: This verse is also found at Iti 25, where the context makes clear the meaning of ekam dhammam, or “this one thing”: the principle of truthfulness.

178: The fruit of stream entry is the first of the four stages of Awakening (see note 22). A person who has attained stream entry – entry into the stream that flows inevitably to Unbinding – is destined to attain full Awakening within at most seven lifetimes, never falling below the human state in the interim.

183-185: These verses are a summary of a talk called the Ovada Patimokkha, which the Buddha is said to have delivered to an assembly of 1,250 arahants in the first year after his Awakening. Verse 183 is traditionally viewed as expressing the heart of the Buddha’s teachings.

191: The noble eightfold path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.

195-196: Objectification = papañca. Alternative translations of this term would be proliferation, elaboration, exaggeration, complication. The term is used both in philosophical contexts – in connection with troubles and conflict–and in artistic contexts, in connection with the way in which an artistic theme is objectified and elaborated. Sn 4:14 states that the classifications of objectification begin with the perception by which one objectifies oneself–“I am thinker”–and then spread to objectify the rest of experience around the issues caused by that perception. MN 18 explains how this leads to conflict: “Dependent on eye & forms, eye-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as a requisite condition, there is feeling. What one feels, one perceives [labels in the mind]. What one perceives, one thinks about. What one thinks about, one objectifies. Based on what a person objectifies, the perceptions & categories of objectification assail him/her with regard to past, present, & future forms cognizable via the eye. [Similarly with the other senses.] …. Now, with regard to the cause whereby the perceptions & categories of objectification assail a person: if there is nothing there to relish, welcome, or remain fastened to, then that is the end of obsession with passion, irritation, views, uncertainty, conceit, passion for becoming, & ignorance. That is the end of taking up rods & bladed weapons, of arguments, quarrels, disputes, accusations, divisive tale-bearing, & false speech. That is where these evil, unskillful actions cease without remainder.”

209: This verse plays with the various meanings of yoga (task, striving, application, meditation) and a related term, anuyuñjati (keeping after something, taking someone to task). In place of the Pali reading attanuyoginam, “those who kept after themselves,” the Patna Dhp reads atthanuyoginam, “those who kept after/remained devoted to the goal.”

218: “The up-flowing stream”: DhpA: the attainment of non-returning, the third of the four stages of Awakening (see note 22).

219-220: The Pali in these verses repeats the word “comes” three times, to emphasize the idea that if the results of meritorious actions await one after death, one’s going to the next world is more like a homecoming.

231-233: Bodily misconduct = killing, stealing, engaging in illicit sex. Verbal misconduct = lies, divisive speech, harsh speech, idle chatter. Mental misconduct = covetousness, ill will, wrong views.

235: Yama = the god of the underworld. Yama’s minions or underlings were believed to appear to a person just prior to the moment of death.

236: Impurities, blemishes = passion, aversion, delusion, and their various permutations, including envy, miserliness, hypocrisy, and boastfulness.

240: “One who lives slovenly”: As DhpA makes clear, this refers to one who uses the requisites of food, clothing, shelter, and medicine without the wisdom that comes with reflecting on their proper use. The Pali term here is atidhonacarin, a compound built around the word dhona, which means clean or pure. The ati - in the compound could mean “overly,” thus yielding, “one overly scrupulous in his behavior,” but it can also mean “transgressing,” thus, “transgressing against what is clean” = “slovenly.” The latter reading fits better with the image of rust as a deficiency in the iron resulting from carelessness.

254-255: “No outside contemplative”: No true contemplative, defined as a person who has attained any of the four stages of Awakening, exists outside of the practice of the Buddha’s teachings (see note 22). In DN 16, the Buddha is quoted as teaching his final student: “In any doctrine & discipline where the noble eightfold path is not found, no contemplative of the first… second… third… fourth order [stream-winner, once-returner, non-returner, or arahant] is found. But in any doctrine & discipline where the noble eightfold path is found, contemplatives of the first… second… third… fourth order are found. The noble eightfold path is found in this doctrine & discipline, and right here there are contemplatives of the first… second… third… fourth order. Other teachings are empty of knowledgeable contemplatives. And if the monks dwell rightly, this world will not be empty of arahants.” (On the noble eightfold path, see note 16, 191.)

On “objectification,” see note 195-196.

256-257: The sense of the verse, confirmed by DhpA, suggests that the Pali word dhammattho means “judge.” This, in fact, is the theme tying together the verses in this chapter. The duty of a judge is to correctly determine attha, a word that denotes both “meaning” and “judgment,” these two senses of the word being connected by the fact that the judge must interpret the meanings of words used in rules and principles to see how they correctly apply to the particulars of a case so that he can pass a correct verdict. The remaining verses in this chapter give examples of interpreting attha in an appropriate way.

259: “Sees Dhamma through his body”: The more common expression in the Pali Canon (e.g., in AN 6:46 and AN 9:45) is to touch Dhamma through or with the body (phusati or phassati, “he touches,” rather than passati, “he sees”). The Sanskrit recensions and the Patna Dhp all support the reading, “he would touch,” but all Pali recensions are unanimous in the reading, “he sees.” Some scholars regard this latter reading as a corruption of the verse; I personally find it a more striking image than the common expression.

265: This verse plays with a number of nouns and verbs related to the adjective sama, which means “even,” “equal,” “on pitch,” or “in tune.” Throughout ancient cultures, the terminology of music was used to describe the moral quality of people and acts. Discordant intervals or poorly-tuned musical instruments were metaphors for evil; harmonious intervals and well-tuned instruments, for good. Thus in Pali, samana, or contemplative, also means a person who is in tune with the principles of rightness and truth inherent in nature. Here and in 388, I’ve attempted to give a hint of these implications by associating the word “contemplative” with “consonance.”

268-269: This verse contains the Buddhist refutation of the idea that “those who know don’t speak, those who speak don’t know.” For another refutation of the same idea, see DN 12. In Vedic times, a sage (muni) was a person who took a vow of silence (mona) and was supposed to gain special knowledge as a result. The Buddhists adopted the term muni, but redefined it to show how true knowledge was attained and how it expressed itself in the sage’s actions. For a fuller portrait of the ideal Buddhist sage, see AN 3:23 and Sn 1:12.

271-272: This verse has what seems to be a rare construction, in which na + instrumental nouns + a verb in the aorist tense gives the force of a prohibitive (“Don’t, on account of x, do y”). “The renunciate ease that run-of-the-mill people don’t know,” according to DhpA, is the state of non-returning, the third of the four stages of Awakening (see note 22). Because non-returners are still attached to subtle states of becoming on the level of form and formlessness, DhpA drives home the message that even non-returners should not be complacent by paraphrasing a passage from AN 1:329 (202 in the Thai edition; at the end of Chapter 19 in the PTS edition) that reads, “Just as even a small amount of excrement is foul-smelling, in the same way I do not praise even a small amount of becoming, even for the extent of a fingersnap.”

273: The four truths: stress, its cause, its cessation, and the path to its cessation (which is identical to the eightfold path). See note 191.

275: “I have taught you this path”: reading akkhato vo maya maggo with the Thai edition, a reading supported by the Patna Dhp. “Having known–for your knowing”: two ways of interpreting what is apparently a play on the Pali word, aññaya, which can be either be the gerund of ajanati or the dative of añña. On the extraction of arrows as a metaphor for the practice, see MN 63 and MN 105.

285: Although the first word in this verse, ucchinda, literally means “crush,” “destroy,” “annihilate,” I have found no previous English translation that renders it accordingly. Most translate it as “cut out” or “uproot,” which weakens the image. On the role played by self-allure in leading the heart to become fixated on others, see AN 7:48.

288: Ender = death.

293: Mindfulness immersed in the body = the practice of focusing on the body at all times simply as a phenomenon in & of itself, as a way of developing meditative absorption (jhana) and removing any sense of attraction to, distress over, or identification with the body. MN 119 lists the following practices as instances of mindfulness immersed in the body: mindfulness of breathing, awareness of the four postures of the body (standing, sitting, walking, lying down), alertness to all the actions of the body, analysis of the body into its 32 parts, analysis of it into its four properties (earth, water, fire, wind), and contemplation of the body’s inevitable decomposition after death.

294: This verse and the one following it use terms with ambiguous meanings to shock the listener. According to DhpA, mother = craving; father = conceit; two warrior kings = views of eternalism (that one has an identity remaining constant through all time) and of annihilationism (that one is totally annihilated at death); kingdom = the twelve sense spheres (the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, feeling, and ideation, together with their respective objects); dependency = passions for the sense spheres.

295: DhpA: two learned kings = views of eternalism and annihilationism; a tiger = the path where the tiger goes for food, i.e., the hindrance of uncertainty, or else all five hindrances (sensual desire, ill will, torpor & lethargy, restlessness & anxiety, and uncertainty). However, in Sanskrit literature, “tiger” is a term for a powerful and eminent man; if that is what is meant here, the term may stand for anger.

299: See note 293.

301: “Developing the mind” in terms of the 37 Wings to Awakening: the four frames of reference (ardent, mindful alertness to body, feelings, mind states, and mental qualities in & of themselves), the four right exertions (to abandon and avoid evil, unskillful mental qualities, and to foster and strengthen skillful mental qualities), the four bases of power (concentration based on desire, persistence, intentness, and discrimination), the five strengths and five faculties (conviction, persistence, mindfulness, concentration, and discernment), the seven factors for self-awakening (see note 89), and the noble eightfold path (see note 191). For a full treatment of this topic, see The Wings to Awakening (DhammaDana Publications, 1996).

303: DhpA: Wealth = both material wealth and the seven forms of noble wealth (ariya-dhana): conviction, virtue, shame, compunction (at the thought of doing evil), erudition, generosity, discernment.

324: DhpA: Dhanapalaka was a noble elephant captured for the king of Kasi. Although given palatial quarters with the finest food, he showed no interest, but thought only of the sorrow his mother felt, alone in the elephant wood, separated from her son.

329-330: DhpA: The bull elephant named Matanga, reflecting on the inconveniences of living in a herd crowded with she-elephants and young elephants – he was pushed around as he went into the river, had to drink muddied water, had to eat leaves that others had already nibbled, etc.– decided that he would find more pleasure in living alone. His story parallels that of the elephant in AN 9:40 and elephant the Buddha met in the Parileyyaka Forest (Mv.X.4.6-7).

337: This verse provides a Buddhist twist to the typical benedictions found in works of kavya. Instead of expressing a wish that the listeners meet with wealth, fame, status, or other worldly forms of good fortune, it describes the highest good fortune, which can be accomplished only through one’s own skillful kamma: the uprooting of craving and the resulting state of total freedom from the round of death and rebirth. A similar twist on the theme of good fortune is found in the Mangala Sutta (Khp 5, Sn 2:4), which teaches that the best protective charm is to develop skillful kamma, ultimately developing the mind to the point where it is untouched by the vagaries of the world.

339: 36 streams = three forms of desire for each of the internal and external sense spheres (see note 294)–3 x 2 x 6 = 36. According to one sub-commentary, the three forms of desire are desires focused on the past, present, and future. According to another, they are craving for sensuality, for becoming, and for non-becoming.

340: “Every which way”: Reading sabbadhi with the Thai and Burmese editions. The creeper, according to DhpA, is craving, which sends thoughts out to wrap around its objects, while it itself stays rooted in the mind.

341: This verse contains an implied simile: the terms “loosened & oiled,” here applied to joys, were commonly used to describe smooth bowel movements.

343: For the various meanings that attano – “for himself”–can have in this verse, see note 402.

346: “Elastic”: The usual translation for sithilam–“slack”–does not fit in this verse, but all the Pali recensions are unanimous on this reading, so I have chosen a near synonym that does. The Patna Dhp renders this term as “subtle,” whereas the Tibetan commentary to the Udanavarga explains the line as a whole as meaning “hard for the slack to untie.” Both alternatives make sense, but may be attempts to “correct” a term that could well have originally meant “elastic,” a meaning that got lost with the passage of time.

348: DhpA: In front = the aggregates of the past; behind = the aggregates of the future; in between = the aggregates of the present. see also note 385.

350: “A focus on the foul”: A meditative exercise in focusing on the foul parts of the body so as to help undercut lust and attachment for the body. See note 7-8.

352: “Astute in expression, knowing the combination of sounds–which comes first & which after”: Some arahants, in addition to their ability to overcome all of their defilements, are also endowed with four forms of acumen (patisambhida), one of which is acumen with regard to expression (nirutti-patisambhida), i.e., a total mastery of linguistic expression. This talent in particular must have been of interest to the anthologist(s) who put together the Dhp.

“Last-body”: Because an arahant will not be reborn, this present body is his/her last.

353: According to MN 26 and Mv.I.6.7, one of the first people the Buddha met after his Awakening was an ascetic who commented on the clarity of his faculties and asked who his teacher was. This verse was part of the Buddha’s response.

354: This verse contains several terms related to aesthetics. Both dhamma (justice) and dana (gift/generosity) are sub-types of the heroic rasa, or savor. (See the Introduction.) The third sub-type of the heroic–yuddha (warfare)–is suggested by the verb “conquer,” which occurs four times in the Pali. Rati (delight/love) is the emotion (bhava) that corresponds to the sensitive rasa. In effect, the verse is saying that the highest forms of rasa and emotion are those related to Dhamma; the highest expression of the heroic Dhamma rasa is in the ending of craving.

360-361: See note 7-8.

363: “Counsel”: In the context of Indian literary theory, this is the meaning of the word manta, which can also mean “chant.” The literary context seems to be the proper one here.

368: “Stilling-of-fabrications ease”: the true ease and freedom experienced when all five aggregates are stilled.

369: DhpA: The boat = one’s own personhood (atta-bhava, the body-mind complex); the water that needs to be bailed out = wrong thoughts (imbued with passion, aversion, or delusion).

370: DhpA: Cut through five = the five lower fetters that tie the mind to the round of rebirth (self-identity views, uncertainty, grasping at habits & practices, sensual passion, irritation); let go of five = the five higher fetters (passion for form, passion for formless phenomena, conceit, restlessness, ignorance); develop five = the five faculties (conviction, persistence, mindfulness, concentration, discernment); five attachments = passion, aversion, delusion, conceit, views.

381: See note 368.

383: This verse, addressed to a member of the brahman caste, is one of the few in Dhp where the word brahman is used in its ordinary sense, as indicating caste membership, and not in its special Buddhist sense as indicating an arahant.

384: DhpA: two things = tranquility meditation and insight meditation.

385: DhpA: This verse refers to a person who has no sense of “I” or “mine,” either for the senses (“not-beyond”) or their objects (“beyond”). The passage may also refer to the sense of total limitlessness that makes the experience of Unbinding totally ineffable, as reflected in the following conversation (Sn 5:6):

388: Stains = the impurities listed in note 236. On “consonance,” see note 265.

389: The word “anger” here is added from DhpA, which interprets the “letting loose” as the act of retaliating with anger against one’s assailant. Some translators read “brahman” as the subject not only of the second line, but also the first: “A brahman should/would not strike a brahman.” However, this reading is unlikely, for a brahman (in this context, an arahant) would not strike anyone at all. If a brahman retaliates with anger to being struck, that is a sign that he is not a true brahman: thus more shame on him for having assumed a status not truly his. On the topic of how to react to violent attack, see MN 21 and MN 145.

390: “What’s endearing & not”: In the phrase manaso piyehi, piyehi can be read straight as it is, as “endearing,” or as an elided form of apiyehi, “not endearing.” The former reading is more straightforward, but given the reference to “harmful-heartedness” in the next line, the latter reading serves to tie the stanza together. It is also consistent with the fact that DhpA takes this verse to be a continuation of 389. Given the way in which kavya cultivated a taste for ambiguities and multiple interpretations, both readings may have been intended.

392: “Brahman” here is used in its ordinary sense, as indicating caste membership, and not in its special Buddhist sense as indicating an arahant.

393: “He is a pure one”: reading so suci with the Thai edition, a reading supported by the Chinese translation of the Dhp.

394: In India of the Buddha’s day, matted hair, etc., were regarded as visible signs of spiritual status.

396: “Bho-sayer” – Brahmans addressed others as “bho” as a way of indicating their (the brahmans’) superior caste. “If he has anything” (reading sa ce with the Burmese edition) = if he/she lays claim to anything as his/her own.

398: DhpA: strap = resentment; thong = craving; cord = 62 forms of wrong view (listed in the Brahmajala Suttanta, DN 1); bridle = obsessions (sensuality, becoming, anger, conceit, views, uncertainty, ignorance).

400: “With no overbearing pride”: reading anussadam with the Thai and Burmese editions. “Last-body”: see note 352.

402: “For himself, on his own, his own ending of stress”: three different ways that the one word attano functions in this verse.

411: According to DhpA, “attachments/homes (alaya)” = cravings. “Knowing”: the knowledge of full Awakening (añña). “He has gained a footing”: The image here derives from a standard analogy comparing the practice to the act of crossing a river. According to AN 7:15, the point where the meditator gains footing on the river bottom, but before getting up on the bank, corresponds to the third stage of awakening, the attainment of non-return. To reach the fourth stage, becoming an arahant, is to go beyond the river and stand on firm ground.

412: See note 39.

421: See note 348.

423: The forms of mastery listed in this verse correspond to the three knowledges that comprised the Buddha’s Awakening: knowledge of previous lives, knowledge of how beings pass away and are reborn in the various levels of being, and knowledge of the ending of the effluents that maintain the process of birth.