The Dhammapada (Penguin Classics)
Date: 2010-08-26
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Rights: All rights reserved.

PENGUIN CLASSICS

THE DHAMMAPADA

VALERIE J. ROEBUCK was born in Hertfordshire in 1950. She studied at the University of Cambridge, where she was awarded a BA (Hons.) in Oriental Studies, specializing in Sanskrit and other Indian languages, and a PhD for a thesis on South Indian bronzes. A freelance scholar and lecturer, she is an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Manchester and an Associate Member of the Centre for the History of Religion in Asia at Cardiff University. Dr Roebuck has a broad interest in Indian language, culture and religion. She is a Buddhist, practising and teaching meditation in the Samatha tradition, and is involved in interfaith work in Manchester. Her previous publications include The Circle of Stars: An Introduction to Indian Astrology (Element Books, 1992). She also translated the Upaniṣads for Penguin Classics.

The Dhammapada

Translated and edited with an introduction by
VALERIE J. ROEBUCK

PENGUIN BOOKS

PENGUIN CLASSICS

Published by the Penguin Group

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This translation first published in Penguin Classics 2010

Translation and editorial material copyright © Valerie J. Roebuck, 2010

All rights reserved

The moral right of the translator and editor has been asserted

Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

ISBN: 978-0-14-196355-6

Contents

Acknowledgements

Pronunciation Guide

Abbreviations

Introduction

Bibliography

Note on the Text

THE DHAMMAPADA

1. Twins

2. Awareness

3. The Mind

4. Flowers

5. Fools

6. The Wise Man

7. The Arahat

8. Thousands

9. Evil

10. The Rod

11. Old Age

12. Self

13. The World

14. The Buddha

15. Happiness

16. The Dear

17. Anger

18. Rust

19. The Just

20. The Path

21. Miscellaneous

22. Hells

23. The Elephant

24. Craving

25. The Monk

26. The Brahmin

Appendix I: Extract from the Gāndhārī Dharmapada

Appendix II: Extract from the Patna Dharmapada

Appendix III: Extract from the Mahāvastu

Glossary

Notes

Index of Names in Stories

General Index

Acknowledgements

I cannot even attempt to list the names of all the people who have helped me in the course of this work. First, there are those who inspired or encouraged me to take the task on, notably F. R. Allchin, Steve Farmer and J. R. Hinnells; and L. S. Cousins, without whose generous help I would hardly have dared to venture into the world of Pali and early Buddhism, after a previous existence specializing in Sanskrit. Les Callow should also be mentioned here, since he was the first person to suggest to me the idea of a Dhammapada translation, many years before. Then there are those who encouraged me when doubt set in – especially when I was finding it hard to discover a ‘voice’ in English for the Pali of the Dhammapada – among them Grevel Lindop and Tony Ellis, who read an early draft of the text and offered their criticisms of it as poetry in English.

It was very important for me to be able to discuss the work from the point of view of Buddhist teaching and practice, and I have been most grateful for discussions with friends who are meditators and sincere searchers within the Buddhist tradition, as well as, in some cases, scholars themselves – among them, Francis Beresford, Costel Harnasz, Usha McNab, Anne Schilizzi, Charles and Sarah Shaw, and many others who have taken part in study and practice groups to explore the Dhammapada.

Research into the Dhammapada and its related literature has taken me far beyond the realms of the Indian languages, into those of China and Tibet, which I regret I have never studied. I therefore owe my thanks to Max Deeg, Jungnok Park and Roland Steiner, scholars of these and other languages of Buddhism, who have been very generous in sharing their knowledge. The help of Kathy Lazenbatt of the Royal Asiatic Society has been indispensable in seeking out earlier translations of the Dhammapada into Western languages.

There are others, too, who have helped me via the various Indology lists on the internet, patiently answering my queries and helping me to find the books and articles I needed. Even a quick look at my email correspondence on Dhammapada topics reveals discussions with numerous scholars, including Jaymin Acharya, Stefan Baums, Peter Friedlander, Chris Haskett, Axel Michaels, Manish Modi, Walter Slaje, John D. Smith, Allen Thrasher, H. J. H. Tieken and Peter Wyzlic. For those whose names have been omitted, I want to assure them that their help is not forgotten. Needless to say, the use I have made of all this information, and the opinions expressed in the work, are entirely my own responsibility.

Much important research on the Dhammapada and its related literature is available only in German, another language that is regrettably unfamiliar to me. I therefore wish to express my heartfelt thanks to my German translator, Isabel Glasow, who has coped magnificently with densely written academic articles containing copious amounts of Sanskrit and Pali.

And thanks, as always, to my husband, Peter, for his unfailing love and support.

This work is dedicated to the memory of David Melling (1943–2004), philosopher, colleague and friend.

Valerie J. Roebuck

Manchester, January 2010

Pronunciation Guide

The following are the closest approximations in Received Standard English for the words from South Asian languages that are found in this book. The guide is designed primarily for Pali, but is also intended to provide some help with the Sanskrit (including Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit) and Gāndhārī words that occur in the Introduction and Appendices.

VOWELS
a as in cup, not as in cap.

ā as in calm.

i as in pick.

ī as in peak.

u as in took.

ū as in tool.

ṛ (Sanskrit only) is ‘vocalic r’ – r as a vowel. Originally it was probably pronounced as a trilled sound, like an r continued. Today, however, it is generally pronounced as a short ri sound, so ṛddhi sounds much like ‘riddhi’, and ṛṣi, ‘sage’, is often Anglicized as ‘rishi’.

e as in bake.

ai (Sanskrit only) as in bike.

o as in boat.

au (Sanskrit only) as in bout.

a, i, u, ṛ are short vowels; ā, ī, ū, e, ai, o, au are long. In Pali only, e and o are shortened before double consonants, so that the e in mettā and the o in gotta are pronounced short, though the resultant syllables are still long for stress purposes. (The length of syllables is important not only for knowing where to place the stress on words, but also for the metres used in poetry.)

CONSONANTS
k, g, c, j, ṭ, ḍ, t, d, p, b are unaspirated sounds: practically no breath escapes when they are pronounced, so they sound softer than their English equivalents. kh, gh, ch, jh, ṭh, ḍh, th, dh, ph, bh are aspirated: there is a noticeable escape of air, like an h, when they are pronounced. kh, gh etc. are written with single characters in the Indian scripts, and count as single sounds in pronunciation. Double consonants, such as kka, kkha etc., are fully pronounced, as in Italian.

kh as in blockhead, not as in loch.

gh as in egghead.

c as in chat, not as in cat (which would be spelled with a k in this system).

ch as in chat, but with a more marked escape of breath.

j as in lodge, not as in mirage.

jh as in bridgehead.

ph as in cuphook, not as in physics.

bh as in abhor.

There are two groups of t and d sounds. t and d are true dentals, pronounced with the tongue on the teeth, as in French. ṭ and ḍ are those distinctively Indian sounds, the retroflex consonants. In pronouncing them, the tongue starts from a position bent back against the roof of the mouth, and is brought slightly forward during speech, much as for r.

There is a similar relationship between dental n and retroflex ṇ, and between dental s (like English s) and retroflex ṣ (Sanskrit only – a soft sh sound). In Pali, there is also a retroflex consonant ḷ, as in Pāḷi.

th, dh, ṭh, ḍh are aspirated versions of the t and d sounds, as in pothook, bloodhound, not as in theme or this.

ś (Sanskrit and Gāndhārī) is a palatal sh sound, made with the tongue in the same place as for j, as in pushchair.

ñ comes before c, ch, j or jh, and sounds as in pinch, angel. In Pali, it can also occur on its own, doubled, or as an initial, when it is pronounced ny.

ṅ usually comes before k, kh, g or gh: it is the sound in pink, angle, king.

ṃ nasalizes the preceding vowel, rather like the n in French bon.

v sounds somewhere between v and w, on its own sounding more like v, but after another consonant more like w.

h is pronounced with more resonance than is usual in English, while ḥ (Sanskrit only) is a slightly harsh breathy sound, most commonly at the end of a word (but cf. duḥkha, Pali dukkha).

STRESS ON WORDS

The stress on words in Pali and Sanskrit is determined by long and short syllables. For this purpose, a syllable containing a long vowel, or any vowel which is followed by more than one consonant, is long. A syllable containing a short vowel followed by a single consonant is short.

In a two-syllable word, the stress is always on the first syllable: Yama, Buddha, gati.

In a three-syllable word, if the second syllable is long, it is stressed: anicca, anattā. If not, then the first syllable is stressed, regardless of length: nāginī, Arahat.

In words of four syllables or more, if the second-last syllable is long, it is stressed: Moggallāna. If not, then if the third-last syllable is long, that is stressed: Ājīvika, Anāthapiṇḍika. If that too is short, the fourth-last syllable is stressed, regardless of its length: Dhammapada, Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā, Tipiṭaka. The stress on words in Pali and Sanskrit is not quite as heavy as that in English.

A NOTE ON GĀNDHĀRĪ

Gāndhārī, unlike Sanskrit and Pali, is known only from ancient manuscripts and has not survived in literary and liturgical use. Moreover, while Sanskrit and Pali are traditionally written in scripts descended from Brāhmī, in which spelling corresponds more or less exactly to pronunciation, the surviving Gāndhārī texts are written in Kharoṣṭhī script, which does not always distinguish between short and long vowels, or single and double consonants. So while it seems probable that abhiña (Appendix I, v. 5) was in fact pronounced like its Pali equivalent abhiññā, and that kama (Appendix I, v. 20) was pronounced like Pali and Sanskrit kāma, we have no independent evidence for this.

Abbreviations

GDhp = Gāndhārī (Khotan) Dharmapada: see Brough 1962

PDhp = Patna Dharmapada: see Cone 1986 and 1989

SA = Saṃyutta Aṭṭhakathā (Saṃyutta Nikāya Commentary)

Uv = Udānavarga: see Bernhard 1965–90

Introduction

The Dhammapada is one of the best-known and best-loved works of Buddhist literature.[1] It forms part of the oldest surviving body of Buddhist writings, generally known as the Canon. This means that it is regarded as part of the authentic teaching of the Buddha himself, spoken by him in his lifetime, memorized, and compiled for oral transmission shortly after his death.[2]

The name ‘Dhammapada’ means a word or verse[3] of the Dhamma, the teaching of the Buddha. It has become the recognized title of the work, even in translation, though some have attempted to translate it.[4] The Dhammapada belongs to a type of composition that must be very ancient indeed: a collection of wise sayings in verse, attributed to a great teacher, and handed down among his followers.

There seem at one time to have been a number of versions of the Dhammapada, in different though closely related languages. The one translated here in full is in the Pali language, and belongs to the Pali Canon, the collection of scriptures recognized as authentic by followers of the Theravāda school of Buddhism.[5] But I have also included in the Appendices brief extracts from other early versions, to give some idea of the range of literature of this type that must once have existed.

The format of the Dhammapada is simple: it is a collection of verses, each consisting of four, or occasionally six, half-lines or pādas. Within the collection, the verses are arranged in chapters (vagga), each with a one-word title. Chapters may be named either from the format of the verses contained in them – for example Chapter 1, Yamaka, ‘Twins’ or ‘Pairs’, consisting mainly of contrasting pairs of verses – or from key words – for example Chapter 4, Puppha, ‘Flowers’, made up of verses which refer either to flowers in general or to particular kinds of flowers or perfumes. The titles help to give each chapter a loose theme, though the placing of verses in particular chapters sometimes seems a little arbitrary: for example, v. 325 appears to have nothing to do with the theme of Chapter 23, Nāga, ‘The Elephant’, other than the fact that it mentions another large animal, a ‘great boar’. Many of the verses are capable of standing alone, while others form short sequences within the chapters; overall, the Dhammapada reads more like an anthology than a single long poem. Each verse or group of verses is now associated with explanatory material from a commentary, the Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā, which not only expounds its meaning but also describes the occasion on which the Buddha is said to have spoken the teaching.[6]

The verse forms used are not very elaborate. The metres of Pali verse, like those of classical Greek and Latin, are based on long and short syllables, not, like traditional English ones, on stress. Rhyme is not used, but alliteration is frequent. The majority of verses are in a metre known in Sanskrit as śloka or anuṣṭubh,[7] the basic medium for storytelling and instruction; but a variety of others are also used – often, it appears, for particular emotional effect.

As far as we can tell after an interval of more than two thousand years, the language used in the Dhammapada would not have struck its original hearers as difficult or obscure. Its diction seems generally clear and direct, though here and there we find examples of the puns and paradoxes so popular with ancient Indian authors.[8] Though there are some verses that now seem obscure, such difficulties generally seem to be the result of changes in language that caused the original meanings to be forgotten: the verse may then have been emended in the attempt to find meaning in it.[9] But, on the whole, the Dhammapada was and remains easy to understand and to memorize – qualities which have no doubt contributed to its popularity.

Like the language, the content has an accessible quality. The verses give ethical advice, or remind the hearer of the transience of life and the delusiveness of sense-desires. Some of the teaching is aimed primarily at monks and nuns (e.g. vv. 9–10, 73–5), and some at laypeople (e.g. vv. 303, 309–10); but most of it is clearly meant to be applicable to every would-be follower of the Buddha’s path (e.g. vv. 127–8, 227–8). Indeed, much of the content of the Dhammapada would have been regarded as uncontroversial by members of any of ancient India’s religious groups; and some of the verses are almost identical with ones found in Hindu or Jain texts.[10] But there are also verses and longer sequences that refer to specifically Buddhist themes, such as the qualities of the Buddha, or the Four Noble Truths (e.g. vv. 179–96). It is widely used in Theravāda countries as an accessible introduction to the Buddha’s teaching.

THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA

The life of the Buddha remains a subject of considerable debate among scholars. While very few would doubt that a genuine historical figure lies behind the teachings that bear that name, it is clear that in the millennia since his lifetime a considerable amount of legendary material has become attached to his story. The earliest and simplest narratives – those found in the Pali Canon – are principally interested in the quest leading up to his attainment of Buddhahood and his subsequent career as teacher. Many of the best-known stories of his life – for example the details of his birth and childhood – appear first in the commentaries. But modern attempts to find historical truth behind the legends have to reckon with the fact that even the canonical accounts include miraculous events such as prophecies and encounters with deities. The compilers of these ancient texts naturally saw and expressed the world in mythical and symbolic terms, not in modern rationalistic ones.

The following is a summary of the basic events of the Buddha’s life, as generally accepted in the Buddhist world.[11] The Bodhisatta, or Buddha-to-be, was born in a royal family from the Sākiya[12] clan of north-east India, and was given the names Siddhattha and Gotama.[13] He was known from the first to be no ordinary child. A sage who saw the newborn prince prophesied that he would be a great man, who would rediscover the Dhamma, found by all previous Buddhas, and teach it to the world. According to the commentarial versions, his father was aghast at the idea that his son might choose to become a wandering holy man, instead of the great ruler that he wished him to be, so he went to extreme lengths to ensure that his son would remain happily in the household life, providing him with every luxury, surrounding him solely with beautiful, healthy young people, and, when the time came, arranging a marriage for him with his cousin,[14] who eventually bore him a son, Rāhula.

Despite the efforts to shelter him from the suffering (dukkha) of life, the young prince came to see it all around him in the form of old age, sickness and death. Seeking to make an end of suffering, he left his wealth and status to become a wandering holy man. The commentarial accounts dramatize this in a series of encounters with an old man, a sick man, a corpse and a holy man,[15] and describe his night-time escape from a palace where he was effectively held prisoner. The canonical version simply says that he cut off his hair and beard, put on the ochre robe of a renunciant, and went forth into the homeless life, though his mother and father were reluctant and wept to see him go.[16]

In the Canon,[17] the Buddha describes his search for freedom from suffering. After leaving home, the young man sought out renowned meditation masters: first Āḷāra Kālāma, and then Uddaka Rāmaputta. He quickly learned everything that they could teach him. Āḷāra invited him to share the leadership of his group with him, and Uddaka even offered to hand over leadership of his group and follow him instead. But, although their meditation techniques could provide a temporary peace, they did not lead to complete freedom from suffering, so the Bodhisatta moved on.

He now undertook severe asceticism, deliberately subjecting his body to extremes of heat and cold, and starving himself nearly to death. This proved just as useless for his quest as the indulgence of his former princely life had been, so he gave it up and began once more to eat in moderation. A group of five ascetics who had been practising with him were disgusted at what they saw as a failure on his part, and abandoned him.

He travelled on to Gayā, in modern Bihar state. There, on the full-moon night of Vesākha (April–May), he sat beneath a pipal tree, making a determination to achieve liberation there, or die in the attempt. The Bodhisatta had remembered an occasion in his childhood when he had experienced a peaceful meditative state (jhāna) through observing his breath. He realized that this was the key to the practice that he needed: through the jhānas he could still his mind in order to penetrate to the cause of suffering.

By the end of that night he had understood the reality of suffering, and achieved the ultimate freedom, bodhi, often translated as ‘enlightenment’, but more accurately ‘awakening’. Because of that, Gayā is now called Bodh (= Bodhi) Gaya, and[18] the tree under which he sat is called the Bodhi (or Bo) tree. He had now won the title of Buddha (‘Awakened One’). He was thirty-five years old. From this point he is regarded as an enlightened being, free from suffering of the mind – though while he lived his body was still subject to old age, illness and eventual death.

The Buddha spent seven weeks at Gayā contemplating and organizing the insights he had reached, and then began to consider whether he should attempt to teach others. He knew that it would be a difficult task, since few would be able to understand the insights for which he had struggled so long. But a deity called Brahmā Sahampati approached him on behalf of all beings and requested him to teach the Dhamma. There were some beings, he said, who had little dust in their eyes, and would be able to understand it if the Buddha were to teach. Out of compassion, the Buddha agreed.

Looking around with the eye of wisdom, he searched for people capable of understanding his message. Āḷāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta had both died, and as a result of their meditations were now in peaceful realms where, however, they could not become conscious of the Buddha’s teaching. But the five companions who had practised asceticism with him were still alive and searching for liberation. Over the next few weeks the Buddha walked from Gayā to Sarnath (near Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh) to see them. On the way he received alms from two merchants, Tapussa and Bhallika, who became the first lay Buddhists.

When the five ascetics saw him coming, they determined not to pay him the usual marks of respect, being still angry with his supposed lapse from asceticism; but, when he came closer, his presence was such that they could not help but show him reverence. To them he gave his famous first teaching, the Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Dhamma,[19] in the Deer Park at Isipatana, near Varanasi. He taught the Four Noble Truths, of suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering. First Koṇḍañña, then the rest of the five, attained liberation through the Buddha’s teaching, and so became the first Arahats,[20] as well as the first monks, of his dispensation. Now all the Three Refuges of Buddhism were present in this world: the Buddha; the Dhamma, or Teaching, rediscovered by each Buddha; and the Saṅgha, or Community.

From then on the Buddha continued to travel around northern India on foot, teaching people of every possible class and background, and enabling many of them to reach high spiritual attainments. Among those who eventually achieved Arahatship through his teaching were many members of his family – though his jealous cousin Devadatta constantly plotted against him, seeking to wrest control of the Buddhist community for himself.

The Buddha had lived to the age of eighty when, feeling the effects of old age, he went to a grove of sal trees at Kusinārā (Sanskrit Kuśinagara, modern Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh).[21] There he lay down on his right side under two trees, which shed blossoms on him, out of season. His last words to his followers were ‘Conditioned things are by nature perishable. Attain your goal through awareness!’[22] After experiencing for the last time all the stages of jhāna, he passed away, entering parinibbāna – the end of rebirths and the complete cessation of suffering. The texts do not attempt to describe the condition of a being who has attained parinibbāna, since words no longer have any relevance in this case. His body was cremated, and his relics distributed among local rulers, who had them installed in stūpas (reliquary mounds) suitable for a great monarch.

Shortly after the Parinibbāna, a council was convened at which the monks recited together all that they had learned of the Buddha’s teachings, so compiling what became the Pali Canon, to be memorized and handed on orally for the following centuries.

DATES

The Parinibbāna of the Buddha forms the basis of Buddhist chronology, but all the great schools of Buddhism seem to have had their own traditions concerning its date. Some Far Eastern schools placed it as early as 949 BCE,[23] while the Tibetans dated it to 881 BCE. The tradition handed down in the Theravāda world places the Parinibbāna in 543 BCE – a date that is increasingly accepted in the Buddhist world as a whole as a starting point for the Buddhist Era used in calendars. According to this tradition, the Buddha was born in 623 BCE, and attained awakening in 588 BCE. Many current scholars, however, would date the Parinibbāna as much as 150 years later – to around 400 BCE. This would date the Buddha’s teaching career, and the presumed origins of the canonical literature, to the late fifth century BCE rather than the late seventh or early sixth century given by the Theravāda tradition.[24]

It is often said that the Pali Canon was not put into writing until the first century BCE, in Sri Lanka – a tradition that seems to be based on just two verses in the Dīpavaṃsa (c. fourth century CE), the traditional Pali chronicle of the island.[25] However, even if that is true for the Canon as a whole, it seems more than likely that Dhammapada verses, and similar poetic works, were committed to writing, separately or in groups, before that, as hearers would have had a strong motive to record them and share them with others.[26]

THE LANGUAGE OF THE DHAMMAPADA

Pali (Pāḷi) is one of the group of languages classified by scholars as ‘Middle Indian’ or ‘Prakrit’.[27] These languages are descended from Sanskrit, or rather from the spoken Old Indian language of which Sanskrit was a refined version – just as the Italic languages, Italian, French, Spanish etc., are descended from the vernacular Latin spoken in the Roman Empire, rather than from the literary language of Virgil and Tacitus.

The Old and Middle Indian languages belong to the Indo-Iranian (or ‘Indo-Aryan’) branch of the Indo-European family, and so are distant relatives of English, Latin, Greek and indeed most of the languages of Europe. In consequence, certain words in Pali are likely to sound familiar to the English reader: for example, mātā, ‘mother’; pitā, ‘father’; deva, ‘god’ (cf. Latin deus); dvi, ‘two’. The relationship between, say, English and Sanskrit or Pali is that of distant cousins. Claims that English is ‘descended’ from Sanskrit are pure fantasy. Both share a remote ancestor (‘Proto-Indo-European’) that ceased to exist in prehistoric times but has in part been reconstructed by philologists.

The Pali language originated in northern India in the centuries before the Common Era, but spread throughout the Theravāda Buddhist countries, first to southern India, and then to Sri Lanka and South East Asia, as a language of scholarship and religion. The early history of the language, and even its original name, is something of a mystery. The current use of the name ‘Pali’ is in fact the result of a misunderstanding. Pāḷi was originally the word for a text, as distinct from a commentary (aṭṭhakathā), so pāḷi-bhāsā meant ‘the language of the sacred texts’. But by about the seventeenth century CE it had come to be understood as a name, ‘the Pali language’, and the usage has stuck. Its own speakers in ancient India seem to have called it Māgadha-bhāsā, meaning that it was the language of Māgadha in north-east India. But the name ‘Māgadha’ itself seems to have had a range of meanings. At times it referred to a small area around the city of Rājagaha (Sanskrit Rājagṛha, modern Rajgir, Bihar); at others to a large area under the suzerainty of the rulers of Pāṭaliputta (Sanskrit Pāṭaliputra, modern Patna, Bihar). Judging from surviving inscriptions, there was a wide degree of standardization in the language of the whole administrative area, with certain differences in local dialect which would not have prevented its being generally understood.[28] The language of the Pali Canon was therefore not simply one dialect among many, but a form of the lingua franca of a powerful empire, the first in fact that was used for official inscriptions in India. (Although Sanskrit is philologically older than Pali, its use in inscriptions is generally later.)

As long as the Pali Canon was the only early Buddhist Canon known to scholars, it was widely thought to be a literal record of the Buddha’s own words; but, since the discovery of canonical material in other Middle Indian languages, scholars no longer consider this likely. However, even if the language of the surviving Pali texts is not exactly the same as that spoken by the Buddha in his lifetime, it is unlikely to be far removed from it. In fact the Buddha may well have taught in more than one dialect. According to tradition, he spent some forty-five years travelling over a wide area of northern India, speaking to people of all classes and backgrounds. Presumably he adapted the register and dialect of his speech according to his audience.[29]

As an educated man from an aristocratic family, the Buddha may well have known Sanskrit too; but if so he seems to have deliberately avoided using it as a teaching medium, presumably so that his teachings could reach the widest possible audience.

THE PALI CANON

In its original language, the Pali Canon is called the Tipiṭaka, ‘Three Baskets’,[30] because it consists of three large bodies of texts:

1. (i) the Vinaya Piṭaka, concerned with the disciplinary code, or Vinaya, for monks and nuns (but also including extensive narrative material about the life of the Buddha, giving the context in which these rules came to be made);

2. (ii) the Sutta Piṭaka, relating the Buddha’s teachings in the form of connected dialogues and narratives;

3. (iii) the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, or advanced philosophical and psychological teachings, seeking to explain the true nature of our consciousness, and that which we regard as our ‘self’.

The Sutta Piṭaka is the largest and best-known of the Baskets: many of the Buddha’s most famous teachings come from this collection. It is itself divided up into five groups (nikāya), named according to the format of the texts within them:

1. (i) the Dīgha Nikāya, containing long (dīgha) discourses;

2. (ii) the Majjhima Nikāya, containing discourses of medium (majjhima) length;

3. (iii) the Saṃyutta Nikāya, containing connected (saṃyutta) discourses;

4. (iv) the Aṅguttara Nikāya, containing short discourses organized in numerical order (aṅguttara, ‘longer by an item’, ‘graduated’), so that the first section is concerned with items that occur in ‘ones’, the second with ‘twos’, and so on up to ‘elevens’;

5. (v) the Khuddaka Nikāya, containing miscellaneous short (khuddaka) texts.

In comparison with the other Nikāyas, the Khuddaka contains a high proportion of works in verse, many of which have a popular character. It consists of fifteen books, of which the Dhammapada is one: others include the Sutta Nipāta, which contains many of the best-loved chants and blessings of Buddhism, and the Udāna, closely related in format and history to the Dhammapada.[31]

EARLY BUDDHIST SCHOOLS

The whole subject of the development of the early Buddhist schools is an intensely controversial matter, as well as a complex one, with ideas changing as new discoveries are made. There is no space here to cover the subject in the detail it deserves, but it is necessary to attempt a brief introduction in order to understand the world in which the Dhammapada literature took shape.

One obstacle to understanding lies in the terminology that has been used in much of the writing on the subject. Some earlier scholars used to use the word ‘Hīnayāna’ (‘Lesser Vehicle’) to refer to the early schools, even though this was a pejorative term invented by followers of the later Mahāyāna to distinguish these schools from their own ‘Great Vehicle’. In recent decades it has come to be felt that this is unacceptable, and the term is now generally (though not universally) avoided; but this still leaves the question of what we should call them. The alternative terms ‘Śrāvakayāna’ (‘The Vehicle of the Disciples’) and ‘non-Mahāyāna’, though less offensive, are still inadequate, since all define the Theravāda and its sister schools through Mahāyānist eyes.

These terms also reflect a degree of confusion between, on the one hand, the geographical and cultural varieties of Buddhism and, on the other, the varieties of individual practice taught within them. In a tradition common, probably, to all Buddhist groups, there are said to be three spiritual paths, each leading to its own kind of liberation: (1) the way of the follower of a (Fully Awakened) Buddha, either in that Buddha’s lifetime or through teaching handed down, leading to the liberation of the Arahat; (2) the way of individual practice, without such contact with a Buddha, leading to the liberation of the Paccekabuddha (‘Individual Buddha’ or ‘Private Buddha’); and (3) the way of the Bodhisatta, leading to the liberation of the Sammāsambuddha or Fully Awakened Buddha, capable of being a world teacher, just like the ‘Historical Buddha’. Though the Paccekabuddha and the Sammāsambuddha are said to have greater powers and attainments than the Arahat, all three are believed to have experienced a genuine awakening and release from suffering, from which the one who has attained it can never fall away. Each of the three kinds of enlightened beings may be described as a Buddha, or ‘Awakened One’, but when it is not further qualified the title generally refers to a Fully Awakened Buddha.

Properly speaking, the term ‘Śrāvakayāna’ refers to the first of these three paths to awakening; and the use of this term as a title for particular schools of Buddhism would seem to imply that those schools taught only the Arahat’s path, and not those of the Private Buddha and the Fully Awakened Buddha. Yet the early schools taught all three of these paths, and all three are still known in the surviving representative of these schools, modern Theravāda Buddhism. Here, the path followed by the individual Buddhist is thought to depend on decisions made in the course of his or her spiritual life (which for Buddhists, of course, will be thought to include earlier lives). But it is generally felt that the way leading to Arahatship is suitable for the largest number of meditators, while relatively few will feel the call to make the greater, and more prolonged, commitment required to follow the paths leading to awakening as a Private or a Fully Awakened Buddha.

The innovation in the Mahāyāna school was not, then, the teaching of the Bodhisatta path, but the fact that this was recommended as a goal for all meditators, not just a minority who felt a particular vocation for it. Along with this went a downgrading of the attainment of the Arahat, which was no longer necessarily regarded as irreversible. Other common ideas about the distinctive character of early Mahāyāna – for example, that it was more open to laypeople, or to women, than the older schools – have been convincingly challenged by Paul Harrison.[32] For these reasons I prefer to follow him in calling the earliest pre- or non-Mahāyāna stages simply ‘Mainstream Buddhism’.[33] This term is intended to reflect the situation just before and just after the start of the Common Era, and of course carries no implications about the mainstream character, or otherwise, of any later Buddhist schools, let alone of those in existence today.

The Mahāyāna branch separated from the Mainstream schools around the second century BCE, though the disputes that led to the split may have begun as much as two hundred years earlier. While all schools continued to accept the basic teachings of Buddhism, as expressed in their versions of the Canon, the Mahāyānists accepted in addition a number of later texts, such as the Prajñāpāramitā (‘Perfection of Wisdom’) Sūtras, which embodied distinctively Mahāyānist teachings. Though at first, judging by the evidence from inscriptions, and the reports of Chinese travellers, it was not very widespread,[34] Mahāyāna Buddhism eventually became the dominant tradition in much of Asia, developing into numerous different forms, such as the Zen and Pure Land schools of East Asia. From Mahāyāna, in turn, came other developments, such as the Vajrayāna, the Tantric form of Buddhism, particularly influential in Tibet and related cultural areas. It is worth remarking, however, that, though Mahāyāna Vinaya texts certainly existed, and survive in fragments, the monks and nuns of all current Buddhist communities use Vinaya texts inherited from the Mainstream schools.

Mainstream Buddhism now survives as a single but very widespread school: the Theravāda of Sri Lanka and South East Asia (Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos). In ancient times, however, there are said to have been as many as eighteen or twenty Mainstream schools, of which the early Theravāda (sometimes called Vibhajjavāda (Vibhajyavāda), the Doctrine of Analysis) was just one. We have little information about most of them beyond their names, and brief mentions in the writings of other schools, so their teachings and history are often matters of debate. It appears that the differences between them could be based either on doctrine or on differing interpretations of the Vinaya, or on a combination of the two. Geographical factors also played their part, as different schools grew apart as they settled in different areas, or were influenced by the ideas and practices of their neighbours.

It is presumed that each of the Mainstream schools must once have had its own complete Canon; but the Pali Canon of the Theravādins is the only one to have survived complete, or practically so.[35] Of the other early Canons, some are now known only through archaeological relics, fragments on materials such as birch bark found for example in Central Asia, in the caves of the Silk Route, where discoveries continue to be made. (The climate of India itself is not very kind to ancient manuscripts.) Parts of others have survived through being incorporated into the literature of later, Mahāyāna, schools, either as complete texts or as substantial quotations. Thomas Oberlies has made an indispensable survey of the early Mainstream literature currently known, in which he seeks to assign each surviving text or fragment to one of the schools that is known from literature or inscriptions.[36]

Whereas the texts of the Mainstream schools were composed in Middle Indian languages, the Mahāyāna texts seem generally to have been composed in Sanskrit; and by about the fourth century CE the older texts included in the Mahāyāna collections were being translated into Sanskrit too. Buddhist Sanskrit takes a wide variety of forms, which range from a fairly standard form of Sanskrit – not much more ‘unclassical’ than, for example, the language of the great epics[37] – to a mixed language combining Sanskrit and Middle Indian elements. At its most extreme, the latter can resemble a language with Sanskrit word forms in a Prakrit grammar and syntax. Types of language towards this end of the spectrum are known to scholars as ‘Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit’.

From around the middle of the first millennium CE, as Mahāyāna Buddhism continued to spread outside India, the texts were further translated into non-Indian languages, including Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese and Mongolian. In many instances the Indian versions were subsequently lost, and the texts now survive only through the translations, particularly those in Tibetan or Chinese.

As far as can be ascertained, the structure of other Canons appears to have been similar to that of the Theravāda one, though it appears that there was a certain amount of variation, both in arrangement and in content.[38] Of the large body of literature that must once have existed, certain kinds of texts have survived in multiple versions. There are a number of versions of Vinaya texts – not surprisingly, as each school would have been concerned with regulating the behaviour of its monks and nuns. And of the Sutta/Sūtra texts, there are a striking number of versions of the Dhammapada or closely related works, suggesting that the popularity of this kind of literature began very early, and continued after the development of Buddhism into different schools.

DHAMMAPADAS, DHARMAPADAS AND UDĀNAS

A. Middle Indian Versions: Dhammapadas and Dharmapadas

We currently know of three distinct versions of the Dhammapada in Middle Indian languages:

(i) The Pali Dhammapada

Belonging to the Theravāda school, this forms the main subject of this book. It contains 423 verses, arranged in 26 chapters. No name is recorded for its compiler. The chapters do not seem to be in any obvious order, for example in terms of length, though the last chapter, on ‘The Brahmin’,[39] is much longer than any of the others. The oldest existing manuscripts date from around 1500 CE, but it is clear that the work was already being handed down in its present form, presumably in writing, at the time of the composition of the Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā, around 500 CE.

Other Middle Indian versions are usually called ‘Dharmapada’, from the form of the name in Sanskrit and some Prakrits:[40]

(ii) The Gāndhārī Dharmapada

We have the remains of two manuscripts of a Dharmapada in Gāndhārī, a Prakrit from Gandhāra (an area of what is now north-west India, Pakistan and a large part of Afghanistan). The first, and more substantial, version is the Khotan Dharmapada, usually known simply as the Gāndhārī Dharmapada. It survives as two portions of a single manuscript, found in Khotan, in Chinese Central Asia, in the 1890s and now divided between Paris and St Petersburg. Taken together, the portions appear to make up about five-eighths of the complete work: their condition suggests that the finder split up the original manuscript in order to sell it to two different collectors – with a big gap where he kept back a third part, hoping to find another buyer. When complete, the Khotan Dharmapada seems to have been in 26 chapters, arranged in order of length from the longest (on ‘The Brahmin’) to the shortest (title missing), and contained about 550 verses. The most up-to-date edition is still that of John Brough (Brough 1962), who also introduced it in his inimitable style. No translation appears to be available, but I have included a translation of an extract in Appendix I.

More recently, fragments were discovered of another version in Gāndhārī, now kept in the British Library and known as the London Dharmapada. It has been edited and translated by Timothy Lenz (Lenz 2003). It consists of a sequence of 13 verses, all of which are shared with the Khotan version, though with some slight changes in order. Most of them are on the theme of the snake that sloughs its skin (similar to the sequence from the Patna Dharmapada translated in Appendix II). It should be said, however, that the fragments are so tiny that in many cases one has to know what the verse ought to say before one can read it.

Both these manuscripts, written on birch bark in Kharoṣṭhī script, probably date from around the first century CE. The Khotan version is attributed, within the manuscript itself, to one Buddhavarman, but we do not know whether he was its editor or its compiler, or simply the copyist or even the owner of the copy.

The Gāndhārī Dharmapadas are believed to have belonged to the Dharmaguptaka sect, which was central to the spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and China. It gave great importance to the ideal of the Bodhisatta, and contributed largely to what was to become the Mahāyāna tradition of Buddhism. Chinese monks and nuns still follow the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya.[41]

Since Gāndhārī was the language of a distinct political area, well away from the original centre of Buddhism, perhaps we should view the Gāndhārī texts as translations into another Prakrit rather than simply alternative versions.

(iii) The Patna Dharmapada[42]

This was reportedly found in a monastery in Tibet in the 1930s, and we can only hope that it is still there.[43] All editors since then have worked from photographs taken at that time and kept in Patna, Bihar, in north-eastern India – hence the name. It is clearly not the most satisfactory arrangement. This is often described as a ‘Sanskrit’ or ‘Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit’ Dharmapada; but Lenz describes it more accurately as ‘a version written in a mixed dialect, showing Pāli, Prakrit and Sanskrit features’.[44] It seems quite likely that some of the more Sanskritic elements, such as the language of the chapter titles, are the result of editing by the copyists, since the manuscript itself is rather late – eleventh or twelfth century CE: after the Middle Indian languages had fallen out of vernacular use.[45] The Patna Dharmapada contains 414 verses, arranged in 22 chapters.

There is an excellent edition of this text by Margaret Cone, which originally formed part of her PhD thesis (Cone 1986) and was subsequently published as an edition of the Journal of the Pali Text Society (Cone 1989). A translation, included in the original thesis, sadly remains unpublished. I have included my own translation of one chapter of this text in Appendix II.

The Patna Dharmapada is plausibly attributed to the Sāmatiya sect,[46] which belonged to the Pudgalavāda tradition of Buddhism. The Pudgalavādins reinterpreted the ‘no-self’ (anattā/anātman) doctrine of Buddhism in ways that were felt by other Buddhists to be dangerously close to rejecting it. Whereas other schools maintained strictly that our sense of ‘self’ is purely illusory, the Pudgalavādins taught that there was a subtle entity (pudgala, Pali puggala, ‘person’) that continued from life to life. Although Pudgalavāda Buddhism was extremely widespread in India when Buddhism was still strong there, none of its schools survive today.

B. Sanskrit Versions: Udānavargas

With one small exception (see below), there are no surviving Sanskrit texts explicitly called ‘Dharmapada’: the equivalents surviving from the Sanskrit Canons are called ‘Udānavarga’. The reasons for this are unclear. The word udāna (which is the same in Sanskrit and Pali) is generally used in canonical literature to refer to inspired utterances of the Buddha, often, but not necessarily, in verse.[47] So an Udānavarga (chapter of udānas) would be a collection of such utterances. In practice, the meanings of udāna and dhammapada would largely overlap: the utterances of the Buddha would certainly be words of dhamma, and vice versa.

The Pali Canon itself contains a text called the Udāna, part of the Khuddaka Nikāya. The Pali Udāna is of similar type to the Dhammapada, containing verses of the same kind, set in stories relating the circumstances in which they came to be spoken. (These resemble the ones in the Dhammapada Commentary, though without the background stories from previous lives.) However, it is a quite distinct text, sharing only a very few verses with the Dhammapada; and, although there is some overlap between the verses of the Sanskrit Udānavargas and the Pali Udāna, the Sanskrit Udānavargas resemble the Pali Dhammapada far more closely than they do the Pali Udāna.

The surviving Sanskrit Udānavarga texts seem to have belonged to the tradition of Buddhism called Sarvāstivāda, ‘the doctrine (vāda) that everything (sarva) is (asti)’, implying that past and future states exist in some subtle way within the present. The Sarvāstivādins had at least two versions of the Canon,[48] each of which has left us an Udānavarga. The Sarvāstivāda tradition was strong in Central Asia and Tibet, and, like that of the Dharmaguptakas, played an important part in the development of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Monks in the Tibetan tradition still follow the Sarvāstivādin Vinaya.

(i) Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Udānavarga

One version of the Udānavarga is represented by an incomplete and much damaged manuscript in Brāhmī script on poplar wood from Subaši, north-east of Kucā in present-day China, and now in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. It dates from about the third–fourth century CE, and is in a distinctly non-classical form of Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit. It appears to have consisted of some 33 chapters, which may originally have contained over 600 verses. It has been published, with an introduction and notes in French, by H. Nakatani (1987), but there appears to be no translation available in a European language.

(ii) Sanskrit Udānavarga

There is also a better-known Udānavarga composed in a more classical Sanskrit, represented now by various manuscripts and hundreds of fragments, as well as quotations in other works. The whole body of what survives has been edited by Franz Bernhard, with notes and introduction in German (Bernhard 1965–90). Again, there appears to be no translation available for this text. It is by far the longest of any of the surviving Dharmapada/Udānavarga texts, with some 971 verses in 33 chapters.

Verses in the Sanskrit Udānavarga often differ more markedly from their Pali equivalents than do those from the Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit version. This generally appears to be because their compilers were more concerned with correct Sanskrit grammar and scansion, so that in translating them from whatever Middle Indian version they were using they had to adapt them to make them fit the metres of the verse.[49] Here and there, however, the differences may reflect alternative understandings of the verses.

The Sanskrit Udānavarga appears to have been compiled around the fourth century CE, by Dharmatrāta. It is known to have had a commentary, the Udānavargavivaraṇa (‘Explanation of the Udānavarga’), by one Prajñāvarman, similar in format to the Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā. This commentary has disappeared in its original Sanskrit, but survives in Chinese and Tibetan translations.

(iii) Dharmapada Extracts

Yet another version, in what is very definitely a Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, is known from quotations in a Mahāyāna text called the Mahāvastu, a rare surviving text from the Lokottaravāda (or Lokuttaravāda) school.[50] The word lokottara means ‘transcendent’ (loka-uttara, ‘beyond the world(s)’); and it is often confidently stated that the Lokottaravādins regarded the Buddha as an entirely transcendent being, and his actions in the human world as a show, created purely as a means of teaching. This position (comparable to the ‘Docetism’ of some early Christian sects) is indeed found in some later Mahāyānist schools, but it is probably anachronistic to read it into such an early phase of Buddhism. The issue referred to in the word lokottara seems in fact to have been the rather more subtle one of whether a Buddha’s speech, as well as his mind, was ‘transcendent’ and not subject to conditions.[51] Since neither the Lokottaravādins themselves nor the larger Mahāsāṅghika tradition, to which they belonged, have left any contemporary descendants, the matter remains speculative.

The Mahāvastu (‘Great Story’), which forms part of a lost Vinaya Piṭaka, is a long retelling of the life story of the Buddha. It contains several quotations explicitly said to be taken from a ‘Dharmapada’. Generally these are single verses, all with equivalents in the Udānavarga, and one of which is found also in the Pali Dhammapada (v. 179).[52] But there is one much longer passage, in which the Buddha goes to visit a group of aged ascetics and spurs them to attain Arahatship by teaching them in a sequence of verses corresponding to the ‘Thousands’ (Sahassa) chapter (Chapter 8) of the Pali Dhammapada.[53] Interestingly, here the verses are also referred to as the ‘Thousands’, though the equivalent chapters of the Sanskrit and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Udānas are called ‘Repetition’ (Peyāla), rather than ‘Thousands’ (Sahasra). I have included a translation of this passage, with its frame story, in Appendix III.

The Mahāvastu contains a further extended verse passage in which the Buddha gives a teaching to a boatman on the river Gaṅgā, who thereupon becomes a monk.[54] Many of the verses spoken there resemble ones in Dhammapada Chapter 25, ‘The Monk’ (Bhikkhu), including, appropriately, several variations on v. 369. Although this passage is not explicitly said to be from a Dharmapada, it seems more than likely that it is from the ‘Monk’ (Bhikṣu) chapter of such a text, as K. R. Norman suggests.[55]

The Mahāvastu in its present form is extremely difficult to date, with current estimates ranging from about the first to the fourth century CE. But in any case the sequences of verses quoted within it could well be considerably older.

C. Dharmapadas and Udānavargas in Chinese

There are four known Chinese translations or compilations of Dharmapada or Udāna material. Unlike the Indian versions, they are dated within the texts themselves. These dates are significant, because they show not only that the original text was in existence by then, but also that it was already sufficiently known and admired, even outside India, for people to want to translate it. A great deal of work remains to be done on these texts and their relationships, both between themselves and with their Indian originals, and few of them have been translated into any European language.

(i) The Fajü jing

This (Taisho 210) was translated and compiled in 224 CE by Weizhinan of the Wu dynasty. The title is the Chinese equivalent of dhammapada. It consists of verses only, the central core being more or less a translation of the Pali Dhammapada, or some closely related version. (It is not unheard of for Chinese translators to have worked from a Middle Indian language rather than Sanskrit: many of the early Chinese translations of Buddhist texts were from Gāndhārī.) This core is extended at beginning and end with further material (about a third of the total length of the work) added from elsewhere.

There is a readable modern translation of this text by Ven. K. L. Dhammajoti (1995), which however includes only the core 26 chapters (of 39) most closely corresponding to the Pali Dhammapada; a translation of the rest is planned.

(ii) The Faju piyu jing

This (Taisho 211) was compiled by Faju and Fali of the Jin dynasty, between 290 and 306 CE. It consists of selected stanzas from the Fajü jing together with a commentary, including frame stories, apparently drawing on Indian sources.

Translations of extracts from this text can be found in Beal’s version (1878): there appears to be nothing more recent.

(iii) The Chuyao jing

Made by Zhu Fonian of the Qin dynasty in 383 CE, this (Taisho 212) is a translation of an old version of the Udānavarga together with a lost commentary by Dharmatrāta.

(iv) The Faju yaosong jing

This (Taisho 213) is a translation made by Tianxizai, between 980 and 999 CE, of the known Sanskrit Udānavarga, without a commentary.

D. Udānavarga in Tibetan

The Tibetan version is called ched dubrjod pa’i tshoms, the Tibetan equivalent of udānavarga. It appears to have been translated by Vidyāprabhākara, around the ninth century CE, from the Sanskrit Udānavarga, together with Prajñāvarman’s commentary.

Somewhat confusingly, both translators of this version (Rockhill 1883 and Sparham 1983) entitle it ‘Dhammapada’, no doubt feeling that this would be more widely understood in the English-speaking world than ‘Udānavarga’.

Although the various versions of the Dharmapada literature can be assigned with more or less certainty to specific schools of early Buddhism, there appears to be no evidence that the differences between them reflect doctrinal differences between those schools. But we should probably not expect such differences. Unlike, for example, the Abhidharma texts, the Dharmapada literature is concerned not with the more debatable areas of Buddhist philosophy, but with themes common to all the Buddhist traditions, particularly those of generosity, morality, diligence in practice, and the central importance of taking refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha.

What is a Dharmapada?

From this brief overview, it will be seen that, despite their many similarities, the various Dharmapadas and Udānavargas are all distinct texts. The format remains constant, with the evocative chapter headings and the themed chapters, but the headings themselves can vary, and even when they are similar their order is different. (In any case, as Margaret Cone has pointed out,[56] some of the chapter headings are ones that we would expect to find in any compendium of Buddhist verse.) The different versions share a considerable body of verses, but the verses are not always assigned to the equivalent chapters within different versions. The lengths of the texts, when they were all complete, must have varied greatly, between the Sanskrit Udānavarga, with 971 verses in 33 chapters, and the Patna Dharmapada, with 414 verses in 22 chapters.

Clearly, some of the differences in length can be accounted for by repetition and expansion. For example, where the Pali Dhammapada has two verses (13–14):

As rain penetrates

An ill-roofed house,

Passion penetrates

An undeveloped mind.

As rain does not penetrate

A well-roofed house,

Passion does not penetrate

A well-developed mind,

the Patna Dharmapada has six (351–6) – three on the undeveloped and three on the well-developed mind, on the same pattern but with ‘passion’ replaced in subsequent verses by ‘ill will’ and ‘delusion’ – while the Udānavarga has twelve (31.11–22), with verses on ‘pride’, ‘greed’ and ‘craving’ added to the set. The format of the verses lends itself naturally to this kind of elaboration, and we can well imagine a monk adapting the verse to what he saw as the needs of a particular audience.

It is possible, indeed, that the order and number of verses assigned to different topics sometimes reflects local priorities; for example the prominence given to the chapter on ‘The Brahmin’ in the Gāndhārī Dharmapada may make us wonder whether there was a particular problem in that community with Brahmins who were trying to claim leadership on the strength of their birth, and needed to be reminded that, for Buddhists,

You don’t become a Brahmin

By matted locks, by lineage, or by caste:

If you drive away evils on every side,

Small ones and great,

Through driving away evils

You are called a Brahmin.

(Appendix I.1)

But, whatever allowances we make for such forms of change and elaboration, it is not possible to trace these Dharmapadas back to one common original. The most that we can be confident of is that the Middle Indian versions represent an earlier stage of the creation of this literature, while the Sanskrit Udānavarga in its 33-chapter form represents a later stage, when the process of collection and expansion has been going on longer. But there is no certainty as to whether the Pali Dhammapada, or any of the others, is closer to an ‘earliest’ or ‘most authentic’ form of the text.

It does seem certain, however, that the idea of a Dharmapada was an ancient one – earlier than the division of the Buddhist tradition into different schools. Brough raises the possibility that, after the split, one school may have made a collection of Dharmapada type, and that others had then made their own compilations ‘in order not to be outdone by their rivals’; but he at once dismisses this on the grounds that it would not produce the results that we actually find:

On the evidence of the texts themselves it is much more likely that the schools, in some manner or other, had inherited from the period before the schisms which separated them, a definite tradition of a Dharmapada-text which ought to be included in the canon, however fluctuating the contents of this text might have been, and however imprecise the concept even of a ‘canon’ at such an early period.[57]

This seems a fair statement, on the basis of the material that is currently known to us. More doubtful is Brough’s view that there are ‘a few traces of deliberate sectarian rivalry’ in the differences in arrangement between the Dharmapada texts:

But when the last three titles in the Pali, Taṇhā, Bhikkhu, and Brāhmaṇa … appear in inverse order as the first three of the Prakrit, we can hardly help thinking that this was done quite deliberately, in order to be different from a rival sect … It is not impossible, therefore, that in a few instances a verse might have been placed in a given chapter simply because some other sect preferred to have it in another.[58]

Margaret Cone comments:

Although it is feasible to suppose that the idea of a collection may have originated with one group, and that groups may have been influenced by what they heard others had done, there is no clear evidence of any closer relationship between any of the collections, not even of a deliberate difference in arrangement (although Brough … unconvincingly detects sectarian rivalry in the order of chapters in GDhp [the Gāndhārī Dharmapada]). With very few exceptions, each collection’s choice of arrangement is easily explained and justifiable.[59]

Indeed, however strong the rivalries may have been, the main motivation in putting together and ordering any of the collections must have been to preserve as fully and accurately as possible the words of the Buddha, as that was understood by the compilers. Sectarian point-scoring would surely have had a lower priority.

To summarize, then: there must once have been a large body of oral literature in the form of verses, commonly known and recited. Some of these, expressing well-known bits of folk wisdom, were not specific to Buddhism, and were liable to turn up in Jain and Hindu literature too. Others had a specifically Buddhist message. Collections of such verses were already in existence before the various splits that gave rise to the different Mainstream schools. Those who compiled them seem to have known them either as Dhammapada/Dharmapada or Udānavarga, titles which for practical purposes were nearly synonymous.

Meanwhile, other verses carried on being handed down separately, or were found scattered through other Buddhist texts. For some centuries, such verses continued to be added to the collections as they were handed on. In the case of the Sanskrit Udānavarga and the Chinese translations, the process carried on longest; but the compilers were still often drawing on material that was genuinely ancient. However, at some point in each tradition it was decided that the collection was complete, a discrete item in a Canon of recognized teachings of the Buddha.

Study of the Dharmapada literature raises many questions about the nature and history of the oral tradition in Buddhism. What, for example, does all this variation tell us about its traditional attribution to the Buddha himself? Clearly, it does not rule it out, since the Buddha must have spoken a great many verses over the course of his forty-five years of teaching. (At that period, verse would have been thought at least as natural as prose as a way of conveying information that needed to be memorized.) It would not be surprising if sometimes he used or adapted verses that already existed in popular lore, or reused ones that he had previously composed, with variations to suit a new context; nor if some of those verses then returned to the folk tradition, and turned up again elsewhere.

But of course it is highly probable that verses spoken by others have ended up being attributed to the Buddha. Indeed, there are traditional precedents for such attributions; for example, in the commentary on Dhammapada v. 421, the Buddha hears a report of a teaching given by the Arahat nun Dhammadinnā, on which he comments, ‘My daughter Dhammadinnā has explained it well: if I myself were to answer this question I would answer in just the same way.’ As a result, Dhammadinnā’s words are accounted ‘Buddha’s teaching’ rather than ‘Arahat’s teaching’.[60] Such traditions would perhaps have made it acceptable up to a certain point to add new verses to the Dharmapada literature, so long as they were felt to have the authentic flavour of the Buddha’s teaching.

COMMENTARIES

The name of the Commentary on the Pali Dhammapada, the Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā, is simply the Pali for ‘Commentary on the Dhammapada’. Though not regarded as canonical, this Commentary is immensely popular. It includes some of the best-known stories[61] of the life of the Buddha and his early followers, such as the tales of Aṅgulimāla, the murderous bandit who became an Arahat, and of Kisā Gotamī and the mustard seed. Many of these stories have an inspirational quality, reminding the reader of the example of the Buddha’s early followers, or warning against the errors of his opponents. Often, too, the Commentary seeks to describe the causes of these events, in terms of the actions of the characters in previous lives.[62]

The Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā was composed in what is now Sri Lanka, and was apparently largely based on material already existing in the vernacular language of the island, presumably a Sinhala Prakrit.[63] It is attributed in one manuscript to the great commentator Buddhaghosa (fourth or fifth century CE).[64] Though K. R. Norman seems on the whole to accept this attribution (albeit with reservations),[65] other scholars have doubted it, preferring to date the Commentary a little later than Buddhaghosa.[66] In any case, it was certainly written the better part of a millennium after the period in which the main stories are set. However, the actual custom of commentating on the Dhammapada verses must go back to their beginning, since some of them would be hard to understand without such a commentary, while a few would seem to be positively dangerous (e.g. vv. 97, 294–5). The Commentary draws on a wide range of material, including earlier canonical literature, and popular stories with a strong element of folklore (magic rings, self-filling rice pots, etc.). I have not translated the commentarial material, since to do so would have expanded this book to many times its present length;[67] however, I have included summaries of the principal stories, since they are vital to our understanding of how the Dhammapada has been thought about and used in the Buddhist tradition – and how it continues to be used.

To get a flavour of the Commentary, it is worth seeing what the commentator has done with the two famous verses with which the Dhammapada begins:

manopubbaṅgamā dhammā manoseṭṭhā manomayā
manasā ce paduṭṭhena bhāsati vā karoti vā
tato naṃ dukkham anveti cakkaṃ va vahato padaṃ.

manopubbaṅgamā dhammā manoseṭṭhā manomayā
manasā ce pasannena bhāsati vā karoti vā
tato naṃ sukham anveti chāyā va anapāyinī.

Fore-run by mind are mental states,

Ruled by mind, made of mind.

If you speak or act

With corrupt mind,

Suffering follows you,

As the wheel the foot of the ox.

Fore-run by mind are mental states,

Ruled by mind, made of mind.

If you speak or act

With clear mind,

Happiness follows you,

Like a shadow that does not depart.

This is a clear statement of the law of kamma, as it is understood in the Buddhist tradition: that it is the intention with which an act is performed that causes its consequences. The stories in the Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā are chosen to reinforce this message. That accompanying the first verse concerns a blind monk who is an Arahat. One day as he walks he is seen to be crushing many small insects under his feet; but because of his blindness he does not realize it. His fellow monks complain to the Buddha that he has committed the severe offence of taking life – enough to warrant expulsion from the Order. But the Buddha explains that, as there was no intention to kill, the monk has committed no fault.

The story on the second verse concerns a sick youth who is the son of a miser. The father refuses to spend money on a doctor until it is too late, and the boy dies; but, because he has mentally taken refuge in the Buddha, he is reborn in a heavenly state. Appearing to his former father in his divine new form, he causes him to mend his ways.

These are the bare bones of the stories, and their message seems clear; but, in the Commentary as we have it, the first story in particular is much elaborated. In it, we hear of two brothers, Mahāpāla and Cullapāla.[68] Mahāpāla becomes a monk in middle age, and makes a determination to spend the vassa (the three-month retreat of the rainy season) without lying down, sitting up even to sleep – a form of ascetic practice. But he contracts an eye disease. A physician prescribes an ointment, but instructs him to lie down while he uses it: if he does not do so, says the doctor, he will certainly go blind. Even after three separate warnings, Mahāpāla refuses this advice and keeps to his vow. He loses his sight, but gains Arahatship at the same moment.

The other monks wish to know the reason for this, and the Buddha explains that in a previous existence Mahāpāla was a physician. A poor woman came to him for a cure for an eye disease; she promised that, if he were to cure her, she and her children would become his slaves. But when she recovered she did not want to keep her word, so she pretended that the medicine had not worked after all. Then the physician in revenge gave her another ointment, which made her go blind. As a result of this, he became blind in a number of later existences – yet another illustration of kamma in action.

What one feels about the likelihood of all this will depend, of course, on one’s own views about kamma and rebirth. But, as a story, it seems so grim that it threatens to overbalance the message of the verses. Moreover, persisting in a vow at the cost of losing one’s eyesight does not seem entirely in keeping with the Middle Way, which shuns the extreme of asceticism as well as that of self-indulgence. But I do not think the commentator is prescribing such a course of action for the reader (or hearer): rather, he is setting up an extreme example of one of the Buddhist virtues, the perfection of commitment or adhiṭṭhāna, just as the Jātaka tales tell of extreme acts of generosity or self-sacrifice in the previous lives of the Buddha. And the idea that a person may give up physical sight to gain a higher kind of vision seems to have an archetypal resonance: we may think, for example, of the Norse god Odin, who sacrificed one of his eyes to drink from the spring of wisdom. There is also the consolatory aspect, found in many of these stories, that, despite his wicked action in a previous life, with all its heavy consequences, Mahāpāla in his last life was able to overcome all his defilements and attain the perfect peace and freedom of Arahatship.

A similar pair of verses is found in the other extant Dharmapadas, though not generally at the beginning. We find them in the Sanskrit Udānavarga (31.23–4) and the (Khotan) Gāndhārī Dharmapada (201–2), in both cases with variant readings: in place of ‘made of mind’ (Pali manomayā) we have ‘swift as mind’ (Sanskrit manojavāḥ, Gāndhārī maṇojava), and in place of ‘Like a shadow that does not depart’ (Pali chāyā va anapāyinī) we have ‘Like a pursuing shadow’ (Sanskrit chāyā vā hy anugāminī, Gāndhārī chaya va aṇukamiṇi).[69]

According to the Chinese commentary translated by Beal (1878), and based presumably on that of Prajñāvarman, the verses refer to two young merchants who hear the Buddha’s teaching, but respond to it in different ways. One rejects it, gets drunk, and goes to sleep by the roadside, with the result that in the morning he is killed by the wheels of the other merchants’ wagons. The other is more moderate in his drinking, and is protected as he sleeps by the Four Kings, the guardian deities of the four directions. He is taken up by a wealthy merchant, who has noticed that the shadow of a tree continues to fall on him even when the sun has moved round the sky – a story told elsewhere of the Buddha-to-be as he meditates under a rose-apple tree while still a boy. So the second merchant goes on to make his fortune.

In this case, the stories seem to have been made up on the basis of the verses (perhaps even slightly mistranslated or misunderstood),[70] rather than the other way round. But elsewhere the Chinese commentaries (which, as we have seen, date from roughly the same period as the existing Pali one) seem to have preserved understandings that have been lost in the Pali version.[71]

Though perhaps we should not make too much of this until more research has been done on the Chinese commentarial literature, the stories presumably also reflect the circumstances in which they were told. While a monk teaching in Sri Lanka would draw on stories of the monastic life there, and the agricultural community that surrounded him, one who was teaching in towns on the Silk Route might well draw on tales of merchants and travellers – people like many of those in his audience.[72] But both would also have had memories well stocked with accounts, from the early Canons and elsewhere, of the life of the Buddha and the first men and women who followed him.

The story of Mahāpāla illustrates an important theme in the Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā: the moment of realization of one of the higher states, as the mind becomes successively free from the ‘fetters’ (saṃyojana): the state of the Stream-Enterer (whose mind is for the first time turned unalterably towards liberation), Once-Returner, Non-Returner, or Arahat – the last being a fully liberated being, freed from all fetters and no longer liable to fall into states such as fear, anger or desire. This liberation does not make him or her a colourless character, and the Arahats in these stories all have their own qualities and special talents. For example, although Arahats are by definition free from fear, in the story accompanying v. 177 the former bandit Aṅgulimāla is shown to have a special power over wild elephants, perhaps because he has made a particular effort to develop loving kindness. Certain of the Arahats and other leading followers of the Buddha appear repeatedly in the Commentary: among them are the two chief monks Sāriputta, noted for his wisdom, and Moggallāna, noted for his psychic powers; Ānanda, the Buddha’s faithful attendant; and the generous lay followers Anāthapiṇḍika and Visākhā. These and many others clearly had a firm place in popular consciousness, and were instantly recognized when they appeared as characters in these stories.[73]

THE DHAMMAPADA AS LITERATURE

Among all the doubts about the relationships between the different versions of the Dhammapada and Udānavarga, one thing remains clear: this literature was immensely popular. It was loved, memorized and commented on in widely diverse countries and languages, and in many different schools of Buddhism; and it continues to be so.[74] Today, the Pali Dhammapada is still one of the most read and quoted Buddhist texts, within the Theravādin community and outside it. So it is worth considering the nature of its appeal.

John Brough, the editor of the Gāndhārī Dharmapada, was less than enthusiastic about the qualities of the Dharmapada texts as literature:

In cultural conditions where the cliché, and particularly the religious cliché, was not so much tolerated as venerated, and where many existing verses could with the greatest of ease be broken into usable quarters, it is understandable that a considerable treasure-house of versified tags was ready to hand for any monk zealous to compose. Now and then a monk might be a poet, and here and there among the Dharmapada verses we have the good fortune to inherit some fragments of excellent poetry. But we should not expect to find very much. Poetry is not an easy art, and good poets are always rare. To build from other men’s bricks and sanctified clichés is tolerably simple; and many a monk entirely devoid of poetic ability was readily persuaded that his verses were no worse than those of his neighbour.

The resulting vast accumulations of insipid mediocrity which piety preserves are by no means peculiar to Buddhism … Buddhism has its own share of great art; but we do no service to Buddhism or to its genuine art if we magnify the literary worth of a text beyond its deserts … Distinguished scholars (not themselves Buddhists) have indeed written with liberal hyperbole of the ‘profound moral value’ of the Pali Dhammapada, and have rated it among the masterpieces of Indian literature. Here I politely dissent. Those who write in this way can hardly have made any serious comparison with great literature; nor could anyone with a sense of literary values describe the whole collection in terms scarcely merited by its best parts, if he had himself lived day and night close enough to these verses for long enough to arrive at an assessment of his own disencumbered of hearsay.[75]

But since I too have now spent a certain amount of time with these verses, I feel emboldened to disagree with my first Professor of Sanskrit. Clearly, taste is at issue here, and no doubt John Brough was temperamentally attracted to polished, classical works of literature, of the kind that he himself translated in his wonderful Poems from the Sanskrit (1968). But the Dhammapada, in all its forms, retains a strong kinship with oral literature.

Few, I think, would deny that oral literature can have its own masterpieces: we need only think of folk ballads such as ‘Sir Patrick Spens’ or lyrics such as ‘The Lyke-Wake Dirge’. No one thinks it is a blemish in such works if they contain repetitions or set phrases. For that matter, I doubt whether anyone thinks the worse of Homer because of his use of such set expressions as ‘the wine-dark sea’ or ‘wily Odysseus’, designed to fit as neatly into the Greek hexameter line as ‘that one I call a Brahmin’ (tam ahaṃ brūmi brāhmaṇaṃ) does into the śloka.[76] On the contrary, they are rightly regarded as part of his charm.

The Dhammapada originated in an age when verse was the main means of retaining and handing on knowledge, and its primary purpose was to convey its message in clear, memorable terms. In this it succeeds admirably. Indeed, if one has lived with it for a while, it becomes quite difficult not to keep quoting it. There is its realistic attitude to unfair criticism (vv. 227–8):

This is an ancient truth, Atula,

Not just for today:

Folk blame the one who sits silent;

They blame the one who says a lot;

They blame the one who says little, too –

No one in this world is not blamed.

There never was, there never will be,

Nor is there found today

A person who is altogether blamed

Or altogether praised.

On the ways in which quarrels, between people or nations, are perpetuated, and the only way to end them (vv. 3–5):

‘He insulted me, he struck me,

He defeated me, he robbed me’:

For those who get caught up in this,

Hatred does not cease.

‘He insulted me, he struck me,

He defeated me, he robbed me’:

For those who do not get caught up in this,

Hatred ceases completely.

For never here

Do hatreds cease by hatred.

By freedom from hatred they cease:

This is a perennial truth.

On the devastating way in which death intervenes in human plans (v. 47):

While a man gathers flowers,

His mind attached to this and that,

Death carries him away

As great a flood takes a sleeping village.

Its earthy, proverbial-sounding verses on the perils of adultery (vv. 309–10) seem to me very far from Brough’s ‘other men’s bricks and sanctified clichés’:

Four things happen to the reckless man

Who goes with the wife of another:

Ill fortune earned; disturbed sleep;

Third, blame; and fourth, a hell world –

Ill fortune earned, and an evil destination:

Small pleasure for frightened man with frightened woman –

And the king imposes a heavy punishment.

So a man shouldn’t go with the wife of another.

In the original, the whole rhythm of the verses (the longer triṣṭubh-jagati[77] rather than the śloka) suggests agitation, and in line 2 of the second verse the masculine and feminine forms of bhīta, ‘frightened’, seem to huddle together as though listening for an angry husband coming home:

cattāri ṭhānāni naro pamatto
āpajjati paradārūpasevī:

apuññalābhaṃ na nikāmaseyyaṃ
nindaṃ tatīyaṃ nirayaṃ catutthaṃ,

apuññalābho ca gatī ca pāpikā
bhītassa bhītāya ratī ca thokikā
rājā ca daṇḍaṃ garukaṃ paṇeti,
tasmā naro paradāraṃ na seve.

(The inflected nature of Pali enables the poet to vary the word-order without obscuring the meaning of the sentence.)

The imagery of the Dhammapada tends to be simple and immediate. Many of its similes are taken from nature: from the sun, moon and weather; from rocks, mountains and lakes. Various trees and plants are mentioned, each with associations familiar to the original hearer, just as a reader of English poetry would recognize the distinct characters and associations of the oak, yew, lily or rose. We hear of the bamboo, which flowers rarely and then dies; of the sweet-scented jasmine; and of course of the lotus, which grows pure and fragrant out of muddy water. Among animals, we hear of migrating geese, of herons fishing in ponds, of monkeys, hares, spiders and bees – the last being pointed out as the model for the way in which a monk should live, supported by his lay followers, but not exploiting them (v. 49):

In the village, a sage should go about

Like a bee, which, not harming

Flower, colour or scent,

Flies off with the nectar.

There are numerous references to domesticated creatures such as cattle, horses and mules.[78] The elephant, a much-loved animal, has a chapter of its own (Chapter 23).

There are many references to the world of work. Farming (particularly cattle-keeping) naturally predominates, but we find references also to craft skills such as carpentry (vv. 80, 145), arrow-making (vv. 80, 145), silversmithing (v. 239) and garland-making (vv. 44–5, 53).[79] From the less respectable parts of society, we hear of the cheating gambler (v. 252) and the professional criminal (v. 97).

The arts of war provide a useful source of similes for the resolution and skills necessary for the meditator who seeks to conquer the defilements. We hear, for example, of the need to guard one’s own actions as one would guard a border town (v. 315). In battle, the bow is the principal weapon (indeed the only one mentioned in the Dhammapada). A warrior might ride into battle on horseback, on an elephant, or (like the heroes of the Mahābhārata) in a chariot – in which case the charioteer also plays a vital part, controlling the horses so that the warrior can use his weapons (vv. 94, 222).

Secular power is embodied in the king and his officers, while the religious establishment is represented by the Brahmins, the priestly class who are responsible for carrying on the ritual practices based on the traditions of the Vedas. But outside the settled life of the household there is another class of religious practitioner, who has (at least in theory) given up all worldly ties. Such wanderers, often called samaṇa (Sanskrit śramaṇa),[80] are of many kinds, some of them following extreme ascetic practices, wandering naked, or eating next to nothing. The Buddhist monks (bhikkhu)[81] are marked out by their shaven heads and their yellow or orange robes. They are enjoined not to follow such extreme practices, but to live in a modest, disciplined way, striving ceaselessly towards liberation. The Dhammapada has strong warnings for those monks who wear the robe and accept the alms of lay supporters but do not practise as they should (v. 308). Though the monastic life is regarded as particularly conducive to spiritual attainment (v. 99), we are reminded that those living the household life may also reach such attainments (v. 142).

The existence of gods and other non-human beings is taken for granted. Normally they are mentioned in a general way, as a group (vv. 94, 420), but a few are mentioned by name, notably Maghavan (known elsewhere as Sakka), the king of the gods (v. 30), and Brahmā, a deity of the higher realms (vv. 105, 230).[82] The forces that bind beings to saṃsāra – the realm of rebirth – are embodied in the figure of Māra, the tempter (vv. 7–8, 34, 37, 40, 46, 57, 105, 175, 274, 276, 337, 350). Death, the inevitable consequence of living in that realm, is also personified (vv. 46–8, 170, 287), and often identified with the god Yama, in myth the ruler and judge of the dead (vv. 44–5, 235, 237).

Although the gods are thought to have far longer and happier lives than human beings, their condition is not fundamentally different from our own: indeed, human beings can win divine status in a future life through morality and generosity (vv. 30, 224). All conditioned states, including existences in heaven or hell worlds, are impermanent, and the state of a liberated human being is greater than that of any deity (cf. vv. 94, 105, 230).

The dangers and seductions of saṃsāra are portrayed as fever (v. 90), poison (vv. 123–4), captivity (v. 346), or the threat of attack from bandits (v. 123). Its suffering is compared to that of a fish on land (v. 34) or of birds caught in a net (v. 174). The quest for liberation is often pictured, naturally, as a path to be followed (Chapter 20, passim), or as a river to be crossed (vv. 85–6). More unexpectedly, perhaps, the understanding that comes (or not) as one tries to live the spiritual life can be expressed in terms of something as simple and homely as eating soup (vv. 64–5):

Even if lifelong

A fool attends upon a wise man,

He no more knows dhammas

Than a spoon knows the flavours of soup.

Even if for a moment

An intelligent man attends upon a wise man,

He quickly knows dhammas

As the tongue knows the flavours of soup.

The basic simplicity of the Dhammapada style does not exclude certain kinds of artfulness, including word games and puns of an extremely elaborate kind (see the section on ‘Translating the Dhammapada’, below). But most characteristic is a straightforwardness of word and thought that yet suggests great possibilities for reflection, as we see in the famous summary of the teaching of the Buddhas – not just one, but all Awakened Ones (v. 183):

Not to do any evil;

To undertake what is good;

To purify your own mind:

This is the teaching of the Buddhas.

sabbapāpassa akaraṇaṃ kusalassa upasampadā
sacittapariyodapanaṃ etaṃ buddhāna sāsanaṃ.

At such moments, the Pali Dhammapada has a lean, spare beauty that is all its own.

TRANSLATING THE DHAMMAPADA

There have been countless translations of the Pali Dhammapada. It is generally stated that the first version in a European language was a Latin version, published in 1855, by the pioneering Danish scholar Michael Viggo Fausbøll, which in turn profoundly influenced the first English translation, by the great Max Müller, published in the series ‘The Sacred Books of the East’ in 1881.

This is probably true if we consider only translations of the complete text. However, both Fausbøll and Müller acknowledge a debt to an earlier English version, by the Revd Daniel John Gogerly, a London-born Methodist missionary to Sri Lanka, who was also a serious scholar of Pali and Buddhism. Gogerly’s version, of the first eighteen of the twenty-six chapters, was originally published in 1840 in a Methodist journal called The Friend.[83] Despite some misunderstandings of Buddhist philosophy, Gogerly shows a sympathy, remarkable for his time, for the ethical teachings of the Dhammapada, and his work deserves not to be forgotten.

Since the age of these pioneers, the Dhammapada has been translated into a remarkable number of languages. An exhibition of manuscripts and published editions of Buddhist texts held at the Staatsbibliothek, Munich, in 2005 included a translation into Polish, dated 1925, one into Yiddish, dated 1958, and one into Turkish, dated 1982.[84] There have also been numerous versions in English, many of them still in print – which naturally leads to the question of why it seemed necessary to undertake a new one.

The existing versions tend to fall into two main categories. On the one hand are those designed primarily for devotional purposes, aimed at committed Buddhists – the sort of book that a Buddhist might keep on his or her bedside table for inspiration. In this type of translation, explanations of doubtful points tend to be traditionally based.[85] Other versions have a more scholarly flavour, but are still firmly rooted within the Pali commentarial tradition. A particularly fine example of this kind of translation is that of J. R. Carter and M. Palihawadana (1987). On the other hand there are the academic translations, of which the great current example is that of K. R. Norman (The Word of the Doctrine, 1997), which draws on the latest scholarship on the Dhammapada and the related texts. It is an awe-inspiring work of scholarship, but its renderings are highly literal, and its style is not aimed at the general reader.

Both Carter and Palihawadana’s and Norman’s translations – and numerous others, listed in the Bibliography – have been indispensable to me in working on the text. But it still seemed to me that there was room for a new translation, drawing on up-to-date scholarship but combining it with readability. I also wanted to provide some sense of the body of literature to which the Pali Dhammapada belonged, giving the general reader some access to such works as the Gāndhārī and the Patna Dharmapadas, of which there are either no translations at all or ones available only in specialist academic works. So in a series of appendices following the main body of the book I have included translations of extracts from three other extant versions.

In producing the present translation, my first aim was of course to express as accurately as possible the meaning of the original text, as far as we can currently ascertain it. But, along with this, I was also concerned to convey, if I could, something of the feeling of the original, the way in which it would have struck its early hearers in the Pali – something that is perhaps even harder to ascertain, but that still seemed worthwhile to attempt.

In the first place, this meant that I was committed to a verse translation, whereas most previous versions of the Dhammapada have been in prose. A rhymed version, or any other formal type of English verse, would have been impossible while retaining the nuances of meaning, but I have tried to represent the form and feeling of the verses in stanzas of free verse of a similar shape to the originals. So where the original verse has four pādas, I have used four lines; where it has six pādas, six lines. But the content is not necessarily divided up between the lines in the same way as it divides between the pādas in Pali: the syntax of the two languages is so different that to attempt to do this would create a forced or unnatural effect.

The Dhammapada presents a number of special challenges to the translator. Pali, like other ancient Indian languages, reflects a culture with different assumptions from the modern English-speaking world (even including modern India). Often, to make sense of a verse for the contemporary reader, I have had to add a word or two implied, but not stated, in the original. Where I have done this, I have mentioned the fact in the notes.

I wanted to keep the plain-spoken, sometimes even colloquial, feeling of the original, and to avoid writing ‘Buddhist Hybrid English’[86] – that language in which things are never ‘lucky’ or ‘good’, always ‘auspicious’ or ‘meritorious’. I also wanted to avoid scattering the text with untranslated Pali terminology; but in some cases there is simply no single English equivalent for a Pali term. A particularly difficult case is dhamma, which has a number of technical meanings, ranging from ‘mental state’ (or even ‘thing’) to the Dhamma – the teaching of the Buddhas. Even when the word is used in the former senses, however, there is still a sense that the ‘small-d’ dhamma is an instance or expression of the ‘capital-d’ Dhamma. In the translation, where there is a usable English equivalent I have translated the ‘small-d’ dhamma with the meaning that it bears in its context, while leaving the ‘capital-d’ Dhamma as it is. It should be remarked, however, that Pali in its original scripts has no equivalent of upper- and lower-case letters, so this too may sometimes be a matter of interpretation. So again I have mentioned such decisions in the notes.

Although I have tried to keep close to the structures of the original, there are many usages in Pali that, though possible, would be awkward in English, giving the impression that the original was awkward too, rather than clear and lucid as it generally is. One particularly pressing question was how to translate impersonal constructions, which are far more common in Pali than in English. The ‘one’ construction tends to sound over-formal, or even clumsy, in verse, and current spoken English prefers ‘you’. So, after considerable reflection, I decided that I would normally translate such constructions with ‘you’: ‘you should make an effort’ rather than ‘one should make an effort.’ There seemed little danger of causing misunderstanding, since in the Dhammapada there generally is an element of advice or warning to the hearer in such expressions; but, for those who are happier knowing such things, where the ‘you’ is a genuine second-person form – with the Buddha addressing some person or group of people – I have mentioned the fact in the notes.

The Dhammapada also makes frequent use of a structure in which a verb is expressed once, but is meant to be understood two or three times; for example, in its very first verse, we have

Suffering follows you,

As the wheel the foot of the ox.

Here I felt that the reader would readily understand the last line to mean ‘as the wheel [follows] the foot of the ox [that draws the cart]’, so I have kept the usage – especially as the language of the poem itself here feels a little unusual and arresting. But elsewhere I have adapted it to what I have felt would be the current English usage, by adding the verb that is to be understood. For example, for v. 252 I have written

Others’ faults are easy to see,

While your own are hard to see.

The faults of others

You winnow like chaff;

You hide your own

As a cunning gambler hides a bad throw

rather than

.       .       .       .       .       .

As a cunning gambler a bad throw.

Pali also makes great use of constructions involving the ‘absolutive’ or ‘indeclinable participle’: ‘having done this, one is freed.’ Where I have felt that English would more naturally say ‘if you do this, you’ll be freed,’ this is how I have translated it. Similarly, I have often translated passive verbs (‘this is done by me’) into the active (‘I do this’).

A particular problem in translating the Dhammapada is its fondness for puns, which in ancient India could be used as a means of conveying serious truths: see for example the complex plays on words for ‘wood’ and ‘desire’ in vv. 283–4, 344. A Tudor poet might just have managed to make something of this (perhaps speaking of the ‘woodness’, i.e. madness, of desire); in modern English, however, puns are primarily viewed as a way of making jokes, and I have scarcely attempted to reproduce them, except in a very limited way (see vv. 256–7). Generally I have had to settle on one of the meanings for the translation, and explain the rest in the notes. The culminating horror for the translator is v. 97, with a sequence of epithets which apply, on the surface, to a master criminal, but on deeper reflection to an enlightened saint. In this case the only solution I could find was to provide two complete translations, with explanations in the notes.

But, despite the above, the most pervasive challenge of all in translating the Dhammapada is its sheer straightforwardness. There are some verses of great simplicity which are immensely touching in the original, but quite impossible to translate without losing most of their power – for example vv. 42–3:

Whatever an enemy can do to an enemy,

Or a rival to a rival,

A wrongly directed mind

Will do worse to you than that.

What mother or father cannot do,

Or any other kin,

A rightly directed mind

Will do better for you than that.

diso disaṃ yan taṃ kayirā
verī vā pana verinaṃ
micchāpaṇihitaṃ cittaṃ
pāpiyo naṃ tato kare.

na taṃ mātā pitā kayirā
aññe vāpi ca ñātakā
sammāpaṇihitaṃ cittaṃ
seyyaso naṃ tato kare.

With no similes or ornaments and the plainest of vocabulary, these verses leave the translator absolutely nowhere to hide. In the original, they are capable of bringing a tear to the eye; but it would be too much to expect a translation to do the same.

I hope, however, that, in order to experience this work to best effect, the reader will pause from time to time and speak some of the verses aloud. This was, after all, how the original was meant to be experienced; and in my translation I have tried to be true to that fact.

NOTES

1.   Since these works were transmitted orally, perhaps for some centuries, before being put into writing, the word ‘literature’ in this context is not meant to be restricted to things which were written down.

2.   On the life of the Buddha, see below.

3.   Some have also sensed a pun on dhammapatha, ‘way or path of the dhamma’, but this seems less likely (Mizuno 1979: 255–6).

4.   For example K. R. Norman’s translation (Norman 1997) bears the title The Word of the Doctrine. However, this follows the general practice of the Pali Text Society, in which editions of original texts are called by their Pali titles, and translations have their titles translated into English.

5.   Theravāda (Sanskrit Sthaviravāda), ‘The Doctrine of the Elders’, also known as the Southern school, has long been the predominant form of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Burma, Cambodia and Thailand, with communities also in Laos, Malaysia and Bangladesh, and now a following in the West. For more on the Theravāda traditions, see below.

6.   Or one of his followers spoke it with the Buddha’s endorsement. For more on the Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā, see below, ‘Commentaries’.

7.   Pali vatta or anuṭṭhubha; but the Sanskrit terms are more widely understood. This verse form could be said to be the equivalent in Sanskrit and Pali of the iambic pentameter in English.

8.   And such a trial to the translator: see e.g. v. 97 and notes, and vv. 283–4 and notes. (Puns may also have been intended in places where they are no longer readily detected: for a likely example, see vv. 44–5 and notes.)

9.   See for example the notes on v. 175.

10. I have noted a few such examples (e.g. vv. 70, 109, 131, 200, notes), but have not attempted to be comprehensive.

11. For the version found in the Dhammapada Commentary, see the notes on vv. 11–12.

12. In Sanskrit, Śākya – hence the title, often used of the Buddha in Mahāyāna texts, of Śākyamuni, ‘Sage of the Śākyas’.

13. In Sanskrit, Siddhārtha Gautama. Siddhattha means ‘[He] who has accomplished his aim’; Gotama is the name of his family’s gotta or lineage. It remains unclear why the Sākiyas, a proudly Khattiya clan, claimed membership of a Brahmin gotta (see the notes to v. 393). Their marriages were certainly not arranged according to Brahmanical gotta rules.

14. The later commentaries call her Yasodharā (Sanskrit Yaśodharā), ‘Fame-bearer’, but canonical texts use other names, most often simply ‘the Mother of Rāhula’.

15. However, the Dīgha Nikāya (2.23–30, from Sutta 14, the Mahāpadāna Sutta) describes such a series of encounters in the early life of a previous Buddha, Vipassin.

16. Since we are told elsewhere (e.g. Dīgha Nikāya 2.14; Sutta 14: Mahāpadāna Sutta) that his mother, Māyādevī, had died shortly after his birth, the ‘mother’ referred to here must be his stepmother, Mahāpajāpati (Sanskrit Mahāprajāpatī/Mahāprajāvatī), who brought him up as her own.

17. Majjhima Nikāya 1.161–75, esp. 1.163–73 (Sutta 26: Ariyapariyesanā Sutta); ibid. 1.238–51, esp. 1.241–51 (Sutta 36: Mahāsaccaka Sutta).

18. The accounts of his struggles in terms of the attack by Māra are found first in the commentaries: see the story segment of the notes on vv. 11–12.

19. Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta, found in both the Vinaya Piṭaka (Vinaya 1.10–12) and the Sutta Piṭaka (Saṃyutta Nikāya 56.11).

20. For specialist terms see the Glossary.

21. Dīgha Nikāya 2.72–168 (Sutta 16: Mahāparinibbāna Sutta).

22. vaya-dhammā saṅkhārā. appamādena sampādetha. A powerful saying that does not lend itself easily to translation. ‘Saṅkhāras are vaya-dhamma [i.e having the nature (dhamma) of passing away (vaya)]. Bring about success by means of awareness [appamāda – see the notes for Chapter 2].’

23. Dates are given in the form BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era), rather than BC and AD.

24. For recent thinking on the dates of the Buddha see Bechert 1991–7, Cousins 1996 and Prebish 2008.

25. Dīpavaṃsa 20.20–21: see K. R. Norman 1983: 10–11, Roth 2000: 64. The idea that a council was held for this purpose is debatable.

26. I am grateful to L. S. Cousins for this observation.

27. The word ‘Prakrit’ (Sanskrit prākṛta) denotes a vernacular language, as distinct from Sanskrit (saṃskṛta, ‘perfected’), the language of culture. Though Pali certainly belongs in that category, it is often treated as distinct from other Middle Indian languages, in expressions such as ‘Prakrit and Pali’.

28. However, the language of the Pali texts differs in a number of ways from the language of surviving inscriptions from that area, generally known as ‘Māgadhī’. Māgadhī has some distinctive features, such as the use of ‘l’ in certain positions where other Middle Indian languages, including Pali, would normally have ‘r’. Some ‘Māgadhisms’ are preserved in the Pali Canon, along with forms from other early dialects (K. R. Norman, 1983: 4–5).

29. See further K. R. Norman 1980, and, for another view, Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu, <http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.intro.than.html>, section on ‘Historical Notes’.

30. Sanskrit Tripiṭaka. As is usual in discussing Theravāda Buddhism and its texts, where the Pali and Sanskrit forms of a word differ, I use the Pali form: hence dhamma rather than dharma, nibbāna rather than nirvāṇa. (Some words, such as buddha, literally, ‘awakened one’, and vinaya, ‘discipline’, are the same in both languages.) The Sanskrit alternatives are given in the Glossary, for those who are more accustomed to seeing them.

31. Though this is now the most widely accepted arrangement, historically there have been others, including one in which both the Vinaya and the Abhidhamma texts were included in the Khuddaka Nikāya (Norman 1983, 8).

32. Harrison 1987.

33. Harrison 2005: 168, 169.

34. Harrison 1987: 80.

35. There is a little room for doubt, because two later Pali works, the Nettippakaraṇa and the Peṭakopadesa, thought to have been written around the start of the Common Era, illustrate their arguments by quoting extracts from the Pali Canon. Among these are a number of passages that are no longer present in the Pali Canon as we have it – many of them verses of Dhammapada type. Some, however, consider that these texts were drawing on another version of the Canon.

36. Oberlies 2003–4.

37. The great Sanskrit epics, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa, contain a large number of non-standard grammatical forms, suggesting their own strong links with the oral tradition.

38. The Sanskrit equivalents of the various parts of the Tipiṭaka/ Tripiṭaka are: (1) Vinaya Piṭaka; (2) Sūtra Piṭaka; (3) Abhidharma Piṭaka. In the Mahāyāna schools, the constituent parts of the Sūtra Piṭaka were generally called āgama (‘tradition’) rather than nikāya: the Dīrghāgama, Madhyamāgama, Saṃyuktāgama, Ekottarāgama/Ekottarikāgama (ekottara/ekottarikā, ‘more by one’) and Kṣudraka. (The term nikāya is still found within the Mahāyāna texts, and āgama within the Theravāda, but as less common alternatives.) Not all Canons had Kṣudraka as a separate Āgama: some placed their Kṣudraka-type material elsewhere.

39. I have used the older Anglicized form ‘Brahmin’ in preference to the more correct ‘Brāhmaṇa’ in the present work because it seemed to fit more happily into the verse of the translation itself, where it is many times repeated. Once I had made that decision, it seemed better to use it in the Introduction too, to avoid the confusion of having two different translations for the same word.

40. The variant spelling ‘Dharmmapada’ is also frequently found in manuscripts.

41. Indeed, the Dharmaguptaka lineage has achieved a certain prominence in recent years, since it is the only one that appears to have retained an unbroken tradition of Bhikṣuṇī ordination – bhikṣuṇī (Pali bhikkhunī) meaning a fully ordained nun. According to most traditions, a bhikṣuṇī could be ordained only by a Buddha (see the story for v. 391) or by a quorum of existing bhikṣuṇīs in association with the monks, not by monks alone. So in modern times some women from other Buddhist traditions have gone to the Chinese nuns for ordination, while continuing to follow their own doctrinal traditions.

42. Skilling (1997) prefers to call it the Patna Dhammapada, because dhamma is the form used in the body of the text.

43. There is some doubt about its present whereabouts: see Roth 2000: 5–6, 91–2. Facsimiles of the manuscript are included at the end of the same book (plates 2–14).

44. Timothy Lenz, with contributions by Andrew Glass and Bhikshu Dharmamitra, A New Version of the Gāndhārī Dharmapada and a Collection of Previous-Birth Stories: British Library Kharoṣṭhī Fragments 16 + 25 (Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 2003), p. 12.

45. The Prakrits seem to have been falling out of use – or, rather, developing into later languages called Apabhraṃśas – by around the fourth–sixth century CE.

46. By Peter Skilling (1997). The name of this school is found in a number of variants, including ‘Sāṃmatīya’ (Skilling’s preferred spelling).

47. It is perhaps related to udāna, ‘up-breath’, one of the five ‘breaths’ of ancient Indian physiology (Roebuck 2000: xviii; 2003: xxx–xxxi and references given there). In this case, it would resemble the Western idea of ‘inspiration’, but seen as coming up from within the speaker rather than down from above.

48. Some have taken references in texts to ‘Mūlasarvāstivāda’ (‘Root-Sarvāstivāda’) to refer to a separate school; but Fumio Enomoto (2000) has convincingly demonstrated that this is simply an honorific name for the Sarvāstivāda school itself. (See also Fuktta 2003: xxi.)

49. Cone 1986: lviii.

50. Lokottara is the Sanskrit, lokuttara the Middle Indian form. The Lokottaravāda was an offshoot of the Mahāsāṅghika (‘of the Great Order’), the earliest proto-Mahāyānist movement to have broken away from the early Mainstream schools in the disputes that led to the development of the Mahāyāna schools.

51. The point at issue in these controversies is the nature of a Fully Awakened Buddha after his attainment of liberation but before his parinibbāna. How far is he part of the transcendent (lokuttara) realm, and how far is he still part of the worldly (lokiya) realm of saṃsāra, where existence is shaped by conditions and is subject to suffering (dukkha)? The various schools tried to answer this question, according to their own interpretations of Abhidhamma philosophy, in relation to the triad of body, speech and mind. According to Mainstream Buddhist ideas, the body of the Buddha is still in some sense part of the conditioned realm, since it is subject to old age, illness and death, but his mind is completely free of it. For example when the Buddha was wounded by Devadatta’s rock (v. 90, story), he felt physical pain, conditioned by the injury, but he did not experience mental anguish conditioned by that, as hatred, aversion etc. could no longer arise in his mind. The question of speech was a particularly knotty one, since the acts of speaking and hearing are in part physical, but the thought that inspires them may be transcendent. Unlike the Theravādins, the Lokuttaravādins seem to have held that the Buddha’s speech was entirely lokuttara, regardless of whether he was teaching the Dhamma or speaking of everyday matters. For these and related controversies, see Cousins 1991.

52. See v. 179 and note.

53. Mahāvastu 3.434–7.

54. Ibid. 3.421–3.

55. K. R. Norman 1983: 60 and notes.

56. Cone 1986: lix.

57. Brough 1962: 27.

58. Ibid.: 28–9.

59. Cone 1986: lix.

60. They are included in the Majjhima Nikāya (1.299–304; Sutta 44: Cūḷavedalla Sutta).

61. I use the words ‘story’ and ‘tale’ as literary terms for this kind of narrative, with no implications as to whether or not they are ‘true’ in a historical sense. (In fact I think it likely that many of these narratives had a factual basis; but, since on the whole they concern the kind of people who do not leave archaeological records, we are unlikely ever to know how much.)

62. There is therefore some overlap with the Jātaka, the collection of stories of previous births of the Buddha found in the Khuddaka Nikāya. However, these two sources do not always agree on which ‘stories of the present’ link with which stories of previous lives. (On Jātaka stories, see Shaw 2006b.)

63. Carter and Palihawadana 1987: 3–6.

64. Perhaps best known as the author of the Visuddhimagga, ‘The Path of Purification’, a manual for meditators (Ñāṇamoli 1975).

65. K. R. Norman 1983: 121.

66. Buddhaghosa’s own date is slightly doubtful. Since there is a late-fifth century Chinese translation of the commentary on the Vinaya, definitely attributed to him, he cannot be later than that date, but he could be earlier. The safest suggestion would seem to be that he was active around the late fourth century CE.

67. The English translation of the Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā, Burlingame’s Buddhist Legends, comes to three substantial volumes (Burlingame 1921): it is concerned with the stories, and omits the material explaining the meaning of each verse. Carter and Palihawadana (1987) translate the commentarial explanations of the meaning of the verses, but omit the stories.

68. ‘Big Protector’ and ‘Little Protector’. The adjectives mahā and culla (also spelled cūḷa or cūla), ‘great’ and ‘small’, are often prefixed to the names of older and younger brothers and sisters (cf. notes on vv. 18, 25), though mahā is also used to distinguish great persons such as Arahats from others with the same name (e.g. Mahā Moggallāna, Mahā Kassapa).

69. The equivalent is also found in Pali in the Peṭakopadesa version: see note 35, above.

70. Though the Fajü jing, as translated by Dhammajoti (1995: 104), seems to remain close to the Pali version:

Mind is the origin of events

They have] mind as the chief, and are mind-impelled.

If one harbours an evil thought in the mind

And then speaks or acts;

Suffering pursues one necessarily,

As a cart [necessarily] rolls over the track.

Mind is the origin of events

They have] mind as the chief, and are mind-impelled.

If one harbours a good thought in the mind

And then speaks or acts;

Happiness pursues one necessarily,

As a shadow [necessarily] follows its substance.

71. See for example the notes on v. 97.

72. Carter and Palihawadana (1987: 6–7) comment on the effect of the background on the Commentary, but with reference to the explanations of the meanings of the verses rather than the stories: ‘Another area for further inquiry is the extent to which the commentary “reduces” the sense of the Dhammapada verses and offers a narrow monastic meaning, addressed primarily to bhikkhus (buddhist monks), or a sectarian meaning attuned exclusively to the teachings of the Theravada school.’

73. I have included some of the frequently occurring names in the Glossary, but for comprehensive information on all the proper names in the Pali Canon and commentaries, see Malalasekhara 1937–8. The online version is particularly useful to the non-specialist reader, since it is organized in the order of the Roman alphabet, while the print version uses Pali word-order.

74. For some of the translations of the Dhammapada into different Western languages, see Grönbold and Dachs 2005: 140ff.

75. Brough 1962: xxi. He does go on to concede that ‘a reasonable critic will readily admit that there are many attractive things here’ and that it is not nearly so bad as what he calls ‘the unrelieved doggerel of the Dharma-samuccaya’ (ibid.), a later text with related content.

76. See the notes on vv. 385–6.

77. Pali tiṭṭhubha-jagatī – but the Sanskrit terms are generally used.

78. If we include the rest of the Dharmapada literature, the range of animals mentioned becomes wider. In the Udānavarga, for example, we find mentions of the lion, deer and tortoise, among others. The snake – surprisingly absent from the Pali Dhammapada – seems to put in an appearance in most of the other extant Dharmapadas, and has its own chapter in the Patna Dharmapada (see Appendix II). Interestingly, there seems to be no mention of the smaller domestic animals, the dog, cat or mongoose, or even of the talking birds often kept as pets in classical India. (In the Dhammapada Commentary, all sorts of animals appear, including dogs and cats – the former generally as working animals kept by huntsmen.)

79. We also find the potter’s wares, which would have been ubiquitous in ancient India (vv. 40, 121–2), but no reference to their making. However the Udānavarga (1.12) has the potter, too:

Just like a clay vessel

Made by a potter,

Each life of a mortal

Ends in breaking.

80. Literally, ‘striver’, and possibly the origin of the (adopted) English word ‘shaman’. (The word appears to have spread in its Prakrit form, śamaṇa, under Buddhist influence, into the languages of Central Asia, from which it entered Chinese (as shamen) and Japanese (as shamon). It is thought to have entered English via Tungus and Russian; but the matter remains controversial. (See Carmen Blacker, The Catalpa Bow: A Study of Shamanistic Practices in Japan (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1975), pp. 23, 317–18.)

81. There is no specific mention in the text of nuns (bhikkhunī), though they play a prominent part in the Commentary.

82. Or perhaps one of a class of deities described as living in their own high heavens, the ‘Formless Realms’.

83. D. J. Gogerly, ‘The Dhammapada or “Footsteps of Religion” ’, first published in 1840 in the journal The Friend in Colombo, and reprinted in A. S. Bishop (ed.), Ceylon Buddhism: Being the Collected Writings of Daniel John Gogerly, 2 vols. (Colombo: The Wesleyan Methodist Bookroom; London: Kegan, Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1908), II, 249–92. This version is also available at <http://www.bodhgayanews.net/pdf/gogerly_dhammapada.pdf>. For other translations by Gogerly see <http://www.sacred-texts.com/journals/ja/tbg.htm>.

84. Grönbold and Dachs 2005: 140ff.

85. One that I have found particularly helpful is that of Narada Thera (1993).

86. Paul Griffiths (1981) has an excellent analysis of the problem, though I do not agree with his solution, which is to edit and study, rather than translate, the more intractable texts. In my experience, there are few better ways of studying a text than trying to translate it.

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Rhys Davids, T. W., and Stede, William (eds.), 1972. The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary. London and Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, for the Pali Text Society, London (a reprint of the original 1921–5 edition)

Rockhill, W. Woodville (tr.), 1883. Udânavarga: A Collection of Verses from the Buddhist Canon, Compiled by Dharmatrâta. Being the Northern Buddhist Version of Dhammapada. Translated from the Tibetan of the Bkah-hgyur. With Notes and Extracts from the Commentary of Pradjnâvarman, Trübner’s Oriental Series. London: Trübner & Co.

Roebuck, V. J. (ed. and tr.), 2000. The Upaniṣads, Translated and Edited with an Introduction. New Delhi: Penguin Books India

—— 2003. The Upaniṣads. London: Penguin Books (a revised edition of the previous item)

Roth, G., 1976. ‘Dhammapada Verses in Uttarajhāyā 9’, Sambodhi (Ahmedabad: L. D. Institute of Indology), 5, 2–3 (special issue in memory of Dr A. N. Upadhye): 166–9

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Salomon, R., 1998. Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press; New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers

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DHAMMAPADA CHANTING

A number of recordings are available of the Dhammapada being chanted in Pali. Mp3 files of each chapter, chanted in Sinhalese style by Ven. Weragoda Sarada Maha Thero with spoken translation, can be downloaded from <http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/dhammapada.htm>.

Note on the Text

The text I have worked from is that of the Pali Text Society (Hinüber and Norman 1995).

There are two different systems of numbering in use for the verses of the Dhammapada: a continuous numbering, 1–423, that runs throughout the work, and a separate numbering within each chapter. So the same verse could be referred to either as 326 or as 23.7. Since references in other texts are usually to the continuous numbering, I have used that as my main system, but noted the numbers in the alternative system at the beginning of each chapter.

To avoid scattering the pages of the translation with superscript numbers, and allow the reader to experience the verses undistracted if he or she wishes, I have keyed the endnotes to the numbers of the verses themselves. Comments there are headed by a brief quotation of the words being commented on.

CHAPTER 1

TWINS

(1.1–20)

1.     Fore-run by mind are mental states,

Ruled by mind, made of mind.

If you speak or act

With corrupt mind,

Suffering follows you,

As the wheel the foot of the ox.

2.     Fore-run by mind are mental states,

Ruled by mind, made of mind.

If you speak or act

With clear mind,

Happiness follows you,

Like a shadow that does not depart.

3.     ‘He insulted me, he struck me,

He defeated me, he robbed me’:

For those who get caught up in this,

Hatred does not cease.

4.     ‘He insulted me, he struck me,

He defeated me, he robbed me’:

For those who do not get caught up in this,

Hatred ceases completely.

5.     For never here

Do hatreds cease by hatred.

By freedom from hatred they cease:

This is a perennial truth.

6.     Others do not understand

That we must control ourselves here:

But for those who do understand this –

Through it, their quarrels cease.

7.     If you live contemplating the fair,

Unrestrained in senses,

Not knowing moderation in food,

Dull, of weak effort,

Māra overthrows you

As the wind an ill-rooted tree.

8.     If you live contemplating the foul,

Well restrained in senses,

Knowing moderation in food,

Confident, raising effort,

Māra does not overthrow you,

As the wind a rocky mountain.

9.     If someone who is not freed from stain

Puts on the yellow robe,

Devoid of self-control and truthfulness,

He’s not worthy of the yellow robe.

10.   But if someone has got rid of the stains,

Well established in the precepts,

Endowed with self-control and truthfulness,

He indeed is worthy of the yellow robe.

11.   Those who imagine value where there’s none,

And don’t see value where there’s value,

Do not understand value –

Dwellers in the realm of wrong thought.

12.   Those who perceive value where there’s value,

And no value where there’s none,

Understand value –

Dwellers in the realm of right thought.

13.   As rain penetrates

An ill-roofed house,

Passion penetrates

An undeveloped mind.

14.   As rain does not penetrate

A well-roofed house,

Passion does not penetrate

A well-developed mind.

15.   He is sorry here; after death he is sorry;

In both places the evil-doer is sorry.

He is sorry, he is tormented,

Seeing his own action was defiled.

16.   He is happy here; after death he is happy;

In both places the doer of good is happy.

He is happy, he is joyful,

Seeing his own action was pure.

17.   He suffers here; after death he suffers;

In both places the evil-doer suffers.

He suffers, thinking, ‘I have done wrong’;

And going to a bad place he suffers even more.

18.   He rejoices here; after death he rejoices;

In both places the doer of good rejoices.

He rejoices, thinking, ‘I have done right’;

And going to a good place he rejoices even more.

19.   Though you recite much scripture,

If you are unaware and do not act according

You are like a cowherd counting others’ cattle,

Not a sharer in the wanderer’s life.

20.   Though you recite little scripture,

If you go from dhamma to dhamma,

Abandoning passion, hatred and delusion,

Rightly knowing, with well-freed mind,

Not clinging either here or in the other world,

You are a sharer in the wanderer’s life.

CHAPTER 2

AWARENESS

(2.1–12)

21.   Awareness is the place of the deathless;

Unawareness is the place of death.

The aware do not die;

The unaware are as though dead already.

22.   Knowing this especially

About awareness, the wise

Delight in awareness,

Taking pleasure in the realm of the Noble Ones.

23.   Those who constantly practise meditation,

Ever firm in their endeavour,

Those wise ones touch nibbāna,

The unsurpassed peace of yoga.

24.   If you’re effortful and mindful,

Pure in deed, acting with consideration,

Controlled, living by the Dhamma,

And aware, your fame will increase.

25.   By effort, awareness,

Restraint and self-control,

The wise one should make an island

Which the flood will not overwhelm.

26.   Foolish, unwise folk

Indulge in unawareness.

The wise one guards awareness

As the finest treasure.

27.   Do not indulge in unawareness,

Or closeness with sense-pleasures.

For aware, meditating,

You’ll gain great happiness.

28.   When a learned one

By awareness wards off unawareness,

He ascends the palace of wisdom,

And, sorrowless, observes the sorrowful folk,

Wise watching fools, as one on a mountain

Sees those on the ground.

29.   Aware among the unaware,

Fully awake among the sleeping,

The wise one goes, leaving them behind

As a swift horse leaves a weak horse behind.

30.   By awareness Maghavan

Became the chief of the gods.

Folk praise awareness.

Unawareness is always blamed.

31.   The monk who delights in awareness,

Seeing the danger in unawareness,

Moves like a fire,

Burning up fetters small and great.

32.   The monk who delights in awareness,

Seeing the danger in unawareness,

Not liable to fall back,

Is close to nibbāna.

CHAPTER 3

THE MIND

(3.1–11)

33.   The wise one makes straight

The trembling, fickle mind –

So hard to guard, so hard to control –

As the fletcher makes straight the arrow.

34.   Like a fish thrown on land,

Drawn out of its watery home,

This mind thrashes around

To escape the rule of Māra.

35.   The mind is hard to restrain, light,

Flying where it will.

Control of it is good.

Mind controlled brings happiness.

36.   Mind is most hard to see, most subtle,

Flying where it will.

The wise one should guard it.

Mind guarded brings happiness.

37.   Mind is far-travelling, a solitary mover,

Bodiless, a cave-dweller.

Those who restrain it

Will get free of Māra’s bonds.

38.   If your mind is unsteady,

If you do not know the true Dhamma,

If your composure is disturbed,

Your wisdom will not become complete.

39.   If your mind is not troubled,

If your thought is not perturbed,

If you’ve left behind good and evil,

Wakeful, you’ll have no fear.

40.   Knowing that this body is like a pot,

Fortifying the mind like a city

You should fight Māra with the weapon of wisdom.

You should guard your territory without resting.

41.   Soon, alas, this body

Will lie on the earth,

Abandoned, consciousness departed,

Like a useless log of wood.

42.   Whatever an enemy can do to an enemy,

Or a rival to a rival,

A wrongly directed mind

Will do worse to you than that.

43.   What mother or father cannot do,

Or any other kin,

A rightly directed mind

Will do better for you than that.

CHAPTER 4

FLOWERS

(4.1–16)

44.   Who will conquer this earth,

And this world of Yama with its gods?

Who will pluck the well-taught word of Dhamma

As a skilled one plucks a flower?

45.   The Learner will conquer this earth,

And this world of Yama with its gods.

The Learner will pluck the well-taught word of Dhamma

As a skilled one plucks a flower.

46.   Knowing that this body is like foam,

Understanding it has the nature of a mirage,

You should cut off the flower-spikes of Māra,

And go where the King of Death can’t see you.

47.   While a man gathers flowers,

His mind attached to this and that,

Death carries him away

As a great flood takes a sleeping village.

48.   While a man gathers flowers,

His mind attached to this and that,

Unsatisfied in his desires,

The Ender overpowers him.

49.   In the village, a sage should go about

Like a bee, which, not harming

Flower, colour or scent,

Flies off with the nectar.

50.   You should not look at

Others’ faults,

Things done or not done by others,

But at things done or not done by yourself.

51.   Like a beautiful flower,

Colourful but scentless,

The well-taught word is fruitless

For one who does not practise.

52.   Like a beautiful flower,

Colourful and fragrant,

The well-taught word is fruitful

For one who practises.

53.   Just as you can make

Many kinds of garlands from a heap of flowers,

There is much good that can be done

By one born mortal.

54.   The scent of flowers is not blown against the wind –

Not sandalwood or tagara or jasmine.

But the scent of the good is blown against the wind:

A good man perfumes all directions.

55.   Sandalwood, tagara,

Lotus and jasmine:

Among all kinds of scents,

The scent of virtue is unsurpassed.

56.   Of little range is the scent

That is tagara or sandalwood.

But the scent of the virtuous

Is wafted among the gods, supreme.

57.   Māra doesn’t find the path

Of those who practise virtue,

Living in awareness,

Freed by right understanding.

58.   Just as a lotus,

Sweet-scented, ravishing,

Grows on a heap of refuse

Flung on the high road,

59.   A disciple of the Fully Awakened

Shines out through wisdom

Among the blind multitude,

The refuse of beings.

CHAPTER 5

FOOLS

(5.1–16)

60.   Long is night for the wakeful;

Long is a league for the weary.

Long is saṃsāra for fools

Who do not know the true Dhamma.

61.   If, as you travel, you meet

None better than yourself, or equal,

You should steadfastly travel alone.

There’s no companionship with fools.

62.   A fool is troubled, thinking,

‘I have sons, I have wealth’;

But even himself doesn’t belong to himself –

Let alone sons, let alone wealth.

63.   The fool who knows his folly

Becomes wise by that fact.

But the fool who thinks he’s wise –

He’s called ‘a fool’ indeed!

64.   Even if lifelong

A fool attends upon a wise man,

He no more knows dhammas

Than a spoon knows the flavours of soup.

65.   Even if for a moment

An intelligent man attends upon a wise man,

He quickly knows dhammas

As the tongue knows the flavours of soup.

66.   Fools, lacking intelligence,

Go on with a self that’s like an enemy,

Doing evil action

Which bears bitter fruit.

67.   That action that’s done is not good

That you repent when you’ve done it –

If, weeping, with tear-stained face

You experience its working-out.

68.   That action that’s done is good

That you don’t repent when you’ve done it –

If happy and cheerful

You experience its working-out.

69.   Until the evil ripens

The fool thinks it’s honey-sweet;

But when the evil ripens

The fool’s plunged into suffering.

70.   Though month after month he eats

Food with the tip of a kusa-grass blade,

A fool’s not worth a sixteenth part

Of those who’ve mastered dhammas.

71.   For an evil deed that is done does not ripen

The same day, as milk curdles:

It follows the fool, burning,

Like a fire covered with ashes.

72.   A fool gets a reputation for knowledge

Only to his disadvantage:

It destroys the fool’s bright part

And causes his head to split.

73.   He may wish for respect among bad people,

Precedence among the monks,

Lordship in the dwelling places,

Honour among the families of others.

74.   ‘I did this – so let

Both laymen and renouncers think;

Let me be in charge

Of everything, things to be done or not done.’

Such is the fool’s intention.

His desire and pride increase.

75.   One is the way that leads to gain,

Another the way to nibbāna.

Understanding this,

The monk who is a disciple of the Buddha

Should not delight in honour,

But devote himself to solitude.

CHAPTER 6

THE WISE MAN

(6.1–14)

76.   If you see a wise man who

Sees your faults, tells what is blameworthy,

You should keep company with such a one

As a pointer-out of treasures:

If you keep company with such a one

It becomes better, not worse, for you.

77.   He should teach, instruct,

Deter from unmannerly behaviour.

For then he becomes dear to the good,

Not dear to those not good.

78.   You shouldn’t keep company with evil friends;

You shouldn’t keep company with the worst of men.

Keep company with good friends;

Keep company with the best of men.

79.   The Dhamma-drinker sleeps happily

With clear mind.

The wise man always delights

In the Dhamma taught by the Noble Ones.

80.   Irrigators lead the water;

Fletchers shape the arrow;

Carpenters shape the wood;

The wise control themselves.

81.   As a solid rock

Is not moved by the wind,

The wise are not shaken

Amid blame or praise.

82.   Just like a deep lake,

Clear and undisturbed,

The wise grow peaceful

On hearing Dhamma teachings.

83.   Good people go everywhere;

The good don’t boast, from desire for sensual things;

Touched by happiness or sorrow,

The wise do not display excitement or depression.

84.   One who would not, for his own sake or another’s,

Seek a son, wealth, a kingdom,

Nor seek his own success through injustice,

Is virtuous, wise and just.

85.   Few among humans are those folk

Who cross to the other shore:

These other people

Just run along the bank.

86.   But those folk who follow the Dhamma

When the Dhamma has been rightly taught

Will go to the other shore.

The realm of death is very hard to cross.

87.   Leaving dark states,

The wise one should develop the bright,

Coming from home to homelessness,

Into solitude, where it’s hard to find enjoyment.

88.   There, leaving sense-pleasures, owning nothing,

He should seek enjoyment;

The wise one should purify himself

From afflictions of the mind.

89.   Those whose minds are rightly developed

In the enlightenment factors,

Who, not clinging, rejoice

In the cessation of clinging,

Who are radiant, with defilements extinguished:

These have attained nibbāna in the world.

CHAPTER 7

THE ARAHAT

(7.1–10)

90.   No fever is found

In one who has travelled the road,

Who, sorrowless, freed in every way,

Has destroyed all bonds.

91.   The mindful make effort:

They do not delight in a dwelling.

As geese leave a pool,

They give up any kind of home.

92.   Those who do no hoarding,

Who fully understand food,

Whose range is liberation,

Empty and signless –

Their path is as hard to follow

As that of birds in the sky.

93.   One whose defilements are exhausted,

Who is unattached to food,

Whose range is liberation,

Empty and signless –

His track is as hard to follow

As that of birds in the sky.

94.   One whose senses have attained calm

Like horses well trained by a charioteer,

Whose pride has gone, who is free from defilements –

Such a one even the gods envy.

95.   Like the earth, such a one has no ill will:

True to his vows, he’s like a royal pillar,

A mudless pool.

Such a one has no more wanderings in saṃsāra.

96.   Calm is the mind

And calm the speech and actions

Of such a one, perfectly calm,

Who is freed through right knowledge.

97.   That man who’s faithless,

Ungrateful, a burglar,

Who’s blown his chances, an eater of forbidden food,

He’s a brave fellow indeed.

[alternatively]

That man who’s desireless,

Who knows the unmade, a breaker of links,

Who’s gone beyond chances, who’s got rid of desire,

He’s a fine person indeed.

98.   Wherever Arahats live,

In village or forest,

In valley or hill –

What a lovely place it is!

99.   Lovely are the forests

Where folk find no delight.

Those free from passion will find delight there:

They don’t seek for sensual things.

CHAPTER 8

THOUSANDS

(8.1–16)

100. Better than a thousand sayings

Made up of useless words

Is one word of meaning

Which calms you to hear it.

101. Better than a thousand verses

Made up of useless words

Is one word of verse

Which calms you to hear it.

102. Better than speaking a hundred verses

Made up of useless words

Is one word of Dhamma

Which calms you to hear it.

103. Though you might conquer in battle

A thousand times a thousand men,

You’re the greatest battle-winner

If you conquer just one – yourself.

104. Better to conquer yourself

Than these other creatures.

If a person is self-controlled,

Behaving always with restraint,

105. Neither god nor spirit,

Not Māra and Brahmā together,

Can turn to defeat

The victory of such a one.

106. You could sacrifice with a thousand offerings

Month by month for a hundred years;

But if you were to pay homage to a developed person

Once, just for a moment,

That homage would be better

Than that hundred-year sacrifice would be.

107. A person could tend the fire in the forest

For a hundred years;

But if he were to pay homage to a developed person

Once, just for a moment,

That homage would be better

Than that hundred-year sacrifice would be.

108. Whatever sacrifice or offering in the world

One might offer for a year, seeking merit,

All that is not worth a quarter as much

As reverence to those who are upright.

109. For one whose behaviour is respectful,

Who constantly honours his elders,

Four things increase:

Life-span, beauty, happiness and strength.

110. Better than living a hundred years

Ill behaved, unconcentrated,

Is living for one day

Well behaved, a meditator.

111. Better than living a hundred years

Unwise, unconcentrated,

Is living for one day

Wise, a meditator.

112. Better than living a hundred years

Lazy, without effort,

Is living for one day

Steadfastly making effort.

113. Better than living a hundred years

Not seeing arising and passing away

Is living for one day

Seeing arising and passing away.

114. Better than living a hundred years

Not seeing the deathless state

Is living for one day

Seeing the deathless state.

115. Better than living a hundred years

Not seeing the supreme Dhamma

Is living for one day

Seeing the supreme Dhamma.

CHAPTER 9

EVIL

(9.1–13)

116. Make haste in what is right;

Defend the mind from evil.

If you are slow in doing good,

Your mind will take delight in evil.

117. If a person does evil,

He should not do it repeatedly;

He should not set his will upon it:

It’s painful to accumulate evil.

118. If a person does good,

He should do it repeatedly;

He should set his will upon it:

It’s pleasant to accumulate good.

119. An evil person sees good

So long as the evil does not ripen;

But once the evil action ripens

The evil person sees evil.

120. A good person sees evil

So long as the good does not ripen;

But once the good action ripens

The good person sees good.

121. You should not think lightly of evil

(‘It will not come to me’).

By the falling of drops of water

A water-pot is filled;

The fool is filled with evil

Though he practise it little by little.

122. You should not think lightly of good

(‘It will not come to me’).

By the falling of drops of water

A water-pot is filled;

The wise one is filled with good

Though he practise it little by little.

123. As a merchant with a small caravan but great wealth

Would avoid a dangerous road,

As one wishing to live would avoid poison,

You should avoid evil actions.

124. If there is no wound in your hand

You can carry poison in your hand.

Poison does not attack one who is unwounded.

There is no evil for one who does not do evil.

125. The one who does harm to a harmless person

Who is pure and faultless,

Evil comes back to that one, the fool!

Like fine dust thrown into the wind.

126. Some find a womb;

Evil-doers go to hell;

Those who go well go to heaven;

Those free from defilements attain parinibbāna.

127. Not in the sky, nor in the middle of the ocean;

Not inside a mountain cave –

There is no place on earth where you can stand

And escape from evil action.

128. Not in the sky, nor in the middle of the ocean;

Not inside a mountain cave –

There is no place on earth where you can stand

Where death will not overcome you.

CHAPTER 10

THE ROD

(10.1–17)

129. All beings tremble at the rod;

All are afraid of death.

Seeing their likeness to yourself,

You should neither kill nor cause to kill.

130. All beings tremble at the rod;

Life is dear to all.

Seeing their likeness to yourself,

You should neither kill nor cause to kill.

131. The one who, desiring happiness for himself,

Harms with the rod

Beings who desire happiness

Will have no happiness hereafter.

132. The one who, desiring happiness for himself,

Does not harm with the rod

Beings who desire happiness

Will have happiness hereafter.

133. Do not speak harshly to anyone:

Those spoken to will answer back.

For angry speech is painful:

Retribution may reach you.

134. If, like a cracked gong,

You don’t let yourself make a noise,

You have attained nibbāna:

There is no arrogance in you.

135. Just as a cowherd with his rod

Drives his cattle to pasture,

Old age and death

End the lives of living things.

136. Now when a fool does evil,

He does not understand.

By his own actions the ignorant one

Is burnt as if by fire.

137. Whoever with the rod does harm

To rodless ones who do no harm

Will soon come to one or other

Of these ten states:

138. He’ll experience sharp pain, loss,

Bodily injury,

Serious disease,

Or disturbance of mind,

139. Trouble from the king,

Grave slander,

Loss of relatives,

Or destruction of goods;

140. Or else blazing fire

Will burn down his house.

On the breaking-up of the body,

That unwise one goes to hell.

141. Neither going naked, nor matted locks, nor mud,

Nor fasting, nor lying on the bare ground,

Nor dust, nor dirt, nor striving in squatting posture

Can purify the mortal who has not gone beyond doubt.

142. Even though you wear fine clothes, if you live peacefully,

Calmed, controlled, disciplined, living the holy life,

Laying aside the rod in dealing with all beings,

You are a Brahmin, a wanderer, a monk.

143. Is there any person in the world

Restrained by honour

Who avoids blame

As a thoroughbred horse avoids the whip?

144. Just like a thoroughbred horse touched by the whip,

Be energetic and swift.

By faith, morality and effort,

Concentration and investigation of dhammas,

Endowed with knowledge and conduct, mindful,

You will abandon this suffering, great though it is.

145. Irrigators lead the water;

Fletchers shape the arrow;

Carpenters shape the wood;

The true control themselves.

CHAPTER 11

OLD AGE

(11.1–11)

146. What’s the laughter, why the joy,

When the world is ever burning?

Plunged into darkness,

Won’t you look for a lamp?

147. See this painted shape –

A compound mass of sores,

Diseased, with many imaginings –

In which there’s no permanent abiding.

148. This form is worn out,

A nest of diseases, very frail.

This mass of decay will break down,

For life ends in death.

149. What delight is there, once you’ve seen

These dove-coloured bones

Cast away

Like gourds in autumn?

150. A city made of bones

Plastered with flesh and blood,

In which lurk old age and death,

Pride and hypocrisy!

151. Even finely painted royal chariots wear out:

Just so the body grows old.

The Dhamma of the good does not grow old.

Indeed, the good make it known to the good.

152. A person of little knowledge

Grows old as a plough-ox grows old.

His flesh increases:

His wisdom does not increase.

153. I wandered without respite

A journey of many births,

Seeking the house-builder.

Painful is birth again and again.

154. House-builder, I have seen you:

You shall not build a house again.

All your rafters are broken:

Your ridge-pole is destroyed.

The mind, freed from conditioned things,

Has reached the end of cravings.

155. Those who have not practised the holy life,

Who have not gained wealth in youth,

Waste away like old herons

At a pond that has lost its fish.

156. Those who have not practised the holy life,

Who have not gained wealth in youth,

Lie like wasted arrows,

Lamenting for things past.

CHAPTER 12

SELF

(12.1–10)

157. If you hold yourself dear

You should keep yourself well guarded.

A wise one should keep awake

During one or other of the three watches.

158. First he should establish himself

In what is proper,

And then teach another:

That way a wise one will not be defiled.

159. You should do yourself

As you teach another;

Well tamed, tame others –

For self, they say, is hard to tame.

160. Self is protector of self:

What other protector could there be?

With your self well tamed

You find a protector who’s hard to find.

161. By self evil is done:

It is born of self, arisen from self.

It crushes the ignorant

As a thunderbolt crushes a gemstone.

162. The one whose extreme bad conduct spreads over him

Like a māluvā creeper over a sal tree

Does to himself

What an enemy would like to do.

163. Things that are wrong and bad for you

Are easy to do;

What is both good for you and right

Is most difficult to do.

164. The unwise one who,

Because of wrong view,

Reviles the teaching of the Arahats,

The Noble Ones who live by Dhamma,

Ripens only to his own destruction

Like the fruit of the bamboo.

165. By self alone evil is done;

By self one is defiled.

By self evil is not done;

By self one is purified.

Purity and impurity are individual matters:

No one can purify another.

166. You should not neglect your own benefit

For another’s benefit, great though it be.

Understanding your own benefit,

You should pursue your own benefit.

CHAPTER 13

THE WORLD

(13.1–12)

167. You shouldn’t follow a lesser Dhamma

Or live in unawareness.

You shouldn’t follow wrong views

Or be attached to the world.

168. You should stand up, be aware,

Practise the Dhamma well.

One who practises the Dhamma sleeps happily

In this world and the next.

169. You should practise the Dhamma well,

Not practise it badly.

One who practises the Dhamma sleeps happily

In this world and the next.

170. You should see the world

As a bubble, a mirage.

If you look on it like this

The King of Death can’t see you.

171. Come, see this world

Like a painted royal chariot.

Where the foolish sink down,

The wise have no attachment.

172. But whoever was unaware before

And afterwards becomes aware

Illuminates this world

Like the moon freed from a cloud.

173. Whoever has done an evil deed

But covers it with a virtuous one

Illuminates this world

Like the moon freed from a cloud.

174. This world has gone blind:

Few here see.

The rare one makes for heaven,

Like a bird freed from a net.

175. Geese go by the sun’s path;

Mages go through the sky.

Conquering Māra with his army,

The wise go forth from the world.

176. If a person speaks falsely,

Though he transgresses just one dhamma,

There is no evil he won’t do,

Rejecting the other world.

177. Misers don’t go to the world of the gods –

Indeed, fools don’t praise giving.

But the wise one, sharing the joy of giving,

Through that becomes happy in the other world.

178. Better than sole rulership of the earth,

Or going to heaven,

Or lordship over all the worlds

Is the fruit of Stream-Entry.

CHAPTER 14

THE BUDDHA

(14.1–18)

179. The one whose victory cannot be undone,

Whose victory does not go anywhere in the world –

By what path will you lead him,

The trackless Buddha of infinite range?

180. The one for whom there is no attachment, with its net,

No craving to lead him anywhere –

By what path will you lead him,

The trackless Buddha of infinite range?

181. Even the gods envy

The mindful Fully Awakened Ones,

Who are wise, intent on meditation,

Delighting in the calm of non-attachment.

182. Hard to reach is the human state,

Hard the life of mortals.

It’s hard to hear the true Dhamma,

Hard for Buddhas to arise.

183. Not to do any evil;

To undertake what is good;

To purify your own mind:

This is the teaching of the Buddhas.

184. Patience, endurance, is the highest asceticism;

Nibbāna, say the Buddhas, is supreme.

One who harms others is no renouncer;

Injuring others, one is no true wanderer.

185. Not blaming, not harming,

Restraint in the monastic rule,

Knowing moderation in eating,

Secluded lodging,

Exertion in higher thought:

This is the teaching of the Buddhas.

186. ‘Not by a rain of gold pieces

Is satisfaction found in sense-pleasures.

Sense-pleasures are painful and have little sweetness’:

Knowing this, the wise one

187. Takes no delight in sense-pleasures,

Even heavenly ones:

The disciple of the Fully Awakened

Delights in the destruction of craving.

188. People struck by fear

Seek many kinds of refuge:

Mountains and woods,

Groves, trees and shrines.

189. This is not the safe refuge;

This is not the supreme refuge.

Not by going to this refuge

Are you freed from all suffering.

190. But the one who has gone for refuge

To the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha

Sees with right wisdom

The Four Noble Truths:

191. Suffering, the arising of suffering,

The overcoming of suffering,

And the Noble Eightfold Path

Which leads to the ceasing of suffering.

192. This is the safe refuge;

This is the supreme refuge.

By going to this refuge

You are freed from all suffering.

193. A thoroughbred man is hard to find:

He’s not born just anywhere.

The family in which that steadfast one is born

Prospers happily.

194. Happy is the arising of Buddhas,

Happy the teaching of the true Dhamma,

Happy the unity of the Saṅgha,

Happy the asceticism of the united ones.

195. If you honour those worthy of honour –

Whether Buddhas or their disciples –

Who have gone right beyond proliferation

And crossed over grief and lamentation;

196. If you honour ones like that,

Who have attained nibbāna and are afraid of nothing,

It is not possible for your merit

To be measured by anyone – so great it is.

CHAPTER 15

HAPPINESS

(15.1–12)

197. Ah, how happily we live,

Without hatred among those who hate!

Without hatred we dwell

Among people who hate.

198. Ah, how happily we live,

Healthy among the sick!

Healthy we dwell

Among people who are sick.

199. Ah, how happily we live,

Carefree among the careworn!

Carefree we dwell

Among people who are careworn.

200. Ah, how happily we live,

We who own nothing!

We shall feast upon joy

Like the Radiant Gods.

201. The victor breeds hatred;

The defeated sleeps in pain.

The calmed one sleeps happily,

Leaving behind victory and defeat.

202. There is no fire like passion,

No fault like quarrelling,

No pain like the aggregates,

No happiness greater than peace.

203. Hunger is the worst disease,

Conditioned things the greatest grief:

When you know this truly,

Nibbāna is the greatest happiness.

204. Health is the best possession,

Contentment the greatest wealth;

Trust is what makes the truest kin;

Nibbāna is the greatest happiness.

205. Savouring the taste of solitude

And the taste of calm

You become free of fear and free of evil,

Savouring the taste of joy in the Dhamma.

206. It’s good to see the Noble Ones,

Ever pleasant to live with them:

If you never see a fool

You’ll always be happy.

207. The one who keeps company with fools

Will be sorry for a long time.

It’s painful to live with fools,

Like being always with an enemy.

But a wise man is pleasant to live with,

Like meeting your kin.

So:

208. If someone is steadfast, intelligent and learned,

Patient under his burden, true to his word, noble,

Keep company with such a good, wise man

As the moon keeps to the zodiac path.

CHAPTER 16

THE DEAR

(16.1–12)

209. If you apply yourself to distraction

And not to concentration,

If you abandon the goal – clinging to what’s dear –

You’ll envy the one who applies himself to the goal.

210. Never associate with those who are dear

Or with those who are not dear.

Not seeing dear ones is painful,

And so is seeing those not dear.

211. So don’t hold anything dear,

For losing what’s dear is an evil:

There are no ties for those

To whom nothing is dear or not dear.

212. From the dear comes grief;

From the dear comes fear.

If you’re freed from the dear

You’ll have no grief, let alone fear.

213. From affection comes grief;

From affection comes fear.

If you’re freed from affection

You’ll have no grief, let alone fear.

214. From pleasure comes grief;

From pleasure comes fear.

If you’re freed from pleasure

You’ll have no grief, let alone fear.

215. From desire comes grief;

From desire comes fear.

If you’re freed from desire

You’ll have no grief, let alone fear.

216. From craving comes grief;

From craving comes fear.

If you’re freed from craving

You’ll have no grief, let alone fear.

217. The one who’s endowed with good character and insight,

Who’s firm in the Dhamma, a truth-speaker,

Who does his own work –

Folk will hold him dear.

218. The one who has aroused a wish for the Undeclared

Should be filled with that consciousness,

His mind not bound to sense-pleasures.

Then he’s said to be ‘heading upstream’.

219. When a man who has been long abroad

Comes safe from far away,

His friends, relations and well-wishers

Welcome him on his arrival.

220. Just so, when someone who has done good actions

Goes from this world to the next,

His good actions receive him as relatives receive

A dear one on his arrival.

CHAPTER 17

ANGER

(17.1–14)

221. You should give up anger, abandon pride,

Go beyond all fetters.

If you do not cling to name and form,

Possessing nothing, sorrows cannot attack you.

222. The one who controls anger that’s arisen

Like a chariot going off-course

I call a charioteer.

Other folk are merely rein-holders.

223. By freedom from anger you should conquer anger,

By good conquer what is not good,

By giving conquer miserliness,

By truth the teller of lies.

224. You should tell the truth, not get angry,

Give when asked, even if there’s not much:

By these three practices

You will go among the gods.

225. Those sages who abstain from harm,

Ever restrained in body,

Go to the imperishable state,

Where those who go don’t grieve.

226. In those who are ever wakeful,

Learning by day and night,

Committed to nibbāna,

The defilements go to rest.

227. This is an ancient truth, Atula,

Not just for today:

Folk blame the one who sits silent;

They blame the one who says a lot;

They blame the one who says little, too –

No one in this world is not blamed.

228. There never was, there never will be,

Nor is there found today

A person who is altogether blamed

Or altogether praised.

229. But the one whom the wise praise

When they’ve observed him day after day,

One of flawless conduct, wise,

Endowed with wisdom and morality –

230. Who would dare to blame him,

An ornament of new gold?

Him the gods, too, praise:

He is praised even by Brahmā.

231. You should guard against anger in the body;

You should be restrained in body.

Giving up misconduct of the body,

You should practise good conduct with the body.

232. You should guard against anger in speech;

You should be restrained in speech.

Giving up misconduct of speech,

You should practise good conduct with speech.

233. You should guard against anger in the mind;

You should be restrained in mind.

Giving up misconduct in the mind,

You should practise good conduct with the mind.

234. The wise are restrained in body,

Restrained in speech as well.

The wise are restrained in mind.

Indeed, they are thoroughly restrained.

CHAPTER 18

RUST

(18.1–21)

235. Now you are like a withered leaf.

Yama’s servants wait on you.

You stand at the start of an undertaking,

And you’ve no provision for your journey.

236. So make an island for yourself.

Strive quickly: become wise.

With rust blown away, stainless,

You will go to the Noble Ones’ celestial land.

237. Now you have reached old age.

You are on your way to meet Yama.

There’s no lodging for you on the way,

And you’ve no provision for your journey.

238. So make an island for yourself.

Strive quickly: become wise.

With rust blown away, stainless,

You will not go to birth and old age again.

239. Gradually, little by little,

Moment by moment, the wise one

Should blow away his own impurity

As a smith does that of silver.

240. As rust that’s arisen from iron,

Once arisen from it, eats it away,

His own actions lead to an evil destination

The one who misuses the requisites.

241. For texts, not practising is the rust;

For houses, lack of exertion.

Laziness is the rust of beauty;

Unawareness the rust of a guard.

242. The rust of a woman is misconduct;

Miserliness is the rust of a giver.

All evil ways are rusts,

In this world and the next.

243. A worse rust than this rust

Is ignorance, the worst rust.

Get rid of this rust

And be rustless, monks.

244. It’s easy to live like a shameless person,

A crow-hero,

Offensive, presumptuous,

Proud and corrupt.

245. But it’s hard to live like a modest person,

Always seeking what’s pure,

Sincere, not proud,

Of pure life, insightful.

246. Whoever in this world

Takes life, speaks falsehood,

Takes what is not given,

Resorts to another’s wife,

247. And whatever man

Gives himself up to strong drink,

By doing that he digs up his own root,

Right here, in this world.

248. Know this, my friend:

Evil states are unrestrained.

May greed and wrongdoing

Not deliver you to long suffering.

249. Indeed, people give according to

Their faith, to their clarity of mind.

Whoever is discontented about this,

About the food and drink of others,

Does not, day or night,

Achieve concentration.

250. But the one in whom this is cut off,

Pulled up, root and all,

Day or night

Achieves concentration.

251. There is no fire like passion,

No grip like hate,

No net like delusion,

No river like craving.

252. Others’ faults are easy to see,

While your own are hard to see.

The faults of others

You winnow like chaff;

You hide your own

As a cunning gambler hides a bad throw.

253. If you contemplate the faults of others,

Always seeking cause for offence,

Your defilements increase:

You’re far from the destruction of the defilements.

254. In the sky there is no track;

Outside the Order there is no true wanderer.

Folk delight in proliferation;

Tathāgatas are free from proliferation.

255. In the sky there is no track;

Outside the Order there is no true wanderer.

Conditioned things are not eternal;

In the Buddhas there is no disturbance.

CHAPTER 19

THE JUST

(19.1–17)

256. Someone is not a justice

Because he tries a case in haste:

The learned one, who looks into

What’s the case and not the case,

257. Who not hastily but justly,

Fairly, leads others –

Protected by the Dhamma, the wise one

Is called a justice.

258. Someone is not learned

Because he talks a lot:

One who’s patient, free from hatred and fear,

Is called learned.

259. Someone is not a Dhamma-bearer

Because he talks a lot:

If someone hears just a little

But experiences the Dhamma with his body,

He indeed is a Dhamma-bearer –

One who isn’t careless of the Dhamma.

260. Someone is not an Elder

Because his hair is grey.

He’s just had a long life.

He’s called ‘grown old in vain’.

261. If truth and Dhamma are in someone,

Non-violence, self-restraint and control,

Then, steadfast and free of defilements,

He indeed is called an Elder.

262. A man does not become fine

Merely through speaking fine words

Or through his attractive appearance

If he’s a jealous, grasping rogue.

263. But the one in whom this is cut off,

Pulled up, root and all –

That wise one, free from fault,

Is called fine indeed.

264. Someone doesn’t become a wanderer by shaving his head

If he’s undisciplined and tells lies.

How can he be a wanderer

If he’s full of desire and greed?

265. But if he lays evils to rest,

Small ones and great, completely,

Because he’s laid evils to rest

He’s called a wanderer.

266. Someone does not become a monk

Just because he begs alms from others;

If he takes on the household way of life,

He’s not a monk, for all that.

267. The one who, living the holy life,

Wards off both good and evil,

And moves in the world with consideration,

Is called a monk indeed.

268. Not by silence does someone become a sage

If he’s foolish and ignorant.

A wise one who, as though holding scales,

Takes up the better choice

269. And avoids evil – he’s a sage:

He’s a sage because of that.

If he understands both in the world,

He’s called a sage because of that.

270. Someone does not become noble

By harming living things.

Through not harming any living things

He is called noble.

271. Not through precepts and observances alone,

Nor yet by much learning,

Or attainment of concentration,

Or dwelling in seclusion,

272. Do I reach the happiness of freedom from desire

Not experienced by worldly folk;

Nor has a monk attained confidence

If he has not achieved the destruction of the defilements.

CHAPTER 20

THE PATH

(20.1–17)

273. The Eightfold Path is the best of paths,

The Four Sayings the best of truths,

Freedom from passion the best of states,

The Seer the best of two-footed beings.

274. This is the path – there is no other –

For the purification of seeing.

Enter upon this one:

This is the thwarting of Māra.

275. If you enter upon this path,

You’ll make an end of suffering –

The path I taught you

Once I’d understood the easing of darts.

276. You have to make the effort:

The Tathāgatas are the teachers.

Meditators who enter upon the path

Are freed from Māra’s bonds.

277. ‘All conditioned things are impermanent.’

When by wisdom you see this,

You grow weary of suffering.

This is the path to purity.

278. ‘All conditioned things are suffering.’

When by wisdom you see this,

You grow weary of suffering.

This is the path to purity.

279. ‘All dhammas are without self.’

When by wisdom you see this,

You grow weary of suffering.

This is the path to purity.

280. If at the time for striving he does not strive,

Gives in to lethargy though young and strong,

That idle, lazy man, with lowered thoughts and mind,

Does not by wisdom discover the path.

281. Guarding your speech, restrained in mind

And body too, you should do no unskilful act.

Purifying these three ways of action,

You’ll reach the path taught by the sages.

282. From practice arises wisdom;

From not practising, decrease of wisdom.

Knowing this twofold path

Leading to gain and loss,

You should establish yourself in such a way

That your wisdom increases.

283. Cut down the wood, not the tree.

From the wood arises danger.

Cut down wood and brushwood

And be free from the wood, monks.

284. As long as any tiny bit of brushwood

Of a man towards women is not cut down,

He has a mind in bondage,

Like a sucking calf towards its mother.

285. Cut off affection towards yourself

As you’d pluck an autumn lily with your hand.

Develop the path to peace,

The nibbāna taught by the Well-Gone.

286. ‘I’ll live here in the rainy season,

Here in the winter and summer,’

The fool thinks:

He does not see his danger.

287. If a man’s intoxicated by sons and cattle,

His mind attached to this and that,

Death carries him away

As a great flood takes a sleeping village.

288. Sons cannot protect you,

Nor father, nor any relatives.

When you are assailed by the Ender

There’s no protection in your kin.

289. Knowing this for a fact,

The wise one, restrained by good conduct,

Should quickly clear

The path that leads to nibbāna.

CHAPTER 21

MISCELLANEOUS

(21.1–16)

290. If, by giving up happiness from material things,

He might see a great happiness,

A wise man, looking to the great happiness,

Would give up happiness from material things.

291. If you seek your own happiness

By causing pain to others,

Then, caught up in attachment to hatred,

You won’t be freed from hatred.

292. For what should be done is cast aside,

But what should not be done is done.

In those who are arrogant and unaware

The defilements increase.

293. But for those in whom mindfulness of body

Is ever rightly undertaken,

Who do not practise what should not be done,

Who persevere in what should be done,

Who are mindful and wise,

The defilements go to rest.

294. After killing mother and father

And two royal kings

And destroying a kingdom with its tax-gatherers,

The Brahmin walks unharmed.

295. After killing mother and father

And two Brahmin kings

And destroying a tiger-man as fifth,

The Brahmin walks unharmed.

296. Gotama’s disciples

Are always wide awake:

Both day and night they are ever

Mindful of the Buddha.

297. Gotama’s disciples

Are always wide awake:

Both day and night they are ever

Mindful of the Dhamma.

298. Gotama’s disciples

Are always wide awake:

Both day and night they are ever

Mindful of the Saṅgha.

299. Gotama’s disciples

Are always wide awake:

Both day and night they are ever

Mindful of the body.

300. Gotama’s disciples

Are always wide awake:

Both day and night their minds

Delight in non-violence.

301. Gotama’s disciples

Are always wide awake:

Both day and night their minds

Delight in meditation.

302. It’s hard to go forth, hard to find pleasure;

Houses are hard to live in and painful;

It’s painful to live with people who are different;

The wayfarer is beset with suffering.

So you shouldn’t be a wayfarer,

And you won’t be beset with suffering.

303. One who is faithful, endowed with good conduct,

Who has attained fame and wealth,

Whatever country he goes to

He is honoured there.

304. Though far away, the good shine out

Like Mount Himavat.

The bad are not seen even here,

Like arrows shot by night.

305. One who sits alone, sleeps alone,

Walks alone unwearying,

Alone controls himself,

Will find pleasure in the forest.

CHAPTER 22

HELLS

(22.1–14)

306. The one who says what is not goes to a hell world;

So does the one who does something and says he doesn’t.

Both these, when they die, become equal

Men of low conduct, in the other world.

307. Many with the yellow robe on their backs

Are of evil character and uncontrolled.

Through their evil actions, the evil

Are reborn in a hell world.

308. Better to eat a ball of iron

Hot as flames of fire

Than to eat the alms of the kingdom

While immoral and uncontrolled.

309. Four things happen to the reckless man

Who goes with the wife of another:

Ill fortune earned; disturbed sleep;

Third, blame; and fourth, a hell world –

310. Ill fortune earned, and an evil destination:

Small pleasure for frightened man with frightened woman –

And the king imposes a heavy punishment.

So a man shouldn’t go with the wife of another.

311. Just as kusa grass, when wrongly grasped,

Cuts your hand,

The wanderer’s life, wrongly undertaken,

Drags you to a hell world.

312. Any action that’s slack,

Any vow that’s defiled,

Any spiritual practice that’s doubtful

Doesn’t bear much fruit.

313. If it needs doing, do it;

Undertake it steadfastly –

For a slack ascetic

Just scatters more dust on himself.

314. A bad deed is better not done –

You repent a bad deed afterwards.

A good deed is better done –

One you won’t repent when you’ve done it.

315. Guard yourselves

Like a border city,

Guarded inside and out.

Don’t let the moment escape you.

Those who miss the moment regret it

When they’re consigned to a hell world.

316. They are ashamed of what is not shameful

And not ashamed of what is shameful:

From taking up wrong views

Beings go to to a bad destination.

317. Seeing danger where there is no danger

And not seeing danger where danger exists,

From taking up wrong views

Beings go to a bad destination.

318. Imagining fault where there is no fault

And not seeing fault where fault exists,

From taking up wrong views

Beings go to a bad destination.

319. But perceiving fault where fault exists

And no fault where there is no fault,

From taking up right views

Beings go to a good destination.

CHAPTER 23

THE ELEPHANT

(23.1–14)

320. Just as an elephant in battle

Endures arrows shot from the bow

I will endure abusive speech –

For people in general are ill behaved.

321. Folk take the tamed one into battle;

The king mounts the tamed one.

The tamed one, who endures abusive speech,

Is the best among human beings.

322. Fine are tamed mules

And thoroughbreds from Sindh

And great tusker elephants;

But the self-tamed is finer than these.

323. Not by these mounts

Can you go to the place where none has gone

As you’ll go by a well-tamed self,

Tamed by means of tamed.

324. The tusker called Dhanapālaka

Hard to control, exuding pungent must,

Eats not a morsel in captivity.

The tusker remembers the elephant-forest.

325. While he is lazy, gluttonous,

A sleeper, rolling about as he lies,

Like a great boar fed on grain,

The fool comes to a womb again and again.

326. Once this mind roamed about

As it wished, as it wanted, as it liked.

Today I will control it properly

As a mahout controls an elephant in must.

327. Take delight in awareness:

Guard your own minds.

Lift yourselves out of the bad road

Like the tusker sunk in the mud.

328. If you find a skilful companion

Who walks with you, well behaved and wise,

You should walk with him, joyful and mindful,

Overcoming all dangers.

329. If you don’t find a skilful companion

Who walks with you, well behaved and wise,

Then, like a king leaving conquered territory,

You should walk alone, like an elephant in an elephant-forest.

330. It’s better to walk alone:

There’s no companionship with fools.

You should walk alone and do no evil,

With few wants, like an elephant in an elephant-forest.

331. When need arises, companions are pleasant;

Pleasant is contentment with this and that;

At life’s end, merit is pleasant;

Pleasant is the abandoning of all suffering.

332. Pleasant in the world is caring for your mother;

Pleasant, too, caring for your father;

Pleasant in the world is caring for wanderers;

Pleasant, too, caring for Brahmins.

333. Pleasant is good conduct continued to old age;

Pleasant is firm faith;

Pleasant is the winning of wisdom;

Pleasant is not doing evil.

CHAPTER 24

CRAVING

(24.1–26)

334. If a person walks unaware

His craving grows like a māluvā creeper.

He jumps hither and thither

Like a monkey seeking fruit in a wood.

335. If someone is overpowered

By this fierce craving, the clinging to the world,

His sorrows increase

Like bīraṇa grass after rain.

336. But if someone overpowers

This fierce craving, hard to overcome in the world,

His sorrows fall away from him

Like a water-drop from a lotus.

337. So I say to you, venerable sirs,

As many as are met together here:

Dig up the root of craving

As one seeking the usira root digs up bīraṇa grass.

Don’t let Māra break you,

As a flood breaks a reed, again and again.

338. Just as a tree, if its root is undamaged and firm,

Even when cut down, grows again,

So, when the tendency to craving is not rooted out,

Suffering springs up again and again.

339. If the thirty-six streams that flow towards enchanting things

Are strong in someone,

Floods, imaginings of passion,

Carry off that person of wrong views.

340. The streams ever flow,

The creeper sprouts and stands tall.

When you see that the creeper has grown up,

Cut out its root with wisdom.

341. For a person, there are wide-flowing

And lovely delights.

Those folk who depend on pleasure, seekers of happiness,

Undergo birth and old age.

342. Those who are subject to craving

Crawl around like a trapped hare.

Bound by fetters and bonds, for a long time

They undergo suffering again and again.

343. Those who are subject to craving

Crawl around like a trapped hare.

So a monk should put away craving

If he desires his own freedom from passion.

344. Come, see the man

Who, without brushwood, and committed to the wood,

Freed from the wood, runs back to the wood!

Though freed, he runs back to his bonds.

345. That’s not a strong bond, say the wise,

One made of iron, wood or rope.

The longing for jewelled earrings,

Affection for children and wives –

346. This is a strong bond, say the wise,

Heavy, hard to escape for the slack.

But, cutting even this, folk go forth, without longing,

Leaving sensual pleasure behind.

347. Those who are attached to passion follow a stream

They have made for themselves, as a spider follows its web.

But, cutting even this, the wise go on, without longing,

Leaving all suffering behind.

348. Let go what’s before, let go what’s after,

Let go what’s in the middle: cross to the other shore!

With your mind freed on all fronts,

You won’t come to birth and old age again.

349. If a person is churned up by thoughts

Of strong passion, dwelling on the fair,

His craving grows yet more:

He makes the bond strong.

350. But the one who delights in calming his thoughts –

Who, ever mindful, contemplates the foul –

He will finish it.

He will cut Māra’s bond.

351. The one who has reached the goal, fearless,

Without craving, flawless,

Has cut out the darts of existence.

This accumulation is his last.

352. The one without craving, without clinging,

Skilled in etymology and words,

Who knows the order of letters

And what comes before and after:

He, with his last body,

Is very wise, a great person –

So he is called.

353. All-conquering, all-knowing am I,

Undefiled among all dhammas,

All-renouncing, released through the destruction of craving.

I myself have understood, so to whom should I point as teacher?

354. The gift of Dhamma conquers all gifts;

The flavour of Dhamma conquers all flavours;

The pleasure of Dhamma conquers all pleasures;

The destruction of craving conquers all suffering.

355. Riches destroy the fool,

But not the one who seeks the other shore.

Through craving for riches, the fool

Destroys himself as he does others.

356. Fields are spoiled by weeds;

These folk are spoiled by passion –

So a gift to those without passion

Bears great fruit.

357. Fields are spoiled by weeds;

These folk are spoiled by hatred –

So a gift to those without hatred

Bears great fruit.

358. Fields are spoiled by weeds;

These folk are spoiled by delusion –

So a gift to those without delusion

Bears great fruit.

359. Fields are spoiled by weeds;

These folk are spoiled by desire –

So a gift to those without desire

Bears great fruit.

CHAPTER 25

THE MONK

(25.1–23)

360. Restraint of the eye is good;

Good is restraint of the ear;

Restraint of the nose is good;

Good is restraint of the tongue;

361. Restraint of the body is good;

Good is restraint of speech;

Restraint of mind is good;

Good is restraint all round.

Restrained all round, a monk

Is freed from all suffering.

362. Restrained of hand, restrained of foot,

Restrained of speech, best of restrained ones,

Delighting inwardly, concentrated,

Alone, contented – that one they call a monk.

363. The monk who is restrained of mouth,

A gentle speaker, not puffed up,

Who illuminates the meaning and the Dhamma –

His speech is sweet.

364. Dwelling in Dhamma, delighting in Dhamma,

Contemplating Dhamma,

Mindful of Dhamma, a monk

Does not abandon the true Dhamma.

365. You should not despise your own gains,

Nor live envying those of others.

Envying others’ gains, a monk

Does not attain concentration.

366. If a monk, even with small gains,

Does not despise his own gains,

Him the gods praise

As one of pure livelihood, unwearied.

367. One who has no possessiveness at all

In regard to name or form,

And does not grieve for what is not,

He is called a monk.

368. The monk who dwells in loving kindness,

Confident in the Buddha’s teaching,

Attains the peaceful state,

The blissful stilling of conditioned things.

369. Monk, bail out this boat!

Once bailed, it will go lightly for you.

Cutting off both passion and hatred,

You will go to nibbāna.

370. Cut off five, give up five,

Develop five to the highest.

The monk who has gone beyond the five bonds

Is called ‘crosser of the flood’.

371. Monk, meditate! Don’t be unaware.

Don’t let your mind wander in the strand of sense-pleasure.

Don’t recklessly swallow an iron ball.

Don’t, as you burn, cry, ‘This is suffering!’

372. There’s no meditation in one without wisdom,

Or wisdom in one who doesn’t meditate.

The one in whom are both meditation and wisdom

Is close to nibbāna.

373. The monk who with calm mind

Has entered an empty house,

Who has right insight into dhammas,

Has joy beyond the human.

374. Whenever he contemplates

The arising and passing away of the aggregates

He gains joy and happiness.

That is the ‘deathless’ for those who know.

375. So this is how the wise monk

Can make a beginning here:

Guarding of the senses, contentment,

Restraint in the monastic rule.

Find friends who are good for you,

Of pure livelihood, unwearied.

376. You should have generous habits,

Be skilled in good conduct.

Then, rich in happiness,

You’ll make an end of suffering.

377. As the jasmine sheds

Its withered blossoms,

You should let go

Of passion and hatred, monks.

378. Peaceful in body, peaceful in speech,

Peaceful in mind, concentrated,

A monk who has rejected the world’s meat

Is called ‘at peace’.

379. By self urge on yourself;

By self examine yourself.

Then, self-guarded and mindful,

You’ll live happily, monk.

380. For self is the lord of self;

Self is the refuge of self.

So control yourself

As a merchant controls a fine horse.

381. The monk who’s rich in happiness,

Confident in the Buddha’s teaching,

Attains the peaceful state,

The blissful stilling of conditioned things.

382. The monk who, while still young,

Applies himself to the Buddha’s teaching

Illuminates this world

Like the moon freed from a cloud.

CHAPTER 26

THE BRAHMIN

(26.1–41)

383. Strive, and cut across the stream;

Drive away sense-pleasures, Brahmin.

Knowing the destruction of conditioned things,

You’ll know the unmade, Brahmin.

384. When, among twofold states,

A Brahmin goes to the other shore,

Then, once he knows,

All fetters go to rest.

385. The one for whom there is neither

The far shore, nor the near shore, nor both the far and near shores,

Free of fear, unfettered,

Him I call a Brahmin.

386. The one who sits meditative, free from stain,

Whose task is done, who’s free from defilement,

Who has reached the supreme goal,

Him I call a Brahmin.

387. By day, the sun shines;

By night, the moon gleams;

In his armour, the warrior shines;

Meditating, the Brahmin shines;

But ever, night and day,

The Buddha shines with his radiance.

388. One’s called ‘Brahmin’ for getting rid of evil;

One’s called ‘wanderer’ for equable conduct;

For getting rid of one’s own stain

One’s called ‘renouncer’.

389. A Brahmin should not strike a Brahmin,

Nor unleash his anger against him.

Shame on him who strikes a Brahmin!

More shame on him who unleashes his anger!

390. This is of no small benefit to a Brahmin,

To have restraint of mind about things that are dear.

The more the will to harm ceases,

The more is sorrow calmed.

391. The one who does no wrong

Through body, speech or mind,

Restrained in the three ways,

Him I call a Brahmin.

392. The one from whom you can learn the Dhamma

Taught by the Fully Awakened One

You should honour with reverence

As a Brahmin honours the sacrificial fire.

393. You don’t become a Brahmin

By matted locks, by lineage, or by caste:

The one in whom are truth and Dhamma,

He’s pure, and he’s a Brahmin.

394. Fool, what use are your matted locks,

Your antelope-skin garment?

There’s a mess inside you:

You clean the outside.

395. The person who wears clothes from a dust-heap,

Lean, a tracery of veins,

Meditating alone in the wood,

Him I call a Brahmin.

396. But I don’t call someone a Brahmin

Because he’s born of a Brahmin womb or mother:

If he owns anything

He’s just a man who says ‘good sir’.

One who owns nothing, without clinging,

Him I call a Brahmin.

397. One who has cut all fetters,

Who is unafraid,

Who has gone beyond bonds, unfettered,

Him I call a Brahmin.

398. One who’s cut the strap and the girth,

The thong with its attachments,

Who’s pushed up the door-bar, awakened,

Him I call a Brahmin.

399. One who, though innocent, endures

Abuse, beating and imprisonment,

Whose strength is patience, whose army is his strength,

Him I call a Brahmin.

400. One who’s not angry, keeping his vows,

Keeping morality, free from lust,

Tamed, bearing his last body,

Him I call a Brahmin.

401. One who doesn’t cling to sense-pleasures –

Like water on a lotus leaf,

Or a mustard seed on a needle’s point –

Him I call a Brahmin.

402. One who realizes here

The ending of his own suffering,

Who’s laid down the burden, unfettered,

Him I call a Brahmin.

403. One of deep understanding, wise,

Skilled in what is and what is not the way,

Who has reached the supreme goal,

Him I call a Brahmin.

404. One not mixing either

With householders or with homeless ones,

Living houseless, of few desires,

Him I call a Brahmin.

405. One who has laid down the rod

In dealing with beings, moving or still,

Who neither kills nor causes to kill,

Him I call a Brahmin.

406. One who is not hostile among the hostile,

At peace among those who wield the rod,

Unclinging among the clinging,

Him I call a Brahmin.

407. One from whom passion, ill will,

Pride and hypocrisy have been let drop

Like a mustard seed from a needle’s point,

Him I call a Brahmin.

408. One who utters speech that isn’t rough

But instructive and truthful

So that he offends no one,

Him I call a Brahmin.

409. One who in this world

Takes nothing that is not given,

Whether long or short, tiny or great, fair or foul,

Him I call a Brahmin.

410. One in whom no wishes are found

For this world or the next,

Without longing, unfettered,

Him I call a Brahmin.

411. One in whom no longings are found,

Who, through knowledge, has no doubts,

Plunged into the deathless, not arising again,

Him I call a Brahmin.

412. One who here has gone beyond both good and evil,

Both kinds of clinging,

Sorrowless, stainless, pure,

Him I call a Brahmin.

413. One who is stainless and pure as the moon,

Peaceful and untroubled,

With indulgence and existence exhausted,

Him I call a Brahmin.

414. One who has gone beyond this winding path, so hard to travel –

Saṃsāra, delusion –

Crossed over, passed beyond, a meditator,

Clear, free from doubt,

Who has attained nibbāna without clinging,

Him I call a Brahmin.

415. One who here gives up sense-desires

And wanders homeless,

With sense-desires and existence exhausted,

Him I call a Brahmin.

416. One who here gives up craving

And wanders homeless,

With craving and existence exhausted,

Him I call a Brahmin.

417. One who has given up human attachment

And gone beyond divine attachment,

Unfettered from all attachment,

Him I call a Brahmin.

418. One who has given up both pleasure and displeasure,

Who’s cooled, with no remnant of craving,

A hero who’s overcome the whole world,

Him I call a Brahmin.

419. One who knows in every way

The death of beings, and their arising,

Unattached, well gone, awakened,

Him I call a Brahmin.

420. One whose destination

Neither gods nor spirits nor human beings know,

With defilements exhausted, an Arahat,

Him I call a Brahmin.

421. One who owns nothing – before,

After, or in the middle –

Possessing nothing, without clinging,

Him I call a Brahmin.

422. The bull, the finest, the hero,

The great sage, the conqueror,

Desireless, bathed, awakened,

Him I call a Brahmin.

423. One who knows former abodes,

Sees heavens and hells,

Who has reached the end of births,

Sage perfect in knowledge,

Who has perfected all perfections,

Him I call a Brahmin.

SUMMARY VERSES

1.      ‘Twins’, ‘Awareness’, ‘The Mind’,

‘Flowers’ and ‘Fools’, ‘The Wise Man’,

‘The Arahat’ and ‘Thousands’,

‘Evil’ and ‘The Rod’ – these make ten.

2.      ‘Old Age’, both ‘Self’ and ‘The World’,

‘The Buddha’, ‘Happiness’ and ‘The Dear’,

‘Anger’ and ‘Rust’, ‘The Just’,

And the chapter on ‘The Path’ make twenty.

3.     ‘Miscellaneous’, ‘Hells’, ‘The Elephant’,

‘Craving’, ‘The Monk’ and ‘The Brahmin’:

These are the twenty-six chapters

Taught by the Kinsman of the Sun.

Appendix I
Extract from the Gāndhārī Dharmapada

From Chapter 1: The Brahmin

1.     You don’t become a Brahmin

By matted locks, by lineage, or by caste:

If you drive away evils on every side,

Small ones and great,

Through driving away evils

You are called a Brahmin.

2.     Fool, what use are your matted locks,

Your antelope-skin garment?

There’s a mess inside you:

You clean the outside.

3.     The one from whom you can learn the Dharma

Taught by the Fully Awakened One

You should honour with reverence

As a Brahmin honours the sacrificial fire.

4.     You don’t become a Brahmin by matted locks,

Nor by the three Vedas nor by traditional learning,

Nor by reverencing the fire,

Nor by plunging into water.

5.     The one who knows his previous abodes,

Sees heavens and hells,

Who has reached the end of births,

Is a sage, purified by higher knowledge.

6.     By these three knowledges

You become a Brahmin, a knower of the three Vedas:

Endowed with knowledge and conduct

You’re called a Brahmin.

7.     Endowed with the three knowledges,

Calmed, with future births destroyed,

Unattached to the whole world,

You’re called a Brahmin.

8.     By asceticism and the holy life,

Restraint and self-control,

You become a Brahmin.

This is the highest Brahminhood.

9.     Strive, and cut across the stream;

Drive away sense-pleasures, Brahmin.

Without getting rid of desires

No sage can attain oneness.

10.   Strive, and cut across the stream;

Drive away sense-pleasures, Brahmin.

Knowing the destruction of conditioned things,

You’ll know the unmade, Brahmin.

11.   A Brahmin should not strike a Brahmin,

Nor unleash his anger against him.

Shame on him who strikes a Brahmin!

More shame on him who unleashes his anger!

12.   After killing mother and father

And two royal kings

And destroying a kingdom with its tax-gatherers,

The Brahmin walks unharmed.

13.   After first killing the king

And then an entire assembly,

After killing an enemy with his army,

The Brahmin walks unharmed.

14.   When, among twofold states,

A Brahmin goes to the other shore,

Then, once he knows,

All fetters pass away.

15.   This is of no small benefit to a Brahmin,

To have restraint of mind towards things that are dear.

The more the mind turns away from these things,

The more is sorrow calmed.

16.   One’s called ‘Brahmin’ for getting rid of evil;

One’s called ‘wanderer’ for equable conduct;

For getting rid of one’s own stain

One’s called ‘renouncer’.

17.   But I don’t call someone a Brahmin

Because he’s born of a Brahmin womb or mother:

If he owns anything

He’s just a man who says ‘good sir’.

One who owns nothing, without clinging,

Him I call a Brahmin.

18.   One who has laid down the rod

In dealing with beings, moving or still,

Who neither kills nor causes to kill,

Him I call a Brahmin.

19.   One who in this world

Takes nothing that is not given,

Whether long or short, tiny or great, fair or foul,

Him I call a Brahmin.

20.   One who here gives up sense-desires

And wanders homeless,

With the enjoyment of sense-desires exhausted,

Him I call a Brahmin.

21.   One who doesn’t cling to sense-pleasures –

Like water on a lotus leaf,

Or a mustard seed on a needle’s point –

Him I call a Brahmin.

22.   One who utters speech that isn’t rough

But instructive and truthful

So that he offends no one,

Him I call a Brahmin.

23.   The one who does no wrong

Through body, speech or mind,

Restrained in the three ways,

Him I call a Brahmin.

24.   One perfectly calmed, ceased,

A gentle speaker, not puffed up,

Who illuminates the meaning and the Dharma,

Him I call a Brahmin.

25.   One perfectly calmed, ceased,

A gentle speaker, not puffed up,

Who has reached the supreme goal,

Him I call a Brahmin.

NOTES

Chapter 1 of the Khotan Manuscript of the Gāndhārī Dharmapada has the equivalent title to Pali Dhammapada Chapter 26, ‘The Brahmin’ (brammaṇa), and shares some of the same material. Both seek to redefine the Brahmin, attacking those who claim superiority merely on grounds of birth or traditional Brahmanical practices. The weight given to this topic throughout the Dharmapada literature suggests that this was a topic of great concern for early Buddhists. The Gāndhārī version of the chapter has fifty verses; here I translate the first twenty-five.

In what follows, I have noted where verses in the extract have close equivalents in the Pali Dhammapada. The symbol ‘=’ denotes that, apart from the normal sound-changes between Gāndhārī and Pali, the verses are identical. Where the verses are closely related but not identical, I have marked them as ‘equivalent’.

1.   For ll. 1–2, cf. Dhammapada 393. For ll. 3–6, cf. Dhammapada 265, but here the pun is on ‘Brahmin’ (brammaṇa) and ‘to drive away’ (brah-).

2.   Equivalent to Dhammapada 394.

3.   Equivalent to Dhammapada 392.

4.   three Vedas: In the original usage, the three Vedas are the most ancient part of Hindu scripture, comprising the Ṛgveda, Yajurveda and Sāmaveda, consisting respectively of hymns, ritual formulae, and chants, intended for use as part of the elaborate Brahmanical ritual. In v. 6, below, the concept is reinterpreted in a Buddhist sense.

5.   cf. ll. 1–4 of Dhammapada 423.
higher knowledge: abhiña (Pali abhiññā).

6.   You become … You’re called: Literally, ‘One becomes … One’s called’. Endowed with knowledge and conduct: cf. Dhammapada 144 and note.

8.   the holy life: brammayirya – equivalent to Sanskrit brahmacarya, Pali brahmacariya.

9.   For the first two pādas cf. Dhammapada 383.

10. Here the ‘you’ is literal: the Buddha is addressing a particular person.

11. = Dhammapada 389.

12. = Dhammapada 294. For the symbolism, see notes there.

13. Presumably the enemy is Māra, and the ‘assembly’ and the ‘army’ his followers, the various defilements of the mind.

14. = Dhammapada 384.

15. Equivalent to Dhammapada 390, and probably representing its earlier (and more comprehensible) form.

16. = Dhammapada 388.

17. = Dhammapada 396.

18. = Dhammapada 405.

19. = Dhammapada 409.

20. enjoyment of sense-desires: Or perhaps ‘sense-desires and enjoyment’. Equivalent to Dhammapada 415, with kama-bhoka-parikṣiṇa in place of kāma-bhava-parikkhīṇaṃ.

21. = Dhammapada 401.

22. = Dhammapada 408.

23. = Dhammapada 391.

24. Pādas b and c as Dhammapada 363.

25. Pādas b and c as Dhammapada 363; pādas c and d as Dhammapada 386 and 403.

Appendix II
Extract from the Patna Dharmapada

Chapter 22: The Snake

398. The monk who, like one looking for blossom on fig trees,

Has found no substance in states of being

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

399. The monk who controls passion that’s arisen

As you’d treat with antidotes snake-venom that’s spread through the body

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

400. The monk who controls ill will that’s arisen

As you’d treat with antidotes snake-venom that’s spread through the body

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

401. The monk who controls delusion that’s arisen

As you’d treat with antidotes snake-venom that’s spread through the body

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

402. The monk who controls anger that’s arisen

As you’d treat with antidotes snake-venom that’s spread through the body

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

403. The monk who controls pride that’s arisen

As you’d treat with antidotes snake-venom that’s spread through the body

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

404. The monk who has cut off passion completely

As you’d plunge in and pluck a lake-growing lotus flower

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

405. The monk who has cut off ill will completely

As you’d plunge in and pluck a lake-growing lotus flower

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

406. The monk who has cut off delusion completely

As you’d plunge in and pluck a lake-growing lotus flower

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

407. The monk who has cut off anger completely

As you’d plunge in and pluck a lake-growing lotus flower

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

408. The monk who has cut off pride completely

As you’d plunge in and pluck a lake-growing lotus flower

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

409. The monk who has cut off passion completely

As you’d cut bonds, fetters of kuśa grass,

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

410. The monk who has cut off craving completely,

Drying up the swift-flowing river,

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

411. The monk who has neither gone too far nor fallen short,

Who has gone beyond this realm of proliferation,

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

412. The monk who has neither gone too far nor fallen short,

Who knows all this is a thing of lies, a falsehood,

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

413. The monk who has no desires

That can act as causes to bind him to existence

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

414. The monk who has no fears,

Whose unwholesome roots have all been dug up,

Leaves behind this shore and the other shore

As a snake sloughs its old, worn-out skin.

NOTES

This is the last chapter of the Patna Dharmapada. Its title is missing in the manuscript, but in view of the refrain (passim) and the mention of snake-venom (vv. 399–403), Roth’s reconstruction (1980) of the title as Uraga, ‘Snake’, is surely correct.

Verses with his refrain were clearly very popular. Although they are not included in the Pali Dhammapada, another Khuddaka Nikāya text, the Sutta Nipāta, begins with an Uraga Sutta, consisting of seventeen such verses. The Khotan version of the Gāndhārī Dharmapada has ten as part of its second chapter, ‘The Monk’ (bhikhu). The thirteen verses that survive of the London Dharmapada include nine ‘snake’ verses, probably also from a ‘Monk’ chapter. The Sanskrit Udānavarga (ed. Bernhard 1965–90) has a set as part of Chapter 32, ‘The Monk’ (bhikṣu), vv. 55–79. Each version has variations and changes of order, but all preserve the same refrain within their different languages.

398. looking for blossom on fig trees: Fig trees do not have flowers (or, from a botanical point of view, have very small flowers which are not very recognizable as such). this shore and the other shore: (Here and throughout the passage) this life and the next. sloughs: (Here and throughout the passage) word added for clarity.

399–403. you’d treat: Words added for clarity. with antidotes: oṣadhīhi. Oṣadhi originally meant ‘herb’, but came to be used for any kind of medicine or remedy. In this context an antidote to poison is clearly meant. through the body: Added for clarity. The venom is visaṭa (< visṛta), ‘spread throughout [the body]’.

409. kuśa: See note on Pali Dhammapada 70.

411. realm of proliferation: ‘realm of’ added for clarity. Prapañca (Pali papañca) is the tendency of the mind to create more and more distractions.

414. unwholesome roots: Greed (lobha), hate (Sanskrit dveṣa, Pali/Prakrit dosa) and delusion (moha), viewed as the roots of all unwholesome conduct.

Appendix III Extract from the Mahāvastu

The Blessed One went from the hermitage of Uruvilvā Kāśyapa with a great assembly of monks, twelve hundred and fifty in number, to Dharmāraṇya, the place of the hermitage of the Great Ṛṣis. At that time seven hundred long-haired ascetics lived there, each of them a hundred and twenty years of age, all of whom had attained the four meditations and the five higher knowledges, and all of whose wholesome roots were thoroughly ripe and who were in their last existence. The Blessed One went to the place of the hermitage in order to help them.

The Blessed One spoke the ‘Thousands’ chapter of the Dharmapada to the long-haired ascetics:

1.     Better than a thousand sayings

Made up of useless words

Is one saying with meaning

Which calms you to hear it.

2.     Better than a thousand verses

Made up of useless words

Is one line of verse

Which calms you to hear it.

3.     Though you should conquer in battle

A hundred thousand men

You’re the finest battle-winner

If you conquer just one – yourself.

4.     Though you should conquer, month by month,

A hundred thousand at a time

You’re not worth a sixteenth part

Of confidence in the Buddha.

5.     Though you should conquer, month by month,

A hundred thousand at a time

You’re not worth a sixteenth part

Of confidence in the Dharma.

6.     Though you should conquer, month by month,

A hundred thousand at a time

You’re not worth a sixteenth part

Of confidence in the Saṅgha.

7.     Though you should conquer, month by month,

A hundred thousand at a time

You’re not worth a sixteenth part

Of those who are endowed with morality.

8.     Though you should conquer, month by month,

A hundred thousand at a time

You’re not worth a sixteenth part

Of those of the well-taught Dharma.

9.     Though month after month a fool

Eats food with the tip of a kuśa-grass blade

He’s not worth a sixteenth part

Of confidence in the Buddha.

10.   Though month after month a fool

Eats food with the tip of a kuśa-grass blade

He’s not worth a sixteenth part

Of confidence in the Dharma.

11.   Though month after month a fool

Eats food with the tip of a kuśa-grass blade

He’s not worth a sixteenth part

Of confidence in the Saṅgha.

12.   Though month after month a fool

Eats food with the tip of a kuśa-grass blade

He’s not worth a sixteenth part

Of those who trust in meditation.

13.   Though month after month a fool

Eats food with the tip of a kuśa-grass blade

He’s not worth a sixteenth part

Of those who are endowed with morality.

14.   Though month after month a fool

Eats food with the tip of a kuśa-grass blade

He’s not worth a sixteenth part

Of those of the well-taught Dharma.

15.   You could live a hundred years,

Tend the fire,

Eating leaves, wearing skins,

Practising all kinds of asceticism,

16.   But if you were to pay respect to a developed person

Once, just for a moment,

That single worship would be better

And not the hundred-year offering.

17.   Whatever sacrifice or offering in the world

One who seeks merit might offer for a year,

All that is not worth a quarter as much

As reverence to those who are upright.

18.   Better than living a hundred years

Ill behaved, unconcentrated,

Is living for one day

Well behaved, a meditator.

19.   Better than living a hundred years

Lazy, without effort,

Is living for one day

Steadfastly making effort.

20.   Better than living a hundred years

Not seeing the Buddha’s dispensation

Is living for one day

Seeing the Buddha’s dispensation.

21.   Better than living a hundred years

Not seeing the supreme Dharma

Is living for one day

Seeing the supreme Dharma.

22.   Better than living a hundred years

Not seeing arising and passing away

Is living for one day

Seeing arising and passing away.

23.   Better than living a hundred years

Not seeing the unfallen state

Is living for one day

Seeing the unfallen state.

24.   Better than living a hundred years

Not seeing the deathless state

Is living for one day

Seeing the deathless state.

And they were brought by the Blessed One to a state of mastery of the powers; and they all attained parinirvāṇa. The Blessed One performed their funerary rites and built stūpas for them.

Then from Dharmāraṇya he came to the Goatherd’s Banyan Tree …

NOTES

From Mahāvastu Avadāna 3.434–7: ‘Dharmapadeṣu sahasravargaḥ’ (pp. 581–5 of Basak’s edition). An equivalent chapter is also found in the Udānavarga, but called ‘Peyālavarga’ (‘Repetition Chapter’) rather than ‘Thousands’.

In what follows, I have noted where verses in the extract have close equivalents in the Pali Dhammapada. The symbol ‘=’ denotes that, apart from the normal sound-changes between Sanskrit and Pali, the verses are identical. Where the verses are closely related but not identical, I have marked them as ‘equivalent’.

In the Introduction
with a great assembly of monks, twelve hundred and fifty in number: Literally, ‘with a great community (saṅgha) of monks, with twelve and a half hundred monks’, or rather, using the usual curious Sanskrit/Pali idiom, ‘… with hundreds of monks having half [i.e. instead of another whole hundred] as their 13th’. The repetition of bhikṣu (‘monks’), while natural in the original languages, seems awkward in English.

Dharmāraṇya: The Forest of Dharma.

Great Ṛṣis: Important sages, particularly within the Hindu tradition.

long-haired ascetics: jaṭila, those wearing the jaṭā, the uncut and uncombed hair still characteristic of many Hindu ascetics, often worn as a topknot or as dreadlocks.

four meditations: dhyāna (Pali jhāna) – the four (or in some lists five) states attained through the practice of concentration-based meditation. In these states the mind becomes temporarily freed from the hindrances and so receptive to insight and wisdom.

five higher knowledges: abhijñā (Pali abhiññā) – abilities (‘psychic powers’) thought to result from the deep practice of concentration: clairvoyance, clairaudience, knowledge of the thoughts of others, recollection of past lives, and the knowledge that puts an end to the defilements (āsavas).

wholesome roots: Non-greed (generosity), non-hatred (loving kindness) and non-delusion (wisdom).

in their last existence: At a point when no further births would be needed as a result of karma/kamma. The point being made here is that these ancient ascetics have gone as far as possible with concentration-based meditation. They need the jolt of insight that the Buddha can provide in order to attain complete freedom as Arahats.

of the Dharmapada: Literally, ‘in the Dharmapadas’.

1.   Equivalent to Dhammapada 100.

2.   Equivalent to Dhammapada 101.

3.   Similar to Dhammapada 103.

4–8. Though you should conquer … You’re not worth: Literally, ‘The one who would conquer … He is not worth’. The equivalent verses in the Dhammapada and Udānavarga all have the neuter form: ‘… That is not worth …’

4   conquer: The first half of vv. 4–8, yo jayeta sahasrāṇāṃ māse māse śataṃ śataṃ, is clearly a variation on Dhammapada 106, māse māse sahassena yo yajetha sataṃ samaṃ, but with a repetition of śataṃ, ‘hundred’, in place of samaṃ, ‘for a year’ (Sanskrit samāṃ), and jayeta (from ji-, ‘conquer’,) in place of yajetha (from yaj-, ‘sacrifice’). In some Prakrits, forms from j and y would have been indistinguishable, so we cannot be sure which meaning was the original one. Here I have assumed that ‘conquer’ was intended, since it carries on the theme from v. 3. Moreover, a group of renouncers such as these jaṭilas would not have carried on the rituals (yajña) associated with the household life. But there may well be the hint of a pun here. The equivalent sequence in the Udānavarga (24.21–9) has ‘sacrifice’.

8   those of the well-taught Dharma: svākhyāta-dharmaṇāṃ – literally, ‘those possessing the well-taught Dharma’, or perhaps simply ‘of well-taught dharmas’ (though the preceding item in this list is also a possessive compound referring to persons). In fact it is likely that the expression is a variant of saṅkhāta-dhammānaṃ in Dhammapada 70, ‘of those who’ve mastered dhammas’, where the first element has been misunderstood as svākhyāta (Pali svākkhāta), ‘well-taught’, a very common formula in praise of the Buddha’s teaching.

9–14. Verse 14 is equivalent to Dhammapada 70: see the note on v. 8, above. There is a similar expanded list at Udānavarga 24.17–20, varying in different editions: Udānavarga 24.17–19 corresponds to vv. 9–12 here, and one version of 24.20 corresponds to v. 14 here (reading svākhyāta, as here), while other editions expand the list in varying ways, with virtues such as ‘confidence in morality’ and ‘compassion for beings’. However, in the Udānavarga verses the second half always reads ‘That’s not worth …’ rather than ‘He’s not worth …’

15. wearing skins: Or ‘wearing tree-bark’ – either being characteristic of different kinds of ascetics. Verses 15–16 are an expansion of Dhammapada 107.

17. Equivalent to Dhammapada 108.

18. = Dhammapada 110.

19. = Dhammapada 112.

21. = Dhammapada 115.

22. = Dhammapada 113.

24. = Dhammapada 114.

A further expanded version of vv. 18–24 is found at Udānavarga 24.1–15.

Concluding passage
the powers: Faith/confidence, energy/courage, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom.

attained parinirvāṇa: Died as awakened beings, with no need for further rebirth.

stūpas: Sacred mounds housing relics of the Buddha or (as here) of Arahats.

Glossary

Unless otherwise stated, Indian words are initially given in Pali form. Where the Sanskrit form is different, and is likely to be encountered, it is given in brackets after the Pali. Bold type within explanations indicates a cross-reference.

Abhidhamma

(Abhidharma) The section of the Tipiṭaka concerned with the detailed analysis of psychological states. It is said in the Theravāda tradition to have been taught by the Buddha on a visit to the Tusita heaven, and transmitted by Sāriputta. Not all the early Mainstream Buddhism schools regarded the Abhidhamma/Abhidharma as canonical.

accharā

(apsaras) A heavenly nymph, one of the beautiful dancers attending the gods of the Tāvatiṃsa heaven.

Ajātasattu

(Ajātaśatru) A king of Māgadha in the Buddha’s time. When young he killed his father, Bimbisāra, in order to seize the throne, and supported Devadatta in his attempt to kill the Buddha. He repented and became a powerful supporter of the Buddha, though he could not escape the consequences of his actions (kamma).

Ājīvika

(also spelled ‘Ājīvaka’) A member of a religious movement founded around the fifth–fourth century BCE by Makkhali Gosāla, said to have been a contemporary of the Buddha and of Mahāvīra, the founder of Jainism. The Ājīvikas seem to have rejected the idea of kamma/karma as understood by other groups, and taught that in order to achieve liberation, the individual just had to live out (ā-jīv-) his or her own destiny. The Ājīvika religion survived in southern India until at least the fourteenth century CE, but has now disappeared.

anāgāmin ‘Non-Returner’: one who has attained the third of the Higher Stages. He or she has abandoned the five lower fetters (saṃyojana), and after death will be reborn in the heaven of the Pure Abodes, and attain Arahatship there.

Ānanda

The Buddha’s faithful attendant monk. Because so much of his time was spent in taking care of the Buddha, rather than in meditation, he did not become an Arahat until after the Buddha’s parinibbāna, so at the time at which the commentarial stories are set he is still a Stream-Enterer. He had a wonderful memory, and was responsible for handing on the Buddha’s teachings now contained in the Sutta Piṭaka: the words ‘Thus have I heard’ at the start of each Sutta are his.

Anāthapiṇḍika

(Anāthapiṇḍada) ‘Giver of Alms to the Refuge-less’ – a wealthy seṭṭhi and generous layman-supporter of the Buddha.

anattā

(anātman) ‘No-self’: the Buddhist teaching that there is no unchanging, abiding self (attā, Sanskrit ātman) within living beings.

anicca

(anitya) ‘Impermanence’: the Buddhist teaching that no conditioned thing can remain unchanged, so attachment to such things necessarily entails suffering (dukkha).

Arahat

(Arhat) ‘Worthy One’: one who has attained the fourth of the Higher Stages, a fully liberated being. Though used also as a title for the Buddha, in its specialized sense it refers specifically to one who has attained liberation by following the teaching of a Fully Awakened Buddha (whether in that Buddha’s lifetime or in after centuries). Cf. Buddha, Paccekabuddha.

Arahatship

The liberated state of an Arahat.

asura

(‘powerful one’) Generally translated as ‘demon’ or ‘titan’: a being of comparable powers to the devas, but jealous of and constantly at war with them.

Avīci

A hell realm (niraya), frequently appearing as an awful warning in the commentarial stories. The etymology is doubtful: it is sometimes explained, not very satisfactorily, as ‘waveless’, or ‘without intermission’; but I wonder if it is an irregular formation from avāc, ‘downwards’, since this realm is pictured as being below the earth.

awakened

My preferred English translation of Pali/Sanskrit buddha, closer to the original sense than the more conventional ‘enlightened’.

bhante

‘Blessed one’, ‘venerable one’ – a polite form of address to a monk.

bhikkhu

(bhikṣu) A fully ordained monk.

bhikkhunī

(bhikṣuṇī) A fully ordained nun.

Bimbisāra

King of Māgadha in the early years of the Buddha’s teaching career, and a devout supporter. He was murdered by his son Ajātasattu, with the collusion of Devadatta.

Bodhisatta

(Bodhisattva) A being working towards Buddhahood: either the historical Buddha before his enlightenment, or (especially in Mahāyāna Buddhism) one of a multiplicity of such beings.

Brahmā

A high deity living in a ‘formless’ realm, far above such sensuous heavens as the Tāvatiṃsa. In Buddhist thought, there are a multiplicity of Brahmās, and their worlds, though very long-lasting, are characterized by impermanence (anicca), like everything else in saṃsāra: Buddhist thought has no room for a Creator Deity, like the Brahmā of Hinduism. In the accounts of the life of the Buddha, the deity Brahmā Sahampati seems to embody the impulse of universal compassion that inspired the Buddha to undertake his arduous career of travel and teaching, rather than settle for a life of meditative ease.

Brāhmī

(Sanskrit) An ancient Indian script, the ancestor of most of the modern Indian scripts and many of those of South East Asia. It was written from left to right. Cf. Kharoṣṭhī.

Brahmin

(Sanskrit and Pali brāhmaṇa) A member of the priestly class, highest in the Hindu social system. For my use of this form of the word, see Introduction, n. 39.

Buddha

‘Awakened One’, an enlightened being: (1) A Fully Awakened One (sammāsambuddha), capable of teaching the Dhamma to countless other beings; in particular (2) the Buddha Gotama (Sanskrit Gautama, also known in Sanskrit as Śākyamuni, the Sage of the Śākyas), regarded as the most recent in the succession of such teachers. His traditional dates are 623–543 BCE, though modern scholars place him up to 150 years later: see Introduction, ‘Life of the Buddha’. (3) More broadly, any liberated being, including Paccekabuddhas and Arahats. A Fully Awakened Buddha rediscovers and teaches the Dhamma in an age when it has been forgotten on earth – though he has received teaching from other Buddhas in previous lives. A Paccekabuddha discovers the Dhamma for himself, without teaching from others: it is said that for that reason he does not have the teaching ability of the Fully Awakened Buddha. An Arahat or Anubuddha, ‘Awakened following [a Buddha]’, is liberated by teachings received from a Fully Awakened Buddha, either in person or through the tradition established by that Buddha. According to most traditional sources, Fully Awakened Buddhas and Paccekabuddhas are all male, and females aspiring to these states will have to be reborn as males to achieve them; Arahats, however, can be male or female. (4) As the first of the Three Refuges, the Buddha represents not only the historical founder of the tradition, but the potential for awakening within all beings.

concentration

(samādhi) The power of focusing and centring the mind on a chosen object: an important aspect of meditation, often paired with mindfulness.

conditions,  conditioned things My preferred translations of saṅkhāras (others use ‘formations’, ‘fashionings’ or ‘volitional forces’), a technical term applied in Buddhist thought to the processes that fashion the physical, mental and emotional states of living beings, and the results of these processes. The terminology reflects the belief that everything in saṃsāra is subject to conditions: i.e. it comes into being as a result of previous states and processes, and passes away when the conditions that maintain it pass away. Therefore all saṅkhāras are subject to impermanence (anicca) and incapable of providing permanent satisfaction, hence subject to suffering (dukkha). Only nibbāna is unconditioned (asaṅkhata).

cūḷa/cūla/culla

‘Small’, often used as a title for a junior brother or sister: cf. mahā. The variant forms of the word seem to be more or less interchangeable.

deva

(‘bright one’) Generally translated as ‘god’: a being in one of the higher realms of rebirth, ranging from the high and rarefied beings generally called Brahmās, through powerful deities such as Sakka and Yama, to nature spirits such as yakkhas and nāgas.

Devadatta

The Buddha’s cousin, who tried to take over the community from the Buddha, and even to have him assassinated. He appears as the villain in many of the stories of previous lives of the Buddha.

devatā

‘Deity’, often used of the more earthy types of deva.

Dhamma

(Dharma) (1) The teaching, regarded as perennial truth, discovered and taught by all Buddhas: the second of the Three Refuges. (2) (With lower case in the text) any natural, perennial truth, e.g. in Dhammapada 3–4; a general term for any mental or physical state, viewed as an instance of such truth, e.g. in Dhammapada 1–2.

dukkha

(duḥkha) ‘Suffering’, ‘dis-ease’, ‘unsatisfactoriness’: the Buddhist teaching that no permanent satisfaction can be found in any conditioned thing.

Eightfold Path

(aṭṭhaṅgika magga) The path to freedom from suffering: (1) right view (sammā diṭṭhi), (2) right thought (sammā saṅkappa), (3) right speech (sammā vācā), (4) right action (sammā kammanta), (5) right livelihood (sammā ājīva), (6) right effort (sammā vāyāma), (7) right mindfulness (sammā sati), (8) right concentration (sammā samādhi).

Elder

(thera, fem. therī; Sanskrit sthavira, fem. sthavirī) A title given to senior monks and nuns; in the Commentary, often, but not always, used of Arahats.

Ender, the

(Pali/Sanskrit Antaka) A frequent name for Yama, the god of Death.

gandhabba

(gandharva) A minor deity, one of the musicians in the Tāvatiṃsa heaven: male counterpart of the nymphs (accharās).

garuḍa

A mythical solar bird, natural enemy to the nāgas.

gati

‘Going’, ‘bourn’, ‘destination’, a place of rebirth. In the Commentary, one of the realms in which a being who has not become free of saṃsāra can be reborn, in accordance with previous actions. There are generally said to be six: a being can be reborn among the gods (devas), human beings, demons (asuras), animals, unsatisfied ghosts (petas), or the denizens of a hell realm (niraya).

Higher Stages

The attainments of those who, through following the Buddha’s path, achieve various degrees of freedom from the fetters (saṃyojana). The Stream-Enterer (sotāpanna) gets rid of the first three fetters; the Once-Returner (sakadāgāmin) in addition weakens the fourth and fifth fetters, while the Non-Returner (anāgāmin) gets rid of them completely; the Arahat gets rid of all the rest. Each of these attainments itself has two stages, the path, magga (mārga), the moment at which the attainment takes place, and the fruit, phala, the transformed state of mind experienced thereafter.

hindrance

(nīvaraṇa) One of the five hindrances to meditation: (1) sense-desire, (2) ill will, (3) sloth and torpor, (4) excitement and depression, and (5) sceptical doubt.

hiri

(hrī) Generally coupled with ottappa (Buddhist Sanskrit apatrapya/apatrapā). Both words are notoriously difficult to translate into English: attempts include ‘shame and regard for consequences’, ‘moral shame and moral dread’. Hiri is the (inner) quality that prevents us from doing actions that would go against our self-respect, while ottappa is the fear of the (external) consequences of doing such actions. In a frequent analogy, if we were to see an iron bar covered with filth at one end and red hot at the other, hiri would stop us picking it up by the filthy end, and ottappa would stop us picking it up by the red-hot end. Together, hiri and ottappa are called ‘the Guardians of the World’.

iddhi

(ṛddhi) A psychic attainment or power. The psychic powers attained by the Buddha or Arahat are described in, for example, Dīgha Nikāya 1.87 (Sutta 2: Sāmaññaphala Sutta):

He then enjoys different powers: being one, he becomes many – being many, he becomes one; he appears and disappears; he passes through fences, walls and mountains unhindered as if through air; he sinks into the ground and emerges from it as if it were water; he walks on the water without breaking the surface as if on land; he flies cross-legged through the sky like a bird with wings; he even touches and strokes with his hand the sun and moon, mighty and powerful as they are; and he travels in the body as far as the Brahmā world. (tr. Walshe 1987: 105)

Lesser kinds of magical powers are also recognized in the Dhammapada Commentary.

impermanence

See anicca.

Jains  , Jainism The Jain religion – founded by Mahāvīra, ‘Great Hero’, also known as the Jina, or ‘Conqueror’ – has much in common with Buddhism. Mahāvīra and the Buddha were contemporaries, both practising in the samaṇa tradition: both rejected theistic explanations of the universe, the authority of the Vedas, and much of the Hindu social system. In Pali literature, the Jains are called Nigaṇṭhas (‘Those Who are Free from Knots/Ties’), partly perhaps because the monks of one of the two main denominations go naked. (The monks of the other denomination, and all nuns, wear white robes.)

Jātaka

Literally, ‘Birth’. (1) A story of one of the previous existences of the Bodhisatta or Buddha-to-be. (2) A collection of such birth-stories, such as that found in the Khuddaka Nikāya of the Pali Canon (though strictly speaking only the verses are regarded as canonical).

jhāna

(dhyāna) (1) Meditation. (2) Specifically, one of a series of four (or in some lists) five stages of meditative experience, based on concentration, which purify and transform the mind, freeing it from defilements so that insight and wisdom can arise.

Jīvaka

Physician to King Ajātasattu, and a supporter of the Buddha.

kamma

(karma) Actions viewed as incurring consequences for the future, in the present life or a future one.

Kassapa

(Kaśyapa) The name of various men, including (1) a previous Buddha; (2) Mahā Kassapa (‘Kassapa the Great’), one of the leading Arahats, noted for his austere way of life. After the Buddha’s parinibbāna, he became the leader of the monastic order, as Sāriputta and Moggallāna had predeceased the Buddha; (3) Kumāra Kassapa, a prince.

khandha

(skandha) ‘Aggregate’: one of the five physical and mental components of that which we regard as ‘ourselves’: rūpa, ‘form’; vedanā, ‘feeling’; saññā (sañjñā), ‘perception’; saṅkhāra (saṃskāra), ‘mental creations’; viññāna (vijñāna), ‘consciousness’.

Kharoṣṭhī

(Sanskrit) An early script used in north-west India, particularly in Gāndhārī texts. Unlike Brāhmī, it has no current descendants. It was written from right to left.

Khattiya

(Kṣatriya) The second class in the Hindu social system, that of the warriors and princes: the class from which the future Buddha came.

Khemā

(Kṣemā) A great Arahat and chief of the nuns, renowned for wisdom: the female counterpart of Sāriputta.

Kumāra Kassapa

Kassapa the Prince (or Youth), adopted grandson of King Pasenadi.

Maghavan

‘Mighty One’: a name of the god Sakka.

mahā

‘Great’, often as a title for an elder sibling (cf. cūḷa), or to distinguish a particularly important holder of a name (e.g. Mahā Moggallāna, Mahā Kassapa – both often written as one word), especially where the name is a fairly common one.

Mahāyāna

‘Great Vehicle’: the form of Buddhist practice based on the Bodhisattva (Bodhisatta) path; by extension, the Northern School of Buddhism, which emphasizes the Mahāyāna path.

Mainstream Buddhism

My preferred term (following Paul Harrison 2005) for the early schools of Buddhism from which the Mahāyāna schools broke away.

Māra

‘Death-Causer’: a renegade deity of high rank who seeks to keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra by tempting them, primarily through lust and fear. His three alluring daughters are named in the commentaries as Ragā (from rāga, ‘Passion’) or Rati (‘Pleasure’), Arati (‘Displeasure’, ‘Aversion’) and Taṇhā (‘Craving’). Like all states within saṃsāra, the role of Māra is subject to impermanence (anicca), and the wrong actions performed by a Māra are liable to bring grievous consequences in subsequent rebirths.

meditation

Conventionally used to translate two Buddhist terms, neither of which exactly corresponds to its conventional English meaning: (1) jhāna, a particular kind of concentration-based practice, and (2) bhāvanā (‘causing to be’, ‘bringing into being’), covering all aspects of spiritual development.

mindfulness

(sati, Sanskrit smṛti) Awareness: the quality of being present in the moment rather than letting the mind wander elsewhere – an important aspect of meditation, often paired with concentration.

Moggallāna

(Maudgalyāyana) A great Arahat (often referred to as Mahā Moggallāna or Mahāmoggallāna – ‘Moggallāna the Great’) – famous for his psychic powers, and, with Sāriputta, one of the two chief monks.

nāga

(fem. nāginī) A minor deity or spirit in serpent-like form, generally pictured (in the Indian tradition) as part human, part snake, with one or more cobra hoods and sometimes a snake-like tail. Elsewhere in Asia, nāgas often take on a dragon-like appearance. Nāgas are never viewed as evil, though like other nature spirits they may be capricious.

nibbāna

(nirvāṇa) The freedom attained by Arahats, Paccekabuddhas and Buddhas. During their lifetimes they still experience a remnant of suffering, through the physical body and its attendant ills, but on death (called parinibbāna, because it is different from the deaths of other beings) they attain complete freedom from suffering, and are reborn no more.

no-self

See anattā.

Noble

As in ‘Noble Truths’, ‘Noble Eightfold Path’: translation of ariya (ārya), elsewhere a word with connotations of high birth or social class, but in Buddhist texts used to refer to high attainments and the knowledge and practices that lead to such attainments (see the story of Ariya in the note on v. 270).

Noble Ones

Used of Stream-Enterers, Once-Returners, Non-Returners, Arahats, Paccekabuddhas and Buddhas, it implies experience of the unconditioned.

Non-Return

The attainment of a Non-Returner (anāgāmin). See Higher Stages.

Non-Returner

See anāgāmin.

Once-Return

The attainment of a Once-Returner (sakadāgāmin). See Higher Stages.

Once-Returner

See sakadāgāmin.

Paccekabuddha

(Pratyekabuddha) ‘Private Buddha’, ‘Individual Buddha’: an enlightened being who, unlike the Fully Awakened Buddha, is not a world-teacher, and does not found a Saṅgha.

pāda

‘Foot’ or ‘quarter’, one of the half-lines of traditional Indian verse. Most Dhammapada verses contain four pādas; some, such as vv. 1, 2, 7, 8 and 20, have six.

parinibbāna

(parinirvāṇa) The complete freedom (nibbāna) attained by awakened beings on death. In the case of the Buddha it is often called the Mahāparinibbāna (Mahāparinirvāṇa).

Pasenadi

(Prasenajit) King of Kosala, mentioned in the Canon and prominent in the stories of the Dhammapada Commentary.

peta

(preta) ‘One who has passed away/died’ – a type of ghost. In the Commentary, a term particularly applied to a being in one of the lower kinds of rebirth who is suffering the results of some serious wrong action.

pipal  or peepal (Pali assattha or pipphala, Sanskrit aśvattha or pippala) The sacred fig, Ficus religiosa. The species of the Bodhi tree, under which the Bodhisatta reached awakening (bodhi) and became the Buddha. The pipal tree has been sacred in the Indian subcontinent from a very early period: its distinctive heart-shaped leaves are depicted on Indus-valley seals of the second millennium BCE.

Pure Abodes

(Pali suddhāvāsa, Sanskrit śuddhāvāsa) One of the heavens of the Brahmā gods.

Rains Retreat

(vassa) Three months of the year, beginning around July, when monks are expected not to wander but to stay in one place. The Buddha is said to have given this Vinaya rule so that monks would not damage growing crops by walking through the fields during the rainy season. The period is observed as a retreat, with extra time set aside for study and meditation.

Refuges, Three

(Pali tisaraṇa, Sanskrit triśaraṇa) Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha, the ‘triple gem’ (tiratana, Sanskrit triratna) to which Buddhists make their commitment.

sakadāgāmin

(sakṛdāgāmin) ‘Once-Returner’: someone who has attained the second of the Higher Stages. He or she has abandoned the first three of the fetters (saṃyojana) and weakened the next two, and after death will be reborn in this world only once more.

Sakka

(Śakra, ‘Powerful’, but in Sanskrit more commonly known as Indra) Thunderbolt-wielding sky god, ruler of the Thirty-Three Gods in the Tāvatiṃsa heaven.

sal

(Pali sāla, Sanskrit śāla) A tall forest tree (Shorea robusta) found throughout South and South East Asia: the species of tree under which both the birth and the parinibbāna of the Buddha took place.

samaṇa

(śramaṇa) Literally, ‘striver’: a wandering spiritual seeker, practising outside the conventional stages of life, often paired (and contrasted) with the Brāhmaṇa (Brahmin). In the Dhammapada, it is used more or less as a synonym for bhikkhu. Possibly the origin of the word ‘shaman’: see Introduction, n. 80.

samatha

(śamatha) Calm, especially of a way of meditation based on developing wholesome states of concentration (jhāna). With vipassanā, one of the two basic forms of meditation in the Buddhist tradition.

saṃsāra

The conditioned universe in which beings die and are reborn. All realms, from the highest heavens to the lowest hells, are part of saṃsāra, and all are liable to their own particular kinds of suffering. Only those who attain nibbāna become free of it.

saṃyojana

‘Fetter’, one of ten fetters binding us to rebirth: (1) sakkāya-diṭṭhi, views identifying various things (body, personality etc.) as ‘self’; (2) vicikicchā, sceptical doubt; (3) sīlabbata-parāmāsa, attachment to precepts and rituals; (4) kāma-rāga, sense-desire; (5) vyāpāda, ill will; (6) rūpa-rāga, desire for form; (7) arūpa-rāga, desire for the formless; (8) māna, conceit; (9) uddhacca, restlessness; and (10) avijjā, ignorance. Fetters are left behind at each of the four Higher Stages.

Saṅgha

The Community, with a number of shades of meaning. (1) Any of the four communities of the followers of the Buddha: those of monks (bhikkhu-saṅgha), nuns (bhikkhunī-saṅgha), laymen (upāsaka-saṅgha) and laywomen (upāsikā-saṅgha). (2) In common usage, often used by itself to refer to the bhikkhu-saṅgha. (3) The Buddhist community as a whole (probably a modern usage). (4) As the third of the Refuges, the community of all those beings who have attained the Higher Stages and serve as an example and inspiration to all Buddhists.

saṅkhāra

(saṃskāra) The process of conditioning and anything created by conditions; specifically, (conditioned) mental states, viewed as a component of what is generally experienced as ‘self’ (khandha).

Sāriputta

(Śāriputra/Śāliputra/Śāradvatīputra) The chief Arahat, nicknamed ‘the General of the Dhamma’ (dhammasenāpati), famous for his wisdom and knowledge of the Abhidhamma, but also for his kindness in training novice monks. Curiously, unlike other great Arahats such as Moggallāna and Kassapa, he never seems to be referred to with a Mahā (‘Great’) in front of his name: perhaps he was considered so unmistakable that it was not felt necessary.

Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta

‘Sutta on the Setting Up of Mindfulness’: a discourse on practising meditation through observing the body, feelings etc. (Majjhima Nikāya 1.55–68 (Sutta 10)).

sāvaka

(śrāvaka) Disciple (literally ‘hearer’), a committed follower of the Buddha, especially one who has attained one of the Higher Stages.

seṭṭhi

(śreṣṭhin) Translated in the notes as ‘banker’, the seṭṭhi is a prominent figure in the Dhammapada Commentary, with Anāthapiṇḍika as the supreme example. There is some controversy about the role of the seṭṭhi: was he a wealthy merchant, a moneylender, the head of a guild, or a royal appointee? The descriptions in the texts seem to combine aspects of all these, and we find the word variously translated as ‘treasurer’, ‘guildmaster’, or even ‘millionaire’. In the Dhammapada Commentary, the seṭṭhi appears at times to have a magical power over money, as a result of acts of generosity in previous lives. (See Fišer 1954; Fick 1920: 257–66.)

signs, three

The characteristics of all existence in saṃsāra: anicca (impermanence), dukkha (suffering) and anattā (no-self). Contemplation of these signs leads to insight.

sotāpanna

(śrotrāpanna) ‘Stream-Enterer’ or ‘Stream-Winner’: one who has abandoned the first three fetters (saṃyojana), and is irrevocably destined to liberation in, at most, seven lives.

Śrāvakayāna

(Sanskrit) ‘Vehicle of the Disciples [cf. sāvaka]’, i.e. of the Arahats and those who have attained the other Higher Stages. When used to denote non-Mahāyāna Buddhism, it is a politer term than ‘Hīnayāna’ (‘Lesser Vehicle’), but still not entirely satisfactory as a description of early Mainstream Buddhism, or of modern-day practice in the Theravāda tradition.

Stream-Enterer

See sotāpanna.

Stream-Entry

The attainment of a Stream-Enterer (sotāpanna). See Higher Stages. Burlingame (1921: passim) somewhat distractingly uses the expression ‘Conversion’ for this stage.

suffering

See dukkha.

sukha

‘Happiness’, ‘bliss’: linguistically, the opposite of dukkha. Buddhism does not deny the possibility of happiness, but points out that all forms of happiness dependent on conditioned things are subject to impermanence (anicca) and alloyed with dukkha. (Even rebirth in a heavenly realm will end eventually, leading to grief.) Only the freedom of nibbāna brings true happiness. (See Dhammapada Chapter 15, especially vv. 197–205.)

Sutta

(Sūtra) A teaching of the Buddha in narrative or dialogue form.

Tantra

‘Loom’, ‘framework’, ‘treatise’: (1) the name of certain texts, both Hindu and Buddhist; (2) the teachings embodied in these texts: a way of spiritual practice that seeks to use the body and its drives as a means to liberation by transforming, rather than rejecting, them. It is viewed as a rapid but dangerous path, characterized by transgressive rituals, which are practised in reality (in ‘left-handed’ forms of Tantra), or symbolically (in ‘right-handed’ forms). Tantra (of the right-handed kind) plays a powerful role in Vajrayāna Buddhism, and its influence is pervasive in the art and ritual of Tibetan Buddhism.

Tathāgata

‘Thus-gone’, a title used for Fully Awakened Buddhas. The meaning has been debated, but it probably suggests ‘one who has gone by the same path as all the Buddhas of the past’.

Tāvatiṃsa

(Trāyastriṃśa) ‘[Heaven] of the Thirty-Three’: the realm ruled by Sakka, a place of great beauty and pleasure, where nymphs (accharā) and celestial musicians (gandhabba) attend those who have performed acts of merit. In the Buddhist view, this is a fairly lowly heaven, in comparison with, for example, the Brahmā realms: but in any case, all heavens, like everything else in saṃsāra, are impermanent.

Theravāda

(Sthaviravāda) ‘Doctrine of the Elders’, the Buddhism of present-day Sri Lanka and South East Asia, based on the early Mainstream Buddhism tradition.

Thirty-Three Gods

Deities of a similar kind to the Olympian gods of classical myth: gods of sun, moon, fire, wind etc., living in the Tāvatiṃsa heaven.

Tipiṭaka

(Tripiṭaka) ‘Three Baskets’, the Buddhist canonical scriptures, consisting of Vinaya, Sutta and Abhidhamma collections.

Tissa

(Tiṣya) A fairly common name for men, including several monks, in the commentarial stories.

Tusita

(Tuṣita) ‘Joyful [heaven]’, where future Buddhas are said to live just before their final birth on earth. According to Theravāda tradition, the Buddha’s mother, who died after giving birth to him, was reborn here, and he visited her there one year for the Rains Retreat, teaching the Abhidhamma for the first time to her and the other deities.

udāna

An inspired utterance of the Buddha (or of one of his followers, endorsed by him), often in verse; also used of a collection of such utterances.

Udena

(Udayana) A king of Kosambī (Kauśāmbī).

unconditioned, the

(Pali asaṅkhata, Sanskrit asaṃskṛta) Nibbāna, as being free from conditions (saṅkhāras)

uposatha

(upavasatha) Literally, ‘fast’: the full moon, new moon and two half-moon days of each month, when the monastic community meet together and laypeople often visit monasteries and devote the day to spiritual practice.

Uppalavaṇṇā

(Utpalavarṇā) A great Arahat and, with Khemā, one of the two chief nuns. Skilled in psychic powers, she is the female counterpart of Moggallāna.

Vajrayāna

(Sanskrit) ‘Vehicle of the Diamond/Thunderbolt’: the Tantric form of Buddhism (cf. Tantra), influential in the Tibetan tradition.

Veda

The most ancient scriptures of South Asia. Their authority, basic to the Hindu tradition, was rejected by the Buddhists and Jains.

Vinaya

The disciplinary code for Buddhist monks and nuns, and the collection of scriptures (see Tipiṭaka) dealing with it.

vipassanā

(Buddhist Sanskrit vipaśyanā) Insight, especially of a way of meditation, based on observing the changes in body and mind rather than seeking to control them. With samatha, one of the two basic forms of meditation in Buddhism.

Visākhā

(Viśākhā) A great laywoman-supporter of the Buddha, famous for her wealth, generosity and good sense. (A layman called Visākha – with a short final ‘a’ – is also mentioned, in the story accompanying v. 421.)

yakkha

(fem. yakkhinī) (yakṣa, fem. yakṣī/yakṣiṇī) A nature spirit, often associated with trees. In stories, the females are often portrayed as man-eaters, in every sense of the word.

Yama

God of Death, also known as the Ender (Antaka).

Yoga

Literally ‘application’, ‘yoke’, ‘union’, from yuj-, ‘to join’, ‘to yoke’, ‘to apply oneself’. In Asian religions, any way of spiritual practice, not necessarily one involving particular physical postures. In the Dhammapada, it seems to refer either to the Buddhist path in general or specifically to the practice of meditation.

Notes

In this section, I have used the overall numbering of the verses (rather than chapter + verse numbering) as the means of keying the notes. For each verse or group of verses, any explanatory notes are followed by a very brief retelling of the commentarial stories from the Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā. Many of these stories, particularly those concerning leading followers of the Buddha, are based on material from the Pali Canon: further information about the sources can be found in the Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names (Malalasekhara 1937–8), available in its online version at <http://www.palikanon.com/english/pali_names/dic_idx.html>. On matters connected with meditation and spiritual attainments, an excellent source is Sarah Shaw’s Buddhist Meditation (Shaw 2006a), which draws extensively on the canonical and commentarial literature of the Theravāda tradition.

CHAPTER 1

TWINS

1.   mental states: dhamma – see Glossary.

made of mind: manomayā; K. R. Norman (1997: 1, 61) takes as ‘made by mind’. All traditions apart from the Pali Dhammapada have manojavā, ‘swift as mind’ (or forms corresponding to that).

suffering: dukkha.

of the ox: i.e. that draws the cart.

STORY: A blind monk who is an Arahat unknowingly crushes insects under his feet as he walks. Because there is no intention to kill, he commits no offence. The Buddha explains the action in a past life that caused the monk to lose his sight. (For a fuller account of the commentarial stories on this verse, see the section on Commentaries in the Introduction.)

2.   mental states … made of mind: See comments on v. 1.

happiness: sukha.

STORY: A miser’s young son dies because his father is too mean to spend money on a doctor. As he dies, the boy mentally takes refuge in the Buddha, and is reborn in a heavenly realm. Appearing to his former father in his divine form, he causes him to mend his ways. (See also the section on Commentaries in the Introduction for more on this verse.)

3–4. does not cease … ceases completely: na sammati … upasammati. The latter implies a complete end, with reference to upasama = nibbāna.

STORY: This concerns a stubborn monk, Tissa the Fat, who harbours resentment against other monks who do not treat him with the deference which he thinks he deserves. Tissa is a common name in the commentaries, and it is not always possible to determine which stories relate to the same person, but the Tissa of the present story seems to be one who later became an Arahat. (For the Buddha’s teaching to him, see Shaw 2006a: 53–6.)

5.   here: i.e. in this world.
By freedom from hatred: averena, ‘by non-hatred’. In Pali, such negative expressions are stronger than in English, though there is some debate about the exact shade of meaning here. Some translators think it means ‘the opposite of hatred’, i.e. ‘loving kindness’; the equivalent passage in the Udāna (14.11) has kṣāntyā, ‘by patience’, implying the simple refusal to respond to hatred with hatred (Fišer 1979).
This is a perennial truth: esa dhammo sanantano, here in the sense of a fact that is always (and naturally) true, without the connotations of a universal religion implied in modern Hindu uses of sanātana dharma.

STORY: This concerns a quest for vengeance pursued over many lives. A man takes two wives, marrying the junior wife when the senior proves unable to have children. When the junior wife becomes pregnant, the senior, fearing to lose her own status within the household, gives her drugs to bring about a miscarriage. She does this twice more, but, the third time, the junior wife herself dies along with the baby. Her dying wish is to devour children of the senior wife, and she is reborn as a cat. When the husband finds out what has happened, he batters the senior wife. She dies, and is reborn as a hen. The cat that was the junior wife eats her eggs. The hen is then reborn as a leopardess, and the cat as a doe, and the cycle of revenge continues. Finally the senior wife is reborn as a human woman and the junior wife as a child-eating yakkhinī, who tries to attack her baby.

Fleeing from the yakkhinī, the woman rushes into the monastery where the Buddha is staying, and lays the baby at his feet. Because of the Buddha’s power, the yakkhinī is unable to follow her there until he himself sends for her. He speaks to the yakkhinī about the need to end hatred, uttering the present verse. She attains Stream-Entry. Encouraged by the Buddha, the woman hands the baby to the yakkhinī, who kisses and caresses him and gives him back unharmed. But the yakkhinī, no longer a child-eater, is now worried about how she is going to get enough to eat. The Buddha instructs the woman to take the yakkhinī home, install her in a shrine in the village, and bring her offerings of food. Through her prophecies, the yakkhinī brings great good fortune to the woman, who becomes wealthy and respected, and takes the opportunity to make regular offerings to the monks.

6.   we must control ourselves: yamāmase, probably a first-person-plural imperative form from yam-, ‘to control’, ‘to restrain’. Others take it as a denominative from Yama, the name of the god of Death, so that the sentence would mean, ‘Others here do not understand that we must die.’

STORY: The Commentary retells the story, found in the Vinaya of the Pali Canon (Mahā Vagga 5.1–5) of the Buddha’s sojourn in the Pārileyyaka Forest, where he is attended by an elephant (also called Pārileyyaka).

At a monastery in Kosambi, 500 monks fall out. The matter begins with a small infraction of the Vinaya, but, as the accusations fly and no one will apologize, the situation gets progressively worse until the monastery splits into two factions. Three times the Buddha himself tries to reconcile them, but the monks pay no attention. Eventually the Buddha decides to leave them, and goes off alone to the forest. The elephant, who has also grown tired of living with the herd, comes to attend him, keeping predators away, bringing him water when he needs it, and carrying his bowl and robe when he goes on alms-round. In the commentarial version, a monkey, too, comes to offer honey to the Buddha. When the Buddha accepts it, the monkey is so delighted that he leaps from branch to branch; when a branch breaks, and he falls, he is reborn as a deity in the Tāvatiṃsa heaven. (The scene of the Buddha attended by these two animals is a popular one in Buddhist art, particularly in Thailand.)

Meanwhile the quarrelsome monks are having an uncomfortable time of it, since the laypeople no longer wish to support them. At the end of the Rains Retreat, when they are free to travel, Ānanda visits the Buddha to request him to come back to Kosambi. (When he expresses concern as to the hardships the Buddha must have experienced, alone in the forest, the Buddha reassures him with vv. 328–30.)

The Buddha leaves, parting with the elephant at the point where the animal might have been in danger from human beings if he had followed him. The elephant dies of a broken heart, but because of his faith in the Buddha is reborn in the Tāvatiṃsa heaven.

When the Buddha arrives back at Kosambi, he once more speaks to the monks about the importance of restraint and reconciliation and speaks the verse. Understanding, the monks attain Stream-Entry.

7–8. the fair … the foul: subha … asubha, probably used here in a technical sense. If a person constantly dwells on the attractive aspects of the body, his or her sense-desire will grow stronger. Asubha meditation is designed to break this attachment: as in the story, the meditator contemplates a dead body, and watches the various stages of change and decay in it. (This is not regarded as a suitable subject for all meditators, and would normally be attempted only on the advice of a skilled teacher: see Shaw 2006a: 101–8.) Māra: The tempter, who seeks to bind beings to the world – see Glossary.
ill-rooted: Literally, ‘weak’ (dubbala).

STORY: Two brothers, Mahākāḷa and Cūlakāḷa (Great and Small Kāḷa, ‘Black’), formerly merchants, become monks. Mahākāḷa achieves Arahatship, through contemplating a corpse in a cremation ground, but Cūlakāḷa goes on thinking about his former married life. When the monks pay a visit to their home town, Cūlakāḷa is sent ahead. He is seized by his two former wives and made to disrobe and return to the household life. The Buddha then sends Mahākāḷa. Other monks have misgivings about this, in view of what has happened to the younger brother, but the Buddha reassures them with the verses. Mahākāḷa is unaffected by the blandishments of his former wives, even though there are eight of them, not just two.

9–10. There is an untranslatable pun here on the words kasāva, ‘stain’, ‘impurity’, and kāsāva, the monk’s robe, dyed in various natural shades of yellow, orange, ochre or brown.

STORY: This concerns an occasion when Devadatta’s followers give him a robe, offered by a benefactor, that should have been given to Sāriputta. The Buddha tells the story of a previous life, when an elephant-hunter put on a monk’s robe to trick the elephants into approaching him. The hunter was Devadatta, while the leader of the elephants, who saw through the trick and reproached the hunter, was the future Buddha.

11–12. Those who imagine value where there’s none, / And don’t see value where there’s value: Literally, ‘Those imagining value in the valueless, / And seeing valuelessness in value [sāra, “genuine worth”]’. Similarly with the opposite in v. 12.
Dwellers in the realm of wrong thought … right thought: micchā-saṅkappa-gocarā … sammā-saṅkappa-gocarā: ‘having wrong/right thought as their range/scope’ – with a clear reference to the second element of the Eightfold Path, sammā-saṅkappa, ‘right thought’ or ‘right intention’.

STORY: The Commentary here summarizes the traditional account of the Buddha’s search for awakening, and the attainment of Arahatship by his leading followers.

Many aeons in the past, a young Brahmin ascetic called Sumedha (‘Wise’) encounters a Fully Awakened Buddha, Dīpaṅkara (‘Light-maker’). He feels great reverence towards him, and forms a profound wish to attain what Dīpaṅkara has attained. Seeing him, Dīpaṅkara recognizes his qualities and foretells that Sumedha will one day become a Fully Awakened Buddha by the name of Gotama. From that time on, through many thousands of years and the eras of twenty-four Buddhas from Dīpaṅkara on, Sumedha works towards developing the qualities of a Buddha. After thousands of rebirths, the Bodhisatta who had been Sumedha is reborn in the Tusita heaven, where all Buddhas-to-be spend the life before the last.

When the time comes for him to be reborn, the Bodhisatta chooses as his family the royal household of the Sākiyas. He is brought up with every possible comfort and luxury; but when he is twenty-nine years old, he sees, on three successive days, three heavenly messengers – an old man, a sick man and a corpse – and he becomes aware of the suffering of all existence. On the fourth day, as he ponders a way to become free from suffering, he sees a fourth heavenly messenger, a man who has left the household life and become a monk, and he himself determines to do the same. Receiving word that a son, Rāhula, has been born to him, he understands that if he does not go now he will never be able to go at all. Aided by his charioteer Channa and a multitude of deities, he escapes from the palace by night, cuts off his hair, puts on an ochre robe, and embarks on the life of a wandering holy man.

He spends the next six years in search of the path to freedom from suffering (see the Introduction, ‘Life of the Buddha’), studying first with the meditation teachers Āḷāra and Uddaka, and then with five monks practising strict asceticism. At last he sits under the Bodhi tree, determined to find his goal. In the course of the night he is assailed by temptation, in the form of the renegade deity Māra, his ferocious armies and his voluptuous daughters, symbolizing all the defilements of the mind; but he refuses to give up the quest, and attains the goal.

The Buddha, as he now is, spends seven weeks at Bodh Gayā, pondering the implications of the knowledge that he has attained. He wonders whether to teach it to others, experiencing misgivings as to whether anyone will be able to understand it. But the deity Brahmā Sahampati, who oversees ten thousand worlds, requests him on behalf of all beings to teach the Dhamma, and he assents. Looking around the world for people who will understand his teaching, the Buddha sees that Āḷāra and Uddaka are both dead, but the five monks who attended him through his period of asceticism are still alive, and capable of understanding his teaching. He goes to them at Isipatana, near Varanasi, where he gives his first teaching. First Koṇḍañña and then the other four understand, and attain Arahatship. Other followers join them and follow the Buddha’s teaching. Soon there are sixty-one Arahats in the world, and the Buddha sends them out in all directions to teach others.

The Commentary now tells of two Brahmin youths from wealthy families, great friends, named Upatissa and Kolita. They live happily until they go together to a festival which lasts several days. To begin with they enjoy all the entertainment on offer, laughing when everyone else laughs, weeping when everyone else weeps, and giving alms when everyone else gives alms. But it then occurs to each of them separately that in a hundred years’ time all these people will be dead, and they laugh, weep and give alms no more.

Noticing the change in one another, they find that both have had the same experience, and they decide to leave the household life and seek the way to the deathless. They become followers of a holy man called Sañjaya, but in a few days they have learned all that he knows and are still dissatisfied. So they travel India, trying to find a teacher who can help them achieve their quest. They make a pact that whichever of them first attains the deathless is to find and tell the other.

At Rājagaha, Upatissa meets the Elder Assaji, one of the five who heard the Buddha’s first teaching. Upatissa recognizes that Assaji has a quality that he has not seen before. He seeks a meeting with him, and engages him in discussion. Assaji speaks to him one of the most famous summaries of the Buddha’s teaching:

Of all things (dhamma) that come from a cause,

The Tathāgata has taught the cause

at which point Upatissa attains Stream-Entry. Assaji completes the verse:

And the cessation, too,

The Great Wanderer[*] has spoken.

But at this point Upatissa does not progress any further in the higher attainments.

Overjoyed to learn from Assaji that a Buddha has appeared in the world, Upatissa seeks out his friend Kolita. He speaks the same verse to him, on which he too attains Stream-Entry. They determine to go together to see the Buddha, but before they do they will visit their first teacher, Sañjaya, and invite him to come with them. However, Sañjaya is too attached to his reputation and status and refuses to go.

The two friends go to the Buddha, who ordains them as monks. Through his teaching, both attain Arahatship. But since then Upatissa has generally been known as Sāriputta, and Kolita as Moggallāna. (These are ‘metronymic’ names, taken from their mothers – a common ancient Indian custom. Upatissa is the son of Rūpasārī (‘Sārī the Beautiful’ – see the story for v. 400), and Moggallāna of a woman named Moggallī.) And as Sāriputta and Moggallāna they were named by the Buddha as his two chief monks.

Verse 12 is taken to refer to the attainment of the great Arahats; v. 11 to Sañjaya, who refused the opportunity to follow the Buddha.

13–14. STORY: The Commentary retells the very popular story of Nanda, the Buddha’s cousin, who is lured by the Buddha into becoming a monk when he has just married the most beautiful woman in the country. Nanda is discontented as a monk, and constantly misses his bride. Eventually the Buddha shows him a heavenly realm full of 500 celestial nymphs (accharā), in comparison with whom his bride appears ugly. He tells Nanda that if he perseveres in the monastic life he will win these nymphs. Nanda applies himself to the practice with vigour, and eventually achieves Arahatship. Having no longer any desire for women or nymphs, he releases the Buddha from his promise. The Buddha speaks these verses, and tells a story of a previous birth when Nanda was controlled through his sexual desire, when the future Buddha was a merchant and Nanda his donkey, who desired a mate.

15. Seeing his own action was defiled: ‘Seeing the defilement of his own action’.

STORY: This tells of Cunda, a butcher. He makes his living by fattening pigs, slaughtering them in cruel ways, and selling the meat; and he never has a generous or compassionate thought. In his last illness he sees a vision of the Avīci hell that awaits him. In his terror, he begins to behave like a pig, grunting and crawling on all fours, to the horror of his family. After seven days of this, he dies and is reborn in the Avīci hell.

16. Seeing his own action was pure: ‘Seeing the purity of his own action’.

STORY: A pious layman lives well and generously, and encourages his family to do the same. As he lies dying, monks chant the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (Majjhima Nikāya 1.56–83: Sutta 10), which teaches how to practise meditation through mindfulness, successively, of body, feelings, mind and dhammas. (For a translation and discussion, see Shaw 2006a: 76–85.) The man suddenly cries, ‘Wait!’ His family are appalled, thinking that he is afraid of death; but, as the Buddha later explains, he is in fact addressing the gods who have come to escort him to a heavenly realm, since he wishes to hear the rest of the Sutta before he goes.

17. a bad place: duggati, a bad gati (see Glossary), i.e. birth in a hell realm, the animal realm, or the realm of the petas (hungry ghosts).

STORY: The long Commentary on this verse retells the story of Devadatta and his evil deeds. He is ordained as a monk along with five other princes of the Sākiya clan (including Ānanda and Anuruddha) and their barber Upāli, all of whom become great Elders. Devadatta gains psychic powers (iddhi – see Glossary), but without any of the higher attainments. He becomes jealous of the Buddha and the great Arahats. He plots to oust the Buddha as leader of the Order, and even tries to have him assassinated. The Buddha never loses patience with him. Eventually, when Devadatta has caused a schism in the Order, he is swallowed by the earth[*] and is reborn in the Avīci hell.

18. He rejoices here: As often in the Dhammapada, masculine terms are intended to be understood in an inclusive sense, as shown by the fact that the commentarial story refers to a woman (or in this case a girl).
a good place: suggati, a good gati (cf. note 17) – birth in a heaven or the human realm. (The form suggatiṃ replaces the expected sugatiṃ for metrical reasons: see K. R. Norman 1997: 65.)

STORY: The generous banker Anāthapiṇḍika has three daughters, and places each in turn in charge of giving alms to the monks: first Mahāsubhaddā, then Cullasubhaddā, and then, when these are both married, Sumanādevī. Sumanādevī attains the state of Once-Return, but falls ill and is unable to eat. She sends for her father, but as she lies dying she calls him ‘youngest brother’, leading those around to speculate that her mind is wandering. But the Buddha explains that she uses these words because she has reached a higher state than her father, who is just a Stream-Enterer. She has been reborn in the Tusita (Joyful) heaven.

Burlingame (1921: I, 242–4), followed it seems by Malalasekhara (1937–8: II, 1243–4), has misunderstood this story, taking it that Sumanādevī has refused food out of grief because she is unmarried, when her sisters are married, and has fallen ill as a result. He has over-interpreted the word kumārikā, ‘young girl’, ‘maiden’, assuming it to mean specifically ‘virgin’, ‘unmarried woman’, and taking it as the reason for her distress. In fact she has given up eating because she is ill, and has sent for her father because she is still a young girl. (My thanks to L. S. Cousins for pointing this out.) A Once-Returner would not suffer from grief or disappointment at her lot, since she would already have let go of the ill will that gives rise to such feelings. As Anāthapiṇḍika says to the Buddha, ‘Bhante, here my daughter went about among her relatives rejoicing, and now that she’s gone from here she has been reborn in the place of rejoicing.’ The Buddha replies with the Dhammapada verse.

19–20. scripture: sahitaṃ, accusative of sahitā, equivalent to Sanskrit saṃhitā, which is generally used of the Vedic literature.
If you go from dhamma to dhamma: dhammassa hoti anudhammacārī – ‘[if one] is practising anudhamma of the dhamma’. An obscure expression, often translated simply as ‘if one acts in accordance with Dhamma’. Anudhamma could mean ‘subsidiary dhamma’ or ‘following-dhamma’. But the most likely sense here seems to be that of progressively following the Buddhist path.
wanderer’s life: sāmañña, the condition of a samaṇa (see Glossary).

STORY: Two friends become monks. One learns the Tipiṭaka by heart, while the other, who is not so good at studying, devotes himself to meditation. The learned monk looks down on the unlearned one, but when both are questioned by the Buddha it turns out that the latter has attained Arahatship, while the former just knows the theory.

CHAPTER 2

AWARENESS

The Pali word translated here as ‘awareness’ is appamāda, the opposite of pamāda, ‘intoxication’, ‘carelessness’, ‘unawareness’. As often in Pali, the negative suffix has a stronger force than in English, and appamāda is one of the most important qualities for a Buddhist to develop: that of constant mindfulness. The pair form one of the most important oppositions in Buddhist literature. Other commonly found translations are ‘heedfulness’ and ‘heedlessness’ and ‘diligence’ and ‘negligence’. In v. 309, I have translated the related adjective pamatta as ‘reckless’.

21–3. peace of yoga: yoga-kkhema – a compound word that seems to change its meaning over the course of Pali literature (and Sanskrit literature, where it appears as yogakṣema). Sometimes it is taken as a dvandva compound, ‘yoga and khema’ (e.g. ‘getting and enjoyment’), and sometimes as a tatpuruṣa, with various possible relationships between the two: ‘the khema of yoga’, ‘the khema from yoga’ etc. Unfortunately, both the individual words vary greatly in their meanings. I have taken it as the peace (khema) reached through practice (yoga). K. R. Norman (1997: 4, 67) takes it as ‘rest from exertion’; Carter and Palihawadana (1987: 112) as ‘freedom from bonds’.

STORY: A cycle of stories concerns the adventures of King Udena (or Udayana) and his wives Vāsuladattā, the chief queen, Sāmāvatī, the daughter of a banker (seṭṭhi – see Glossary), and Māgandiyā, a Brahmin woman. Sāmāvatī and her maids are devoted followers of the Buddha, having heard his teaching reported by a hunchbacked slave woman called Khujjuttarā, who first hears him teach when sent out to buy flowers for the queen, and attains Stream-Entry. Sāmāvatī notices a change in Khujjuttarā when she starts to bring twice as many flowers back as before. Previously, it appears, she used to keep half the flower money for herself, but now she spends it all on flowers. Far from being angry, Sāmāvatī continues to send Khujjuttarā to hear the Buddha’s teaching and to report to them what she has heard. (Khujjuttarā becomes the laywoman most skilled in teaching the Dhamma.)

Māgandiyā, in contrast, hates the Buddha, because he rejected her when her father offered her to him in marriage – see the story for vv. 179–80. She tries to stir up the mob against him (see the story for vv. 320–22). She also tries to poison the king’s mind against Sāmāvatī, making it appear that she is plotting against him. This fails, and indeed the king joins Sāmāvatī in taking refuge in the Buddha.

Finally, Māgandiyā has Sāmāvatī and her maids burned to death in their house. At the point of death, all of them meditate on loving kindness, and are reborn in higher states. When the king finds out the truth about what has happened, he has Māgandiyā and her accomplices put to death.

The Buddha speaks the verses as a comment on the contrasting fates of Sāmāvatī and Māgandiyā.

24. STORY: In a time of plague, a layman called Kumbhaghosaka leaves his native city and lives as a hired hand, despite having a secret store of treasure. After a number of adventures, he becomes the banker (seṭṭhi) of King Bimbisāra and marries the king’s daughter. The Buddha praises his wisdom with this verse.

25. STORY: Two brothers, Mahāpanthaka and Cūḷapanthaka (or Cullapanthaka), ‘Big Wayman and Little Wayman’, become monks. Mahāpanthaka is quick to learn, and soon attains Arahatship. Cūḷapanthaka is slow, and his brother turns him out of the monastery. To help Cūḷapanthaka, the Buddha gives him a clean cloth as a meditation object. Rubbing the cloth, he sees how it gradually becomes dirty; realizing impermanence, he attains Arahatship. He then becomes a great scholar of the Tipiṭaka.

26–7. guards … as the finest treasure: dhanaṃ seṭṭhaṃ va rakkhati. In the equivalent verse (4.10), the Udānavarga has ‘guards … as the banker [guards] his wealth’ (dhanaṃ śreṣṭhīva rakṣati).

STORY: It is a Fools’ Holiday in Sāvatthi – seven days given over to coarse behaviour and rude language. (The ‘fools’ keeping the holiday would smear themselves with ashes and cow dung and hang about in doorways uttering crude remarks until people gave them money to go away.) While it goes on, the Buddha’s followers arrange for him to receive food outside the city. When it is over, they tell him about the unpleasant time they have had over the last seven days, and he speaks the verses.

28. STORY: The Buddha observes the Elder Kassapa contemplating the coming into existence and passing away of beings in saṃsāra. He remarks that, as a Fully Awakened Buddha, he himself sees far more of this even than a great Arahat like Kassapa. He causes a likeness of himself to appear before Kassapa and utter this verse.

29. The wise one goes, leaving them behind / As a swift horse leaves a weak horse behind: Literally, ‘The wise one goes, having left [the unaware etc.] as a swift horse a weak horse.’ The equivalent in the Udāna (19.4) appears to be corrupt, as it seems to have the other horse winning.

STORY: This concerns a diligent monk and a lazy monk. The diligent monk works hard at his meditation practice; the lazy monk wastes time, while accusing his colleague of laziness. The diligent one attains Arahatship.

30. Maghavan: Sakka, king of the Thirty-Three Gods.

STORY: The Buddha explains that in a previous life Sakka was a prince called Mahāli. He attained the rank of Sakka by keeping seven observances: supporting his parents; supporting his elders; using courteous and friendly speech; avoiding divisive speech; avoiding avarice (i.e. practising generosity); being truthful; and overcoming anger. The splendid state of Sakka and his wives, and his victories over the asuras, are described.

31. fetters: saṃyojana – see Glossary.

STORY: A monk cannot make progress with his meditation subject, and goes to visit the Buddha to request a new one. On the way, he sees a forest fire burning up everything before it, and resolves to progress in the same way. The Buddha sends a likeness of himself to appear before him and speak the verse, and the monk attains Arahatship.

32. STORY: A monk called Nigama Tissa lives in a small town (nigama), and is content with the alms he receives there, never going to the neighbouring city of Sāvatthi to receive alms from wealthy donors such as Anāthapiṇḍika. He is praised for his frugality in eating.

CHAPTER 3

THE MIND

33–4. As the fletcher makes straight the arrow: cf. v. 80.
out of its watery home: oka-m-okata, taking the first oka as equivalent to ogha, ‘flood’, hence ‘its home, the water’ – cf. the notes to v. 91 (K. R. Norman 1997: 6, 69–70; Carter and Palihawadana 1987: 122).

STORY: A monk called Meghiya refuses to stay with the Buddha when requested, but insists on going alone to a mango grove, where he thinks he will be able to meditate better. He is unable to calm his mind there, and, beset by distractions, realizes his error and returns to the Buddha. Learning his lesson, Meghiya attains Stream-Entry.

This story comes from the Canon – Aṅguttara 4.354–8 and Udāna 34–7; for a translation and discussion, see Shaw 2006a: 24–8.

35. STORY: A laywoman (referred to only as ‘Mātika’s mother’, her son being the village headman) supports a group of sixty monks. Impressed by their behaviour, she asks them to teach her meditation, and soon attains the state of Non-Return, together with the ability to read minds. She then realizes that the monks – her ‘sons’ – have not yet attained this state: they have the capacity, as well as suitable lodgings and good companions, but they are not receiving the right kind of food to support their practice. Using her insight, she provides them with excellent food which helps to nourish their practice, and all attain Arahatship. Another monk, who has heard about the laywoman’s good food, goes to her village. Every time he wishes for a particular thing, Mātika’s mother provides it, and he soon realizes that she can read his thoughts. Fearing what she will do to him if he ever has an evil thought, he leaves and goes back to the Buddha.

However, the Buddha tells him that that laywoman’s village is precisely where he ought to be, in order to learn how to control his thoughts: he speaks the verse, and sends him back there. Guarding his thoughts and sustained by the wholesome food provided by Mātika’s mother, the monk attains Arahatship. Recollecting to see whether she has supported him in previous lives too, the monk discovers that in fact in ninety-nine of a hundred previous lives she has been an unfaithful wife of his who conspired with other men to cause his death. He thinks, ‘What wicked deeds this laywoman has done!’

Perceiving his thought, Mātika’s mother herself recollects and realizes that in a hundredth previous life as his wife she had spared him. She telepathically urges him to remember that life too. Filled with joy and gratitude for her support, the monk gives up every trace of clinging to existence and attains parinibbāna.

36. STORY: A monk becomes dissatisfied with the teaching he receives, since his teacher and preceptor are specialists in the Vinaya and the Abhidhamma respectively, and neither teaches him the way to become free from suffering. Feeling trapped by their constant emphasis on the rules, the monk gives up his practice and thinks of disrobing. He becomes very ill. When his teacher hears of this, he takes him to the Buddha, who instructs him in the one thing necessary in order to take care of all the rest: the way to guard his mind.

37. STORY: A young monk attends an older one, his uncle. While fanning him, the younger monk feels resentment and his mind starts to wander. He thinks about returning to the household life, marrying, and having a son. In the course of the daydream, he and his wife have an argument about who should carry the child on a journey. Refusing to let her husband have him, the wife insists on carrying the boy, but, growing weary, lets him fall under the wheels of a cart. Meaning to strike the imaginary wife, the young monk hits his uncle on the head with the fan. In shame, he tries to run away from the monastery, but is caught and taken to the Buddha, who counsels him with the verse.

The idea of the would-be meditator who becomes lost in daydream (or sometimes the illusory power of a deity) until he performs some foolish and violent act becomes a recurrent theme in Indian folklore.

38–9. STORY: A man who is unable to settle keeps going backwards and forwards between the monastic and the household life. The seventh time he goes back to the household life he sees his wife asleep, dribbling and snoring, and the sight reminds him of a corpse. Recollecting impermanence and suffering, he returns to the monastery. The monks are naturally somewhat doubtful about how long he is likely to stay, but this time he attains Arahatship. When he tells the monks that he has no longer any desire for the household life, they disbelieve him, but the Buddha confirms his claim, speaking these verses.

40. like a pot: According to the Commentary, as fragile as a pot.
territory: jita, originally ‘[that which has been] conquered’, but in Pali it has taken on the regular meaning of ‘empire’ or ‘territory’.
without resting: Following K. R. Norman (1997: 6). The Commentary takes anivesana as ‘without remnant of clinging’.

STORY: Five hundred monks who spend the Rains Retreat in a pleasant grove are harassed by the deities who live in the place, who send uncanny sights and afflict them with ailments to try to drive them away. The Buddha gives them a weapon to deal with these beings: the Mettā Sutta, a famous chant on the development of loving kindness towards all beings (Sutta Nipāta 143–52) – translated in many places: for translation and discussion see e.g. Shaw 2006a: 166–7.

41. STORY: A monk called Tissa becomes very ill with boils, which eat into his flesh and even into his bones, causing them to break. No medicine can help him, and so disgusting is his state that his fellow monks will have nothing to do with him. The Buddha visits his monastery and sets an example by himself heating water, cleaning the monk, and washing his robes. Once Tissa has been made comfortable, the Buddha teaches him with this verse. Tissa attains Arahatship and dies, entering parinibbāna.

The Buddha explains that in a previous birth Tissa was a bird-catcher, who broke the legs and wings of the birds he had caught to stop them flying away. However, he eventually saw the error of his ways and offered food to an Arahat, with the wish that he too might attain the same state.

42. STORY: The Buddha visits the herdsman Nanda to give him a teaching, and Nanda attains Stream-Entry. Nanda accompanies the Buddha on his way, but after bidding him farewell and leaving his presence he is accidentally killed by a hunter’s arrow. The monks remark that, if the Buddha had not come to Nanda on that occasion, Nanda would not have been killed. The Buddha tells them that, whether he had come or not, Nanda would not have escaped death. But, we are told, the monks did not ask the Buddha what Nanda had done in a previous life, so the reason for his sudden death remains unexplained.

43. What mother or father cannot do: As K. R. Norman points out (1997: 71), we would expect a parallel to v. 42, ‘Whatever mother or father can do’, but the change in wording, if there has been one, took place early, since it has also happened in the equivalent Udāna verse (31.10).

STORY: The commentarial story is somewhat reminiscent of the Greek myth of Tiresias. Soreyya, a banker’s son, who is married with two sons, sees the great Arahat Kaccāyana and feels desire for him because of his radiant golden body. As a result, Soreyya immediately turns into a woman, Soreyyā. Embarrassed, Soreyyā dares not return home, but travels to another town, where she marries a man and has two more sons. Years later, after meeting the Arahat again and confessing her earlier fault to him, she again becomes a man and ordains as a monk. People often ask the monk Soreyya which pair of sons he loves better, those he fathered or those he mothered, and he always replies that the ones he mothered are dearer to him than the ones he fathered. But later, when he has attained Arahatship, he says instead that he does not feel attachment for any beings.

CHAPTER 4

FLOWERS

44–5. These verses seem to suggest a half-pun on vijessati, ‘will conquer’, a derivative of ji-, ‘conquer’, and pacessati, ‘will pluck’, a derivative of ci-, ‘pick’. Some manuscripts actually have vicessati, ‘Who will discern this earth … ?’, ‘The Learner will discern this earth …’, from vi-ci-, another derivative of ci-. In some Prakrits the verbs ci- and ji- would have been been identical in form, making the pun a full one.
word of Dhamma: dhammapada.
a skilled one: A florist or garland-maker.
The Learner: sekkha, generally used of a follower of the Buddhist path who has reached one of the stages from Stream-Entry to Non-Return, but not yet attained Arahatship.

STORY: The Buddha overhears some monks talking about the qualities of different kinds of soil that they have seen on their journey. He points out that it is more important to cleanse the soil of the heart.

46. foam … mirage: there seems to be a reference here to Saṃyutta Nikāya 3.142, in which the five khandhas (see Glossary) are compared to things that are empty and unreal: rūpa, ‘form’, to a mass of foam on water; vedanā, ‘feeling’, to a bubble; saññā, ‘perception’, to a mirage; saṅkhāra, ‘mental creations’, to a banana tree (which is hollow within); and viññāna, ‘consciousness’, to a magical trick.
nature: dhamma.

STORY: A monk has difficulty with the meditation object given to him by the Buddha, and determines to go and see him to ask for another one. On the way, he sees first a mirage, and then a rainstorm that causes bubbles to rise up and burst along a terrace. He understands that ‘self’ is just as unreal and transitory as the mirage and the bubbles. The Buddha sends a likeness of himself to him to speak the verse, and the monk attains Arahatship.

47. STORY: The Commentary has a long story of rivalry between princes of the Sākiya clan. Viḍūḍabha is the son of a king by the daughter of a slave woman, and feels himself slighted by his more aristocratic relatives. He takes bloody vengeance on them, but on the way home he himself and his retinue are swept away and drowned by a river in flood. The monks wonder why the innocent followers perished along with the prince. The Buddha explains that, although they have done nothing to deserve it in the present life, in a previous life they had poisoned the river, killing large numbers of fish.

48. STORY: That of Patipūjikā (‘Husband-Worshipper’). A god called Mālabhārin (‘Garland-Bearer’) is enjoying himself with a thousand nymphs (accharā) in the Tāvatiṃsa heaven. One of the nymphs, who is sitting in a tree picking blossoms to make garlands for him, suddenly disappears. She is reborn in the human world, where she grows up, marries, and has four children; but she never forgets her divine husband. She becomes a devoted Buddhist laywoman, and every time she performs an act of merit she makes a wish to be reborn with Mālabhārin (hence her nickname). Suddenly she becomes ill, dies, and is reborn in the Tāvatiṃsa heaven, where the other nymphs are still making garlands. Mālabhārin greets her with the cry ‘We haven’t seen you since morning! Where have you been?’ When he hears her story, and learns how short human life is, Mālabhārin wants to know whether human beings spend their lives in meritorious actions. He is quite shocked to learn the answer.

Back in the human realm, the monks themselves are shocked by the sudden death of Patipūjikā, who had given them alms that very morning. The Buddha speaks the stanza to remind them of the briefness of earthly existence.

49. In the village … nectar: The right attitude for a monk going into a village for alms.
Flower, colour or scent: K. R. Norman (1997: 8, 73) takes pupphaṃ vaṇṇa-gandhaṃ as an unusual compound, broken to avoid running over the caesura in the line of verse, in which case it would mean ‘the colour and scent of a flower’.

STORY: The miser Kosiya and his wife do not wish to offer alms to the Buddha and the monks, so they prepare their meal in an upstairs room where they think no one will see them. This does not prevent the Elder Moggallāna, famous for his psychic powers, from standing outside the window. Kosiya then tells his wife to cook a very small pancake to offer in alms to Moggallāna, but each time she tries to do this the pancake destined for him becomes enormous. In the end, they offer the whole basketful to Moggallāna, who teaches them about generosity. Rather than simply accept the food for himself, Moggallāna brings Kosiya and his wife to offer their alms to the Buddha and 500 monks.

The Buddha, too, gives a teaching on generosity, and Kosiya and his wife attain Stream-Entry. The Buddha speaks the verse in praise of Moggallāna, encouraging the other monks to be like him.

50. STORY: The Ājīvika ascetic Pāṭhika seeks to undermine a laywoman’s attempts to offer alms to the Buddha: among other tricks, he tries to mislead the Buddha about the route to her house. When the Buddha finds his way there in spite of his efforts, Pāṭhika behaves so rudely that the laywoman is too upset to concentrate on the Buddha’s teaching. The Buddha speaks the verse to her to encourage her not to mind Pāṭhika’s behaviour, but to pay attention to her own conduct.

51–2. STORY: While the layman Chattapāṇi, a Once-Returner, is sitting listening to the Buddha, King Pasenadi also comes to visit. Since the Buddha is sitting down, Chattapāṇi does not get up. Pasenadi is angry, until the Buddha calms him by talking of Chattapāṇi’s good qualities. Another day, Pasenadi sees Chattapāṇi passing his palace, and sends for him. Now Chattapāṇi prostrates himself before Pasenadi and pays him every respect. Pasenadi wants to know why Chattapāṇi did not stand up for him on the previous occasion. Chattapāṇi points out that, if one were in the presence of a king of kings, and a subject king were to arrive, it would be insulting to the king of kings if one were to stand up for the subject king.

Pasenadi is impressed, and invites Chattapāṇi to teach the Dhamma in the women’s quarters of his palace. But Chattapāṇi says that it would be improper for him, as a layman, to do this, and recommends that the king ask the Buddha to send a monk. (There would have been no obstacle to a layman’s giving a Dhamma teaching: the problem is the question of his visiting the women’s quarters. Clearly Chattapāṇi does not wish to give Pasenadi any cause for suspicion, particularly in view of their previous misunderstanding.)

The Buddha sends Ānanda, who teaches the Dhamma to King Pasenadi’s two wives and their attendants. Mallikā learns and practises what she has heard, while Vāsabhakhattiyā does not. The Buddha speaks the verses on the different attitudes of the two queens.

53. STORY: This concerns the early life and marriage of the great laywoman Visākhā, known for her beauty, generosity and good sense. The story culminates in her donating a monastery to the Saṅgha. When it is complete, she walks around the monastery, accompanied by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and appears to be singing. In view of her usual extremely proper behaviour, the monks are shocked; however, the Buddha explains that she is not singing, but uttering an udāna, full of joy that her wish to make this great donation has been fulfilled. He explains that she originally conceived this wish hundreds of thousands of aeons before, in the times of the earlier Buddhas Padumuttara and Kassapa. He speaks the verse in praise of Visākhā.

54–5. tagara: The plant Tabernaemontana coronaria, whose roots were ground to make a fragrant powder.

STORY: Ānanda asks the Buddha whether there is any kind of perfume that can be wafted against the wind. The Buddha describes the qualities of the man or woman who takes refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha.

56. STORY: The Elder Kassapa refuses alms from 500 nymphs (accharā), wives of the god Sakka, because he wishes to accept alms from someone who is very poor. But Sakka and one of his ladies disguise themselves as an impoverished weaver-couple and give alms. The fragrance of the food they offer fills the city.

57. STORY: A monk called Godhika makes great efforts, and almost reaches the point of attaining Arahatship; however, because of illness, he keeps falling away from it. He determines to free himself by cutting his own throat. As he dies, he attains Arahatship and enters nibbāna. Māra looks for him, but cannot find him, and the Buddha utters the verse.

The story is a canonical one, from the Saṃyutta Nikāya (1.120f.): the Commentary on that (SA 1.144f.) explains that the chief monks tried to dissuade Godhika from this course, and that the Buddha tried to reach him but arrived too late. It was through controlling his pain and meditating at the point of death that Godhika attained Arahatship. The texts are very careful not to give any sort of encouragement to suicide, which is normally considered to bring kammic consequences as serious as those of any other kind of killing.

58–9. STORY: The (not apparently very edifying) story of two laymen, Sirigutta and Garahadinna, respectively the followers of the Buddha and of the Nigaṇṭhas (Jains). Garahadinna maintains that the Nigaṇṭhas know everything, past, present and future, while Sirigutta claims the same for the Buddha. Each tries to prove his point by inviting the other’s teacher or teachers for alms, and setting up a booby trap for them to fall into. The ascetics are caught, but the Buddha is not: indeed, some dishes that Garahadinna had deliberately left empty are found to be full of delicious alms-food for the Buddha and his monks. Garahadinna is profoundly moved and pays homage to the Buddha, inviting him to speak the traditional words of thanks in the form of a Dhamma talk, at the end of which both Sirigutta and Garahadinna attain Stream-Entry.

CHAPTER 5

FOOLS

60. league: Representing the Pali yojana, derived from the distance that can be ploughed by an ox-team in one day. It appears to have varied between about 4.5 and 9 miles (7.2 and 14.4 km) – see Rau 1959: 162–3.

STORY: The Commentary has a complex sequence of stories, pointing out the perils of adultery, and praising the wisdom of a good wife. King Pasenadi conceives a desire for the wife of a poor man, and seeks a pretext to get rid of her husband. He makes him his servant, and sets him a difficult task: to bring him red earth and blue and white lotuses from a river a yojana away, and be back with them by the time the king goes to bathe in the evening. Not only is this a long journey on foot, but the river is inhabited by nāgas. Not daring to stop to eat before he goes, the man takes his lunch of curry and rice with him in a basket. On his way he gives a portion of the food to a traveller, and when he reaches the river he throws in some rice for the nāgas. He offers to give the merit of these good actions to the nāgas in return for their red earth and blue and white lotuses. The nāga king appears in the form of an old man and gives him what he needs, and the man returns to the palace with the earth and flowers. However, Pasenadi, seeking to frustrate him, has had the doors locked early. The man leaves the gifts at the palace door, calling all to witness that he has obeyed the king’s command. He then takes refuge for the night in the monastery where the Buddha is staying.

Meanwhile, Pasenadi has a sleepless night, disturbed by strange and terrible sounds. In the morning he consults his household priest, who claims that they are sounds of ill omen, whose effects he should avert by sacrificing hundreds of living beings, including human boys and girls. Pasenadi’s wife, Mallikā, becoming aware of the preparations for the sacrifice, tells her husband that he is a fool for thinking that a man can save his own life through the death of another. She persuades him instead to go with her to visit the Buddha.

When they are in his presence, the king is too full of fear to speak, so Mallikā tells the Buddha about the unearthly sounds. The Buddha explains that these are the sounds made by four beings in a hell realm, who are suffering the consequences of lives spent committing adultery by being boiled for aeons in a giant kettle. King Pasenadi takes the point, and silently makes up his mind never again to set his heart on another man’s wife.

The king now knows how long the night is; the poor man knows how long a yojana is; and the adulterers know how long saṃsāra is – in confirmation of which the Buddha speaks the verse. The king sets free the poor man and all the chosen sacrificial victims, who praise Queen Mallikā for saving their lives. The Buddha tells the story of a previous life in which Mallikā saved the lives of herself, a hundred kings and a hundred princes.

61. steadfastly: K. R. Norman (1997: 10, 76) takes daḷhaṃ as ‘certainly’.
with fools: Taking bāle as a rare form of the instrumental plural. Alternatively, taking it as locative singular, ‘in a fool’.

STORY: The Elder Kassapa has a novice who persistently misbehaves, resents correction, and eventually burns down his master’s hut. The Buddha consoles Kassapa by speaking the verse. He tells the story of a previous life, in which a foolish monkey destroys the nest of a wise siṅgila (apparently a mythical horned bird): the novice was the monkey, and Kassapa the bird.

62. STORY: Ānanda the Banker (seṭṭhi) is a miser. He passes on some of his wealth to his son, Mūlasiri, but keeps the bulk of it hidden. He dies suddenly, and is reborn in a Caṇḍāla (‘untouchable’) family, as a deformed child who seems to bring bad luck on those around him. Even his mother, reduced to begging, eventually sends him away to beg by himself.

He finds his way into Mūlasiri’s house, where the sight of him frightens the children, and the servants throw him out. But the Buddha comes by, and sends for Mūlasiri. He tells the former Ānanda the Banker to point out to his son where he formerly hid his treasure.

63. STORY: Two friends are part of a crowd that has gathered to listen to the Dhamma. One of them listens and attains Stream-Entry, while the other steals a purse. The thief has food to eat that night, while the Stream-Enterer has nothing. The thief and his wife make fun of the Stream-Enterer, saying that he is too wise for his own good. The Stream-Enterer thinks about the thief, ‘At least this man, in his folly, doesn’t think he is wise.’

64. dhammas: Or ‘the Dhamma’, but here dhammaṃ seems to be used in a plural sense. Similarly with rasaṃ: ‘flavours’ or ‘flavour’.

STORY: The Elder Udāyi fancies himself as wise, and likes to sit in the teacher’s seat. However, when there he proves unable to answer the most elementary questions.

65. STORY: Thirty men are in a forest looking for a woman (presumably for sexual purposes). However, instead they meet the Buddha, who ordains them with the words, ‘Come, monks!’ They work hard at practising the Buddha’s teaching, and quickly attain Arahatship. When other monks remark on the speed of their attainment, he speaks the verse.

66. STORY: Suppabuddha (‘Well-Awakened’) suffers from leprosy. He hears the Buddha’s teaching and attains Stream-Entry. He wishes to speak to the Buddha about it, but, not daring to force his way through the crowd that is there, he decides to go and see him at the monastery later on.

While he is on his way there, the god Sakka decides to tempt him. He offers him enormous wealth to deny his faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha, but Suppabuddha rejects the offer with scorn. Sakka reports his experience to the Buddha, who confirms that it would not be possible to prevail upon a Stream-Enterer like Suppabuddha to deny his faith.

Suppabuddha himself then goes to see the Buddha, who welcomes him in a friendly way. But, after he leaves, Suppabuddha is killed by a cow, and afterwards is reborn in the heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods. The Buddha recounts the wrong actions in past lives which led to his dying in this way and to his having contracted leprosy. The verse is a comment on these actions.

67. working-out: vipāka, literally, ‘ripening’, the result of previous action (kamma).

STORY: A farmer who finds a stolen purse on his land is arrested and wrongly accused of theft. He calls on the Buddha, who knows what really happened, and is set free. Presumably the farmer’s trouble is thought to be the result of wrong actions in a previous life, but this is not explicitly stated.

68. working-out: See the note on v. 67.

STORY: King Bimbisāra’s gardener, Sumana, offers to the Buddha the flowers intended for the king. Such is his joy that he does not mind whether the king kills or banishes him for his action. The flowers hover round the Buddha all day, following him like a moving canopy. The king does not punish Sumana, but rewards him lavishly, and the Buddha foretells that one day the gardener will become a Paccekabuddha called Sumana. (Sumana means ‘Good Mind’, but also suggests sumanā, ‘jasmine’.)

69. STORY: The canonical story of the great Arahat Uppalavaṇṇā. The daughter of a wealthy merchant, she is so beautiful that many kings and princes desire to marry her. (Her name means ‘Having the Complexion of the [Dark-Blue] Water Lily’.) Not wishing to offend any of these great men, her father asks her to become a nun – which happens to be her own dearest wish, cultivated through many lives. She soon attains Arahatship through meditation while gazing at the flame of a lamp.

One night, while living in a hut in a forest, she is raped by a suitor from her earlier life. Afterwards, as a result of his crime against an awakened being, her attacker is swallowed up by the earth, and is reborn in the Avīci hell (cf. the story for v. 17). It is in relation to this man’s behaviour and subsequent fate that the Buddha speaks the verse.

Some people, discussing Uppalavaṇṇā’s misadventure, begin to speculate that perhaps Arahats are not free of sense-desire. The Buddha corrects them, speaking Dhammapada v. 401. He also makes a rule that, in future, nuns should not live alone in the forest, and the king provides them with accommodation within the city.

70. kusa: A grass (Sanskrit kuśa) used in Vedic rituals. It is regarded as sacred, but has very sharp blades.
Of those who’ve mastered dhammas: saṅkhāta-dhammānaṃ – i.e. by investigating them in insight meditation.
This verse is closely paralleled in a Jain text, the Uttarajjhayaṇa Sutta (9.44): see Roth 1976.

STORY: Jambuka, an Ājīvika ascetic, pretends to live on next to nothing, but is secretly surviving by eating his own excrement. The Buddha understands what is really happening, visits him, and explains to him the reason for his current degraded state – a series of coarse insults offered to an Arahat in the time of the Buddha Kassapa. The Buddha gives Jambuka a garment. Then Jambuka listens to the Buddha’s teaching, attains Arahatship, and ordains as a monk. When his lay followers come to visit him, he now directs them to the Buddha, as his master. The Buddha points out that, even if Jambuka were genuinely to abstain from food, as he previously pretended to do, this ascetic practice would not be worth a sixteenth part of the feeling of remorse that had led him to change his ways.

71. curdles: Added for clarity. Following Patna Dharmapada 107 and Udānavarga 9.17, K. R. Norman (1997: 11, 79) takes muccati as representing mucchati (< mūrcchati), ‘coagulates’, ‘goes off’. The Pali commentary takes sajju-khīraṃ as a compound, ‘that day’s milk’, ‘fresh milk’, so that the first two lines of the verse would then mean, ‘For an evil deed that is done, / Like fresh milk, does not ripen [at once]’. However, the alternative versions both have it as two separate words (sajjaṃ chīraṃ, PDhp 107; sadyaḥ kṣīraṃ, Uv 9.17), giving Norman’s reading, which I have followed here.

STORY: Two stories about ghosts (petas) seen by the Elders Moggallāna and Lakkhaṇa. When they report what they have seen to the Buddha, he explains the reason for the beings’ rebirth in this form. (1) A crow steals food brought by villagers for the Buddha Kassapa. It is reborn in the Avīci hell, and afterwards as a gigantic ghostly crow. (2) A farmer, angry because people visiting a Paccekabuddha have trampled his fields, destroys the holy man’s hut. He too is reborn in the Avīci hell, and afterwards as a ghostly snake.

72. reputation for knowledge: ñattaṃ, probably equivalent to Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit jñātra (K. R. Norman 1997: 11, 80).
causes his head to split [or ‘fall’]: The Commentary interprets ‘head’ as a synonym for ‘wisdom’: see Carter and Palihawadana 1987: 156. However, in ancient Indian literature we find a persistent belief that a person’s head could split (or fall off) through overweening arrogance. (It is described as happening to the sage Vidagdha Śākalya in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, III.9.26 (Roebuck 2000: 69; 2003: 59).)

STORY: Another tale of a ghost seen by the Elders Moggallāna and Lakkhaṇa. A disabled man has great skill in throwing stones, using it to cut the leaves of a banyan tree into amusing shapes and so earn a living. An apprentice learns the craft from him, but uses it to kill a Paccekabuddha. Finding out what has happened, the local people, who loved the Paccekabuddha, beat the apprentice to death. He is reborn first in the Avīci hell, and afterwards as a ‘sledgehammer ghost’: a figure, three-quarters of a league in height, being repeatedly battered on the head by burning sledgehammers.

73–4. respect among bad people: Taking asataṃ as genitive plural, following K. R. Norman (1997: 11, 80) and the Patna Dharmapada 178. The Commentary takes it as accusative singular: ‘undue respect’.
renouncers: pabbajitā, those who have ‘gone forth’.
Let me be in charge / Of everything: Literally, ‘Let it be controlled by me in everything.’

STORY: A proud monk called Sudhamma feels slighted by the layman Citta because the latter pays attention to another monk who is a Once-Returner. He behaves badly to Citta, but eventually the Buddha prevails upon him to apologize. He repents his rudeness and attains Arahatship. Citta visits the Buddha, who praises him with v. 303.

75. Reminiscent of Kaṭha Upaniṣad II.1ff., which, interestingly in view of the commentarial story, concerns a young boy choosing between wealth and the spiritual path (tr. Roebuck 2000: 318; 2003: 277):

The better is one thing, the pleasanter another:

Both bind a man, to different ends.

Of the two, it is well for the one who chooses the better.

The one who chooses the pleasanter fails of his end.

.      .      .      .      .      .      .      .      .

These two are far apart, disparate,

Ignorance and what is called wisdom …

STORY: Tissa, a seven-year-old novice, attains Arahatship. When the monks remark on the immensely wealthy background that the boy has renounced, the Buddha speaks the verse.

CHAPTER 6

THE WISE MAN

76. such a one: tādisaṃ. In the Dhammapada, tādisa, ‘[one/s] like that’, seems always to be used as a term of respect – cf. vv. 196, 208.

STORY: A poor Brahmin called Rādha lives at a monastery and works for the monks. Despite his attentiveness, they are not willing to admit him to the Order. But Sāriputta, remembering a kindness on the part of Rādha, ordains him and takes him on his alms-round. Rādha is attentive in following Sāriputta’s instructions, and Sāriputta is grateful for his help.

77. then: Word added for clarity.

STORY: A group of monks behave badly, breaking all sorts of Vinaya rules. The Buddha tells Sāriputta and Moggallāna to admonish them. Some listen and reform, others voluntarily return to the household life, while the hardest cases are expelled from the Order.

78. STORY: The Elder Channa repeatedly insults Sāriputta and Moggallāna. After the Buddha’s death, when punished by being boycotted by the Order, he repents and soon attains Arahatship.

79. Dhamma-drinker: There is a pun here on pīti (< Sanskrit pīti), ‘drinking’, and pīti (< Sanskrit prīti), ‘joy’: ‘Dhamma-drinker’/ ‘One who takes joy in the Dhamma’. The commentator takes it purely in the former sense, while the Udānavarga, PDhp and GDhp all have prīti: see K. R. Norman 1997: 82.

STORY: A king and queen, Kappina and Anojā, become followers of the Buddha, and they and all their entourage are ordained as monks and nuns. All attain Arahatship. Kappina is heard wandering around the monastery exclaiming, ‘Oh, happiness! Oh, happiness!’ Some hearers think he is referring to his previous life as a monarch, but the Buddha explains that he is referring to the peace of nibbāna.

80. shape: Literally, ‘bend’ – cf. v. 145.

STORY: Paṇḍita Dāraka (‘Little Boy Wiseman’) is a seven-year-old novice. One day he accompanies Sāriputta into a village on the alms-round, carrying the Elder’s robe and bowl. On the way, he sees a drainage ditch directing the course of water, fletchers making arrows, and carpenters making chariot wheels. Seeing that even inanimate objects are capable of being led or shaped, he is inspired to strive for Arahatship.

Paṇḍita Dāraka hands the Elder’s robe and bowl back to him, and asks him to bring food for him too. Sāriputta is not offended by the novice’s behaviour, but sends him back to the monastery as he wishes. As the boy meditates, the sun and moon stand still. The Buddha becomes aware that Sāriputta is returning with food for the boy, so, to prevent him from interrupting the boy’s meditation, he detains him by asking him four tricky questions about food. While Sāriputta is answering them, the novice attains Arahatship. The Buddha then utters this verse.

81. STORY: The Arahat Elder Lakuṇṭaka Bhaddiya – said elsewhere to have been a very tiny man – is teased and tormented by novices and others, but remains unperturbed. (For more on this Elder, see the stories for vv. 260–61, 294–5.)

82. Dhamma teachings: dhammāni – an odd usage if it simply means ‘dhammas’, since it seems to be neuter instead of the expected masculine. K. R. Norman (1997: 83) takes it as an Eastern form of the masculine. I take it as a derivative (equivalent to Sanskrit dhārmyāṇi) meaning ‘things connected with the Dhamma’.

STORY: A girl called Kāṇā resents Buddhist monks because her mother gave away to some monks the food that the girl was meant to take to her future husband’s house, so the marriage that had been arranged for her fell through. However, when she actually hears the Buddha’s teaching, she becomes calm and generous towards the monks. She is rewarded by the king, who adopts her as his daughter and arranges her marriage to a kind and wealthy nobleman.

The Buddha speaks the verse referring to Kāṇā’s change from the sadness in her past to the peace of her present state.

83. go everywhere: Reading vajanti, ‘they go’; variant, cajanti, ‘they renounce’, giving ‘… practise renunciation everywhere’ – the reading that seems to be followed by the Commentary.
boast: Or possibly ‘chatter’/‘cause to chatter’ (lapayanti) – see Carter and Palihawadana 1987: 167–8; K. R. Norman 1997: 83.
from desire for sensual things: Taking kāma-kāmā as an ablative singular – literally, ‘from desire for desires (i.e. sense-pleasures)’. Some take it as a nominative plural agreeing with ‘the good’ – ‘desiring desires’.
excitement or depression: uccāvacaṃ (literally ‘up-and-down-ness’) – a common pairing which refers to one of the hindrances to meditation, the tendency of the mind to excessive highs and lows. (See ‘hindrance’ in Glossary.) K. R. Norman (1997: 12, 83) translates uccāvacaṃ as ‘variation’.

STORY: This concerns the contrasting behaviour of monks and others during a period of famine.

84. injustice: adhamma.
just: dhammika.

STORY: A layman wishes to become a monk, but his wife puts him off, first until she gives birth to the child she is expecting, then until the child is able to walk, then until the child is of age. At this point the layman decides that he does not care about her permission, and gets ordained anyway, after which he achieves Arahatship. Eventually the son and wife too are ordained, and they too attain Arahatship.

The message of the story seems to be that one should not desire worldly satisfactions at all, whereas that of the verse seems to be primarily that one should not seek them through improper means.

85–6. STORY: The residents of a street in Sāvatthi get together to give alms, and spend a whole night listening to the Dhamma. But some are overcome by desire or ill will and wander away, while others fall prey to lethargy and fall asleep. None of them manages to listen all night through.

87–9. states: dhammas (taking dhammaṃ as accusative plural). enlightenment factors: Often listed as seven: mindfulness (sati), investigation of dhammas (dhammavicaya), effort/courage (viriya), joy (pīti), calming (passaddhi), concentration (samādhi) and equipoise (upekkhā).
have attained nibbāna: parinibbutā, ‘are fully liberated’ – participle form from the same verb as parinibbāna.

STORY: A brief account of the Buddha’s teaching to a group of fifty monks who visit him at Jetavana, at the end of the Rains Retreat.

CHAPTER 7

THE ARAHAT

90. STORY: When Devadatta attempts to kill the Buddha by dropping a rock on him, the rock splits and passes the Buddha by, but a splinter injures his foot. The physician Jīvaka dresses the wound, but is unable to return at the appointed time to remove the bandage. He is extremely troubled, fearing that the Buddha will experience pain as a result. The Buddha, perceiving his thought at a distance, asks Ānanda to remove the dressing, and all is well. When Jīvaka returns, he tells the Buddha of his worry, and the Buddha speaks the verse in reply.

91. geese: The haṃsa is not a ‘swan’, as in Carter and Palihawadana 1987: 174–5, but a goose, greatly admired in ancient Indian literature for the strength and beauty of its flight. Specifically, it probably refers to the bar-headed goose (Anser indicus), a bird that is remarkable for both the height and the speed of its flight on its migrations over the Himalayas between India and Tibet. (For a discussion of the goose in Indian art and literature, see Vogel 1962.)
any kind of home: okamokaṃ. A variant reading is okam oghaṃ, ‘their watery home’, ‘their home, the water’ – cf. v. 34. This agrees with the Udāna reading (17.1). For the geese, this would apply to the pools where they have been living before migration; for the mindful, it would mean the flood of saṃsāra (K. R. Norman 1997: 14, 85–6). Carter and Palihawadana (1987: 174) translate the line as ‘One shelter after another they leave,’ but offer the alternative of ‘Home they abandon, the flood.’

STORY: Other monks misunderstand the actions of the Elder Kassapa, thinking that they stem from attachment to particular households of lay supporters. The Buddha explains that Kassapa is not attached to the households, but is obeying the Buddha’s instructions. Kassapa is as free as the (migrating) goose in the verse.

92. STORY: The monk Belaṭṭhasīsa, intent on spending time in meditation, stores food overnight to avoid going on an alms-round every day. The Buddha, on hearing of this, makes a Vinaya rule against it. But he declares that Belaṭṭhasīsa himself has not done wrong, because the rule had not yet been given, and also because he had stored only a modest amount of boiled rice.

93. STORY: When the Elder Anuruddha’s robes are worn out, a goddess called Jālinī, who was his wife in a previous existence, leaves celestial cloth in a rubbish heap so that he will find it. The Buddha and the chief Elders sew the cloth into robes. Meanwhile, the goddess inspires villagers to bring them all sumptuous food. When some monks express disapproval, believing that Anuruddha had asked his supporters for these gifts, the Buddha puts them right with the verse.

94. calm: samatha, the concentration aspect of meditation.

STORY: Sakka himself comes to do honour to the great Arahat Kaccāyana. When some other monks are offended that he has done this only for Kaccāyana, and not all the Elders, the Buddha speaks the verse in praise of Kaccāyana.

95. royal pillar: indakhīla, the main pillar before the gate of a town.
Like the earth … royal pillar: The Commentary points out that the earth doesn’t mind whether pure things, like garlands of flowers, or impure ones, like urine and excrement, are thrown on it; and similarly the pillar in front of the town gate doesn’t mind whether people hang offerings on it or little boys relieve themselves against it.
no more wanderings in saṃsāra: Literally, ‘no more saṃsāras [i.e. rebirths in this world or that]’.

STORY: A monk fancies himself injured by Sāriputta, and works up a tremendous head of resentment against him. But, when he sees the forbearance of the Elder, he repents. The Buddha speaks the verse in praise of Sāriputta.

96. STORY: A seven-year-old novice, attending upon an Elder, loses an eye when it is accidentally caught by the handle of the Elder’s fan. Far from being angry, the boy attempts to conceal his injury, and when it is found out he reassures the Elder, saying that it was neither the Elder’s fault nor his own, but that of the round of existence.

97. That man who’s faithless … brave fellow indeed: assaddho akataññū ca sandhicchedo ca yo naro / hatāvakāso vantāso sa ve uttamaporiso. An elaborate sequence of puns, whose most obvious meanings are all disparaging, but which on reflection reveal a set of meanings that express praise. For example sandhiccheda means ‘burglar’, but the context here shows that it is also to be taken in its literal sense as ‘breaker/cutter of links’. Full understanding of the double meanings seems to have been lost in the Pali commentarial tradition, but remembered in the Chinese commentaries on the Sanskrit version (Hara 1992).
Here, meaning (1) is the bad, and (2) the good sense:
faithless/desireless: assaddha. (1) Without faith (saddhā) in its usual sense of confidence in the Buddha’s path. It can also refer to the quality that causes a person to practise generosity, so a-ssaddha would then mean ‘miserly’. (2) More rarely, saddhā can mean ‘desire’ (confidence in the wrong things?), so I have taken assaddha in its laudatory sense as meaning ‘free from desire’. Some translators have taken assaddha in its laudatory sense to mean ‘not credulous’; however, there is little evidence that in ancient times saddhā was ever regarded as equivalent to credulity, since ‘faith’ in the Buddhist tradition has never meant ‘believing in’ dogmas etc. In the story below, Sāriputta is complimented not on lack of excessive credulity, but on the fact that, as one who has experienced attainments for himself, he no longer needs saddhā (K. R. Norman 1979).
Ungrateful/Who knows the unmade: akataññū. (1) a-kataññū, ‘ungrateful’ (< ‘not (a-) knowing (ññū) what has been done (kata) [for him]’). (2) akata-ññū, ‘knowing (ññū) the unmade (akata [= nibbāna])’ (cf. v. 383). Ingratitude is regarded with particular disapproval in Buddhism, and this pun is a fairly common one.
burglar/breaker of links: sandhiccheda. (1) ‘Breaker of links’, i.e. ‘burglar’ (one who broke his way through the partition walls (probably of wood or clay) in ancient Indian homes). (2) ‘Breaker of the links’ that bound him to existence.
Who’s blown his chances/Who’s gone beyond chances: hatāvakāsa, ‘having destroyed opportunity’. (1) Having destroyed his chances of performing good actions. (2) Having destroyed occasions for quarrels, or, perhaps, having destroyed occasions for good and bad kamma to arise – the interpretation I have followed here.
an eater of forbidden food/who’s got rid of desire: vantāsa – vanta + āsa. (1) An eater (āsa) of that which is vomited (vanta) – i.e. leftover food, regarded as unclean. (2) One who has vomited out (vanta) hope or expectation (āsā).
brave fellow/fine person: uttamaporisa, taken by most translators as equivalent to uttama purisa (Sanskrit uttama puruṣa), ‘topmost man/person’; but, as Hara (1992) has pointed out, it is more likely to mean ‘possessing the highest manliness/courage’ (Sanskrit uttamapauruṣa), which is appropriate either to (1) a daring criminal or (2) an Arahat who has made the supreme effort to attain liberation.

STORY: The Buddha praises Sāriputta, who relies not on belief but on experience to know the truth of his teaching.

The Pali Commentary does not address the fact that the most obvious meaning of the words is disparaging or even criminal. Perhaps in an earlier version of the story the Buddha was being deliberately provocative by describing the great Elder in terms that would normally be applied to a bandit chief – cf. the startling words applied to Lakuṇṭaka Bhaddiya, notes to vv. 294–5.

98. What a lovely place it is: taṃ bhūmiṃ rāmaṇeyyakaṃ, following K. R. Norman (1997: 14, 88), who takes the odd syntax here as a split compound (cf. the note on v. 49), equivalent to taṃ bhūmi-rāmaṇeyyakaṃ, literally, ‘that is a loveliness of a place’. His interpretation is supported by PDhp 245, which has taṃ bhomaṃ rāmaṇīyakaṃ, ‘that is earthly delightfulness’. Probably there is an underlying sense of ‘that [i.e. the presence of Arahats] is what makes a place lovely’.

STORY: When the Buddha goes to visit Revata, the youngest brother of Sāriputta, Revata by his psychic power (iddhi) creates a wonderful residence for the Buddha in the forest. Monks who have seen that residence find the forest a wonderful place. However, two old monks who get lost in the same forest see it as merely a wilderness of thorny acacia trees. The Buddha explains the different perceptions people have of the forest, but points out that to an Arahat it does not matter what kind of forest it is.

99. Where folk find no delight: ‘Folk’ meaning ‘worldly folk’.
sensual things: Literally, ‘desires’, as in v. 83.

STORY: A monk is trying to meditate in the forest. A courtesan has arranged to meet a client there, and when he fails to turn up she turns her charms on the monk, who becomes distracted. The Buddha, at a distance, becomes aware of what is going on, and sends a likeness of himself to the monk, through which he teaches him and speaks this verse. The monk attains Arahatship.

CHAPTER 8

THOUSANDS

‘Thousands’ sequences seem to have been popular, as they occur in all known versions of the Dharmapada literature, though not always under that title. Verses of the same type occur also in Jain and Hindu texts: see Roth 1976. In my translation, I have adapted the syntax of the verses to convey what I feel to be a similarly proverbial feeling in English: see my comments on individual verses.

100. Better than a thousand sayings … Is one word of meaning: Literally, ‘If [there are] a thousand sayings … better [is] one word of meaning …’
word: pada, ‘word’ or ‘saying’.
Which calms you to hear it: Literally, ‘Hearing which, one is calmed’.

STORY: An executioner, who has just retired after killing hundreds of criminals, gives alms to Sāriputta. During Sāriputta’s talk after the meal, the executioner’s mind is distracted by the thought of his former bloody actions. The Elder reminds him that he did not originally undertake the post at his own will, but only because he had been ordered to do so by the king. The man’s mind then becomes calm, and he is able to profit by Sāriputta’s teaching. Later that day he is killed by a yakkhinī in the form of a cow, and is reborn in the Tusita heaven. When asked where the former executioner has been reborn, the Buddha utters the words:

On hearing the well-spoken word,

He who killed thieves in the city

Gained patience in accordance with that

And rejoices, having gone to heaven.

The monks express surprise that a man who had performed cruel acts for fifty-five years should attain such a state after hearing only a small amount of teaching. The Buddha explains that the Dhamma should not be thought of as little or much, and he speaks the Dhammapada verse.

101. Better than a thousand verses … Is one word of verse: Literally, ‘If [there are] a thousand verses … better [is] one word of verse … ’
Which calms you to hear it: As in v. 100.

STORY: A man called Bāhiya loses everything in a shipwreck, so on reaching the shore he makes himself a garment from tree-bark. Since ascetics often wore such garb, he is taken for a holy man, and people address him as ‘Arahat’. He starts to wonder if he really is an Arahat. A deity who meditated with him in an earlier life sees his danger, and encourages him to go and see the Buddha, who teaches him and offers to ordain him once he has equipped himself with robes and bowl. While he is trying to find them, he is killed by a yakkhinī in the form of a cow. The Buddha reveals that Bāhiya has attained Arahatship, after hearing just a few short words of teaching.

102–3. Better than speaking a hundred verses … Is one word of meaning: Literally, ‘Though someone might speak a hundred verses … better [is] one word of Dhamma (dhammapada) … ’
Which calms you to hear it: As in v. 100.
you … yourself: Literally, ‘one … oneself’ – and similarly in the following verses.
There is a close parallel in Jain literature to v. 103, Uttarajjhayaṇa Sutta 9.34: see Roth 1976.

STORY: Kuṇḍalakesī (‘Curly-Haired’ – also known elsewhere as Bhaddā) is the beautiful sixteen-year-old daughter of a wealthy merchant of Rājagaha, and her parents try to keep her secluded from men in order to find a suitable husband for her. But one day she looks out of the window and sees a captured bandit being brought back to the city in chains, and instantly falls in love with him. She refuses all food until her parents agree to make this man her husband. Her father bribes an official to save the bandit from execution (and execute somebody else), and the bandit and Kuṇḍalakesī are married.

Kuṇḍalakesī does everything possible to win her husband’s heart; but he has not really changed, and soon forms a plan to kill her and steal her jewels. He pretends to be troubled because he has a vow to fulfil: when he was facing execution, he says, he swore, if he were saved, to make a sumptuous offering to the deity of Robbers’ Cliff, the execution place, where robbers are thrown down to their deaths. So Kuṇḍalakesī prepares the offerings, dresses in her finest garments and jewellery, and accompanies her husband, alone, to the top of Robbers’ Cliff.

When they get there, he tells her to take off her jewels, as he is going to kill her. Her pleas fail to melt his heart, so she decides to rely on quick thinking. She begs permission to embrace him before she dies; and as she does so, she gets behind him, gives him a shove, and pushes him off the cliff. The deity of the place salutes her for her wisdom, but she is troubled. She dares not return to her parents, so she becomes a nun with the Nigaṇṭhas (Jains). A skilled disputant, she wanders India, challenging anyone to debate with her. If a householder beats her in debate, she will become his servant; if a renunciant does so, she will join his Order.

No one is able to defeat her, until one day she arrives at Sāvatthi when Sāriputta is there. He answers all her questions, but she cannot answer his. She asks to become his follower; but he takes her to the Buddha, who has her ordained as a nun. In a short time she becomes an Arahat with great powers, the quickest in understanding of all the nuns. The monks discuss the fact that Kuṇḍalakesī has become an Arahat after very little teaching; and that she has come to them after fighting a bandit[*] and defeating him. So the Buddha speaks the two verses.

104–5. Better to conquer yourself: Literally, ‘A better conquest is self’ – see K. R. Norman 1997: 89.
spirit: gandhabba – see Glossary.

STORY: A Brahmin asks the Buddha whether he knows about both winning and losing, and asks him about losing. The Buddha speaks of things that lead to loss. He then asks the man the reason for his interest in the topic, and the Brahmin reveals that he is a professional gambler. Sometimes he wins, and sometimes the other man wins. The Buddha says that such victories are trivial, and speaks the verse on the nature of the truest kind of victory.

106. offerings: Word added for clarity. The commentary takes it as ‘a thousand pieces of money’.

STORY: The uncle of Sāriputta – who comes from a Brahmin family – thinks he will win rebirth in the world of Brahmā by sacrificing every month with a thousand pieces of money. Sāriputta takes him to the Buddha, who points out that it would be better for the man if he were to offer a spoonful of boiled rice to Sāriputta.

107. STORY: As for v. 106, but told about Sāriputta’s nephew.

108. All that is not worth a quarter as much / As reverence to those who are upright: Literally, ‘All that does not go to a quarter, better is reverence to the straight-goers.’

STORY: As for v. 106, but told about a friend of Sāriputta.

109. A verse that is frequently recited in blessing after the giving of alms to monks. As was noted by Fausbøll (1855: 289), it is an almost exact translation of v. 2.121 of the Mānavadharmaśāstra, ‘The Laws of Manu’, an important Hindu text in Sanskrit dated to the late centuries BCE, except that in that text the four things said to increase are ‘life-span, knowledge, fame and strength’.

STORY: According to a prediction, a boy is fated to be killed at an early age by a yakkha called Avaruddhaka; however, the Buddha recites protective chants for him, benign deities gather round, and Avaruddhaka is unable to touch him. The boy survives, and there is a new prediction: that he will live to 120 years of age. When the monks later discuss the things that might cause an increase in life-span, the Buddha speaks the verse.

110. Better than living a hundred years … a meditator: Literally, ‘One who might live a hundred years … better [for him is] one day’s life [when he is] well behaved, a meditator.’

STORY: The seven-year-old novice Saṃkicca is a remarkable child who is in his last life and ripe for Arahatship. He joins a group of forest monks. The leader of a gang of 500 bandits demands one of the monks to use as a human sacrifice. Though each of the monks volunteers to go, Saṃkicca insists, and is taken to the bandits’ camp. The bandit leader proves miraculously unable to kill him, and he and his followers all become monks, followers of Saṃkicca. Commenting on the contrast between the present and past lives of these monks, the Buddha speaks the verse.

111. For the syntax, see the notes on v. 110.

STORY: The Elder Khāṇu Koṇḍañña sits so still in meditation in the forest that one night a gang of 500 bandits mistake him for a tree-stump (khāṇu, hence his name) and prop their bags of loot round him. In the morning, seeing him there, they think he is a spirit and start to run away. The Elder reassures them; they apologize, and ask him to ordain them as monks. The Buddha speaks the verse, as in v. 110.

112. For the syntax, see the notes on v. 110.

STORY: The Elder Sappadāsa (‘Having a Snake as his Slave’) becomes discontented as a monk, but does not wish to return to the lay life, so decides to commit suicide. He puts a snake into a jar, and tries to make it bite him, but it refuses. Then he decides to cut his throat with a razor, but just as the razor is resting against his throat he recollects his conduct since he joined the Order and realizes that it has been without fault. Filled with joy, he goes on to develop insight and attains Arahatship.

When he tells his fellow monks what has happened, they refuse to believe that anyone could have attained Arahatship in such a short time; they also wonder why the snake refused to bite him. The Buddha explains that the snake was Sappadāsa’s slave in a previous life. Speaking the verse, he confirms that it is possible to achieve Arahatship in such a short time.

113. For the syntax, see the notes on v. 110.
arising and passing away: i.e. of beings.

STORY: Paṭācārā, born into a wealthy family of Sāvatthi, is kept in seclusion (cf. the story of Kuṇḍalakesī for vv. 102–3), but she falls in love with a servant boy and runs away with him. They live hard-working lives together in a village. When Paṭācārā becomes pregnant, she wishes to see her parents, according to custom, despite her husband’s fear that they will ill-treat him; however, she gives birth to a son on the way, and returns to the village without seeing them.

A second time she becomes pregnant, and tries to see her parents, taking her husband and child with her. On the way, during a terrible storm, she goes into labour. Her husband goes to find brushwood to make a shelter for her, but is bitten by a snake and dies. Paṭācārā has the baby in the open. Thinking her husband has abandoned her, she continues towards her parents’ house, carrying the baby on her hip and holding the other child by the hand. Finding her husband’s body by the roadside, she blames herself for what has happened to him.

Eventually she reaches a river. She is too weak to carry both children, so she first takes the baby across, then goes back for the older child. But, while she is crossing, a bird of prey sees the baby and carries it off, thinking that it is a piece of meat. As she tries to shout at the bird to scare it away, the other child thinks she is calling him, runs into the river, and is swept away.

Paṭācārā carries on to Sāvatthi, hoping to find her parents, but there learns that the very same storm in which she suffered has blown down the family house, killing her mother, father and brother: they have only just been cremated. On hearing this final piece of news, Paṭācārā goes mad, and runs around the city naked, lamenting for her family. Some people call her a crazy woman, and throw things at her.

She comes to the Jetavana monastery, where the Buddha is staying. His followers try to keep her away from him, but he tells them to admit her. When she comes near to him, he tells her, ‘Sister, regain mindfulness,’ and she comes back to her senses. A man gives her his cloak, and she puts it on and prostrates herself before the Buddha. She begs him to be her refuge, and tells him her terrible story. He agrees to be her refuge, and tells her not to be troubled. Just as today, he explains, throughout her wanderings in saṃsāra she has shed tears over sons and other loved ones:

More than the water in the four oceans

Is the vast expanse of tears,

The grief of a man, touched by suffering.

Why then, lady, are you unaware?

As he speaks, her grief becomes less, and he reminds her (with Dhammapada vv. 288–9) that family cannot be a refuge at the time of death. She attains Stream-Entry, and asks to be ordained as a nun.

One day, as she pours out water to wash her feet, she sees that some streams run a little way, and disappear; some run a little further, and some further yet. It reminds her that some beings die in childhood, some in the prime of life, and some in old age. The Buddha sends a likeness of himself to stand before her and teach her, uttering the present verse. She attains Arahatship.

114. For the syntax, see the notes on v. 110.
the deathless state: nibbāna.

STORY: That of Kisā Gotamī and the mustard seed – perhaps the best-known of all Buddhist stories. Kisā Gotamī (‘Gotamī the Lean’), from a poor background, marries a wealthy merchant’s son. When she bears him a boy child, her happiness seems complete; but the boy dies as soon as he is able to walk. Unable to accept that he is dead, Kisā Gotamī wanders from house to house, carrying the child and asking for medicine to cure him, until a wise man sends her to the Buddha.

The Buddha tells her that he can cure the child if she brings him a pinch of mustard seed, but it has to be from a house where no one has died. As she searches from house to house, she realizes that there is no house where no one has died: the living are few, and the dead are many. She leaves the child’s body in the forest, and returns to the Buddha. He teaches her with Dhammapada v. 287 – on which Kisā Gotamī attains Stream-Entry, and is ordained as a nun.

One night, seeing the flames of a lamp flaring up and flickering out, she contemplates impermanence. The Buddha sends a likeness of himself before her, to teach her and speak this verse, and she attains Arahatship.

115. For the syntax, see the notes on v. 110.

STORY: A wealthy laywoman, Bahuputtikā (‘She Who has Many Children’), has seven sons and seven daughters, all of them married and doing well. When her husband dies, her sons keep trying to persuade her to give up her property to them, promising that they will look after her. But when she finally does so, her daughters-in-law treat her with contempt. Tiring of this, she leaves them and becomes a nun. As she has entered the Order in old age, she feels that she has to make an extra effort, and sits all night in meditation. The Buddha sends his likeness to her, and speaks the verse, and Bahuputtikā becomes an Arahat.

CHAPTER 9

EVIL

116. what is right: kalyāṇa, ‘the pure’, ‘the meritorious’, ‘the good’.
good: puñña.

STORY: Ekasāṭaka (‘He Who has One Robe’), a poor Brahmin, and his wife have only one outer garment between them. They take it in turns to wear it, and go to hear the Buddha. One night, however, the Brahmin feels a strong urge to offer the garment to the Buddha, and, after struggling all night with selfish thoughts, he lays it at the Buddha’s feet, crying out three times, ‘I have won!’ King Pasenadi is present, and on learning what the Brahmin has done he is so impressed that he gives him more clothes, which again Ekasāṭaka offers to the Buddha. In the end, Pasenadi rewards the Brahmin with four of everything (elephants, horses, thousands of coins, wives, female slaves, and villages). The Buddha tells the monks that if Ekasāṭaka had made the donation in the first watch, he would have received sixteen of everything; if in the middle watch, eight of everything; but as he did not give until the last watch he received only four of everything.

117. painful: dukkha.

STORY: A monk, discontented with the rule of celibacy, gets into the habit of masturbating – an offence requiring confession to the Order. The Buddha rebukes him with the verse.

118. pleasant: sukha.

STORY: A young woman who is parching corn (similar to making popcorn) in a field sees the Elder Kassapa the Great. Delighted, she offers him some of the corn and asks to share in the Dhamma that he has seen. Shortly afterwards she is bitten by a snake and dies; but, as she is still full of the joy of giving, she is reborn in the heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods as the goddess Lājā (‘Parched Corn’). In her divine form, she comes back to clean Kassapa’s cell and put out everything he needs, just as a novice monk would do.

When Kassapa finds her there, he fiercely rebukes her, and she is very upset. The Buddha explains to her that the Elder was right to maintain the rules regarding the contact between monks and women, but it is also understandable that she should wish to repeat the works of merit that have brought her such happiness.

119–20. evil action … good action: ‘action’ added for clarity.

STORY: The wealthy banker Anāthapiṇḍika falls on hard times, and loses his wealth. He continues to donate to the Buddha and the monks out of what he has. A deity[*] of his household tries to persuade him to give up making offerings in order to save what he has left. Because of this wrong advice, Anāthapiṇḍika evicts the deity from his household, and he/she can find nowhere else to stay. The deity approaches a succession of higher-ranking deities for help, without success, until Sakka advises him/her to perform an act to make amends to Anāthapiṇḍika, and then to ask his pardon.

The deity disguises him/herself as Anāthapiṇḍika’s steward, approaches the banker’s debtors, and recovers the money they owe him. He/she also finds him some hidden treasure without an owner, and so restores the banker to his former wealth. Finally the deity approaches Anāthapiṇḍika and begs his pardon.

121. STORY: A monk is in the habit of leaving his requisites lying about. He leaves his bed and chair outside, where they are liable to be destroyed by sun, rain and insects. When rebuked about it, he maintains that this is merely a trivial fault, and that very little damage has been done. The Buddha points out that this is not a useful way to think: a vessel left outside may not be filled by the first drop of rain, but if it stands out in rainfall after rainfall it will eventually be filled.

122. good: puñña.

STORY: A layman hears from the Buddha that it is good both to give and to urge others to give, so he invites the Buddha and his monks for a meal the next day, and asks all his fellow villagers to join him in giving. A wealthy but somewhat stingy banker is angry that the layman has involved others in this way. The banker takes tiny amounts of food, such as he can hold between three fingers, and puts them in the offering-dish. (Because of this, he receives the nickname Biḷālapādaka – ‘Cat’s Foot’.) The layman puts together all the offerings from other people, but places the banker’s offerings apart. He then puts grains from the banker’s offerings into the other, more sumptuous, dishes. The banker thinks that the layman is planning to expose his meanness in front of everyone, so he hides a knife in his clothes, meaning to kill the layman before he can say anything about it. But the layman simply requests blessings on all those who have given, including the banker. Stricken by remorse, the banker confesses the whole story to the Buddha. The Buddha says that no good deed is a trifling matter, and speaks the verse. Biḷālapādaka attains Stream-Entry.

123. evil actions: ‘actions’ added for clarity.

STORY: A merchant called Mahādhana (‘Great Wealth’) abandons a planned journey because he has heard that 500 bandits are planning to plunder his caravan. A group of monks report this to the Buddha, and he speaks the verse. The monks attain Stream-Entry.

124. for one who does not do evil: ‘evil’ added for clarity.

STORY: A rich man’s daughter falls in love with a hunter called Kukkuṭamitta (‘Friend of Dogs’ or ‘Having Dogs as Friends’) and follows him back into the forest. They marry, and she bears him seven sons. One day, when all the sons are grown up and married, the Buddha comes to the forest where Kukkuṭamitta and his sons hunt, and leaves his footprint near one of Kukkuṭamitta’s nets. Kukkuṭamitta catches nothing that day, and when he sees the Buddha he blames him for it and wants to kill him. He aims his bow, but can neither shoot nor let it go. When his sons come looking for him, they too become fixed there like statues. When they do not return home, Kukkuṭamitta’s wife goes looking for them, accompanied by her daughters-in-law.

Seeing the Buddha there, with the men pointing their arrows at him, Kukkuṭamitta’s wife cries out, ‘Don’t kill my father! Don’t kill my father!’ The men take her words literally, thinking the Buddha is their father-in-law and grandfather, and at once have a change of heart towards him. The Buddha allows them to lower their bows, and they ask his pardon. He teaches the Dhamma to them, and Kukkuṭamitta with his seven sons and seven daughters-in-law attains Stream-Entry and gives up the taking of life.

Afterwards, discussing the event with Ānanda, the Buddha reveals that, while the rest of the family had attained Stream-Entry that day, Kukkuṭamitta’s wife was a Stream-Enterer already, having reached that state while still a girl (not Arahatship, as Burlingame mistakenly has it (1921: II, 279)).

The monks are surprised that a girl who was a Stream-Enterer had married a hunter. Stream-Enterers do not take life; yet, every day, Kukkuṭamitta’s wife had brought him his bow, arrows and nets, which he had used for precisely this purpose. The Buddha explains that she had acted not with the intention of taking life, but simply with the intention of doing her husband’s bidding.

125. STORY: A hunter called Koka meets a monk in the forest and blames him for his lack of success in hunting. Koka sets his dogs on the monk, who climbs a tree. Koka shoots the monk in the feet, and in his agony the monk lets his outer robe fall off. It lands on the hunter, whose dogs mistake him for the monk and devour him. The monk is greatly troubled, fearing that he himself has caused the hunter’s death. The Buddha reassures him, and tells the story of a previous birth in which Koka had tried to kill someone else and suffered death himself in the same way.

126. Some find a womb: i.e. are reborn as human beings or animals.
Those who go well: sugatino, perhaps a pun, suggesting as it does both those who behave well and those who have a good rebirth (gati).

STORY: A jeweller and his wife regularly offer alms-food to an Elder called Tissa. One day, while the Elder is there, the jeweller receives a messenger from King Pasenadi, bringing a ruby to be cut and polished. When the jeweller is not looking, the family’s pet crane swallows the ruby, thinking it is a piece of meat. The jeweller accuses the Elder of stealing the jewel, and, despite the remonstrances of his wife, he tortures and beats the monk. While so doing, he also strikes and kills the crane, which is nearby.

Once the crane is dead, the monk can reveal that it has eaten the jewel, which is then found in its crop. (He would not say anything before, to protect the bird from the jeweller.) The jeweller repents, and begs the monk for forgiveness, which he grants.

Soon after, the monk dies as the result of the ill treatment he has received. Being an Arahat, he attains nibbāna. The crane is reborn in the womb of the jeweller’s wife. When the jeweller’s wife dies, she is reborn in a heavenly world, because of her kind thoughts towards the monk. The jeweller is reborn in a hell world.

127. STORY: Three groups of monks, on their way to visit the Buddha, witness or experience disturbing events. They ask the Buddha for explanations. (1) A thatched roof catches fire, and some of the burning thatch flies up into the air. A crow, flying past, is caught by it and burned to death. (2) A woman, thought to be a bringer of bad luck at sea, is thrown overboard and drowns. (3) Seven monks are trapped in a cavern when a rock falls in front of it. No one can remove it, but on the seventh day it rolls away by itself.

In each case, the Buddha offers an explanation. (1) The crow was formerly a farmer, who burned to death an ox that would not do what he wanted it to. As a result, he had suffered this fate in his last seven existences. (2) The woman had formerly drowned a dog, which had annoyed her by persistently following her. (It had been her husband in a yet earlier life, and had not lost its affection for her.) She had therefore suffered death by drowning in her last hundred existences. (3) The monks had been cowherd boys who had kept a lizard trapped without food. However, in the end they had let it go. They had suffered a similar fate in their last fourteen existences.

128. STORY: Suppabuddha, the Buddha’s uncle and former father-in-law, resents him for abandoning his daughter – and perhaps also on behalf of his son, Devadatta. He repeatedly insults the Buddha by standing drinking in the street, and blocking his path to the houses where he has been invited for alms: a serious offence. The Buddha turns back without saying anything, but he smiles. When Ānanda asks him why, the Buddha tells him that, as a result of his offence, in seven days’ time, while standing on the ground floor of his palace, Suppabuddha will be swallowed by the earth (cf. the story for v. 17). When a spy reports this back to Suppabuddha, he makes up his mind to prove the Buddha wrong. He goes to live on the top floor of his palace, and has the stairs removed. He has two strong men stationed at each door, with orders to prevent him from going down, whatever might happen. Hearing of these precautions, the Buddha comments that there is nowhere that Suppabuddha can go to avoid his fate, and he speaks the verse.

On the seventh day, the royal charger breaks loose on the ground floor of the palace. Suppabuddha, hearing the commotion, makes a move to go down to it, since he alone knows how to quiet the horse. At that moment the doors swing open, the stairs reappear, and the strong men posted at the door seize Suppabuddha by the neck and throw him down. This happens again on every floor. When he reaches the ground floor, the earth opens and swallows him up, and he is reborn in the Avīci hell.

CHAPTER 10

THE ROD

Daṇḍa – literally, ‘rod’, ‘stick’ – is also widely used figuratively in senses such as ‘punishment’, ‘violence’. Some previous translators of the Dhammapada have translated it in this chapter as ‘violence’. I have kept to the more literal translation, since the word is used in the chapter in the literal (v. 135) as well as the figurative senses. I did not think that readers would have any difficulty in understanding this usage, since figurative expressions such as ‘the big stick’ are also common in English.

129–30. All beings: ‘beings’ inserted for clarity.
Seeing their likeness to yourself, / You should neither kill nor cause to kill: Literally, ‘Making [one]self the simile [i.e. comparing them with oneself], one should neither kill nor cause to kill.’

STORY: The commentary clearly takes the latter clause in the sense of ‘neither strike nor cause to strike’, which is also possible. The stories concern groups of monks who (v. 129) fall out over lodgings and come to blows or (v. 130) fall out over lodgings and make threatening gestures to one another.

131–2. Verse 131 is closely paralleled in Hindu literature in the Laws of Manu (Mānavadharmaśāstra V.45 – cf. v. 109 above) and the Mahābhārata (XIII.5568) – see Müller 1881: 37.
hereafter: pecca – literally, ‘having passed on’, ‘having died’.

STORY: The Buddha finds some boys tormenting a snake with a stick, and gives them this teaching.

133–4. Verse 133 is paralleled by Mahābhārata XII.4056 – see Müller 1881: 37.
painful: dukkha.
You don’t let yourself make a noise: Literally, ‘You don’t cause yourself to utter [a sound].’ In vv. 133–4 the ‘you’ is a genuine second-person singular, not the indefinite ‘one’.

STORY: This concerns a dispute between monks. One of them is followed around by the figure of a woman, and so is accused of breaking his vows. In fact the apparition is rooted in his behaviour in a previous life, when he was a goddess who jealously tried to come between two monks who were close to one another. Through the verses, the Buddha advises him not to quarrel with the other monks any more.

135. Drives … end: There seems to be a pun here on pāj-, ‘drive [cattle]’, and pāj-, ‘end’ (< pāc) – see K. R. Norman 1997: 95.

STORY: A group of 500 women are observing a fast-day. When Visākhā asks them why they are doing it, the older ones say that they desire to be reborn in a heavenly world; the middle-aged ones seek to be freed from the power of their co-wives;[*] the young ones want children; while the single girls want husbands. None of them is actually seeking freedom from rebirth. When Visākhā reports this to the Buddha, he speaks the verse.

136. He does not understand: i.e. that his life will soon be ended by Death.

STORY: Moggallāna and Lakkhaṇa see a ghost (peta) in the form of a large snake, its body surrounded by flames (cf. the stories for vv. 71, 72). The Buddha reveals that the being was reborn in that state because in the time of the Buddha Kassapa he was a thief who bore a grudge against a banker who had spotted him attempting a robbery. He persecuted the banker, attacking his cattle, and eventually burning down a dwelling-place that the banker was planning to offer to the Buddha Kassapa, so adding to the seriousness of the crime.

137–40. who do no harm: Literally, ‘who do little harm’.

STORY: The Commentary retells the story of the death of Moggallāna. Paid by rival ascetics, bandits attack Moggallāna and leave him for dead. Though all his bones are broken, by the power of meditation the great Arahat manages to hold himself firm, and soars through the air to pay his respects to the Buddha before he dies. At the Buddha’s invitation, he teaches and performs various miracles, following which he dies, attaining parinibbāna. His murderers – both the rival ascetics and the bandits – are caught by King Ajātasattu and burned to death.

The monks are troubled that Moggallāna the Great has met an undeserved end. The Buddha explains that, though this is true as regards the present life, in a previous existence Moggallāna was a son who beat his old blind parents to death, pretending to be an attacking band of robbers. (The Jātaka version differs: in this, hearing his parents pleading with the supposed bandits for their son’s life, he eventually relented – Jātaka 522, 125–6.) As a result, he suffered in a hell realm for a very long time, and afterwards met with a similar death in a hundred existences. So both he and the rival ascetics had in fact suffered the consequences of previous actions.

The idea that the great Arahat Moggallāna had had a dark past in previous existences goes back to the Canon. In Majjhima Nikāya 1.332–8 (Sutta 50: the Māratajjanīya, or ‘Warning to Māra’, Sutta), Māra attempts to possess Moggallāna, but the great Arahat recognizes and expels him. Moggallāna tells him how he himself had been the Māra of a previous age of the world, named Dūsi, ‘Corrupter’. He had tempted laypeople to attack the followers of the Buddha Kakusandha, as a result of which he had suffered in hell realms (graphically described) for a long time. The Māra of the present age was the son of Māra Dūsi’s sister Kāḷī, so Moggallāna can speak to him as his uncle. He uses his own experience to warn him in vivid terms of the danger of attacking someone like him.

141. Can purify: ‘can’ inserted for clarity.

STORY: A monk, formerly a rich man, who has hung on to too many possessions is rebuked by the Buddha. Angrily, he removes all his garments but one and stands like that in the middle of the assembly. The Buddha rebukes him for his immodesty, telling a story of the monk’s past life when, despite being a yakkha with a taste for human flesh, he had kept his modesty.

The Commentary seems to have interpreted the verse as being primarily about immodesty. In the verse itself, however, the practice of going naked is viewed as an extreme form of asceticism, not as immodesty. Ascetic practices performed without meaning are contrasted in the following verse with household practices carried out by one with true understanding. Perhaps naked ascetics were not such a common sight in fifth-century-CE Sri Lanka as they must have been in India in the late centuries BCE.

142. Even though you wear fine clothes: Literally, ‘if [one is] adorned’ – i.e. wearing the jewellery and adornments of a layperson.
living the holy life: brahmacārin, often technically meaning ‘celibate’, but sometimes, as here, referring more generally to one who practises the spiritual life.
wanderer: samaṇa.

STORY: A royal minister called Santati returns to Kosala after putting down a rebellion on the borders. The people of Kosala are extremely grateful to him, and King Pasenadi provides him with every luxury, including a beautiful court dancer to dance and sing for him. Santati spends seven days indulging in pleasures and getting very drunk. He then mounts the royal elephant and heads towards the bathing place on the river. On the way he meets the Buddha, who is walking to the city on his alms-round. Santati, seated on the elephant and dressed with royal ornaments, retains enough awareness to bow his head to the Buddha. The Buddha smiles. When Ānanda asks him the reason, he explains that, that very day, and adorned as he is, Santati will attain Arahatship and afterwards pass into nibbāna. Naturally, seeing the state the young man is in, many of those present are incredulous.

Santati goes back to the palace and gets ready for yet more indulgence. The beautiful dancer appears and begins to perform. She has fasted for seven days, to try to make her performance even more graceful, and as she dances she suddenly dies, struck down perhaps by a heart attack: ‘knife-like pains arose in her belly and as it were cut the flesh of her heart asunder’ (Burlingame 1921: II, 313). Santati, instantly sober, is overcome by terrible grief. He realizes that only the Buddha can help him now, and goes to see him. The Buddha explains that this is not the first time that Santati has wept over this woman: more than the water in the four oceans is the volume of tears that he has shed for her in countless lives. Santati attains Arahatship and dies, entering parinibbāna.

143–4. Some editions place the first two pādas of v. 144 (the first two lines in the translation) at the end of v. 143, so that v. 144 begins with ‘By faith, morality and effort’.
honour: hiri – see Glossary.
avoids blame: K. R. Norman (1997: 20, 96) has ‘thinks little of blame’, reading appabodhati for apabodhati. However, I think the mention of hiri gives support to the traditional interpretation.
swift: saṃvegin, ‘possessed of urgency’.
Endowed with knowledge and conduct: Words often used in praise of the Buddha.
this suffering, great though it is: Literally, ‘this not-small (anappakaṃ) suffering (dukkha)’, but the position of anappakaṃ, at the end of the verse and after the verb, seems to emphasize it.

STORY: A man who owns only one ragged cloth becomes a monk, and receives offerings of robes and food from the laypeople. Whenever he becomes discontented with the monastic life, he goes and contemplates his old ragged cloth. He calls it ‘visiting his teacher’. In time he attains Arahatship, and no longer needs to do this.

145. As v. 80, but with subbatā (‘those who are true to their vows’) for paṇḍitā.

STORY: That of a boy novice called Sukha, very similar to that of Paṇḍita Dāraka accompanying v. 80.

CHAPTER 11

OLD AGE

146. the world: Added for clarity.

STORY: Some women companions of Visākhā get drunk, and laugh and dance in the presence of the Buddha when they should be listening to his teaching. A deity from Māra’s host tries to take the opportunity to possess them, but is driven away by the Buddha, who sends out a dark-blue ray and plunges the place into darkness. He then sends forth a bright ray of light, as though a thousand moons had risen at once. Terrified, the women come to their senses, and are established in the Buddha’s teaching.

147. with many imaginings: bahusaṅkappaṃ. It is not clear whether the imaginings are those of the person whose body it is or of others. If the latter, Carter and Palihawadana’s translation, ‘highly fancied’, is very much to the point (1987: 215).

STORY: A monk falls desperately in love with Sirimā, a beautiful courtesan who has become a devoted follower of the Buddha and a generous supporter of the monks. (For her earlier life, see the story for v. 223.) Sirimā is suddenly taken ill and dies. The Buddha requests the king that her body should be left unburned for four days, with a guard to make sure that it is not eaten by birds and animals. At the end of that time the Buddha calls everyone together, including the enamoured monk. He arranges for a drummer to announce that the body is for sale, first for large sums of money, then for increasingly smaller sums, until it is offered for nothing. When Sirimā was alive, men would pay enormous sums of money just to spend a night with her; but no one wants her body now that she is dead. The monk, understanding the impermanence of the body, attains Stream-Entry.

148. STORY: A 120-year-old nun donates all her food to a monk, for three days in succession. On the third day she trips and falls over, and the Buddha speaks this verse.

149. STORY: Some monks, who have a high opinion of their own attainments, are sent off to meditate in the cremation ground. But when they see some corpses that have started to decay they feel revulsion, while when they see others that are still undecayed they feel desire. They then realize that they are not yet rid of the defilements. The Buddha sends a likeness of himself to appear before them and utter this verse.

150. A city made of bones: i.e. the body.
old age and death, / Pride and hypocrisy: The equivalent verses in GDhp (284) and Uv (16.23) have ‘passion and ill will’ in place of ‘old age and death’ – Brough 1962: 263. ‘PDhp. has no equivalent verse’ – Carter and Palihawadana 1987: 460.

STORY: The Buddha’s half-sister, Nandā, who is renowned for her beauty, is ordained as a nun. Hearing that her brother disparages beauty, she avoids hearing him teach. When she is eventually prevailed upon to hear him, he causes to appear before her the figure of a beautiful girl, about sixteen years old, who, even as Nandā watches, grows to old age, becomes ill, and eventually dies. Seeing this, Nandā begins to understand impermanence and suffering. The Buddha speaks verses on the nature of the body, and she attains Stream-Entry. He then encourages her to meditate on emptiness, speaking the Dhammapada verse, and she attains Arahatship.

151. STORY: While Mallikā, the wife of King Pasenadi, is bathing, her pet dog comes in and tries to have sex with her. Apparently she is amused, and does not try to stop him. When the king happens to see this and questions her about it, she does not acknowledge what has happened, but concocts an elaborate lie so that her husband does not believe the evidence of his own eyes.

At the time of her death, instead of remembering all the good actions she has done in her life, Mallikā remembers this one wrong act (primarily the deceit against her husband, rather than the possible sexual misdemeanour), and is reborn in the Avīci hell, where she has to stay for seven days. The king, who adored her, goes to visit the Buddha every day, meaning to ask him where his late wife has been reborn. Each day, the Buddha engages him in such fascinating conversation that he forgets to ask.

On the eighth day, when Mallikā has once more been reborn, the Buddha allows Pasenadi to remember his question, and reveals that she is now in the Tusita heaven. Pasenadi speaks of his grief at his loss, and the Buddha comforts him with the verse.

152. STORY: The Elder Lāḷudāyi always says the wrong thing: when invited to chant at a funeral, he chants cheerful verses; while at festive occasions, he chants funeral verses. The Buddha tells the story of a previous birth in which Lāḷudāyi had also said the wrong thing. (Lāḷudāyi (probably meaning ‘Udāyi the Chatterer’) may or may not be the same as the Udāyi in the stories for vv. 64 and 241, since there was also a learned Arahat called Lāḷudāyi.)

153–4. I wandered … A journey of many births: Literally, ‘I ran through a saṃsāra of many births’ (aneka-jāti-saṃsāraṃ sandhāvissaṃ).
without respite: Following K. R. Norman 1997: 22, 153. The commentarial reading takes anibbisaṃ as ‘not finding’, i.e. in vain. The Udānavarga (31.6) has punaḥ punaḥ, ‘again and again’, as at the end of the last line of the same verse.
The house-builder: Māra.
house: Body.
The mind, freed from conditioned things: visaṅkhāra-gataṃ cittaṃ – ‘the mind (citta), which has gone beyond the saṅkhāras [see Glossary]’. Citta, generally translated as ‘mind’, covers all aspects of consciousness, including much of what would be called ‘heart’ in English.

STORY: Some of the central verses of Buddhism, these are the words of triumph spoken by the Buddha when he has achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.

155–6. holy life: brahmacariya, perhaps in the sense of ‘celibacy’.
wealth: Presumably spiritual wealth, merit. In the story it refers to both spiritual and worldly goods.
like wasted arrows: cāpātikhīṇā va, literally, according to the Commentary, ‘as though shot from a bow’; but ati-khī- seems to have connotations of waste (khī-) and of over-shooting (ati). Rhys Davids and Stede (1972, 18 – under atikhīṇa) suggest ‘[shot] from a broken bow’. In any case, the comparison is with the arrows, lying wasted on the ground, not with the person or animal who has been shot.

STORY: Mahādhana (‘Great Wealth’), a banker’s son, is born with every material advantage: ‘eighty crores’ (800 million) of treasure. His parents, thinking that he will never have to earn a living, do not trouble to have him taught anything but the arts of playing an instrument and singing. He is married to the daughter of another banker: she too has access to ‘eighty crores’ of treasure, and has learned nothing but how to sing and dance. When their parents are dead, they live at first in great luxury, but Mahādhana falls in with bad company and becomes addicted to alcohol. He spends all his money, and then his wife’s money, until the couple are reduced to begging. One day the Buddha sees them in this state and smiles.

When Ānanda asks the reason, the Buddha explains what he was thinking: that this was a wealthy banker’s son, who had squandered two fortunes. If, in his prime, he had devoted himself to business, he could have become the principal banker in the city; or, if he had become a monk, he would have attained Arahatship, and his wife would have attained the state of Non-Return. If he had similarly applied himself in middle life, he could have become the second banker of the city; or, if he had become a monk, he would have attained Non-Return and his wife Once-Return. If he had made such a commitment in old age, he could have become the third banker of the city; or, if he had become a monk, he would have attained Once-Return and his wife Stream-Entry. As it is, he has squandered his chances in both the material and the spiritual realms, and is left like a heron in a dried-up pond.

CHAPTER 12

SELF

157. the three watches: Divisions of the night; but in the story it is taken as referring to the three periods of life.

STORY: A group of stories about a prince called Bodhi:

(i) A story reminiscent of that of Daedalus in Greek myth. Prince Bodhi has engaged a builder (name not given) to create a wonderful palace for him. Anxious that no other ruler should have one like it, he determines to kill or mutilate the builder on completion. The builder hears of this, and, pretending that there is still work to do on the palace, insists he has to work in seclusion, with only his wife bringing him food. He then builds a flying garuḍa bird. When it is ready, he tells his wife to sell all their possessions for gold, and to bring their children to him. Together, they make their escape in the garuḍa bird.

(ii) When the palace is complete, Prince Bodhi invites the Buddha to receive alms in a sumptuous room. He has the floor spread with costly carpets, thinking, ‘If I am destined to have a son or daughter, the Teacher will step on these carpets.’ But the Buddha will not enter the room until the carpets have been rolled up and taken away, for Prince Bodhi is destined not to father any children.

(iii) The explanation of Prince Bodhi’s childlessness. In a previous birth, he and his wife were shipwrecked on an island with a colony of birds. They survived by living on first the eggs, then the young of the birds, without a moment’s remorse.

When the Buddha explains all this, and speaks the verse, Prince Bodhi attains Stream-Entry.

158. defiled: The Commentary takes this as ‘wearied’, another possible meaning.

STORY: A greedy monk offers to help in the proper apportioning of donations between two younger monks. He chooses the best items for himself. The Buddha tells the story of a previous life, in which the two young monks were otters, who were arguing over a fish they had caught. They appealed to a jackal (the greedy monk) to act as judge between them. He allotted the head to one otter and the tail to another, and kept the body for himself.

159. tame others: ‘others’ added for clarity.

STORY: The Elder Padhānika Tissa and 500 monks whom he is supposed to be supervising receive a meditation object from the Buddha, and go off to practise. Padhānika Tissa expects the monks to stay awake throughout the three watches of the night. They become too tired to achieve anything, while he himself sleeps.

When they report their experience to the Buddha, he recounts a Jātaka story in which Padhānika Tissa had been a cock who crowed at the wrong times, and ended up having his neck wrung.

160. protector: nātha, often translated as ‘lord’. However, it has a strong connotation of a person to whom one goes for refuge.

STORY: A woman becomes a nun without knowing that she is pregnant. When it starts to show, Devadatta and his followers accuse her of having broken her vow of celibacy, and wish to expel her from the Order. The Buddha instructs the Elder Upāli, expert in the Vinaya, to find out the truth of the matter. Upāli asks Visākhā, with her vast experience as a mother and grandmother, to take the nun to a private place and examine her. She realizes that the nun’s pregnancy is so advanced that she must have conceived before she was ordained. She has done nothing wrong, and can remain as a nun.

In due time she gives birth to a splendid boy, who is at first brought up by the nuns. When King Pasenadi finds out about this arrangement, he thinks it unsuitable, and takes the boy home for his daughters to bring up, giving him the name Kumāra Kassapa (‘Kassapa the Prince’). But, when he is old enough to find out the story of his birth, Kumāra Kassapa himself wishes to be ordained as a monk. He is, and in time attains Arahatship.

However, the nun, his mother, has never got over her separation from him, and continues to weep for her loss. When at last she meets Kumāra Kassapa, she is overcome with maternal feeling, runs up to him, flings herself at his feet, and then tries to embrace him: all behaviour unsuitable to those who are trying to live the monastic life. Kumāra Kassapa reproaches her with words that are apparently harsh, but in reality intended to help her to overcome this excessive attachment. Shocked, she herself then attains Arahatship.

Some monks, discussing the matter, remark that, if Devadatta had had his way, neither Kumāra Kassapa nor his mother would have attained Arahatship; but the Buddha had proved a true refuge to them. The Buddha, however, tells them that one must be one’s own refuge.

161. thunderbolt: vajira, believed to be made of diamond, and so harder than all other stones.
gemstone: Literally, ‘a gem made of stone’.

STORY: Mahākāla, a layman Stream-Enterer who has spent all night listening to the Buddha’s teaching, is wrongly accused of robbery and beaten to death. The monks are shocked at this injustice. However, the Buddha explains that, though it is unjust as regards the present life, in a previous existence Mahākāla was a soldier who framed a man for theft in order to get hold of his beautiful wife.

162. māluvā creeper: ‘creeper’ added for clarity. The identity of the māluvā is uncertain, but clearly it is a creeper which begins as a small plant, but eventually strangles and kills the tree that supports it – possibly Bauhinia vahlii (Singh 1978).

STORY: The Commentary recounts in brief the canonical story of Devadatta’s attempt to assassinate the Buddha. The Buddha then tells of a previous life in which Devadatta had tried to kill him. When he speaks the verse, many of those listening attain Stream-Entry.

163. Things that are wrong and bad for you: Literally, ‘Wrong [things] and [things that are] disadvantageous [for one]’, but I assume that the same actions are referred to in each case.

STORY: The commentary recounts in brief the canonical story of Devadatta’s attempt to cause schism in the Order. Devadatta tries to impose a more ascetic regime on the monks, and some recently ordained monks are impressed and follow him. When Ānanda tells the Buddha what is happening, he speaks the verse to warn of the seriousness of what Devadatta is doing. He sends Sāriputta and Moggallāna to the monks who had followed Devadatta, and most of them return to the Buddha.

164. bamboo: kaṭṭhaka (< sanskrit kaṇṭaka), the spiny bamboo, which flowers only once in about thirty years, and then dies (K. R. Norman 1997: 104; Rau 1959: 169).

STORY: The Elder Kāla so enjoys having the support of an elderly laywoman that he tries to prevent her from hearing teaching from the Buddha himself. When this fails, Kāla tries to persuade the Buddha that she is not intelligent enough to understand the higher aspects of the Dhamma, and should be taught only basic matters such as generosity and morality. Understanding Kāla’s motives, the Buddha speaks the verse, and the laywoman attains Stream-Entry.

165. individual matters: ‘matters’ added for clarity.

STORY: Cūḷakāla – like Mahākāla in the story for v. 161 – is wrongly accused of robbery. However, he is saved by some maids on their way to fetch water, who have seen what really happened. (Burlingame (1921: II, 365) has ‘courtezans, on their way to the bathing-place on the river’, but the Pali just has kumbhadāsiyo udakatitthaṃ gacchamānā – literally, ‘water-pot-slaves [fem.] going to the water-crossing-place’ – which suggests that they are simply collecting the day’s water for their households.)

166. STORY: The Buddha announces that in four months he will pass away in parinibbāna. Many monks who have not yet attained Stream-Entry are grieved, and will not leave the Buddha’s side. However, the Elder Attadattha (‘Self-Benefit’) determines to attain Arahatship while the Buddha is still alive. He goes away by himself to meditate, for which he is criticized by the other monks, who think he cannot love the Buddha as much as they do. However, the Buddha praises Attadattha, saying that others should follow his example. He speaks the verse, and Attadattha attains Arahatship.

CHAPTER 13

THE WORLD

167. attached to the world: Literally, ‘one who increases/fosters the world(s)’.

STORY: A granddaughter of Visākhā teases a young monk by calling him chinnasīsa, ‘cut-head’. He is offended, though his Elder says that it is no offence to a monk to say that he has cut off his hair. However, as the Buddha points out to Visākhā, on this occasion it was clearly meant in a disparaging way.

The young monk is pleased that the Buddha has understood him, as neither his Elder nor Visākhā apparently had. The Buddha, pointing out that it is never right to be unaware, speaks the verse, and the young monk attains Stream-Entry.

168–9. You should stand up, be aware: Literally, ‘One should stand up, not be unaware’ – see the introduction to the notes on Chapter 2.
In this world and the next: Literally, ‘in this world and the other’.

STORY: After his enlightenment, the Buddha returns to his own city, Kapilavatthu. His father, King Suddhodana, is very offended when, instead of going straight to the family home, his son goes from house to house for alms. The king says that this is not the way of their lineage. The Buddha replies that it is the way of his lineage, the countless thousands of Buddhas of the past. He speaks the verses, on the importance of keeping the proper practice, and Suddhodana attains Stream-Entry.

170. For the imagery of the verse, cf. v. 46, which could almost be an expansion of this one in a different (and longer) metre.

STORY: A story similar to that for v. 46, but told of a group of 500 monks.

171. STORY: That of Prince Abhaya, which resembles that of Santati (see the story for v. 142).

172. afterwards becomes aware: Literally, ‘afterwards is not unaware’.

STORY: The monk Sammuñjani (‘Broom’) spends his whole time sweeping the monastery. He disapproves of the Elder Revata, who spends a great deal of time in meditation. Revata tells Sammuñjani how to spend his time more profitably, with times set aside for meditation and study, as well as a certain amount of sweeping. Sammuñjani does as instructed, and soon attains Arahatship. When the monks complain about the (relatively) unswept state of the monastery, the Buddha speaks the verse in praise of Sammuñjani.

173. Whoever has done an evil deed / But covers it with a virtuous one / Illuminates: The Pali structure does not seem to allow direct translation into English: literally, ‘Of whom the evil deed done [before] is covered by a virtuous [deed], that one illuminates … ’
virtuous: kusala, ‘skilful’, ‘wholesome’.

STORY: The famous tale (somewhat expanded from the version known from the Canon) of Aṅgulimāla (‘Finger Garland’), a murderous bandit who became a monk and an Arahat.

Aṅgulimāla is born a Brahmin, the son of King Pasenadi’s chaplain. When he is a student, the other students are jealous of him and persuade their teacher that he is having an affair with the teacher’s wife – a very serious crime. Instead of killing him directly, the teacher asks him to kill a thousand people and bring him a finger from each. Aṅgulimāla becomes a much-feared bandit, wearing a garland of fingers. When he needs only one more finger to make up the thousand, the Buddha realizes that, if he does not intervene, Aṅgulimāla will kill his own mother, an act with enormous kammic consequences, so he decides to meet him himself instead.

When Aṅgulimāla sees the figure of a monk ahead of him, he determines to kill him, and begins to chase him; but, though he seems to be running fast and the monk is not moving, he cannot catch him. Aṅgulimāla shouts, ‘Stop!’ The Buddha replies, ‘I have stopped: you are the one who has not stopped.’ Aṅgulimāla understands, throws away his weapon, and asks to be admitted to the Order. When the king and his troops come looking for the dangerous bandit, instead they find a monk, living peacefully at the Buddha’s monastery. Aṅgulimāla works hard at his practice, and soon attains Arahatship.

One day, when on his alms-round, Aṅgulimāla is hit with stones and mortally wounded. Encouraged by the Buddha, he bears his suffering with patience, understanding that he is experiencing the consequences of past evil actions that would otherwise have led to prolonged suffering in hell realms, and he dies peacefully. Other monks ask the Buddha where he has been reborn, since he has killed so many people. The Buddha speaks the verse, pointing out that the wrong that Aṅgulimāla did in the past has been overwhelmed by the good that he has done since he became a monk.

174. the rare one: Literally, ‘few’, but in the singular. The idea is that such persons are as rare as birds which get free from a bird-catcher’s net.

STORY: When the Buddha visits Āḷavi, he speaks of the importance of meditating on death, so that when our end comes we will not be overcome by fear. Only one of his hearers takes any notice of this – the sixteen-year-old daughter (name not given) of a weaver, who practises this meditation day and night for three years. At the end of that time, the Buddha returns to Āḷavi. The girl longs to see him again; but, before she can go to the meeting, she has to refill a shuttle with thread to take to her father’s workshop, so she turns up late. The Buddha, who has come this way specifically to see her, sits silent until she appears, on her way to the workshop. When she arrives, he asks her four questions. He asks, ‘Girl, where have you come from?’ She replies, ‘I don’t know, bhante.’ He asks, ‘Where are you going?’ She replies, ‘I don’t know, bhante.’ He asks, ‘Do you not know?’ She replies, ‘I know, bhante.’ He asks, ‘Do you know?’ She replies, ‘I don’t know, bhante.’ The other citizens are offended by her words, and accuse her of talking nonsense: when he asked her where she came from, she should have said, ‘From the weaver’s house,’ and when he asked where she was going, she should have said, ‘To the weaver’s workshop.’

The Buddha silences the crowd, and asks her why she answered as she did. She explains that when he asked her where she was coming from, of course he knew that she came from the weaver’s house, so he must have meant something else. She took it to mean, ‘Where did you come from when you were born here?’, so replied, ‘I don’t know.’ When he asked her where she was going, he knew that she was going to the weaver’s workshop, so he must have meant something else. She took it to mean, ‘Where are you going when you leave the present existence?’, so replied, ‘I don’t know.’ When he asked, ‘Do you not know?’, she knew that he meant, ‘Do you not know that you must die?’, so replied, ‘I know.’ When he asked, ‘Do you know?’, she knew that he meant, ‘Do you know when you will die?’, so replied, ‘I don’t know.’ The Buddha acclaims her answers and speaks the verse. She attains Stream-Entry.

The girl then goes to the weaver’s workshop, where, not realizing that her father is asleep, she makes to hand him the shuttle of thread. He is startled awake, and accidentally knocks the beam of the loom into his daughter’s chest. She dies, and is reborn in the Tusita heaven. The father, distraught, goes to the Buddha for consolation. He ordains as a monk, and soon attains Arahatship.

175. Geese go by the sun’s path; / Mages go through the sky: haṃsādiccapathe yanti ākāse yanti iddhiyā. There has been considerable argument about how this verse is to be understood. Most translators have taken iddhiyā in pāda b as the instrumental of iddhi: ‘by psychic power’. The question then is whether the subject is still the geese (‘Geese go by the sun’s path; / By psychic power they go through the sky’) or whether it refers to an indefinite ‘they’: ‘by psychic power [folk] go through the sky’, which seems to be how the commentary takes it. (It might even refer back, in sense if not in grammar, to the rare individual who escapes the net of saṃsāra in v. 174.) However, I have preferred to take iddhiyā as a nominative plural of *iddhiya: ‘[person] of psychic power’, equivalent to iddhika (which is known to Rhys Davids and Stede (1972: 121), though apparently only on the end of compounds, e.g. mahiddhika, ‘of great psychic power’). This then makes pāda b balance a in the manner characteristic of Dhammapada verse. Versions of the verse in other Dharmapadas show a degree of variation that suggests that it was early seen as problematic; however, this can be explained if *iddhiya was otherwise unknown, since iddhiyā as the instrumental of iddhi would have been in common use.
Geese: See v. 91 and note.
Mages: See my comments above. Psychic powers, including such abilities as walking on water and flying through the air (see Glossary under iddhi), were thought to be the province not just of those who cultivated them as an end in themselves, but also of Arahats and indeed of the Buddha himself, who acquired them as a side effect of their meditational attainments. The commentarial story seems to take pāda b as referring to the psychic abilities of Arahats; however, it is possible that the poet was thinking primarily of those with less exalted aims, so that in pāda a we have ‘geese’ and in pāda b ‘sorcerers’ or ‘shamans’ both contrasted with the higher attainments of ‘the wise’ (or ‘the steadfast’ – dhīrā) in pādas c and d – a typical Dhammapada sequence.

STORY: Thirty monks visit the Buddha to hear his teaching, as a result of which they all attain Arahatship. Ānanda, waiting outside the Buddha’s room, sees them go in but not go out again. When he asks the reason, the Buddha explains that, now that they have attained Arahatship, they have attained psychic powers, and have gone out flying through space. The Buddha then utters the verse.

176. Another slightly problematic verse. The question is, what is the force of ekaṃ dhammaṃ atītassa? K. R. Norman (1997: 26) takes it as referring to the (upper-case) Dhamma: ‘There is no evil which cannot be done by a creature who has transgressed the unique law, speaks falsely, has abandoned the other world.’ I think it means one (lower-case) dhamma, the precept against wrong speech (whose terminology the verse quotes). The Commentary, which glosses ekaṃ dhammaṃ as saccaṃ, ‘truth’, seems to back this interpretation. The same verse is also found in another Khuddaka Nikāya text, the Itivuttaka (1.25), where again the point is made that, of all the precepts, if a person breaks the one against wrong speech, there is no wrong that he won’t do.
just one dhamma: ‘just’ added for clarity.

STORY: Ciñcā Māṇavikā is engaged by rival ascetics to discredit the Buddha. She goes through an elaborate performance, first pretending to visit his dwelling at unseemly hours, then wrapping a lump of wood under her clothes to make her look pregnant, and even beating her hands and feet to make them appear swollen. Finally, she appears before the Buddha in an assembly and reproaches him for not making any provision for the birth of the child she is carrying. The Buddha says, ‘Sister, only you and I know which of us is telling the truth.’ Becoming aware of the situation, Sakka and other gods take the form of mice and nibble the cords holding Ciñcā’s ‘bump’ in place. It falls off, revealing the truth and cutting off her toes. Once she leaves the Buddha’s presence, the earth swallows her and she is reborn in the Avīci hell (cf. the story for v. 17).

177. sharing the joy: anumodamāno, ‘rejoicing at another’s good action’, the state of mind known as anumodanā, which is thought to be particularly wholesome, inspiring people to undertake good actions themselves.

STORY: King Pasenadi and Queen Mallikā, at the suggestion of the queen, organize a stupendous gift-giving ceremony in honour of the Buddha and 500 monks. Among other details, each of the monks is to be attended by an elephant, bearing a parasol in its trunk. Unfortunately, there are only 499 trained elephants; the only others available are rogue elephants, which might be dangerous to the monks. However, the queen points out that a rogue elephant can safely be employed to attend on Aṅgulimāla (see the story for v. 173): one is put in place for this purpose, and in his presence it becomes completely peaceful.

The king and queen bestow Incomparable Gifts, in an occasion that is said to happen just once in the lifetime of every Fully Awakened Buddha. Two of the king’s ministers are present: Juṇha, who feels joy at the king’s overwhelming generosity, and Kāla, who disapproves, taking it for extravagance. Understanding their thoughts, the Buddha realizes that he if gives a teaching equal to the gifts, Juṇha will attain Stream-Entry, but Kāla’s head will split into seven pieces (see the notes on v. 72); so, out of compassion for Kāla, he gives a talk only four verses long, and returns to the monastery. Fearing that the Buddha is angry with him, the king goes to the monastery with a retinue that includes the two ministers. The Buddha explains his actions. The king points out to Kāla that he gave only what was his own to give, and banishes him from the kingdom. He rewards Juṇha by giving the kingdom to him for seven days, so that he too can bestow alms on the Buddha. The Buddha speaks the verse, and Juṇha attains Stream-Entry.

178. all the worlds: Or ‘the whole world’ (sabbaloka).

STORY: Anāthapiṇḍika has a son, Kāla, who is something of a disappointment to him, since he shows no sign of wanting to visit the Buddha or hear his teaching. So Anāthapiṇḍika offers to pay him a hundred pieces of money if he goes to the monastery for the uposatha day. He goes, but spends most of his time there asleep. Next day, Anāthapiṇḍika offers him another thousand if he learns a single verse of the teaching. The Buddha arranges that Kāla will keep misunderstanding the verse, so that the young man will stay on and listen to more and more verses. Kāla stays and listens, and attains Stream-Entry. When his father comes, Kāla is now embarrassed and tries to refuse the money. The Buddha says that Kāla has attained something that is worth more than the rank of a Universal Monarch, or rebirth in the world of the gods or the world of Brahmā – in token of which he speaks the verse.

CHAPTER 14

THE BUDDHA

In this chapter, the word ‘Buddha’ (literally, ‘Awakened’) seems sometimes to be used specifically of Fully Awakened Ones, and sometimes of awakened beings, such as Arahats, in general.

179–80. STORY: A Brahmin couple have a daughter called Māgandiyā, so beautiful that they cannot find a man they consider good enough for her. Seeing the fine form of the Buddha, the man wishes to bestow his daughter on him, despite the objection of his wife, who has seen the Buddha’s footprint and realizes that it bears the marks of one who has gone beyond desire.

When the Brahmin makes the offer of his daughter, the Buddha tells how, before attaining enlightenment, he rejected the daughters of Māra, speaking these verses to them. He tells the couple that he felt no desire for the wonderful golden bodies of Māra’s daughters: in comparison, Māgandiyā’s body is just a mass of physical impurities like a corpse, on which he would not even wipe his foot. The Brahmin and his wife attain the state of Non-Return, and afterwards join the Order and attain Arahatship. However, it is clear from the commentary on vv. 21–3 that Māgandiyā is mortally offended, and that this leads to her hatred of the Buddha and his followers.

A verse closely similar to v. 179 is found also in a Mahāyāna text, the Mahāvastu. Here the Buddha speaks it to messengers sent by his father, Śuddhodana (= Suddhodana), with instructions to bring him back to the palace (Mahāvastu 3.91).

181. STORY: The Buddha performs a spectacular miracle by means of his psychic powers, walking in the sky and issuing fire and water from his body. Afterwards he spends the Rains Retreat in the heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods, teaching the Abhidhamma to the deities there (including the one who in a previous life had been his mother, Māyādevī). At the end of the three months, he returns to earth attended by a huge following of devas and Brahmās, the latter having come down from even higher realms to hear him.

182. STORY: During the time of the Buddha Kassapa, a young monk, while climbing into a boat, grabs an eraka plant (‘typha grass’) and breaks off a single leaf – a breach of the Vinaya, since monks should not damage vegetation. At the time, he dismisses this as a trivial matter, and never gets round to confessing the fault. But on his deathbed he remembers it and is filled with remorse; so, instead of being reborn as a human being, he becomes a king of the nāgas, Erakapatta (‘Eraka-Leaf’), living in the river Gaṅgā. Knowing that it is going to be a very long time before another Buddha appears, he determines that he will not miss the opportunity again. Eventually Erakapatta has a daughter, a beautiful nāginī. Twice a month, on full-moon and new-moon days, the nāga king lies on the surface of the water, sets his daughter on his great cobra-hood, and gets her to dance and sing. The song is a series of riddles to which only a Buddha will know the answer:

What sort of ruler is a king?

What sort of king is ruled by passion?

How can one be free of passion?

How does one come to be called a fool?

If anyone answers the riddles correctly, he will receive the nāga princess’s hand in marriage – and great wealth besides, for, if someone can answer, it will mean that another Buddha has appeared in the world.

When eventually the present Buddha appears, he becomes aware that a young Brahmin called Uttara is going to Erakapatta to try to answer the riddles. He speaks to Uttara, and tells him what to sing in answer to the nāga princess’s questions:

The ruler of the six doors [of the senses] is a king.

One who indulges is ruled by passion.

By not indulging, one becomes free of passion.

Because of indulging, one is called a fool.

The Buddha then tells Uttara what the nāga princess will sing in reply:

By what is the fool carried off?

How does the wise man dispel it?

How does one find the peace of yoga?[*]

Riddle me this, as I ask you.

Uttara is then to reply:

The fool is carried off by the flood.

The wise man dispels it through practice (yoga).

When freed from all bonds (yoga)

One finds the peace of yoga.[†]

Uttara follows the Buddha’s instructions, attains Stream-Entry, and goes on to win the nāga maiden’s hand. Erakapatta now goes to see the Buddha: on meeting him, he weeps, lamenting how easily he fell from the human state, and how long he has been living an animal existence, deprived of the Buddha’s teaching. The Buddha speaks the verse, and 84,000 beings achieve understanding of the Dhamma. We are told that the nāga king would have achieved Stream-Entry that day if it had not been for his animal nature: as it is, he has to wait until his next birth.

183–5. Not to do any evil: Verse 183 is a famous summary of ‘the teaching of the Buddhas’ – i.e. not just of the historical Buddha, but of all his predecessors and those to come. For possible Jain parallels, see Watanabe 1994.
true wanderer: samaṇa – ‘true’ added for clarity.
These three verses are found also at Dīgha Nikāya 2.49 (Sutta 14, the Mahāpadāna Sutta, 3.26–8), where they occur in a different order (184, 183, 185), spoken by the previous Buddha, Vipassin – see e.g. Walshe 1987: 219. An equivalent verse to v. 184, in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, is also found in a Dīrghāgama text of the Sarvāstivāda school recently discovered in northern Turkestan: see Fukita 2003: 156, ll. 21–4. Here too it is spoken by the Buddha Vipaśyin (= Vipassin).

STORY: Ānanda asks the Buddha what teaching the Buddhas of the past gave on uposatha days. The Buddha says that all spoke the very same verses – the three that are given here.

186–7. STORY: A discontented monk receives a legacy of one hundred pieces of money, and is tempted to return to the household life. The Buddha makes him count it out into piles for the things he will need: food and drink, a plough, bullocks to pull it, and farming tools. In this way the monk discovers that a hundred pieces will not be nearly enough. The Buddha points out that the great world-ruling monarchs of the past, who had the power to cause rains of jewels to fall from the sky, still died with their desires unsatisfied.

188–92. These verses, like vv. 183–5, summarize central teachings of Buddhism.

STORY: A Brahmin teacher called Aggidatta encourages his followers to take refuge in forests, groves and trees. The Buddha determines to teach them what is really meant by a safe refuge, and sends Moggallāna to them. Instead of a normal dwelling, Aggidatta’s followers lodge Moggallāna in a hut that is home to a dangerous fire-breathing nāga. In the morning, when the followers go to see what has happened to him, they find that, through his psychic powers, he has subdued the nāga, who is holding his hood over the Elder’s head as a sign of respect. The Buddha arrives and teaches Aggidatta and his followers that mountains, forests etc. are not true refuges: the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha are the true refuges, through which one can gain release from suffering. He speaks the verses. Aggidatta and his followers attain Arahatship, and are ordained as Buddhist monks.

193. He’s not born just anywhere: Literally, ‘He’s not born everywhere.’
that steadfast one: The commentator here takes dhīra in the sense of its homonym ‘wise’, but, as K. R. Norman points out (1997: 110), PDhp 79, GDhp 173 and Uv 30.27 all have forms from vīra, ‘hero’.

STORY: The Elder Ānanda, reflecting that the finest elephants, horses and bullocks are born only among the descendants of certain famous beasts, asks the Buddha whether the greatest of men can be born in any family, or only in certain lineages. The Buddha replies that they are born only in Khattiya (Kṣatriya) and Brahmin families. Traditionally, Buddhas are said to be born only in such families, though Arahats can be from any social background.

194. STORY: Five hundred monks dispute what is the pleasantest thing in the world, some naming rulership, some love, and some good food. The Buddha points out that all these in fact belong to the realm of suffering: truly happy are the arising of a Buddha, the hearing of the Dhamma, and harmony among the Saṅgha.

195–6. If you honour: Literally, ‘the one who honours’.
ones like that: tādise – cf. the note on v. 76.
To be measured by anyone – so great it is: Or perhaps ‘to be measured as “so much” by anyone’. Carter and Palihawadana (1987: 251) have ‘Of one worshiping [sic] such as them, / Calmed ones who fear nothing, / The merit cannot be quantified / By anyone saying “It is of this extent.” ’

STORY: The Buddha stays at a shrine. A Brahmin visits, but pays respects only to the shrine, not to the Buddha. The Buddha praises him for doing so, and causes the shrine of the Buddha Kassapa to appear on the spot. He speaks the verses, and the Brahmin attains Stream-Entry.

CHAPTER 15

HAPPINESS

197–9. Ah, how happily we live: susukhaṃ vata jīvāma – susukhaṃ jīvāma means ‘very happily we live’, but vata turns a statement into a fervent exclamation. Jīvāma and viharāma (‘we dwell’ in l. 3) could equally be imperatives: ‘let us live!’ and ‘let us dwell!’

Carefree … careworn: Those who are anussuka or ussuka, free of or full of care and anxiety.

STORY: A war is about to break out between the Sākiyas and Koliyas, relatives of the Buddha’s father and mother respectively. The Buddha goes up to the armies to find out the cause of the conflict, but no one can remember, not even the commanders: the quarrel has taken on a momentum of its own. Finally one of the slaves recollects that the quarrel originated in a dispute over the irrigation rights to a river.

The Buddha points out to the warring parties that water is of little value, whereas the lives of the warriors are beyond price. He speaks the verses, contrasting his way of life with that of the combatants.

200. Radiant Gods: devā ābhassarā, a class of beings from the high Brahmā heavens.

Verse 9.12 of the Jain Uttarajjhayaṇa Sutta resembles this one in its first two pādas – Roth (1976: 166–9) quotes a translation by Hermann Jacobi: ‘Happy are we, happy live we who call nothing our own; when Mithilā is on fire, nothing is burned that belongs to me.’ Udānavarga 30.44 has a verse resembling the Uttarajjhayaṇa version: ‘Ah, how happily we live, / We who own nothing! / Though Mithilā burns / Nothing burns that belongs to us.’ In the Jain text it appears to be spoken by Janaka, a king of Mithilā who is also an enlightened sage. It is also paralleled in the Mahābhārata (Roth op. cit.; see also Brough 1962: 229–30 on the parallel verse, GDhp 168).

STORY: The Buddha goes to a village where he is aware of 500 young women who are ready to benefit by his teaching. Māra turns the villagers against the Buddha, so that he will not receive alms that day. When the young women arrive, Māra taunts the Buddha with the fact that he has not eaten that day, and must be feeling the pangs of hunger. The Buddha points out to Māra that he is content, living on the joy of meditation like the Radiant Gods. The 500 young women attain Stream-Entry.

201. The victor: Following K. R. Norman (1997: 30, 111–12), who takes jayaṃ as a present participle (‘the conquering one’) rather than a noun (‘victory’).

in pain: dukkhaṃ.

STORY: The king of Kosala three times goes to war against his nephew Ajātasattu, and each time is defeated. Overcome by grief, he refuses to eat and takes to his bed. The Buddha speaks the verse to console him.

202. pain: dukkha.
aggregates: khandha – see Glossary.

STORY: At a wedding celebration, the bride’s parents invite the Buddha and the monks for alms. The bridegroom is so distracted by desire for the bride that he does not pay proper attention to the Buddha. The Buddha, by his psychic power, makes the bride invisible to the groom. He speaks the verse, and both bride and groom attain Stream-Entry. The Buddha now lets him see her once more.

203. Rather a free translation here, since it is impossible to translate literally without writing ‘Buddhist Hybrid English’. The words translated as ‘worst’ and ‘greatest’ are all forms of parama, ‘supreme’. Literally, ‘Hunger [is] the supreme disease, the saṅkhāras the supreme painful (dukkha) [things]: knowing this as it is (yathābhūtaṃ), [one realizes that] nibbāna is the supreme happiness.’
Conditioned things: The saṅkhāras or ‘conditions’, all the components of the conditioned realm.
truly: yathābhūtaṃ, ‘as it [really] is’.

STORY: A poor farmer comes late to a meeting with the Buddha and the monks, because he has spent the morning searching for his one ox, which has strayed. Realizing that the farmer has had nothing to eat, the Buddha delays his teaching until food has been found for him. There is some criticism of the Buddha for delaying his discourse for just one man. He explains afterwards that if the farmer had tried to listen to the teaching while hungry, he could not have comprehended it. As it is, he has listened intently and gained Stream-Entry.

204. See my comments on v. 203. Literally, ‘Gains have absence of disease as their supreme [example]; wealth has happiness as its supreme [example]; a relative has trust as his/her supreme [quality]; nibbāna is the supreme happiness.’
Health: Literally, ‘absence of disease’ (ārogya).
Trust is what makes the truest kin: i.e. it is trustworthiness, not blood relationship, that makes a person into a true relative.

STORY: King Pasenadi has got into the habit of drastically over-eating, and finds he has become uncomfortable, short of energy, and inclined to quarrel with members of his family. The Buddha, speaking v. 325, advises him on how to cut down on the amount of rice he is eating. The king learns moderation in eating, and his health and family relationships become better than ever before. The king becomes a devout follower of the Buddha.

205. Savouring: Literally, ‘drinking’.
free of fear: niddaro. K. R. Norman (1997: 113) takes this as coming from ni (‘without’) + dara (‘fear’ or ‘distress’, < Sanskrit dara), though, as he points out, the reason for the doubling of ‘d’ is unclear, since it is not required for metrical reasons. It is possible that instead it comes from ni + *dvara = jvara, ‘burning’, ‘fever’. This verse is not paralleled in other Dharmapada literature – but see also the notes on vīta-ddaraṃ for v. 385.
the taste of joy in the Dhamma: Or ‘the taste of drinking the Dhamma’. For the pun on dhamma-pīti, see the note on v. 79.

STORY: A similar story to the one for v. 166, but told of the Elder Tissa.

206–8. If you never see a fool / You’ll always be happy: Literally, ‘by the non-seeing of fools one would always be happy.’
So: tasmā hi. These words fall outside the metrical verses.
steadfast: Or perhaps ‘wise’ (dhīra).
such a: tādisaṃ – cf. the note for v. 76.
As the moon keeps to the zodiac path: Literally, ‘as the moon [keeps to] the path of the lunar mansions’. The mansions (nakkhatta, Sanskrit nakṣatra) are twenty-seven constellations marking the course of the moon round the ecliptic. They form a kind of lunar zodiac, which was known in India before the solar zodiac of twelve constellations was imported into India from Hellenistic Greek astrology.

STORY: When the Buddha is suffering from dysentery, caused by the illness that will eventually end his life, Sakka himself comes to attend upon him, even emptying his chamber-pot for him. The monks are amazed, because normally the gods find the smell of human beings (even healthy ones) repulsive. But Sakka is grateful to the Buddha because his teaching has enabled him to attain Stream-Entry.

CHAPTER 16

THE DEAR

The dear (piya) is that to which one is attached, or what is cherished. K. R. Norman (1997: 32–3) translates it throughout as ‘pleasant’, but this seems to restrict the meaning to things, rather than people. In many of the following verses, the word could apply equally to either, but the commentarial stories generally take it as applied to people, such as family members. The message is not that one should not feel love for other beings, but rather that one should not be caught up in personal attachment.

209–11. Verse 209 is built round a series of derivatives of the verb yuj-, ‘to yoke’, ‘to join’, ‘to apply oneself’ (cf. yoga), and is hard to translate into idiomatic English: literally, ‘Applying oneself (yuñjaṃ) to not-yoga (ayoga), and non-applying (ayojanaṃ) to yoga, having abandoned the goal, clinging to what is dear, one would envy the one who applies himself to the goal (attānuyoginaṃ) [taking atta as equivalent to attha: K. R. Norman, 1997: 114].’
In v. 210 Norman, as usual, takes the words as applying to things or states rather than people: ‘Do not at any time associate with pleasant (or) unpleasant things. Not seeing pleasant things is painful, and also seeing unpleasant things.’
losing what’s dear: Literally, ‘the going away of the dear’.

STORY: A young man and his father become monks, and his mother becomes a nun. However, the three do not give up their attachment to one another, and spend their time chatting together. The Buddha speaks the verses to remind them of their proper duties.

212. If you’re freed from the dear / You’ll have no grief, let alone fear: Literally, ‘For the one who is freed from the dear, there is no grief, let alone fear.’ Similarly in vv. 213–16.

STORY: A layman whose son has died is overcome by grief, so that he gives up eating and working. The Buddha visits him and reminds him that death is common to all beings: the wise do not give themselves up to excessive grief.

213. STORY: Visākhā’s granddaughter has died, and she is in mourning. The Buddha asks her if she would like to have as many dear ones as there are people in the city of Sāvatthi. She says that she would. He reminds her that, if this were so, she would be constantly in mourning, as there is always someone dying in Sāvatthi.

214. STORY: The Licchavi princes go off to a festival in their finery, looking like the Thirty-Three Gods. Before nightfall, they are carried home battered and covered in blood, having fought over a beautiful courtesan they met on the way.

215. STORY: A young man called Anitthigandha refuses to marry unless his parents can find a girl as beautiful as a golden statue that he has had made. They send some Brahmins to look for such a girl, and they search, taking the statue with them, until one day a woman mistakes it for her daughter. A date for the wedding is fixed, but on the way to Anitthigandha’s home the girl becomes ill and dies.

Hearing of this, Anitthigandha is struck down with grief, and refuses to eat. Aware of his plight, the Buddha calls at his house on his alms-round, and is invited in by the youth’s parents. They bring Anitthigandha to meet the Buddha, who teaches him with this verse. Anitthigandha attains Stream-Entry.

216. STORY: A Brahmin farmer promises a share of his crop to the Buddha. The night before it is due to be harvested, it is destroyed by a storm. The farmer is grief-stricken, because he feels that he is breaking his word to the Buddha. The Buddha comforts him by speaking the verse, and he gains Stream-Entry.

217. firm in the Dhamma: dhammaṭṭha – cf. the introduction to Chapter 19 and the notes to vv. 256–7.

STORY: Five hundred boys take a liking to the Elder Kassapa the Great, and offer him the basket of pancakes they have with them, though they have given none to the Buddha and other monks whom they met previously. Kassapa asks them to offer the pancakes to the Buddha and the monks, and they do so. The other monks are shocked by the boys’ favouritism towards Kassapa, but the Buddha does not mind at all. He speaks this verse in praise of Kassapa. Hearing it, the boys all attain Stream-Entry.

218. who has aroused a wish for the Undeclared: chandajāto anakkhāte, referring to a person who has already attained one of the lower three paths – Stream-Entry, Once-Return or Non-Return – and had a preliminary experience of nibbāna (‘the Undeclared’). (If he or she had attained Arahatship, the chanda, or wish, would no longer be present.)
the Undeclared: nibbāna, because it cannot be described.
filled with that consciousness: Literally, ‘filled with mind’, but referring to the state of mind produced by seeing nibbāna. Carter and Palihawadana (1987: 267) translate this as ‘clear in mind’, but quote the commentary: ‘Who would be filled with the thoughts pertaining to the three prior Paths and Fruits’ – i.e. Stream-Entry, Once-Return and Non-Return.
heading upstream: Against the stream of saṃsāra. See ‘Stream-Enterer’ in the Glossary.

STORY: A monk dies without attaining Arahatship, and his followers are distressed. However, the Buddha points out that the monk had attained Non-Return, and had therefore been reborn in the high heavens called the Pure Abodes: he will certainly attain Arahatship in his next birth.

219–20. good actions: puñña.
the next: Literally, ‘the other [world]’.

STORY: A pious layman called Nandiya makes generous offerings to the community of monks. Moggallāna, visiting the Tāvatiṃsa heaven through his psychic powers, sees a wonderful palace there, and enquires for whom it has been built. It turns out that it is for Nandiya.

CHAPTER 17

ANGER

221. pride: The Sanskrit and Pali word māna is probably derived from man-, ‘to think’: hence, perhaps, ‘thinking well of oneself’. In Sanskrit poetry it is often used of the hurt pride of a woman whose husband favours a rival wife. But the commentator relates māna to mā-, ‘to measure’, giving it the meaning of ‘measuring oneself against others’, ‘thinking oneself better/worse/the same as someone else’. (Buddhist thought considers that all these are simply forms of pride or self-conceit.) The commentarial story in fact seems to show both kinds of māna in action: that which led Rohiṇī in a former life to disfigure the dancing-girl (see below), and that which leads her in the present life to hide herself from view.
sorrows: dukkha.

STORY: Rohiṇī, sister of the Elder Anuruddha, is suffering from a disfiguring skin disease, and hides herself away. Anuruddha encourages her to perform a meritorious act in order to become free of her affliction. She sells her jewellery and with the proceeds has a hall built, to which she invites the Buddha and the monks. After the offerings of food, the Buddha explains the reason for her affliction: in a previous existence as a queen she was jealous of one of the king’s dancing-girls, and played an unpleasant trick on her, putting powder from an itching plant in her bed, so that she would develop a disfiguring rash.

The Buddha speaks the verse, on the consequences of anger, and Rohiṇī attains Stream-Entry. At that moment, her disease vanishes and her complexion becomes like gold. Later, when she dies, she is reborn in the heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods, so beautiful that she becomes the darling of Sakka himself.

222. STORY: A monk begins to cut down a tree to build himself a hut. The deity living within the tree tries to stop him, holding up her[*] baby in front of the monk. The monk does not see the baby, and cuts off its arm. The deity is tempted to kill the monk, but restrains her anger, and instead goes and reports to the Buddha what has happened. The Buddha speaks the verse in praise of the deity’s self-restraint, and the deity attains Stream-Entry; however, she still grieves for the loss of her home. The Buddha points out another tree to be the deity’s home: because it is the Buddha’s gift, no one will be able to damage or remove it. The Buddha makes the Vinaya rule preventing monks from cutting down trees.

223. The verse is puzzling, because in all versions it seems to mix abstract nouns with adjectives, and in some cases it is not clear which is intended: see K. R. Norman 1997: 116.
By freedom from anger [literally, ‘By non-anger’: see the notes on v. 5] you should conquer anger: The Commentary takes akkodhena jine kodhaṃ as ‘By freedom from anger you should conquer the angry person’, though kodha does not seem elsewhere to be used in this sense.
By good conquer what is not good: Or ‘By good conquer the person who is not good’.
miserliness: Or ‘the miser’.
the teller of lies: This seems unambiguously to refer to a person, but both the Sanskrit Udānavarga (20.19) and the Gāndhārī Dharmapada (280) have ‘one should conquer falsehood by truth’.

STORY: Uttarā, the daughter of a wealthy banker, and a devout Buddhist, is married into a non-Buddhist family. Frustrated at not being able to offer alms to the monks, she pays Sirimā, a beautiful courtesan, to stay with her husband while she organizes an alms-giving. Her husband, presented with a courtesan who is greatly sought after, readily agrees.

Sirimā, it seems, does not realize that she is there merely as a temporary companion, but thinks she is the new mistress of the house. One day the husband sees Uttarā bustling about, preparing for the alms-giving, and laughs. Sirimā, seeing the intimacy between the two of them, becomes jealous and throws hot ghee at Uttarā. Uttarā controls her anger, reflecting on her gratitude at Sirimā for enabling her to give alms. She meditates on loving kindness, and the boiling-hot fat does not harm her. Uttarā’s maids begin to beat Sirimā, but Uttarā prevents them. Sirimā, overcome by Uttarā’s kindness, begs her forgiveness. Uttarā agrees to forgive her if the Buddha will do so. They go before him, and the Buddha praises Uttarā. Sirimā herself becomes a follower of the Buddha (see also the story for v. 147).

224. tell the truth: K. R. Norman (1997: 34, 116), following Brough (1962: 184, on GDhp 22), takes this as ‘speak what is pleasant’, deriving saccaṃ from sātyaṃ, not satyam. However, the verse specifies three practices, and speaking pleasantly seems to be part of the same practice as ‘not getting angry’.
even if there’s not much: Literally, ‘even [if there’s] little’.
practices: Literally, ‘states’.

STORY: Moggallāna visits a heavenly realm, and sees divine beings enjoying existences of great splendour. When asked what they have done to earn such a reward, they are almost too embarrassed to say. One has simply spoken the truth. One was a servant who did not get angry when her master ill-treated her. Others gave small items of food to monks. The Buddha confirms that even small acts of merit can bring enormous rewards.

225. Where those who go don’t grieve: Literally, ‘where having gone they would not grieve’.

STORY: An old Brahmin couple, great devotees of the Buddha, continually refer to him as their son, and treat him as such. Both attain Non-Return. When people disapprove of their way of addressing the Buddha, he explains that in 1,500 past lives they have been either his parents, his uncle and aunt, or his grandparents. He stays near them for three months, at the end of which they attain Arahatship and pass away.

226. go to rest: atthaṃ gacchanti – ‘go west’, ‘set’, like the sun and moon.

STORY: A slave woman called Puṇṇā, too tired to sleep, wonders why the Buddha’s monks are also wakeful at night. Is one of their number sick? Next day she offers her modest meal of a rice cake to the Buddha. He explains that his monks are wakeful through mindfulness, and Puṇṇā attains Stream-Entry.

227–30. truth: Word added for clarity.
When they’ve observed him day after day: The only way to find out if a person is truly enlightened.
of new gold: jambonada – gold that has been worked for the first time.

STORY: Atula, a layman, brings 500 companions to the monastery and requests teaching from various senior followers of the Buddha. Revata is extremely taciturn. Sāriputta expounds the Abhidhamma, at great length. Ānanda gives a very brief and simple talk. Atula goes and complains to the Buddha, who explains that no one in this world escapes criticism: kings, the earth, the sun and moon, even the Buddha himself. Praise or blame from foolish people does not matter, and only praise from the wise and learned is worth paying attention to.

231–4. anger: pakopa, sometimes translated as ‘disturbance’, which seems to be how the Commentary is taking it. Presumably the verses are primarily concerned with bad actions, speech and thought that are the result of anger. Carter and Palihawadana (1987: 276–7) have ‘intemperance’.
thoroughly restrained: In ll. 1–3 of v. 234 we have saṃvutā, ‘controlled’, ‘restrained’. In l. 4 we have su-pari-saṃvutā, ‘well + all-round + restrained’.

STORY: The Buddha speaks the verses to a group of six monks who are very noisy, clattering about in wooden shoes and disturbing their fellow monks. At the end of his instruction, the six monks attain Stream-Entry.

CHAPTER 18

RUST

Rust: mala. The key word in this chapter, the mala-vagga, can be used of any kind of impurity or stain, and in the course of the chapter I have varied the translation accordingly. However, in vv. 240–43, it is specifically used of impurities that, like rust in metal, corrode away the sound material that surrounds them.

235–8. you/You: A genuine second-person singular: all four verses seem to be addressed to one individual.
at the start of an undertaking: Following K. R. Norman 1997: 36, 119. The commentary takes uyyoga-mukhe as ‘on the brink of dissolution’, presumably regarding ud + yoga as the opposite of yoga, ‘joining’. Uyyoga appears not to be found elsewhere in the Pali Canon, but in Sanskrit the normal meaning of udyoga is ‘effort’, ‘striving’, ‘undertaking’. If we take it in that sense here, it would refer to the metaphorical journey to Yama’s abode that everyone has one day to take.
provision for your journey: pātheyya – literally, ‘belonging to the road’. In the metaphorical sense, presumably a store of merit.
So make an island: My ‘so’ actually represents the Pali so, which is a demonstrative adjective or pronoun: ‘that [one]’. However, here it emphasizes the ‘you’ and links it back to the previous verse: ‘That very same you must make an island …’ Carter and Palihawadana (1987: 280) take dīpa as ‘lamp’ (< Sanskrit dīpa), but the commentary takes it as ‘island’ (< Sanskrit dvīpa), thinking of the traveller in the verse as a shipwrecked sailor.
With rust blown away: The metaphor appears to be from the smith’s technique for removing impurities from molten metal: cf. v. 239.
to meet Yama: Literally, ‘to the presence of Yama’.

STORY: A butcher spends his life killing cows, and never performs any good action. He sells some of the meat, but also insists on eating beef every day himself. One day, when there is no beef for him to eat, he plucks out the tongue of a living cow. His own tongue splits. He begins to crawl around, lowing like a cow, dies, and is reborn in the Avīci hell.

His son, terrified, leaves the town and sets up elsewhere, where he becomes a skilled goldsmith. Although very successful, he too does no meritorious acts. His sons in time become followers of the Buddha, and are worried about their father. On his behalf, they invite the Buddha and the monks for alms. The Buddha gives this teaching to the goldsmith, who attains Stream-Entry.

239. STORY: A Brahmin does a number of kind actions to help the monks and make their lives more comfortable. The Buddha speaks the verse about him, and he gains Stream-Entry.

240. The one who misuses the requisites: Following the Commentary, which takes this to refer to the four requisites of the monk: food, clothing, medicine and lodging. K. R. Norman (1997: 36, 120) takes it to mean ‘one excessively devoted to ascetic practices’.

STORY: A monk named Tissa becomes possessive about a particularly fine robe that has been offered to him. While dwelling upon this, he dies, and is reborn as a louse in the robe. When the other monks start to divide up the robe, the louse screams in distress, though only the Buddha can hear it. The Buddha knows that, if they divide the robe now, the louse will hold a grudge against them and be reborn in a hell world. Only after seven days, when the former monk has died as a louse and been reborn in the Tusita heaven, will the Buddha allow the monks to divide up the robe. He warns the monks of the danger of excessive attachment to the requisites.

241. texts: manta (Sanskrit mantra), here referring to texts such as Suttas which monks would have needed to learn by heart.
houses: The literal meaning. K. R. Norman (1997: 36, 120) takes it as ‘families’. In either case, regular maintenance is needed.

STORY: A monk called Udāyi disparages the teaching of Sāriputta and Moggallāna, and offers to teach and chant in their place; but when he takes the teacher’s seat he cannot remember a word. He is driven away, and falls into a cesspit.

242–3. misconduct: Presumably sexual misconduct is primarily intended, as in the commentarial story.
ways: dhamma, here clearly of a course of conduct rather than a state of mind. I borrow Burlingame’s useful rendering (1921: III, 124).

STORY: A husband is so embarrassed by the behaviour of his adulterous wife that he finds it difficult to appear in society. The Buddha tells a Jātaka story concerning the insatiable nature of wicked women, and encourages him to develop wisdom.

244–5. It’s easy to live like a shameless person: Literally, ‘[life is] easily lived by a shameless [one, who is …]’; and similarly in the contrasting verse.
A crow-hero: Presumably noisy and loud, but not really brave. The Commentary takes it as referring to a monk who, instead of accepting alms in due measure, wherever they are offered, is constantly looking out for the houses that give the most lavish food. He is compared to a crow which is constantly on the lookout for unguarded food that it can snatch. This does not explain the ‘hero’ element in the word, unless it means ‘a hero among crows’. Carter and Palihawadana (1987: 285–6) translate it as ‘crafty as a crow’.

STORY: A monk called Cullasāri accepts food as a payment for giving medical treatment, instead of depending upon alms; he then offers it with boastful words to Sāriputta, who silently refuses it. Cullasāri is unabashed by the fact that he is openly breaking the Vinaya rules, but the Buddha reproaches him with the verses.

246–8. Verses 246–7 summarize the five precepts of lay Buddhist conduct, with a change from the usual order (here 1, 4, 2, 3, 5), no doubt to fit the metre.
Gives himself up to strong drink: Surā-meraya-pānaṃ … anuyuñjati. Literally, ‘undertakes/devotes himself to the drinking of surā and meraya’, which are thought to be the names of two different kinds of liquor, perhaps one fermented and one distilled. However, as they occur in the formulation of the fifth precept – surā-meraya-majja-ppamādatthānā vermanī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi: ‘I undertake the precept to avoid states of intoxication and carelessness [caused by] surā and meraya’ – they are clearly intended to symbolize every kind of intoxicant. (In modern English versions of the precepts, they are often translated as ‘drink and drugs’.)
my friend: Literally, ‘O man’ (bho purisa). I assume that this is a fairly colloquial greeting, here used in warning. The wide range of ancient Indian greetings, with their different levels of relative status and familiarity, is practically impossible to translate.
Evil states: pāpadhammā.
wrongdoing: adhamma.
to long suffering: literally, ‘to suffering for a long time (ciraṃ)’.

STORY: Some laymen are trying to keep different ones of the five precepts, and argue about which is the most difficult. The Buddha points out that all are difficult and all equally important.

249–50. clarity of mind: pasāda, with connotations of peace, brightness and lucidity.
this [v. 250, l. 1]: i.e. the discontent.

STORY: A novice called Tissa is always discontented with the alms-food he receives, even the sumptuous offerings of Anāthapiṇḍika and Visākhā. He boasts of the wealth and generosity of his own family. However, when someone visits Tissa’s home town and makes enquiries, it turns out that Tissa is a gatekeeper’s son who went on the road with a band of wandering carpenters. The Buddha speaks the verses to advise him to eat what is offered and be content.

251. STORY: Despite the Buddha’s incomparable skill as a teacher, five laymen cannot concentrate on his words, but spend the time sleeping, fidgeting or daydreaming. The Buddha explains to Ānanda that this comes from habits of lust, hate, delusion or craving built up over many lives.

252. STORY: An elaborate sequence of stories, covering many lives, and full of magic, concerns the banker Meṇḍaka, the grandfather of Visākhā. In a former life, Meṇḍaka and his wife, son, daughter-in-law and slave have all gained psychic powers through their generosity to a Paccekabuddha. Because of their affection for one another, they made a wish to continue to be reborn together in life after life, until the time of the present Buddha, when all five of them attain Stream-Entry.

Some non-Buddhist ascetics try to dissuade Meṇḍaka from going to see the Buddha, finding fault with the Teacher: hence the verse.

253. STORY: A monk keeps finding fault with his fellow monks. As a result, he increases his own defilements instead of conquering them.

254–5 Outside the Order there is no true wanderer [samaṇa]: ‘the Order’ and ‘true’ added for clarity. The idea is that the higher attainments are possible only in the Buddha’s dispensation.
proliferation: papañca – the tendency of the mind to go after more and more distractions.

STORY: Subhadda, the last follower to achieve liberation in the Buddha’s lifetime, asks him the questions that are answered in the verses: Is there a path in the air? Can someone outside the Order be called a monk? Are conditioned things (saṅkhāras) eternal?

CHAPTER 19

THE JUST

‘The Just’ is my translation of dhammaṭṭha – one who stands in the Dhamma. However, in vv. 256–7 the word specifically refers to a judge.

256–7. justice: dhammaṭṭha – see above. Here I have translated it as ‘justice’ to try to give some sense of the pun.
justly: dhammena – ‘with dhamma’.
What’s the case and not the case: atthaṃ anatthaṃ ca – ‘benefit/right/purpose and not-beneficial/wrong/not to the purpose’, with a pun on attha, the word used above for the (law) case.

STORY: Some monks, entering a courtroom to keep out of the rain, are shocked to see judges who are taking bribes and trying cases badly.

258. STORY: The words are spoken concerning some boastful monks who talk a lot but know nothing.

259. Dhamma-bearer: One who knows and understands the Dhamma, and so can teach it to others.
with his body: Directly, through his own experience.
isn’t careless: na-ppamajjati – cf. pamāda, in the introduction to the notes on Chapter 2.

STORY: A monk known as Ekuddāna (‘One Utterance’) is an Arahat, though he knows just one verse:

A sage with high thoughts, diligent,

Training in the paths of silence,

Calmed and ever mindful –

Such a one has no sorrows.

When he teaches the Dhamma with this one verse, the forest deities applaud him. Two visiting monks with more to say do not receive the same response.

260–61. He’s just had a long life: paripakko vayo tassa – ‘Of him there is fully ripened age.’

STORY: The Buddha explains why he calls Lakuṇṭaka Bhaddiya an Elder, though he’s very young. (For Lakuṇṭaka Bhaddiya, see also the stories for vv. 81, 294–5.)

262–3. fine: sādhurūpa – literally, ‘of good appearance’: but here the word rūpa does not appear to add anything to the meaning of the word (K. R. Norman 1997: 124).
fine words: ‘fine’ added for clarity.
Verse 263: First half as for v. 250.
free from fault: Or possibly ‘free from hatred’ – vanta-doso. In Pali there are two words dosa, one meaning ‘hatred’, ‘ill will’ (< Sanskrit dveṣa), the other meaning ‘fault’ (< Sanskrit doṣa). Sometimes there is a clear difference between them because of their context, while at others their meanings seem to overlap.

STORY: Some monks hope to gain a reputation through their eloquence, despite their lack of real knowledge.

264–5. Puns on ‘wanderer’ (samaṇa) and ‘to cause to become quiet’, ‘to quell’ (sam-).

STORY: A monk called Hatthaka uses underhand tactics when taking part in debates. The Buddha reproaches him with these verses.

266–7. Verse 266 is somewhat problematic, and there have been various attempts to explain it. Some read the second half as ‘By taking on the whole Dhamma / One becomes a monk, not otherwise.’ This involves taking vissadhamma as ‘the whole Dhamma’, deriving vissa from the Vedic Sanskrit viśva, ‘all’, ‘whole’. However, it still causes the difficulty of taking na tāvatā, ‘not thus’ (translated here as ‘not … for all that), as ‘not otherwise’. K. R. Norman (1997: 40, 125–6) relates vissa to such words as Sanskrit veśma, ‘dwelling’, and regards the verse as an attack on some Brahmins who begged alms while still living the household life.
Rather as in the previous pair of verses, there are wordplays on bhikkhu, ‘monk’, and bhikkh-, ‘to beg alms’.
living the holy life: brahmacariyavā – perhaps meaning specifically ‘celibate’.
not … for all that: na tāvatā, i.e. not even through begging alms.

STORY: A Brahmin ascetic who is not a Buddhist wants the Buddha to address him as ‘monk’. With these verses, the Buddha explains why he does not do so.

268–9. Puns on muni, ‘sage’ (literally, ‘silent one’), mona, ‘silence’, and munā-, ‘to understand’, ‘to measure’.
understands both in the world: i.e. good and evil choices, taking loke as locative. The Commentary takes loke as plural, giving ‘understands both worlds’.

STORY: In the early days, Buddhist monks receive food in silence, leading to unfavourable comparisons with ascetics of other groups, who thank the laypeople politely. The Buddha then institutes the custom of giving a discourse as thanks after a meal. This still leads to criticism. The Buddha explains that people may keep silence for a number of reasons – ignorance, lack of confidence, or even meanness about sharing their knowledge with others. Silence is not what makes a person a real sage.

270. STORY: The verse is spoken to a fisherman called Ariya (‘Noble’). The Buddha explains that a person who takes the lives of other beings cannot be truly noble.

271–2. by much learning: Literally, ‘by much truth’.
Nor has a monk attained confidence: I follow K. R. Norman’s interpretation (1997: 40, 127–8), which regards āpādi as governed, like phusāmi, by the na in v. 271.
The commentary follows a different interpretation of these verses, in which v. 272 would read:

Or by thinking, ‘I enjoy the happiness of renunciation

Not known to worldly folk,’

Should a monk rest content

Until he reaches the destruction of the defilements.

STORY: Monks who have achieved the stages of Stream-Entry, Once-Return and Non-Return are feeling satisfied with their progress. The Buddha urges them to press on until they have achieved Arahatship.

CHAPTER 20

THE PATH

273–6. The ‘you’/‘You’ in these verses is a genuine second-person plural: the Buddha is addressing a group of monks.
The Eightfold Path: ‘Path’ added for clarity.
Four Sayings: The Four Noble Truths – of suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path to the cessation of suffering.
states: dhammas, in the sense of ‘mental states’.
Seer: cakkhumā – literally, ‘one who possesses the eye (of insight)’, i.e. the Buddha.
are the teachers: i.e they can show you the way, but can’t liberate you without your effort.
who enter upon the path: ‘the path’ added for clarity.

STORY: A group of monks are talking about the state of the paths they have taken to reach the monastery. The Buddha reminds them that these are not the sort of paths with which they should be concerning themselves.

277–9. you see … You grow weary: Literally, ‘one sees … One grows weary’. The dictionary definitions of nibbindati – ‘becomes depressed’, ‘becomes disgusted’ – do not fit its use in Buddhism, since they convey strong negative feeling. The word refers to the moment of realization that suffering has gone on long enough, and one doesn’t want to do it any more: cf. in the stories of Paṭācārā (v. 113) and Santati (v. 142) the idea that ‘more than the water in the four oceans’ is the expanse of tears you have shed over all those past lives in saṃsāra. The knowledge acts as a spur to become free of suffering.
The verses are a statement of Buddhist teaching on the three signs of existence: All conditioned things are impermanent: sabbe saṅkhārā aniccā.
All conditioned things are [subject to] suffering: sabbe saṇkhārā dukkhā.
All dhammas are without self: sabbe dhammā anattā. The phraseology of this last is different, because not just conditioned things (saṅkhāras) but also nibbāna, the unconditioned dhamma, are without self.

STORY: The stories attached to these verses all follow the same pattern: the Buddha considers which meditation object will be most suitable for a group of monks, and sets them, respectively, recollection of impermanence, of suffering, and of no-self.

280. STORY: All but one of a group of monks attain Arahatship: the other misses the opportunity. Seeing how the Buddha greets those who have attained Arahatship, but not himself, the other monk decides to make an effort; however, he has a painful accident which prevents his fellow monks from going on their alms-round when they have to look after him. The Buddha tells the story of a past life when this monk had been a youth who, through his laziness, prevented his fellows from receiving offerings, and he speaks the verse.

281. STORY: As in the stories for vv. 71, 72 and 136, Moggallāna sees a ghost, this time in the form of a giant figure with the head of a pig. It had formerly been a spiritual teacher who tried to break the friendship between two monks and, when rebuked, refused to accept correction.

282. practice: yoga.
wisdom: bhūri, a word that in Sanskrit has many meanings: ‘plenty’, ‘prosperity’, ‘greatness’, even ‘the earth’ (all ultimately derived from the verb bhū-, ‘to be’). The meaning ‘wisdom’ is given by the Commentary, which explains that wisdom is as extensive as the earth.
Leading to gain and loss: bhavāya vibhavāya ca – ‘[Leading] to existence and non-existence [of wisdom]’.

STORY. A monk called Poṭhila has studied the teaching throughout the ages of seven Buddhas, but has still not made the effort to gain freedom. The Buddha spurs him to act by repeatedly calling him ‘Tucchapoṭhila’ – ‘Empty Poṭhila’. Poṭhila tries to find a learned teacher, but, because of his pride, he is sent to learn from a seven-year-old novice. Receiving the boy’s basic teaching, and urged on by the Buddha with this verse, he attains Arahatship.

283–4. These two verses depend on a complex series of puns on the word vana = (1) ‘wood’ (i.e. small forest, not timber), (2) ‘desire’, ‘yearning’; vanatha, ‘brushwood’; and nibbana, ‘without wood’ or ‘without desire’, but perhaps with a reminiscence of nibbāna, which could punningly be taken as ‘state of being without wood/desire’.
towards women: nārisu. The Patna Dharmapada (362) has ñātisu, the Udānavarga (18.4) bandhuṣu, both of which mean ‘towards relatives’.

STORY: A group of men become monks late in life. The former wife of one of them continues to be their loyal supporter. When she dies, all are very distressed. The Buddha tells them that in a previous life, when they were crows, she was drowned in the sea, and they could not save her. They are suffering because they have not eradicated the forest of greed, hatred and delusion.

285. affection towards yourself: Or perhaps just ‘your own affection’: sineham attano, ‘affection of [one]self’. Sineha is personal attachment – not loving kindness, which is free of clinging. (This ‘you’ is a genuine second-person singular: the verse is addressed to one individual.)
you’d pluck: Added for clarity.
lily: kumuda – a water lily, not a lotus, as sometimes translated. (They are distinct species of water plants.)
the Well-Gone: sugata – the Buddha.

STORY: A young monk who was a goldsmith in lay life cannot make any progress with meditation on foulness, a subject given to him by Sāriputta (cf. the notes on vv. 7–8). The Buddha realizes that this is because in his present life and many previous ones the youth has spent his time working with beautiful things. He creates the form of a large and beautiful red lotus, and tells the monk to use that as his subject. Contemplating it, the monk attains all the stages of jhāna. The Buddha then causes the lotus to wither. The monk realizes the three signs of existence: impermanence, suffering and no-self. As the young monk meditates, the Buddha sends a luminous image of himself to appear before him and speak the verse, and the monk attains Arahatship.

286. STORY: A wealthy merchant makes plans for the future of his business. The Buddha remarks to Ānanda that in fact the merchant will die in seven days. When Ānanda passes this on to the merchant, he determines to spend the rest of his time giving alms, and he attains the state of Stream-Entry. At the end of the seven days, he feels ill, goes to bed, and dies.

287. Apart from first half-line, this verse is identical with v. 47.
sons: This of course may refer to offspring in general.

STORY: That of Kisā Gotamī – see the story for v. 114.

288–9. Sons: As in v. 287.
good conduct: sīla, which protects one in a way that relatives cannot.
The path that leads to nibbāna: nibbāna-gamanaṃ maggaṃ. The Patna Dharmapada (368–9) has saggagamanaṃ maggaṃ, ‘the path that leads to heaven’, but the Udānavarga (6.15) has the equivalent to the Pali version: nirvāṇagamanaṃ mārgaṃ.

STORY: That of Paṭācārā – see the story for v. 113.

CHAPTER 21

MISCELLANEOUS

290. happiness from material things: Following K. R. Norman 1997: 43, 132. Others take mattāsukha as ‘limited happiness’.

STORY: The city of Vesāli is afflicted by drought, followed by famine, plague and an influx of evil spirits. The Buddha is invited to the city to chant a blessing. He teaches the Ratana (Jewel) Sutta – still a very popular blessing – to Ānanda, and tells him to recite it. As soon as Ānanda begins to recite, rain falls and the troubles of the city are over. People marvel at the power of the Buddha, but he explains that it is the result of relatively small acts of service in a previous life.

291. happiness: sukha.
pain: dukkha.

STORY: A girl likes eating eggs. Her hen conceives a grudge against her, and determines that in a future life she will eat the girl’s young. The rest of the story follows a similar pattern to the one in the Commentary for v. 5.

292–3. go to rest: cf. the note on v. 226.

STORY: A group of monks are in the habit of wearing sandals of fancy pattern. The Buddha speaks the verses to recall them to their proper duties, after which they attain Arahatship.

294–5. These notorious verses must surely always have been accompanied by a commentary, though the actual explanation of the symbolism may have varied from one tradition to another. There is no evidence that they were ever taken literally, in an antinomian sense.
mother = craving (taṇhā, fem.).
father = conceit (anumāna, masc.).
two royal [khattiya = kṣatriya] kings/two Brahmin kings = the extreme views of eternalism and annihilationism.
a kingdom = sense-avenues and sense-desires.
tax-gatherers = clinging to life. It is not possible to tell from the verse whether the tax-gatherer is singular or plural, but clearly he (or they) represents something quite difficult to get away from.
tiger-man, or perhaps ‘tiger-forest’ = the hindrances (see Glossary). Following K. R. Norman (1997: 134), I have taken veyaggha-pañcamaṃ as ‘tiger-like [man] as fifth’ rather than the grammatically unlikely ‘five-fold tiger-forest’ – the usual translation. The Sanskrit Udānavarga (33.62) has vyāghraṃ ca pañcamaṃ hatvā: ‘and killing a tiger as fifth’.

STORY: The Buddha is said to have spoken these two verses on different occasions about the monk Lakuṇṭaka Bhaddiya, apparently a tiny man who was subject to teasing, though he was a great Arahat.

296–301. Are always wide awake: Literally, ‘wake always well-awakened’. Clearly it is intended figuratively, though there may be the implication that there is a level of awareness present even in sleep.
Both day and night they are ever / Mindful of the Buddha [/Dhamma/Saṅgha]: Literally, ‘of whom, both day and night, there is mindfulness constantly gone to the Buddha[/Dhamma/Saṅgha]’.
meditation: bhāvanā – literally, ‘causing-to-be’, ‘development [of the mind]’. The word is used of meditative practice in a broad sense, not just of formal sessions of meditation.

STORY: A boy who is devoted to the Buddha is left alone at night outside a city and near a cremation ground. He is protected by two spirits (amanussā, non-human beings), who appear to him in the form of his parents. When the king learns of this, he asks whether it is only contemplation of the Buddha that gives protection in this way. The Buddha explains that any of the six forms of meditation listed in the verses will have the same effect.

302. This verse is problematic, but seems to point out difficulties in both the householder’s and the renouncer’s lives.
So you shouldn’t be a wayfarer: Burlingame (1921: III, 183) takes this as ‘… such a wayfarer’, to resolve the apparent contradiction in the last line.

STORY: A monk, formerly a prince, becomes discontented when he hears the sounds of a festival taking place nearby. He feels that monks have a very hard life. A spirit appears and reminds him that there are other beings who would envy his state. The Buddha speaks the verse in confirmation of this.

303. STORY: See the story for vv. 73–4.

304. Himavat: ‘Snowy’, another name for Himālaya, ‘Abode of Snow’.
even: Added for clarity.

STORY: Anāthapiṇḍika’s second daughter, Cullasubhaddā (see the story for v. 18), is married to the son of another banker, and sent to live a long way from her parents. Her in-laws are followers of a group of naked ascetics. She refuses to visit those ascetics, despite the anger of her parents-in-law, and speaks in praise of the Buddha, until they too become interested and wish to see him. She visualizes the Buddha and offers him an invitation, which he accepts. The Buddha explains in the verse how he was aware of Cullasubhaddā’s invitation, even at a distance. Her in-laws are very impressed by the Buddha and his monks, and become devout followers.

305. STORY: The Buddha speaks the verse in praise of a monk who lives a solitary, hermit-like existence.

CHAPTER 22

HELLS

Niraya, literally, ‘down-going’, is used in Pali as an equivalent of Sanskrit naraka, ‘hell’. The difference between the hells of Buddhist and Western traditions is that those of the Buddhist (and other South Asian) traditions are subject to impermanence, as are the heavens, and, after undergoing the results of their actions, beings are reborn elsewhere. The hell most frequently mentioned in the Dhammapada Commentary is the Avīci (see Glossary). In this section I have generally translated niraya as ‘hell world’, to try to suggest the distinction between this and the Christian view. Strictly speaking, the Buddhist ‘hells’ are more like purgatories.

306. STORY: Some ascetics, jealous of the alms and reputation of the Buddha, plot against him, with the aid of the ascetic woman Sundarī (‘Beautiful’), who pretends to be having an affair with him (cf. Ciñcā in the story for v. 176). Once the rumour has started to get about, the ascetics pay some criminals to murder Sundarī and throw her body on a rubbish pile near to the place where the Buddha is staying. They then go to the king and accuse the Buddhist monks of killing her to cover up their teacher’s misconduct. When the Buddha is told about this, he calmly utters the verse.

The king, doubting the word of the ascetics, sends officers to find out what has really happened. They find the hired killers drinking the proceeds of their crime, and boasting about what they have done. The lying ascetics are punished, and the Buddha’s reputation increases.

307. their backs: Literally, ‘their necks’, but I have used the equivalent colloquial usage in English. Here the monk’s robe is being worn only externally, and does not correspond to a proper attitude within.
of evil character: pāpadhammā.

STORY: Moggallāna and Lakkhaṇa see some skeletal ghosts with the attributes of monks. Moggallāna explains that these were monks who were ordained in the time of the Buddha Kassapa, but did not live up to their vows. (cf. the stories for vv. 71, 72, 136, 281.)

308. Hot as flames of fire: Literally, ‘like a flame of fire’. The image of swallowing a red-hot ball of iron is commonly used of the dangers of eating alms-food to which one is not entitled.
eat the alms of the kingdom: i.e. accept the support of laypeople while not living as a monk should.

STORY: The Buddha speaks the verse as a warning to some monks who have been claiming spiritual attainments they do not possess in order to get alms.

309–10. reckless: pamatto – literally, ‘unaware’. (See the introduction to the notes on Chapter 2.)
Ill fortune earned: apuññalābha – literally, ‘acquisition of demerit’, the kammic consequences of wrong action.

STORY: Khema, a banker’s son, is constantly getting into trouble with married women. He is caught three times, and each time the king lets him go out of sympathy for his father; but Khema will not learn his lesson. His father takes him to the Buddha, who speaks these verses, bringing the young man to his senses.

311–13. wanderer’s life: sāmañña, the condition of a samaṇa – see Glossary.
kusa grass: See the notes on v. 70.
spiritual practice: Or celibacy (brahmacariya).
doubtful: Following the Commentary, which takes saṅkassara as being from saṅkā, ‘doubt’. K. R. Norman (1997: 45) takes it in the alternative sense as ‘vile’ (perhaps from Vedic Sanskrit saṅkasuka, though he does not comment on this).
Just scatters more dust on himself: ‘on himself’ added for clarity.

STORY: Contrary to the monastic rule, a monk pulls up a blade of grass. He is remorseful, but another monk says that it does not matter, pulling up a whole clump of grass to make his point. The Buddha speaks the verses in rebuke. (As usual, the fault of denying the difference between right and wrong is regarded as more serious than making a mistake and honestly acknowledging the fact.)

314. STORY: A woman finds that her husband has been having sexual relations with their slave woman. In her jealousy, she punishes the woman cruelly, mutilating her face and locking her in the house. Then she goes off with her husband (who is apparently unaware of what she has done) to hear the Buddha’s teachings.

In their absence, some relatives visit the house, discover what has happened, and release the slave woman. In front of the assembled people, she reports the matter to the Buddha. He speaks the verse; the couple attain Stream-Entry, and immediately set free the slave woman, who herself becomes a follower of the Buddha.

315. STORY: Some monks have an uncomfortable time because the city where they are staying is expecting an attack, and the citizens are mainly concerned with fortifying it. The Buddha counsels them to endure the situation, but reminds them that they too should fortify themselves.

316–17. where there is no danger: Literally, ‘in non-danger’.
where danger exists: Literally, ‘in danger’.

STORY: Arguments break out between ascetics who go completely naked and ascetics who wear a small loincloth. The verses are said to be the Buddha’s comment on this.

318–19. where there is no fault: Literally, ‘in the non-blamable’.
where fault exists: Literally, ‘in the blamable’.

STORY: Some parents who are followers of other teachers are unhappy when their young children become devotees of the Buddha; but wise neighbours calm their fears. The parents go to pay homage to the Buddha, who teaches them with these verses.

CHAPTER 23

THE ELEPHANT

Nāga has many meanings, including ‘serpent-deity’ and ‘hero’, but in this chapter it clearly means ‘elephant’, and the majority of the verses mention this animal.

320–22. arrows: Taking saraṃ as plural (as it is in uv 19.21).
abusive speech: ativākyaṃ – speech beyond the normal bounds.
Sindh: Pali/Sanskrit Sindhu – the area of the Indus river, proverbial home of the finest horses in ancient India.

STORY: Instigated by Māgandiyā (see the stories for vv. 21–3, 179–80), people shout abuse at the Buddha wherever he goes. Ānanda wants him to leave, but the Buddha asks him what they will do if they meet similar abuse elsewhere. Will they keep moving on? He compares himself to a well-trained elephant, who endures arrows with patience. The mob are won over by the Buddha’s patience, and many of them attain higher states.

323. to the place where none has gone: agataṃ disaṃ, taking agata as ‘not gone to’. K. R. Norman (1997: 47, 139) translates this as ‘to the region where there is no rebirth’, taking agata as ‘without gati [place of rebirth – see Glossary]’. In either case, it means the unconditioned, nibbāna.

STORY: A monk who was an elephant-trainer in lay life sees a man trying to teach a trick to an elephant, and gives him advice. The Buddha reproaches him for troubling himself with mounts which cannot help him get to his goal as a monk.

324. must: A fluid (sometimes spelled ‘musth’) secreted from the forehead by some bull elephants during rut.
in captivity: Literally, ‘bound’.

STORY: An elderly Brahmin gives up his property to his sons and daughters-in-law, on the understanding that they will take care of him. Soon, however, they begin to ill-treat him. The Buddha shames them by telling the story of the captive elephant Dhanapālaka, who weeps for his parents left behind in the jungle.

325. STORY: A shortened version of that for v. 204.

326. mahout: Literally, ‘aṅkusa-holder’, the aṅkusa (Sanskrit aṅkuśa) being the hooked stick used by an elephant-driver.

STORY: A novice monk called Sānu practises eagerly, constantly offering the merit of his actions to his parents. His present, human, parents are not aware of it, but a yakkhinī, his mother in a previous birth, greatly appreciates it. When he becomes discontented and wishes to return to the household life, both his mothers do their best to dissuade him: his human mother by pointing out the disadvantages of the household life, and his yakkhinī mother by possessing him and causing him to have a fit. Both in their own ways warn him of the dangers of leaving the Buddha’s path.
Sānu recovers, and returns to the Order. He is ordained as a monk, and becomes an Arahat and a famous teacher.

327. Awareness: appamāda – see the introduction to the notes on Chapter 2.

STORY: An old war-elephant, formerly very strong, but now grown weak with age, gets stuck in the mud of a lake. The trainer has drums beaten, as though for battle, rousing the elephant’s pride so that it manages to extricate itself. The Buddha points it out as an example to the monks.

328–30. skilful: K. R. Norman (1997: 47, 141) takes nipaka in its alternative sense as ‘zealous’.
conquered territory: vjita – cf. jita in v. 40 and its notes. Here, however, there still seems to be a memory of the original meaning.
like an elephant in an elephant-forest: Norman splits the words mātaṅg’araññe va nāgo differently, reading them as ‘like a mātaṅga nāga elephant [which he takes as a particular kind or breed of elephants] in the forest’.
It’s better to walk alone: Literally, ‘better is walking of one alone’.
with fools: Taking bāle as instrumental plural rather than locative singular – otherwise, ‘in a fool’.

STORY: The Buddha has gone to the forest to get away from the quarrelling monks, and an old elephant has gone there to get away from the constant noise and jostling of the herd. The Buddha praises the elephant, which provides him with water and protects him in the forest (see the story for v. 6).

331–3. pleasant: sukha, here implying ‘bringing happiness’.
caring for your mother … caring for Brahmins: All traditional sources agree that the abstract nouns matteyyatā, petteyyatā, sāmaññatā, brahmaññatā here mean ‘care for mother’, ‘care for father’, ‘care for wanderers (samaṇa)’, ‘care for Brahmins’, rather than ‘motherhood’, ‘fatherhood’, ‘wanderer’s state’, ‘Brahminhood’. As K. R. Norman (1997: 142–3) points out, sāmaññatā and brahmaññatā are double abstract nouns, since sāmañña and brahmañña are already abstracts (‘samaṇa-hood’, ‘Brahminhood’), and -tā is a further abstract suffix; the same is perhaps true of matteyyatā and petteyyatā, suggesting that none of these words is to be taken in an obvious sense.

STORY: The Buddha is thinking about unjust kings who oppress their subjects. Māra mistakenly supposes that he still has a craving for kingship, and tries to tempt him back to the household life. The Buddha tells him that no amount of power or wealth is enough to satisfy a person who is not free from craving.

CHAPTER 24

CRAVING

Craving – literally, ‘thirst’ (taṇhā) – is what, in Buddhist teaching, keeps us trapped in the realm of birth and death.

334–7. māluvā creeper: See the notes on v. 162.
If someone is overpowered: Literally, ‘the one whom this fierce (jammī) craving overpowers’.
bīraṇa grass after rain: Literally, ‘bīraṇa grass [that has been] rained on’. Bīraṇa grass (Sanskrit vīriṇa) = Andropogon muricatum.
venerable sirs: As K. R. Norman points out, the expression bhaddaṃ vo, which looks as though it means ‘good luck to you [pl.]’, is in fact functioning like a vocative – ‘good sirs’. See K. R. Norman 1997: 144, and Brough 1962: 264.
usira root: Sanskrit uśīra – the fragrant root of the bīraṇa grass (see above), believed to have medicinal properties.

STORY: A monk in the Buddha Kassapa’s time falls away and begins to give false teaching. After a stay in the Avīci hell, he is reborn in the present Buddha’s time as a talking fish with beautiful golden scales (because of his previous practice as a follower of a Buddha) but a foul breath (because of his false teaching). After telling his story, the fish dies, overcome by remorse, and is reborn in a hell world again.

338–43. Just as a tree … grows again: Strongly reminiscent of Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad III.9.28 (tr. Roebuck 2000: 69; 2003: 59).
tendency to craving: taṇhānusaya. The anusayas are latent tendencies to which the mind is liable to return, and in later Buddhism are often listed as seven: tendencies towards sense-desire, desire for existence, anger, pride (māna – see the notes on v. 221), views, doubt and ignorance. The Commentary takes the tendency to craving as comprising the first two on the list, but it is not clear whether the theory was fully developed when the Dhammapada was composed (Carter and Palihawadana 1987: 497).
thirty-six streams: According to Carter and Palihawadana (1987: 359; 497, n. 9), the various possible activations of craving: ‘eighteen activations dependent on the internal [āyatanas] and eighteen on the external’. There are a number of possible interpretations of the thirty-six, but clearly they are related to the operation of the six senses. (In Buddhist thought, the mind is considered a sense along with sight, hearing etc., with dhammas as its objects.) Each sense may be associated with craving for inner or outer objects in the past, present or future, and in three modes – craving for sense-pleasures, craving for existence and craving for the cessation of existence – giving various ways of arriving at thirty-six.
Floods: Reading vāhā, rather than mahā, ‘great’, which does not fit the syntax here.
stands tall: ‘tall’ added for clarity.
Crawl around like a trapped hare: Following Carter and Palihawadana (1987: 359–60). K. R. Norman (1997: 50) has ‘run around like a hunted hare’, but the verb parisappati comes from the root sṛp-, ‘to creep’, and the imagery of a hare caught in a snare seems more appropriate here.

STORY: The Buddha, seeing a young sow, is observed to smile. He explains that in the time of the Buddha Kakusandha she was a hen who used to enjoy the sound of a monk teaching. When she died, because of this wholesome activity, she was reborn as a princess. After seeing some maggots (leading to an understanding of foulness, or impermanence?) she achieved the first meditation (jhāna) and was then reborn in a Brahmā world. From there she fell to her current state. Understanding this, the Buddha smiled. He speaks the verses.

The commentator then takes the sow’s story on through a series of births to Sri Lanka in his own time, where she is again a woman of high station. She becomes a nun, and attains Arahatship. She recollects her previous births and recounts them before passing into nibbāna.

344. Puns on vana, ‘wood’/‘desire’, as in vv. 283–4: ‘without brushwood’, nibbanatha; ‘committed to the wood’, vanādhimutto. k.R. Norman (1997: 145–7), pointing out that the commentarial story does not take account of the puns, regards the verse as an attack on Brahmins who, though living in the forest, maintain their family commitments.

STORY: A monk, a follower of the Arahat Kassapa, returns to the lay life. Falling into bad company, he becomes a bandit. When he is captured and is awaiting execution, Kassapa sees his plight and tells him to take up his former meditation subject again. The bandit does so, and his fearlessness impresses his captors. Kassapa reports the matter to the Buddha, who sends his likeness to appear before the condemned man and teach him with this verse. At the moment of execution, the former monk attains Arahatship.

345–6. rope: babbaja, made of plaited reeds or grass (K. R. Norman 1997: 146).
hard to escape for the slack: Following K. R. Norman (1997: 50, 146–7), who takes sithilaṃ duppamuñcaṃ as a compound, with ṃ inserted for metrical reasons. The Commentary tries to explain sithilaṃ, ‘slack’, ‘lax’, as an epithet for the chain, perhaps referring to a bond that is supple like leather. It is followed by Carter and Palihawadana (1987: 362–3), who have ‘lax [and yet] hard to loosen’.

STORY: The monks see some convicts in chains, and ask the Buddha whether there are any stronger chains than these. He replies that the bonds of passion and attachment are far stronger than physical chains.

347. STORY: Queen Khemā avoids hearing the Buddha’s teaching, fearing that he will disparage her beauty. When she is eventually persuaded to hear him, he causes the figure of an extremely beautiful woman to appear before her, to grow old and to die (cf. the story of Nandā for v. 150). Seeing this, she attains Stream-Entry. Then the Buddha speaks this verse, and she attains Arahatship. The Buddha tells the king, her husband, that she will either have to ordain as a nun or pass away in parinibbāna. With his permission, Khemā joins the Order and becomes chief among the nuns, supreme in insight.

348. STORY: Uggasena, a banker’s son, falls in love with a woman acrobat and runs away to join her troupe. They marry. First of all Uggasena just looks after their carts and oxen, and carries their equipment – surely one of the earliest descriptions of a roadie in literature. But when one day he hears his wife playfully calling their child ‘son of a cart-driver’ he determines to prove his worth, and sets about learning one of the acrobats’ most difficult tricks, a routine of seven somersaults on top of a very tall bamboo pole. It takes him a year to learn, but when he has perfected it he announces a public performance.

The Buddha realizes that Uggasena has the ability to attain Arahatship, and goes to see him. Uggasena performs his seven somersaults, only to find that the audience has been looking at the Buddha, who has just arrived, and not at him. He is greatly disappointed. Understanding his thought, the Buddha sends Moggallāna to request him to perform again. Delighted, Uggasena now performs fourteen somersaults and lands back on top of his pole. At this moment, the Buddha speaks the verse, and Uggasena attains Arahatship; he comes down from the pole to pay homage to the Buddha, and is ordained as a monk.

When Uggasena is asked whether he felt any fear when he came down from the pole, he declares that he did not – tantamount to a claim of Arahatship. When others express doubts about this, the Buddha confirms his attainment with v. 397.

Later, the Buddha recounts the actions, good and bad, in a past life that led Uggasena and his wife to their present situation. Uggasena’s wife decides that she too will attain whatever her husband has attained, is ordained as a nun, and attains Arahatship.

349–50. the fair … the foul: cf. the notes on vv. 7–8.

STORY: The monk Dhanuggaha is distracted by a beautiful laywoman, and becomes discontented. The Buddha reveals that in a previous life she had been Dhanuggaha’s wife, but had betrayed him to his death for love of a bandit.

351–2. This accumulation: i.e. the body, as in the following verse.
Skilled in etymology and words, / Who knows the order of letters: The words used here are normally technical terms of grammar, but in this context must refer to the skills necessary to understand and teach the Dhamma (Carter and Palihawadana 1987: 500, n. 29). ‘letters’ is literally ‘syllables’. Indian scripts, including Brāhmī and Kharoṣṭhī, are written in syllables, which in turn are built up of symbols for the individual phonemes. So it is not absolutely certain that written language is meant here.
a great person – / So he is called: Overruns the metre. Probably ‘a great person’ has been added from an early commentary.

STORY: Māra takes the form of a gigantic elephant and tries to frighten Rāhula, the Buddha’s son, now ordained. But, though Rāhula is only eight years old, he is an Arahat, and Māra cannot frighten him.

353. through the destruction of craving: Literally, ‘in the destruction of craving’.
as teacher: Added for clarity.

STORY: After the Buddha’s enlightenment, and his stay of seven weeks at Bodh Gaya, he goes to meet the five ascetics with whom he previously practised asceticism. On the way he meets Upaka, an Ājīvika ascetic, who sees the Buddha’s radiant appearance and asks the name of his teacher. The Buddha replies with this verse. Upaka neither accepts nor rejects the statement, but goes on his way.

354. conquers: jināti, used in two different senses in the verse. In ll. 1–3 it means ‘surpasses’, while in l. 4 it means ‘destroys’.

STORY: The gods are debating about which gift is best, which flavour is best, which pleasure is best, and why the destruction of craving is supreme. Eventually they go to the Buddha, who answers with the verse.

355. STORY: A banker has died without leaving an heir, and his immense wealth has gone to the king. It turns out that, far from enjoying his good fortune, he was a miser with an evil temper. The Buddha tells the stories of the past lives that brought him to that state.

356–9. STORY: Aṅkura has given alms in various existences for 10,000 years, while Indaka gave a spoonful of his own food to the Arahat Anuruddha. The Buddha points out that giving to such a one brings far more merit than giving indiscriminately.

CHAPTER 25

THE MONK

360–61. STORY: Five monks try each to guard one of the sense-doors, and argue among themselves who has the most difficult task.

362. STORY: A young monk, showing his prowess at throwing stones, hits a goose and kills it, so violating one of the gravest Vinaya rules. The Buddha recounts the Kurudhamma Jātaka, which illustrates the care with which people in former times kept the precepts.

363. A gentle speaker: Taking manta-bhāṇī from Sanskrit mandra-bhāṇin, not mantra-bhāṇin, which would mean ‘a speaker of mantras/sacred texts’ (K. R. Norman 1997: 149).

STORY: A monk called Kokālika repeatedly disparages Sāriputta and Moggallāna, and in consequence of his wicked behaviour is swallowed by the earth (cf. the story for v. 17).

The Buddha explains that this is not the first time that Kokālika has got into trouble through failure to hold his tongue, and recounts the well-known fable of a tortoise carried through the air by holding on with his teeth to a pole carried between two geese. When someone makes a remark about this strange sight, the tortoise is unable to resist opening his mouth to reply, and tumbles to his death. The tortoise was Kokālika in a previous birth.

364. Dwelling in Dhamma: Literally, ‘Having Dhamma as his pleasure-garden’ (dhammārāma).

STORY: This concerns a monk called Dhammārāma, who, during the last four months of the Buddha’s life, behaves in the same way as Attadattha (story for v. 166) and Tissa (story for v. 205).

365–6. STORY: A monk is close friends with a follower of Devadatta, and stays with Devadatta’s monks, partly because of the rich gifts they receive. When the Buddha reproaches him, he explains that he does not share their views, but stays with them because of this friendship.

The Buddha points out the dangers of living with bad people, telling the story of a previous existence in which the monk had been an elephant. Normally well controlled, the elephant overheard the conversation of some bandits and, under their influence, went wild and killed his keepers. When it was arranged that he should hear the conversation of sages, he recovered his former good qualities. The Buddha advises the monk to avoid bad company, and to be content with what he receives.

367. STORY: The Buddha accepts food from a Brahmin, and teaches him about ‘name and form’ (nāma-rūpa), the mental and physical aspects of existence.

368–76. conditioned things: The saṅkhāras.
Cut off five, give up five: The five lower and higher fetters (see Glossary under saṃyojana).
Develop five to the highest: The five indriyas (faculties): (1) saddhā, ‘faith’/‘confidence’; (2) viriya, ‘energy’/‘courage’; (3) sati, ‘mindfulness’; (4) samādhi, ‘concentration’; (5) paññā, ‘wisdom’.
five bonds: Greed, hate, delusion, pride and views.
Don’t let your mind wander: Literally, ‘don’t cause your mind to wander’.
Don’t … swallow an iron ball: See the notes on v. 308.
recklessly: pammatto, ‘[being] unaware’.
There’s no meditation … close to nibbāna: This verse is found in the surviving literature of many of the early Buddhist schools: see Skilling 2006: 111, n. 47.
an empty house: Perhaps literally a secluded place, suitable for meditation (Carter and Palihawadana 1987: 382; K. R. Norman 1997: 53), or perhaps a symbol for the unattached mind itself.
Who has right insight into dhammas: Literally, ‘seeing rightly into dhammas’, with connotations of vipassanā, the insight aspect of meditation.
dhammas: Or ‘the Dhamma’, but here dhammaṃ is probably being used as an accusative plural (as in Uv 32.9, which has dharmān).
beyond the human: Literally, ‘not-human’ (amānusī), a word generally used of divine beings.
contemplates: sammasati, implying repeated and intense meditative activity.
aggregates: khandhas – see Glossary.
So this is how the wise monk / Can make a beginning here: Literally, ‘In that respect, this is the beginning here / For the wise monk.’
monastic rule: pātimokkha, the basic code of the monastic life, with 227 rules for monks and 311 for nuns.
Find friends … livelihood: Some editions place this at the start of the following stanza.
friends … good for you: mitte kalyāṇe. K. R. Norman (1997: 152–3) takes ‘of pure livelihood’ (suddhājīve) and ‘unwearied’ (atandite) in the next line as Eastern forms of the nominative singular, referring to the subject of bhajassu (imperative, ‘resort to’ friends etc.). He demonstrates that in the earlier versions (and preserved in Uv 32.27 c–d) the reference was to knowing measure, i.e. moderation (mitta < mātra), in food (cf. vv. 7–8, where the word occurs as matta), rather than to friends (mitta < mitra). However, the use of the word kalyāṇa, normally paired with mitta, ‘friend’, rather than pratirūpa (or its derivatives), ‘suitable’, shows that this possible meaning of mitta has been lost in the Pali Dhammapada. I therefore translate it as it has been traditionally understood. Norman takes the Pali line as it now stands as ‘Being of good livelihood and unwearied, associate with friends who are noble.’

STORY: Some burglars break into the house of a wealthy laywoman, who is away listening to her son, an Arahat, teaching the Dhamma. If she comes back, the chief burglar is determined to kill her. However, though three times a servant comes to tell her that there are burglars in the house – first in the strongroom for copper coins, then in the one for silver, and then in the one for gold – the laywoman sends the servant away, telling her not to bother her while she is listening to the Dhamma.

Hearing of this, the burglars think that if they were to rob a woman like this they would be struck by thunderbolts; so the chief orders the other burglars to put back what they have already stolen. Then they go to the woman and confess their fault. She forgives them, and asks her son to ordain them as monks. Becoming aware of what has happened, the Buddha sends a likeness of himself to appear before the new monks and teach them with these verses.

377. STORY: A group of 500 monks see that jasmine flowers which have bloomed in the morning are dropping in the evening. They resolve that, before the flowers have fallen, they will have let go of greed, hatred and delusion. The Buddha appears and encourages them with the verse, and all attain Arahatship.

378. Peaceful in mind, concentrated: Following K. R. Norman, one of the manuscripts, and apparently the Commentary, and reading santamano samāhito. Most versions have santavā susamāhito, ‘peaceful(?), well-concentrated’. But santavā is problematic. The final element -vā has been taken to represent either a possessive form or a past participle (hence, ‘having peace’ or ‘having become peaceful’), but it probably originally represented < vāk, ‘speech’. Presumably once this had been forgotten this word was taken to refer to the mind, and the first pāda was emended to refer to speech to complete the usual triad (K. R. Norman 1997: 153).
at peace: upasanta, ‘thoroughly peaceful’. Cf. upasama in the note to vv. 3–4.

STORY: A monk called Santakāya (‘Of Peaceful Body’) was miraculously born of a lioness. Like his mother, he is peaceful and composed in all his actions, making him an exemplary monk.

379–80. STORY: A poor ploughman gives up his hard life to become a monk. When he puts on the robes, he leaves his tattered old loincloth hanging on a tree. Whenever he becomes discontented with the monastic life, he visits the old loincloth, which he calls his ‘teacher’, and reproaches himself. He soon attains Arahatship, and no longer needs to visit this ‘teacher’. The Buddha confirms his attainment with the verses.

381. STORY: Vakkali loves the physical beauty of the Buddha, and becomes ordained in order to be able to gaze on him at all times. When the Buddha perceives that Vakkali is ready to understand, he reproves him, asking why he wants to gaze on the mass of corruption which is the body: ‘Whoever sees the Dhamma, sees me.’ But Vakkali continues to follow the Buddha wherever he goes. When the Buddha orders Vakkali back to his monastery at the start of the Rains Retreat (which means that he will not see him for three months), Vakkali determines to commit suicide. He climbs Vulture Peak, intending to throw himself off. However, the Buddha sends his likeness to appear before him and speak the verse.

After further encouragement, Vakkali becomes an Arahat with great psychic powers. The Buddha names him the foremost of the monks possessing faith.

382. STORY: The Arahat Anuruddha, the foremost of the monks for the divine eye – the power to see what is happening at a distance – has a novice called Sumana. At seven years old, Sumana has such remarkable psychic powers that, when Anuruddha is ill, he is able to fly to Lake Anotatta, in the Himalayas, to fetch him healing water to drink. The nāga king who lives there is reluctant to let him have it, but Sumana has the power to compel him.

Later, the Buddha sees adult monks patting the novice on the head and tweaking his ears, so decides to teach them a lesson. He asks Ānanda to tell the novices to bring water from Lake Anotatta so that he can bathe his feet. Of course, none of the other novices can do it, but Sumana, the youngest of them, manages without difficulty. Sumana receives his full ordination, and the Buddha speaks this verse.

CHAPTER 26

THE BRAHMIN

383. Strive, and cut across the stream: Literally, ‘Having striven/Striving, cut across the stream’, taking parakkamma as an indeclinable participle (‘absolutive’), ‘having striven/striving’. Alternatively, taking it as an imperative (equivalent to parakkama), ‘Cut across the stream, strive’. See Carter and Palihawadana 1987: 391, 505, and K. R. Norman 1997: 154.
conditioned things: The saṅkhāras.
You’ll know the unmade: ‘You’ll be akataññū,’ a knower of the unmade – cf. the notes on v. 97.

STORY: A generous Brahmin gives alms to monks and addresses them all as Arahats. Those who are not yet Arahats feel uncomfortable about this, and stop going to his house. The Buddha explains that the Brahmin is simply expressing his joy at giving alms, and urges them all to attain Arahatship.

384. twofold states [dhammas]: e.g. pleasure and pain, praise and blame. The equivalent verse in the Udānavarga (33.68) has sveṣu dharmeṣu (‘among [his] own dharmas’) instead of the expected dvayeṣu dharmeṣu: see K. R. Norman 1997: 154–5. The Commentary here seems to take dvaya, ‘twofold’, as simply equivalent to ‘two’, and takes it to refer to the two means to liberation rather than the twofold states characteristic of saṃsāra (Carter and Palihawadana 1987: 392).
go to rest: atthaṃ gacchanti – see the note on v. 226.

STORY: At Sāriputta’s request, the Buddha gives a discourse about the two states (dhammas) – calm (samatha) and insight (vipassanā) – through which a meditator can attain liberation.

385–6, 395–423. Him I call a Brahmin: tam ahaṃ brūmi brāhmaṇaṃ. Although this refrain (which could also be translated as ‘That one I call a Brahmin’) is in the masculine gender, the words are of course intended to be taken in an inclusive sense, and several of the commentarial stories attached to these verses are about women (vv. 391, 395, 401, 403, 421).

385. The far shore … near shore: K. R. Norman (1997: 155, referring to Brough 1962: 202) considers that here pāra (‘other shore’, ‘further shore’) and apāra (‘this shore’, ‘nearer shore’) refer to the next life and the present life. The Commentary takes them as referring to the internal and external sense-bases (āyatana): see Carter and Palihawadana 1987: 392–3. However, the story suggests the symbolism of nibbāna and saṃsāra.
Free of fear: vīta-ddaraṃ – see the notes on v. 205. The parallel versions to the present verse have vīta-jjaraṃ (PDhp 40) and vikada-dvara (GDhp 35; Brough 1962: 186), ‘free of fever’.

STORY: Māra, in disguise, questions the Buddha about ‘the other shore’. The Buddha, recognizing him, says that it has nothing to do with Māra, since it can be attained only by one who is freed from desires.

386. STORY: A Brahmin wonders why the Buddha calls his own followers ‘Brahmins’, regardless of their birth, yet does not call him a Brahmin. The Buddha explains that he uses the word only for those who have attained Arahatship.

387. STORY: During a great festival, four glorious sights can be seen all at once: King Pasenadi, in his royal splendour; the golden-skinned Arahat Elder Kāḷudāyi, seated in meditation; the setting sun; and the rising moon. But the Buddha outshines them all. When Ānanda afterwards mentions this to him, the Buddha confirms it with the verse. (Kāḷudāyi – ‘Dark Udāyi’ – formerly a minister to King Suddhodana, is not the same as the monk(s) named Udāyi mentioned in the notes to vv. 64, 152, 241.)

388. A series of wordplays: on ‘Brahmin’ (brāhmaṇa) and ‘get rid of’ (bāh-); on ‘wanderer’ (samaṇa) and ‘even/peaceful conduct’ (samacariyā); and on ‘giving up’ (pabbājā) and ‘renouncer’ (pabbajita).

STORY: As for v. 386, but here a follower of another tradition wonders why the Buddha does not address him as pabbajita.

389–90. There are problems with both these verses in the form in which we have them.
anger: Word added twice for clarity.
him who strikes a Brahmin: Or ‘a Brahmin-slayer’, but in context it appears that a lesser assault is intended.
More shame on him who unleashes his anger: Presumably, in response. It would hardly make sense for the verse to say that it is more serious for the first Brahmin to use harsh words to the second Brahmin than to beat him. Rather, the verse is warning the second Brahmin not to retaliate. (For a detailed discussion of this verse and its variants, see Carter and Palihawadana 1987: 507–8.)
Verse 390 is obscure and probably corrupt. K. R. Norman (1997: 55) translates the first two lines as ‘This is no advantage for a brahman, when there is restraint of mind from pleasant things,’ taking ‘This’ presumably as referring back to the actions mentioned in the previous verse.
To have restraint of mind: Literally, ‘When he has restraint of mind’.
The more the will to harm ceases, / The more is sorrow calmed: Here I translate the Pali version as we have it, where it is part of a discussion of anger and retaliation. K. R. Norman (1997: 156–7) reads hiṃsa-mano as derived from hi ssa mano, ‘indeed … the mind’, rather than following the Commentary and taking it as equivalent to hiṃsā-mano, ‘the will to harm’, for which, as he points out, there is no warrant in the parallel verses in the Sanskrit Udānavarga and the Gāndhārī Dharmapada. Originally, it seems, v. 390 was concerned with attachment, rather than ill will, but the Commentary (or even, perhaps, the compiler of the Pali Dhammapada) has taken it as following on from v. 389. (For the Gāndhārī version, see Appendix 1, v. 15 and note.)
things that are dear: Or ‘people that are dear’. The text just has piya in the plural – see the introduction to the notes on Chapter 16.
sorrow: dukkha.

STORY: A Brahmin tests Sāriputta’s self-control by coming up behind him and hitting him with a stick. The Elder is completely untroubled. The Brahmin, filled with remorse, begs his pardon and invites him for a meal. Sāriputta’s followers want to punish the man, but Sāriputta stops them, asking them who has been hit.

391. ways: Literally, ‘places’ – i.e. body, speech and mind.

STORY: The verse is spoken in praise of the Arahat Mahāpajāpati, the first bhikkhunī. (She had been the sister and co-wife of the Buddha’s mother, and had brought him up as her own after his mother died.) Some of the other nuns question whether her ordination was properly carried out; the Buddha confirms that he himself ordained her, and speaks the verse in praise of her.

392. STORY: Every night, before going to sleep, Sāriputta bows towards the direction in which the Elder Assaji is living. Some monks complain that Sāriputta is paying respect to the cardinal points, but the Buddha explains that he is in fact paying respect to the person who first passed on to him the Buddha’s teaching.

393. matted locks: jaṭā – the piled-up matted hair that is the symbol of the ascetic, especially in many Hindu traditions.
lineage: gotta (Sanskrit gotra) – the exogamous family unit to which Brahmins belong, each one thought to be descended from one of the ancient sages.
caste: Or perhaps simply ‘birth’ (jāti).

STORY: Similar to that for v. 386.

394. antelope-skin garment: Another symbol of the ascetic.
mess: The dictionary meaning of gahana is ‘a thicket, tangle, or obstruction’. Carter and Palihawadana (1987: 398–9) have, ‘Within you is the jungle’ K. R. Norman (1997: 56) has, ‘There is a thicket inside you.’ But the reference here is to something that needs thorough cleaning or polishing (pari-majj- in the following line), rather than cutting through. The Commentary repeats the word gahana without giving an alternative, glossing the sentence as ‘Within you is a gahana of defilements, passion etc.: you clean it [so that it is] polished like elephant-dung or horse-dung’, which, as Carter and Palihawadana point out, ‘does not appear ugly to the onlooker’. So I have assumed that gahana must mean primarily something dirty, rather than something tangled.

STORY: A Brahmin, a false ascetic, tricks people out of money and valuables.

395. STORY: Spoken in praise of Kisā Gotamī – cf. the stories for vv. 114, 287. The ascetic described in the verse is kisa, ‘lean’, like her.

396. Brahmin womb or mother: ‘Brahmin’ added for clarity.
a man who says ‘good sir’: bhovādin, ‘bho’ being a greeting used by Brahmins. Some have taken this as a disrespectful or patronizing address to non-Brahmins, but there seems no evidence for this. In the Laws of Manu (2.122) the word bho is actually prescribed as a greeting between Brahmins.

STORY: Similar to that for v. 386.

397. STORY: Spoken in praise of Uggasena, the former acrobat – see the story for v. 348.

398. cut the strap and the girth, / The thong with its attachments: The Commentary equates the strap with hate, the girth with craving, the thong with wrong views, and the attachments with the latent tendencies (see the notes on v. 338): see Carter and Palihawadana 1987: 401.
the door-bar: Symbolizing ignorance (ibid.).
awakened: buddha.

STORY: Two Brahmins compete to see which of their oxen is stronger, by organizing a tug of war between them. The oxen are harnessed to opposite ends of the same cart, which is loaded with sand. The Brahmins whip the oxen, but the cart does not move, and the harnesses break.

When the Buddha hears his monks discussing this, he points out that these are merely external straps and thongs: it is more important to break the internal ones, which represent anger and craving.

399. There are problems with the text of this verse.
Abuse, beating and imprisonment: akkosaṃ vadhabandhañ ca – possibly intended as accusative plurals, as they are in the equivalent Udānavarga verse (33.18).
Whose strength is patience, whose army is his strength: Or perhaps, taking khantībalaṃ balānīkaṃ as a compound, ‘Whose power of patience is his strong army’. K. R. Norman (1997: 159) considers that the second occurrence of bala in the Pali probably represents vrata, ‘vow’, ‘observance’, via a form such as vada or vala. The Udānavarga (33.18) has kṣāntivratabalopetaṃ, ‘endowed with the strength of his vow of patience’.

STORY: A Brahmin is angry because his wife constantly praises the Buddha. He determines to beat the Buddha in argument, and asks him a question: What must one do to live happily? The Buddha replies that one must destroy anger. The Brahmin is ordained as a monk and attains Arahatship, and the same afterwards happens to his brothers.

400. bearing his last body: Because he won’t be reborn after death.

STORY: Sāriputta’s mother, Rūpasārī (‘Sārī the Beautiful’), a Brahmin woman, gives alms to him and his monks, but keeps abusing them while she does so, because she resents his having left the household life to become a monk. He bears it all without ill feeling.

401. needle’s point: āragga. Most translators (e.g. K. R. Norman 1997: 56) have ‘the point of an awl’, perhaps because of the etymological relationship between ārā and the English word ‘awl’, normally used of the large needle used by a leather-worker. But the simile seems to envisage a small needle.

STORY: Spoken in praise of the leading nun Uppalavaṇṇā: see the story for v. 69.

402. STORY: A runaway slave is ordained as a monk and becomes an Arahat. When his former master tries to seize him, the Buddha explains that the man’s burden has fallen away from him. The master realizes that the man can no longer be his slave.

403. STORY: Spoken in praise of the leading nun Khemā: see the story for v. 347.

404. STORY: A monk goes to a deserted place to meditate, and the local deity (not necessarily a goddess, as Burlingame has it: see the notes on vv. 119–120), feeling inconvenienced by his presence, tries to get rid of him by tricking him into breaking the monastic code. He/she is unsuccessful, and the monk orders him/her to leave. However, he does not at any time become angry with the deity.

405. STORY: A monk, meditating in the forest, attains Arahatship, and sets off to report the matter to the Buddha. Meanwhile, a wife has run away after quarrelling with her husband, determined to go back to her parents’ home. Afraid to enter the forest alone, she walks closely behind the monk, who does not so much as look at her. The husband, finding them, thinks that the monk has gone off with his wife, and beats him badly. The monk does not at any point become angry.

406. STORY: A Brahmin woman wishes to offer food to four old monks, and is furious when four little boy novices, Saṃkicca (story for v. 110), Paṇḍita (story for v. 80), Sopāka and Revata (story for v. 98), are sent instead. She leaves them unfed, and tries to find an older monk to feed in their place; but Sāriputta and Moggallāna in turn refuse to eat there and depart.

Realizing that the boys are now extremely hungry, the god Sakka takes the form of an old Brahmin and goes to the house. When he pays respect to the novices, the woman and her husband are outraged: they beat him and try to throw him out. Sakka reveals his identity, and the couple feed him and the novices.

When asked afterwards whether they had got angry about any of this, the novices reveal that they had not – so confirming that they are Arahats, and thus supremely venerable.

407. needle’s point: See the note on v. 401.

STORY: A reflection on the tale of Mahāpanthaka and Cūḷapanthaka (see the story for v. 25). When Mahāpanthaka turned Cūḷapanthaka out of the monastery, was he motivated by anger? No, an Arahat does not have such defilements: he was acting from concern for the Dhamma.

408. truthful: Or perhaps ‘pleasant’ (saccaṃ – see the notes on v. 224).

STORY: The monk Vaccha addresses everyone as vasali, ‘little man’, ‘low person’, a term of contempt. The other monks are offended, but the Buddha, reflecting on Vaccha’s previous births, realizes that for 500 lives he has been born in Brahmin families, where it has been the custom to use this term for others. He explains that Vaccha is free of ill will, and is simply using this expression out of long habit.

409. Takes nothing that is not given: adinnaṃ nādiyate – a reference to the traditional second of the five precepts. See vv. 246–7 and notes.

STORY: An Arahat monk takes a cloth that has been laid outside by a Brahmin, thinking that it has been thrown away. Proclaiming him guiltless of theft, the Buddha speaks the verse.

410. STORY: At the Rains Retreat ceremony, when laypeople bring robes and other requisites in alms for the monks, Sāriputta gives instructions that he should be informed when the requisites arrive. He is planning to distribute them among the young monks and novices, but some hearers think he must still suffer from craving for such things. The Buddha explains the true situation, and speaks the verse.

411. Plunged into the deathless, not arising again: amatogadham anuppattaṃ. K. R. Norman (1997: 57, 161) translates this as ‘arrived at the firm foundation of the death-free’, taking ogadha as equivalent to ogādha, ‘firm foundation’.
STORY: As for v. 410, but told of Moggallāna.

412. here: i.e. in this world, taking ’dha as idha. K. R. Norman (1997: 58, 162) takes it as adha, ‘but’. Both kinds of clinging: Literally, ‘Both clingings’ – following K. R. Norman (1997: 58, 161), who takes saṅgaṃ as masculine plural. This has the backing of the Udānavarga (33.29), which has the dual form (ubhau saṅgāv < saṇgau), not available in Pali.

STORY: Spoken of Revata, in the story told for v. 98.

413. With indulgence and existence exhausted: nandī-bhava-parikkhīṇa – nandī, often translated as ‘relishing’, is not joy itself, but the tendency to hold on to such feelings; bhava, ‘being’ or ‘becoming’, is the tendency to be bound to future existence.

STORY: As a result of generosity to a previous Buddha, the Brahmin Candābha (‘Moonlight’) emits a radiance like moonlight from his navel. Some ascetics take him around with them as a means of impressing people and getting alms. But Candābha finds that when he goes into the presence of the Buddha the radiance disappears, and when he leaves it reappears. He studies with the Buddha to learn the spell that makes this happen, but within a few days achieves Arahatship and sends his former companions away. He is no longer interested in the power to emit moonlight.

414. STORY: That of Sīvali, who spent seven years in the womb. His mother, Suppavāsā, a Buddhist laywoman, is finally released from the pain of the extended pregnancy when offering alms to the Buddha. Later, Sīvali becomes a monk and attains Arahatship. The other monks remark on the suffering that Sīvali must have endured during his prolonged stay in the womb. The Buddha says that this is indeed so, but Sīvali has now become free of suffering.

415. here: As in v. 412.

STORY: A handsome young man called Sundarasamudda (‘Ocean of Beauty’) becomes a monk. His parents later regret having allowed him to be ordained, and his mother enlists a courtesan to try to make him come back to the household life. This woman tries all her wiles to seduce Sundarasamudda, but as he begins to waver the Buddha sends his likeness before him to speak this verse. Sundarasamudda attains Arahatship.

416. here: As in v. 412.

STORY: A complicated sequence of stories of the lives (including the past lives) of two bankers, Jotika and Jaṭila, who enjoy existences of extraordinary and magical luxury before renouncing everything to become monks. Both become Arahats. Each in turn is asked whether he still feels attachment to his family and his former wealth; each says that he does not, and the Buddha confirms it with the verse.

417. STORY: A wandering actor gives up his profession to become a monk, and attains Arahatship. When the monks see another actor putting on the same kind of performance that he used to do, they ask him whether he still longs for the actor’s life. He declares that he does not, and the Buddha confirms it with the verse.

418. with no remnant of craving: nirūpadhi, ‘without upadhi [the trace of attachment that can lead to future rebirth]’.

STORY: Similar to that for v. 417.

419–20. awakened: buddha, which can be applied to Arahats as well as to Buddhas.
destination: gati – see Glossary.
spirits: gandhabbas – see Glossary.

STORY: Vaṅgīsa, a Brahmin psychic, claims to be able to tell where people have been reborn after death by tapping on their skulls. The Buddha tests him by getting hold of five skulls: four from men who have been reborn, respectively, in a hell world, as an animal, as a human being and as a deity, and one from a man who has attained Arahatship. Vaṅgīsa correctly identifies the first four, but does not know what has happened to the last. The Buddha offers to teach him about this if he becomes ordained as a monk. Vaṅgīsa does so, and himself attains Arahatship.

421. STORY: A man called Visākha hears the Buddha’s teaching and attains the state of Non-Return. When he returns home, his wife, Dhammadinnā, thinks at first that he must be angry with her, since he no longer shows desire towards her. He offers all his possessions to her, saying that he no longer wishes to engage in worldly matters. Dhammadinnā refuses his wealth and becomes a nun. She soon attains Arahatship. Visākha remains a devout layman.

One day Visākha sees Dhammadinnā at the nuns’ residence and asks her a series of questions about the four Higher Stages. She answers every one, including one about Arahatship, with ease and clarity. She adds, however, that if he wishes to know about Arahatship he should go to the Buddha. But when Visākha reports the conversation, the Buddha tells him that what ‘my daughter Dhammadinnā’ has said was right, and that, if asked, he himself would answer in the same way. He praises Dhammadinnā with this verse.

Though the content of the discourse is not given here, it is recounted in full in the Cūḷavedalla Sutta (Majjhima Nikāya 1.299ff.: Sutta 44).

422. bull: Laudatory epithet for a leader or hero.
bathed: nhātaka (Sanskrit snātaka) – normally used of one who has completed his studies and ritually bathed to mark the end of his period of studentship. So there are connotations of his having completed his learning, as well as of his being washed clean.
awakened: As in v. 419.

STORY: After the incident recounted in the story for v. 177, Aṅgulimāla is asked whether he felt any fear when faced by the rogue elephant; when he declares that he did not, he is accused by some of speaking a falsehood. The Buddha confirms the truth of what he says with this verse.

423. perfect in knowledge: abhiññā-vosito – possessing the special knowledges characteristic of a Buddha.

STORY: When the Buddha is ill, the Brahmin Devahita gives him the medicine he needs, and hot water to bathe in. The Buddha is cured. Devahita asks who is the best person to give alms to, and receives his answer in the form of the verse.

SUMMARY VERSES

These verses are not found in all manuscripts of the Dhammapada, and are presumably later than the main body of the text. However, they are highly characteristic of South Asian literature, representing an aide-memoire for those learning the texts by heart.

3.   the Kinsman of the Sun: ādiccabandhu. The Buddha is said to have been born in the royal dynasty that claimed descent from the Sun God.

Index of Names in Stories

Numbers refer to verse numbers in the Notes section.

Abhaya (prince) 171

Aggidatta 188–92

Ajātasattu (prince, later king) 137–40, 201

Āḷāra Kālāma (meditation master) 11–12

Ānanda: banker 62; Elder and attendant of the Buddha 6, 17, 51–2, 54–5, 90, 124, 128, 155–6, 163, 175, 183–5, 193, 227–30, 251, 286, 290, 320–22, 382, 387

Anāthapiṇḍika 18, 32, 119–20, 249–50; daughters of 18, 304; son of 178

Aṅgulimāla 173, 177, 422

Anitthigandha 215

Aṅkura 356–9

Anojā (queen) 79

Anuruddha 17, 93, 221, 356–9, 382

Ariya 270

Assaji 11–12, 392

Attadattha 166

Atula 227–30

Avaruddhaka (yakkha) 109

Bāhiya 101

Bahuputtikā 115

Belaṭṭhasīsa 92

Biḷālapādaka 122

Bimbisāra (king) 24, 68

Bodhi (prince) 157

Candābha 413

Channa: charioteer 11–12;

Elder 78

Chattapāṇi 51–2

Ciñcā Māṇavikā 176

Citta 73–4

Cūlakāḷa 7–8

Cūḷakāla 165

Cūḷapanthaka/Cullapanthaka 25, 407

Cullasāri 244–5

Cullasubhaddā (daughter of Anāthapiṇḍika) 18, 304

Cunda (butcher) 15

Devadatta 9–10, 17, 90, 128, 160, 162, 163; followers of 365–6

Devahita 423

Dhammadinnā 421

Dhammārāma 364

Dhanapālaka (elephant) 324

Dīpaṅkara 11–12

Dūsi (previous Māra) 137–40

Ekasāṭaka 116

Ekuddāna 259

Erakapatta (nāga king) 182

Garahadinna 58–9

Godhika 57

Hatthaka 264–5

Indaka 356–9

Jālinī (goddess) 93

Jambuka (Ājīvika ascetic) 70

Jaṭila (banker) 416

Jīvaka (physician) 90

Jotika (banker) 416

Juṇha (royal minister) 177

Kaccāyana 43, 94

Kakusandha (previous Buddha) 137–40, 338–43

Kāla: Elder 164; royal minister 177; son of Anāthapiṇḍika 178

Kāḷī (mother of Māra) 137–40

Kāḷudāyi 387

Kāṇā 82

Kappina (king) 79

Kassapa: Elder 28, 56, 61, 91, 118, 217, 344; previous Buddha 53, 70, 71, 136, 182, 195–6, 307, 334–7

Khāṇu Koṇḍañña 111

Khema (banker’s son) 309–10

Khemā (chief nun) 347, 403

Khujjuttarā (slave woman) 21–3

Kisā Gotamī 114, 287, 395

Koka (hunter) 125

Kokālika 363

Kolita 11–12, = Moggallāna, q.v.

Koliya clan 197–9

Koṇḍañña (first Arahat) 11–12

Kosala, king of 201

Kosiya (miser) and wife 49

Kukkuṭamitta (hunter) and wife and family 124

Kumāra Kassapa 160

Kumbhaghosaka 24

Kuṇḍalakesī 102–3

Lājā (goddess) 118

Lakkhaṇa 71, 72, 136, 307

Lakuṇṭaka Bhaddiya 81, 97, 260–61, 294–5

Lāḷudāyi 152

Licchavi princes 214

Māgandiyā (queen) 21–3, 179–80, 320–22

Mahādhana: merchant 123; banker’s son 155–6

Mahākāla 161

Mahākāḷa 7–8

Mahāli (prince) 30

Mahāpajāpati (Buddha’s stepmother, first nun) 391

Mahāpanthaka 25, 407

Mahāsubhaddā (daughter of Anāthapiṇḍika) 18

Mālabhārin (god) 48

Mallikā (queen) 51–2, 60, 151, 177

Māra 57, 137–40, 146, 200, 331–3, 351–2, 385; daughters of 179–80

Mātika’s mother (laywoman Non-Returner) 35

Māyādevī (Buddha’s mother) 181

Meghiya 33–4

Meṇḍaka (banker) 252

Moggallāna (Arahat, chief monk (second to Sāriputta)) 11–12, 49, 71, 72, 77, 78, 136, 137–40, 163, 188–92, 219–20, 224, 241, 281, 307, 348, 363, 406, 411

Moggallī 11–12

Mūlasiri (banker’s son) 62
nāga kings 60, 182, 382
nāga princess 182

Nanda: Buddha’s cousin 13–14; herdsman 42

Nandā (Buddha’s half-sister) 150

Nandiya 219–20

Nigama Tissa 32

Padhānika Tissa 159

Padumuttara (previous Buddha) 53

Paṇḍita 80, 406

Pārileyyaka (elephant) 6

Pasenadi (king of Kosala) 51–2, 60, 116, 126, 142, 151, 160, 173, 177, 204, 387

Paṭācārā 113, 288–9

Pāṭhika (Ājīvika ascetic) 50

Patipūjikā (heavenly nymph) 48

Poṭhila 282

Puṇṇā 226

Rādha 76

Rāhula (Buddha’s son)11–12, 351–2

Revata (perhaps two different monks) 98, 172, 227–30, 406, 412

Rohiṇī 221

Rūpasārī (Sāriputta’s mother) 11–12, 400

Sahampati 11–12

Sākiya clan 11–12, 17, 47, 197–9

Sakka (god) 30, 56, 66, 94, 119–20, 176, 206–8, 221, 406

Sāmāvatī (queen) 21–3

Saṃkicca 110, 406

Sammuñjani 172

Sañjaya 11–12

Santakāya 378

Santati (royal minister) 142

Sānu 326

Sappadāsa 112

Sāriputta (Arahat, chief monk) 9–10, 11–12, 76, 77, 78, 80, 95, 97, 163, 227–30, 241, 244–5, 285, 363, 384, 389–90, 392, 406, 410; brother Revata 98; teaches executioner 100; debates with Kuṇḍalakesī 102–3; uncle of 106; nephew of 107; friend of 108; mother of 11–12, 400

Sirigutta 58–9

Sirimā (courtesan) 147, 223

Sīvali 414

Sopāka 406

Soreyya/Soreyyā 43

Subhadda 254–5

Suddhodana (Buddha’s father) 168–9, 387

Sudhamma 73–4

Sukha 145

Sumana: gardener 68; novice 382

Sumanādevī (daughter of Anāthapiṇḍika) 18

Sumedha 11–12

Sundarasamudda 415

Sundarī (ascetic woman) 306

Suppabuddha (Buddha’s uncle and former father-in-law) 128;
leprosy sufferer 66

Suppavāsā 414

Tissa (name of various monks and novices) 41, 75, 126, 205, 240, 249–50; Elder Tissa the Fat 3–4

Udayana 21–3

Udāyi 64, 241

Uddaka Rāmaputta (meditation teacher) 11–12

Udena (king) 21–3

Uggasena (banker’s son turned acrobat) and wife 348, 397

Upaka (Ājīvika ascetic) 353

Upāli 17, 160

Upatissa 11–12, = Sāriputta, q.v.

Uppalavaṇṇā (Arahat, chief nun (second to Khemā)) 69, 401

Uttara (young Brahmin) 182

Uttarā 223

Vaccha 408

Vakkali 381

Vaṅgīsa (psychic) 419–20

Vāsabhakhattiyā (queen) 51–2

Vāsuladattā (queen) 21–3

Viḍūḍabha (prince) 47

Visākha 421

Visākhā 53, 135, 146, 160, 167, 213, 249–50, 252

General Index

Please note that page references in the index refer to the print edition. Links will take you to the page where the link term is referenced (accuracy dependent on font size) and it is also possible to use your reader’s search facility for further navigation options.

Principal glossary entries are shown in bold. For individuals mentioned in commentarial stories see also the Index of Names in Stories.

Abhidhamma Piṭaka, philosophical teachings (Pali Canon) xxiii, 100

Abhidharma see Abhidhamma Piṭaka
accharā 100, 110, 120, 130, 132
acrobats 209
actor, wandering 224
adhiṭṭhāna (commitment) xliii
adultery xlviii, 60, 191, 203–4
perils of 133–4
aggregates (khandha) 41, 73, 105

Ajātaśatru 100

Ajātasattu, King 100
ājīvika/ājīvaka asceticism 100, 131, 137, 210
āḷāra Kālāma, meditation master xvii, xviii
āḷavi, the Buddha at 172
alms l

Brahmin begging for 195
earning food instead of 191
giving of 118, 149, 187, 216, 222
right attitude to 130
wrong attitude to 132, 143, 191, 192, 202
amanussā (spirits) 200
anāgāmin 100
see also Non-Returner
ānanda, Elder xliv, 101

Anāthapiṇdade see Anāthapiṇḍika

Anāthapiṇḍika, banker and lay follower xlv, 101
anātman see anattā
anattā xxx, 101, 109
see also no-self
anger 220, 221–2
restraint of 188, 217–18

‘Anger’, chapter 44–6, 185–9

Aṅgulimāla (‘Finger Garland’), former bandit xl, xliv

Aṅguttara Nikāya xxiii
anicca 101
see also impermanence
animals xlix, lxiv(n), 179
anitya 101

Anotatta, Lake 215
anusayas, latent tendencies to craving 207
appamāda (‘awareness’) 122–3
apsaras see accharā

‘Arahat’, chapter 20–21, 142–6

Arahats 101
as awakened beings 175
first five xix, 117–20, 210
liberation of xxiv, xxv, xliv
psychic powers 173

Arhat see Arahat
arrow-making xlix
arrows 9, 17, 30, 32, 59, 63, 165, 204
asceticism l, 30, 76

Buddha’s period of xvii–xviii
degraded 137
and modesty 160–61
ascetics

Brahmin 195
five companions of Buddha-to-be xix, 117–20, 210
garments 147, 219
jealous of Buddha 202
matted locks of 218
nakedness 204
asubha meditation 116
asura 101, 125
attachment
chains of 209
excessive 168, 190
to family 223
personal 183–4, 197

Atula, layman 45

Avīci hell 101, 120, 121, 158, 202
awakened beings 101, 175
awareness 122–3, 170

‘Awareness’, chapter 7–8, 122–5
bad company, dangers of 212
bamboo xlix, 34, 169
bandits
danger of attack from li, 155
demand for human sacrifice 150
former monk 208
and merchant’s daughter 148
murder of Moggallāna 160
ordained as monks xl, 150
see also Aṇgulimāla
bankers 124, 135, 192–3, 223
miserly 187
stingy 155
and thief 159
without heir 211
bathing, ritual 225
battles xlix

Beal, Samuel, version of Faju piyu jing xxxiv
beauty
distraction of 210
impermanence of 209
bees xlix, 12

Bernhard, Franz xxxii

Bhallika, merchant xix
bhante 101
bhikkhu l, 101, 108, 109, 195
see also monks
bhikkhunī lx, 101, 218
bhikṣu see bhikkhu
bhikṣuṇī see bhikkhunī
bhikṣuṇī ordination (of nuns) lx(n)

Bimbisāra, King 101
bīraṇa grass 66, 207
bird of prey 151
birds 156
crows 137–8, 157, 191
garuḍa 166
blame 18, 30, 45, 60
blind monk, and insects xli–xlii, 113
boar 64
boat 72
boatman, on river Gaṅgā xxxiii

Bodh Gayā, Bihar state, Buddha at xviii, xix, 118
bodhi (awakening) xviii

Bodhi tree xviii, 165

Bodhisatta (Buddha-to-be) xvi–xviii, xviv, xxv, xxix, 101, 105, 106

Bodhisattva see Bodhisatta
bonds 9, 20, 54, 67–8, 72, 77, 91
five 212
border city 61
bows (weapons) xlix
boys
choice between wealth and spiritual path 138–9
fated to be killed 149
protection by spirits 200–201
tormenting snake 158
see also novices

Brahmā, deity or class of deities l, 23, 45, 102, 103, 108

Brahmā Sahampati, deity xviii, 118
brāhmaṇa see Brahmins

Brāhmī script xii, xxxi, 102, 210

Brahmin, the Buddha’s use of word 217

‘Brahmin’, in Gāndhārī Dharmapada xxxvi–xxxvii, 83–6

‘Brahmin’, the, chapter xxviii, xxix, 75–81, 215–25

Brahmins xlix–l, 30, 57, 58, 65, 102, 179
addressing monks as Arahats 216
anger with wife 220
begging for alms 195
bho as greeting for 219
false ascetic 219
kindness to monks 190
lineage 218
mistreated by heirs 205
old couple 188
at shrine 179–80
woman offering food 221

Brough, John
on Dharmapada types xxxvii–xxxviii

Gāndharī Dharmapada xxix
on literary qualities of Dharmapada texts xlv–xlvi, lxiii–lxiv(n)

Poems from the Sanskrit (1968) xlvi
bubbles 129

‘Buddha’, chapter 37–9, 175–80

Buddha, the 102
illnesses 183, 225
life of xvi–xx

Mahāvastu retelling of life story xxxiii
psychic powers 181
royal descent 225

Buddhaghosa, commentator xl, lxii(n)

Buddha(s)

as Fully Awakened Buddha xxiv, 102
lineages 179
of the past lviii(n), 117, 132, 138, 159, 160, 170, 176, 178, 180, 202, 207, 208

Buddhism
central teachings of 178–9
five precepts of lay conduct 191–2, 212–13
schools of xiv

Buddhist Canon xiv

‘Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit’ xxvii

Udānavarga xxxi–xxxii

Buddhist schools, early xxiii–xxvii
bull 80
burglars 21, 144, 213–14

Burlingame, E. W. 121–2

Buddhist Legends lxii(n)

Burma, Theravāda school of Buddhism xxvi
butcher, cruel 190
calf 55
calm/calming 20, 21, 22, 30, 37, 40, 41, 68, 73, 76, 84, 85, 86, 93
see also samatha

Cambodia, Theravāda school of Buddhism xxvi

Caṇḍāla (‘untouchable’) 135
captivity l
carelessness 154
carpenters 17, 30, 140
carpentry xlix
carpets 166

Carter, J. R. lii
cattle xlix
cavern, monks trapped in 157
celibacy 161, 165, 167, 195, 203
and masturbation 153
chains 209
chapters, themed xv, xxxvi
chariots xlix
charioteer 20, 44
children, death of 151, 152, 184

China, Dharmaguptaka Vinaya xxix

Chinese language xxvii

Dharmapadas and Udānavargas in xxxiv–xxxv
chronology xx

Chuyao jing (Chinese translation) xxxv
city, fortification of 204
commentaries, Chinese xliii–xliv

Commentary xv, xxviii, xl–xlv
concentration 30, 42, 49, 53, 72, 103, 108, 142
lack of 192
conditioned things xix, 32, 41, 50, 54–5, 72, 74, 75, 84, 103, 193
conditions xxxiii, 103

Cone, Margaret xxx, xxxvi, xxxviii
corn, parched 153
corpses 163
courtesans 163, 187, 223
and monk in forest 146
cowherd 6, 135
cows, yakkhinī in form of 147
crane, pet 156
craving 224
tendencies to 207, 219–20

‘Craving’, chapter 66–70, 206–211
criminals, professional xlix
criticism 188
unfair xlvi–xlvii
crows 137–8, 157, 191

‘crow-hero’ 48
cūḷa/cūla/culla lxiii, 103

Cūḷavedalla Sutta 225

Daedalus, Greek myth 166
dancers 161
daydreaming 127

‘Dear’, chapter 42–3, 183–5
death l
and human plans xlvii

King of Death 11, 35; see also Yama
deeds, evil and virtuous 171
deer lxiv(n)

deities
encounters with xvi, l
harassment of monks 127
household 154
of tree 186
desire/wood, puns 198, 208
desires 11, 16, 18, 21, 28, 43, 52, 53, 70, 78, 79, 80, 84, 86, 91
deva xxi, 101, 103

Devadatta, cousin of Buddha xix, lxi, 100, 101, 103
devatā 103, 154 (n), 186 (n)

dhamma
meanings liv

Dhamma liv, 7, 10, 11, 14, 17, 18, 22, 24, 32, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 41, 43, 51, 52, 58, 69, 71, 76, 86, 103

‘taste of joy’ in 182
dhammas liv, 14–15, 30, 55, 69, 73, 103
two-fold states 216

Dhammadinnā, wife of Visākha and Arahat nun xxxix

Dhammajoti, Veṇ K. L. xxxiv

Dhammapada
format xiv–xv
as literature xlv–li
problems of translation lii–lvii
versions xiv, xxviii–xxx

Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā (commentary) xv, xxviii, xl–xlv

Dhanapālaka, captive elephant 63

Dharma see Dhamma

Dharmaguptaka sect xxix, lx(n)

Dharmapada
animals in lxiv(n)

extracts in Sanskrit xxxii–xxxiv
form and tradition of xxxv–xl
length of texts xxxvi
new verses xxxix
oral tradition xxxviii–xxxix

Dharmatrāta, compiler xxxii
dhyāna see jhāna

Dīgha Nikāya xxiii, 178

Dīpavaṃsa, Pali chronicle of Sri Lanka xx

Dīrghāgama texts 178
discontent 192
diseases
dysentery 183
eye xlii
fever 1
skin 186
distractions 125
divine eye 215
doctors (physicians) xlii, 114, 142
dogs
pet 164
hunters’ 155, 156
stray 157
drink and drugs 191–2
drought 199
drowning 157
duḥkha see dukkha
dykkha xvii, 101, 103, 109, 110
see also suffering
earthly existence, briefness of 130
eggs 199

Eightfold Path, Noble 39, 54, 103, 107, 117

Elder 51, 52, 103

‘Elephant’, chapter xv, xlix, 63–5, 204–6
elephant-hunter 117
elephant-trainer 205
elephants xliv, xlix, 174
attendant on Buddha 115

Māra in form of gigantic 210
retreating to peace of forest 206
rogue 225
stuck in mud 205
eloquence 194

Ender, the 11, 56, 104
see also Death; Yama
enlightenment factors (seven) 19, 142
etymology, skill in 68

‘Evil’, chapter 25–7, 153–8
executioner, retired 146–7
existence
mental and physical aspects of 212
three signs of 196–7, 198
faithlessness 21, 144

Fajü jing (Dhammapada in Chinese) xxxiv, lxiii(n)

Faju piyu jing (Chinese text) xxxiv

Faju yaosong jing (Chinese translation) xxxv
famine, behaviour during 141
farmer
accused of theft 136
lost ox 181–2
reborn as ghostly snake 138
farming xlix

Fausbøll, Michael Viggo lii
festival 201, 217
fetters 8, 44, 67, 75, 77, 78, 79, 80, 85, 91, 212
freedom from xliv
see also saṃyojana
fever l, 20
fig tree 89
fire
image of forest fire 125
image of red-hot ball of iron 202
in thatched roof 157
fish 9, 32, 207
fletchers (arrow-makers) 9, 17, 30, 140

‘Flowers’, chapter xv, 11–13, 129–33
flying through air 173, 215
folk ballads xlvi
folk wisdom xxxviii
folklore xl
food
accepted by the Buddha from Brahmin 212
received in silence 195
stored 143
thanks given with a dhamma talk 133
food alms 202–3

‘Fools’, chapter 14–16, 133–9

Fools’ Holiday in Sāvatthi 124
forests 21, 59, 146, 178–9
fortification 204

Four Kings, deities xliii

Four Noble Truths xvi, xix, 196

The Friend (Methodist journal) lii
friends, friendship 17, 43, 73
frugality 125

Fully Awakened Buddha xxiv, 13, 37, 38, 76, 83
nature of lxi–lxii(n)

gambler 49, 149
cheating xlix
gandhabba 104, 110

Gāndhārī Dharmapada xxviii–xxix, xliii, liii, 83–6
gandharva see gandhabba
garland-making xlix
garments
antelope-skin 219
from bark 147
celestial cloth 143
monk’s robe and its symbolism xvii, l, 117
old ragged cloth as ‘teacher’ 162, 214–15
one shared 153
possessiveness over 190
garuḍa 104, 166
gati 104, 121
geese xlix, 20, 36, 142–3, 173
killed by monk 211
ghosts (petas) 137–8
in form of snake 159

‘sledgehammer ghost’ 138
gifts 174–5
girth, equated with craving 219
gods l, 8, 11, 13, 20, 36, 37, 44, 45, 72, 80
and destruction of craving 211
see also deities; Radiant Gods

Gogerly, Revd Daniel John lii
goldsmith 190
gong 29

Gotama (gotta or family name of the Buddha) xvii

(Buddha), disciples of, 58
grass
bīraṇa 66, 207
kusa/kuśa 15, 61, 91, 137, 203
pulled by monk 203

‘typha’ (ereka) 176
grief 150–52, 184

Griffiths, Paul lxv(n)

‘Happiness’, chapter 40–41, 180–83
happiness, true 179
hare xlix
trapped 67, 208

Harrison, Paul xxv
hatred 3, 6, 40, 51, 57, 69, 72, 73
head, as wisdom 138
heaven 26, 36, 81, 84

Heaven of Thirty-Three Gods 153
heavenly messengers 117
hell 26, 29, 81, 84

‘Hells’, chapter 60–62, 201–4
hens 199, 208
hero 80

‘crow-hero’ 48
herons xlix, 32

Higher Stages, four 104, 224

Himavat, Mount 59

Hīnayāna, unsatisfactory name for early schools xxiv
hindrances 97, 104, 141

Hindu texts xvi

‘Thousands’ sequences 146
see also Mahābhārata; Mānavadharmaśāstra; Rāmāyaṇa
hiri 104

Homer xlvi
horses xlix, 8, 20, 30, 74, 124, 158, 179, 204
house-builder (=Māra) 32
household life l
attraction of 116, 178
hrī 104 human beings, divine status l
human sacrifice
bandits’ demand for 150

King Pasenadi dissuaded from 134
hunger 181–2
hunters 155–6
iddhi 104
see also psychic powers
imagery xlviii
imaginings 163
immodesty 160–61
impermanence 101, 124, 127, 152, 163, 196–7, 202
impurity see ‘Rust’

Incomparable Gifts 175
ingratitude 144–5
intoxication, precept against 191–2
iron ball 60, 72, 202
irrigator 17, 30

Isipatana, Varanasi, Deer Park at xix, 118

Itivuttaka, Khuddaka Nikāya text 174
jackals 167

Jacobi, Hermann 180

Jain texts xvi, xxxviii, 147, 178, 180

‘Thousands’ sequences 146

Jains 105, 111

Japanese language xxvii
jasmine xlix, 12, 73, 136, 214

Jātaka stories (of previous births of Buddha) xliii, lxii(n), 105, 160, 167, 191, 211

Jetavana
monastery 151
visit of fifty monks to the Buddha at 142
jeweller 156–7
jhāna (meditative state) xviii, xix, 97, 105, 106, 108, 198, 208

Jīvaka, physician 105

Journal of the Pali Text Society xxx
judges, taking bribes 193

‘Just’, chapter 51–3, 193–6
justice 193
kamma (intention and consequences) xli–xlii, 100, 105, 136, 145

Kapilavatthu, city of 170

Karma see Kamma

Kassapa 105

Kaśyapa 105

Kaṭha Upaniṣad 138–9
khandha 105, 109, 129
see also aggregates

Kharoṣṭhī script xii, xxix, 106, 210

Khattiya families lviii(n), 106, 179

Khemā, Arahat and chief nun 106

Khotan Dharmapada xxviii–xxix

Khuddaka Nikāya text xxiii, xxxi, lxii(n), 174
killing (symbolic) 57–8, 85
kings, unjust 206

Kisā Gotamī and the mustard seed xl

Koṇḍañña, ascetic, becomes first Arahat xix

Kṣatriya see Khattiya

Kṣemā 106

Kumāra Kassapa 106

Kurudhamma Jātaka 211
kusa/kuśa grass 15, 61, 91

Kusinārā (Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh) xix
languages xxi–xxii
syllables 210
translations xxvii

Laos, Theravāda school of Buddhism xxvi

Latin, translation into lii
laymen, invited to take part in alms-giving 154–5

Learner 11

Lenz, Timothy xxix, xxx
leprosy sufferer 135–6
liberation
of Arahat xxiv, xxv, xliv
three spiritual paths to xxiv, li
three states of xliv
lily (water) 56, 198
lion lxiv(n)

monk born of lioness 214

Lokottaravāda school xxxii–xxxiii, lxi(n)

London Dharmapada xxix
lotus xlix, 12, 13, 66, 77, 86, 90–91, 198
louse, monk reborn as 190

Māgadha region, language of xxi–xxii
mages 36

Maghavan (Sakka), king of the gods l, 8, 106
magic 192
mahā lxii(n), 106

Mahābhārata, Sanskrit epic lx(n), 159

Mahāpajāpati, stepmother of Buddha and Arahat nun lviii(n)

Mahāpāla
and brother Cullapāla xlii
story of xliv

Mahāsāṅghika tradition xxxiii

Mahāvastu text xxxii, xxxiii–xxxiv, 176

Mahāyāna school xxiv, xxv–xxvi, xxvii, xxix, xxxi, xxxii, lx(n) lxi(n), 102, 106, 176
mahout 64

Mainstream Buddhism xxv–xxvii, lxi(n), 100, 106, 110, 111

Majjhima Nikāya xxiii
māluvā creeper 34, 66, 168
māna, derivation 185–6

Mānavadharmaśāstra (‘Laws of Manu’) 149, 158, 219

Māra, deity (the tempter) l, 4, 9, 10, 11, 13, 23, 36, 54, 66, 68, 106
daughters of 176
marriage, of Buddha-to-be xvii

Maudgalyāyana see Moggallāna

Māyādevī, mother of the Buddha lviii(n)

meditation 7, 37, 58, 73, 95, 104, 106, 108, 109, 111, 112
on corpses 116, 163
on death 172
on emptiness 164
on foulness 198, 208
on loving kindness 123, 187
protection provided by 200–201
subjects for 197
see also jhāna
merchants xix, 26, 74, 116, 155, 165–6
daughter of 147–8
plans for future 198–9
two young xliii
metre, verse, śloka xv, xlviii

Mettā Sutta chant 127

Middle Indian languages xxi, xxvii

Dhammapada and Dharmapada texts xxviii–xxx

Middle Way xliii
milk, curdled 137

‘Mind’, chapter 9–10, 125–9

Mindfulness 57, 103, 106, 109, 120, 122, 142, 151, 188, 212
miracles xvi, 150, 160, 176, 214
mirage 129

‘Miscellaneous’, chapter 57–9, 199–201
miser’s sick son xlii, 114

Moggallāna (formerly Kolita), Elder xliv, 106, 109

Mongolian language xxvii

‘Monk’, chapter xxxiii, 71–4, 211–15
monkeys xlix, 66, 134
offer of honey to Buddha 115
monks l
commentarial stories, especially:

behaving badly 139
boastful 193
careless 154
cutting down tree 186
damaging vegetation 176–8
daydreaming 127
diligent and lazy 124–5
in dispute 158, 159
dispute between 115
dissatisfied 126, 201
elephant-trainer 205
false teaching 207
fancy sandals 199–200
finding fault with fellows 193
and forest fire 125
former bandits ordained as xl, xliv, 150, 171, 174
and former wife 198
greedy 167
and hunter Koka 156
inflicted with boils 128
killing of goose 211
learned and unlearned 122
with legacy 178
in love with courtesan 163
noisy 189
ordained while looking for woman 135
proud 138
remorseful 203
returning to lay life 208
and rule of celibacy 153
solitary hermit 201
teased 169–70
with too many possessions 160
witness to disturbing events 157
and woman in forest 221
see also bhikkhu
moon 36, 41, 74, 75, 79, 217
lunar zodiac 182
moonlight 223
mules xlix, 63

Müller, Max lii
must, elephant secretion 205
mustard seed 77, 78, 86
nāgas, serpent deities 106, 133–4
in River Gaṅgā 176
nāginī 106, 177,

Nakatani, H. xxxii
nature, similes from xlviii–xlix
needle 77, 78, 86

Nettippakaraṇa text lix–lx(n)

nibbāna xix–xx, 7, 8, 16, 19, 29, 38, 39, 41, 45, 56, 72, 73, 79, 107, 140, 184, 197, 198, 199, 205, 213, 216
as ‘deathless’ 152
as supreme happiness 181, 182
as ‘undeclared’ 185
as ‘unmade’ 144–5

Nigaṇṭhas (Jains) 133, 148
nikāya, texts in Sutta Piṭaka xxiii
nirvāna see nibbāna

Noble Eightfold path 39, 54 103, 107, 117

Noble Ones 7, 17, 34, 41, 47

Noble Truths xvi, xix, 38, 54, 107, 196
non-Mahāyāna schools xxiv

Non-Return, state of 107 185, 188, 196, 224

Non-Returner xliv, 100, 104, 107
no-self 197, 198
see also anattā

Norman, K. R. xxxiii, xl

The Word of the Doctrine liii
novices 134, 140, 144, 150, 153, 192, 197, 205, 215, 221
nuns lxiv(n), 163, 218, 220, 221
attachment to child 167
bhikṣuṇī ordination lx(n)

rules for 137
see also bhikkhunī
nymphs, wives of god Sakka 132

Odin, Norse god xliii

‘Old Age’, chapter 31–2, 162–6

Old Indian languages xxi
see also Sanskrit

Once-Return 107, 185

Once-Returner xliv, 104, 107, 108, 122
oral tradition xxxviii–xxxix, xlvi
ottapa 104
otters 167
oxen 3, 32
strayed 181–2
tug of war 220
pabbajita, renouncer 217

Paccekabuddha (Private Buddha) xxiv, 107, 136, 138, 192
pāda xiv, liii, 107

Pali Canon xx, xxvi–xxvii

‘Three Baskets’ xxii–xxiii

Udāna xxxi

Pali Dhammapada text xxviii
commentaries xl–xliii

Pali language xiv, xxi–xxii
inflected xlviii
and translation liii–liv

Palihawadana, M. lii
paradox, use of xv
parents
care of’ 125
and children who follow Buddha 204
of captive elephant 205
neglect of’ 152, 205
killing of 160, (symbolic) 200

Pārileyyaka Forest, Buddha’s sojourn in 115
parinibbāna (end of rebirths) xix–xx, lxi(n), 26, 107, 126, 128, 160, 161, 169, 209

Pasenadi, King 106, 107
parinirvāna see parinibbāna

Pāṭaliputta (Patna, Bihar), rulers of xxii

‘Path’, chapter 54–6, 196–9

Path, Noble Eightfold 39, 54, 103, 107, 117
paths, physical 196

Patna Dharmapada xxix–xxx, xxxvi, 199
translations liii
peacefulness of mind 214
peepal see pipal tree
perfume 132
perseverance 195–6
peta 104, 107, 121, 137, 159

Peṭakopadesa text lix–lx(n)

pigs
ghost with head of 197
young sow 208
pillar, at town gate 143
pipal tree xviii, 107–8
plants, creeper 34, 66, 168
ploughman, as monk 214–15
poison l, 26

Polish language lii
potters’ wares lxiv(n), 127

Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, later text xxvi

Prajñāvarman xxxii, xliii

Prakrit (Middle Indian languages) xxi–xxii, lix(n) lxi (n)

Gāndhārī xxviii–xxix

Sri Lanka xl

Prasenajit see Pasenadi

Pratyekabuddha see Paccekabuddha
preta see peta
previous lives 126
good actions 125, 134, 199
bad actions 130, 134, 136, 160
pride 197
hurt 185–6
prophecies xvi
protection, provided by meditation 200–201
psychic powers 145–6, 173, 192, 215

Pudgalavāda tradition xxx
puns, use of xv, li, lv–lvi
desire/wood 208
on faithlessness 144–5

Pure Abodes 108

Pure Land school of Buddhism xxvi
quarrels xlvii

Radiant Gods 40, 180

Rāhula (son of Buddha) xvii
rain 5, 56, 66

Rains Retreat 108, 116, 127, 176, 215, 222

Rājagaha, Bihar xxi

Rāmāyaṇa, Sanskrit epic lx(n)

rape 136

Ratana (Jewel) Sutta 199
ṛddhi see iddhi
rebirth(s) 164
refuges 38, 39, 74 178–9
see also Three Refuges

‘Repetition’ (Peyāla) xxxiii
resentment 144
restraint
from anger 188
of anger 188, 217–18
importance of 116
rivers li

Robbers’ Cliff, deity of 148
robbery, wrong accusation of 168, 169
robe, yellow 4, 60

‘Rod’, chapter 28–30, 158–62

‘Rust’, chapter 47–50, 189–93
sacrifice, 23, 95, 134, 149, 150
sakadāgāmin 104, 108
see also Once-Returner

Sākiya clan xvi
sakṛdāgāmin see sakadāgāmin

Sakka, king of Thirty-Three Gods l, 103, 106, 108, 110

Śakra see Sakka
sal tree, xix, 34, 108
samādhi see concentration
samaṇa l, 108
see also wanderer
samatha/śamatha 108, 216

Sāmatiya sect xxx

Sammāsambuddha (Fully Awakened Buddha) xxiv
saṃsāra (realm of rebirth) l, lxi (n), 14, 21, 79, 102, 103, 104, 106, 108, 109, 110, 124, 134, 145, 144, 151, 164, 173, 196, 216
saṃskāra see sánkhāra
saṃyajana xliv, 100, 104, 108, 110,
see also fetters

Saṃyutta Nikāya xxiii, 129
on suicide 132–3
sandals, fancy patterned 199–200

Saṅgha 38, 39, 58, 94, 95, 107, 109
as monastic community 97, 132, 194
as refuge xix, xxxv, 132, 135–6, 179
saṅkhāra 103, 106, 109, 181
see also conditioned things; conditions
saṅkhāras, conditioned things 212

Sanskrit xxi–xxii, lix(n)

Mahāyāna texts in xxvii

Udānavarga texts xxx–xxxiv, xxxvi, xliii

Sāriputta (formerly Upatissa) xliv, 100, 109

Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh xix

Sarvāstivāda tradition xxxi, 178

Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta 109, 120
sāvaka 109

Sāvatthi 184

Fools’ Holiday in 124
residents of 142
secular power xlix–l

‘Self’, chapter 33–4, 166–9
self-control 218
self-sacrifice xlii–xliii
seṭṭhi 109
see also bankers

Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Dhamma xix

‘shaman’ 173
origin of word lxiv(n)

shame 104
shipwreck 147
shore
far and near 216
other 18, 68, 69, 75, 85, 89–92
shrine, the Buddha at 179

Siddhattha (given name of Buddha) xvii, lviii(n)

signs, three 109
silence 195
and failure to hold tongue 211–12
silversmithing xlix, 47
similes, from nature xlviii–xlix

Sindh, province 204
thoroughbred from 63
siṅgila, mythical horned bird 134
skandha see khandha
skulls, of reborn 224
slave, runaway 221
slave woman, adultery with 203–4
sleep, awareness in 200
snake lxiv(n), 151, 153
ghostly 138, 159
tormented by boys 158

‘Snake’, chapter (Patna Dharmapada) 89–91
sotāpanna 104, 110
see also stream-enterer
soup li, lii, 14–15
spiders xlix, 68
śramaṇa see samaṇa
śravaka 109

Srāvakayāna, xxiv, xxv, 110
śreṣṭhin see seṭṭhi

Sri Lanka origins of Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā xl

Pali Canon first committed to writing in xx

Theravāda school of Buddhism xxvi

Śrotrāpanna see sotāpanna

Sthaviravāda see Theravāda school of Buddhism
strap, equated with hate 219

Stream-Enterer 104, 107, 110

Stream-Entry 36, 110
striving 215–16
suffering xvii, xxiv, xli, lxi(n), 3, 15, 30, 38, 39, 49, 54–5, 59, 64, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 78, 101, 103, 107, 108, 109, 110, 117–18, 119

Four Noble Truths of xix, 196
in hell realm 134, 171
see also dukkha
suicide 132–3, 150, 215
sukha 110
sun 75, 217

Buddha as kinsman of 82
path of 36
zodiac 182–3

Sutra see Sutta texts

Sutta texts xxvii, 110

Sutta Nipāta xxiii, 92

Sutta Piṭaka, Buddha’s teachings (Pali Canon) xxiii, lviii(n), 101
symbolism, of killing of parents 200
tagara 12, 13, 132

Tantra 110

Tantric form of Buddhism xxvi

Tapussa, merchant xix

Tathāgatas 50, 54, 110, 119

Tāvatiṃsa heaven 100, 102, 104, 110, 115, 116, 130, 185
tax-gatherer 200
teasing,
of novice 215
of tiny man 140, 200
of young monk 169–70

Thailand, Theravāda school of Buddhism xxvi

Theravāda school of Buddhism xiv, xvi, xx, xxi, xxiv, xxv, xxvi, xxvii, xxviii, lvii(n), lix(n), 100, 110, 111, 113
thieves 135, 147
grudge against banker 159

Thirty-Three Gods 108, 111, 136, 153, 176
thong, equated with wrong views 219

‘Thousands’ (Sahassa) xxxiii, 97, 146
chapter 22–4, 146–53
in Mahāvastu xxxiii, 93–4

Three Refuges of Buddhism xix, 108
three signs 109

Tianxizai, translator xxxv

Tibet, Sarvāstivāda tradition xxxi

Tibetan language xxvii

Udānavarga in xxxv

Tipiṭaka (Three Baskets) (Pali Canon) xxii–xxiii, lx(n), 111, 122, 124

Tiresias, Greek myth of 128

Tissa 111
tortoise lxiv(n)

failure to hold tongue 211–12
transcendence lxi–lxii(n)

translations lii–lvii
problems of liv–lvi

Trāyastriṃśa see Tāvatiṃsa heaven

Tripiṭaka see Tipiṭaka
trees, rules against cutting down 186

Truths, Four Noble xvi, xix, 38, 54, 107, 196

Turkish language lii

Tusita/Tuṣita heaven 100, 111, 117, 121, 147, 164, 172, 190

‘Twins’ chapter 3–6, 113–22

Udāna xxiii, xxx–xxxi, lxi(n), 111, 114, 124, 126, 128, 142

Udānavarga texts

Sanskrit texts xxx–xxxiv
in Tibetan xxxv

Udānavargavivaraṇa (commentary) xxxii

Uddaka Rāmaputta, meditation master xvii, xviii

Udena, King iii
unconditioned 103, 107, 111, 197, 205

Undeclared (nibbāna) 43, 185
upavasatha see uposatha
uposatha 111, 175, 178

Utpalavarṇā see uppalavaṇṇā

Uppalavaṇṇā, Arahat nun 111

Uttarajjhayana Sutta, Jain text 137, 180

Vajrayāna school of Buddhism xxvi, 111
vasali, ‘little man’, use of word by Brahmins 222

Vedas l, 83, 84, 87, 111
vengeance 130
quest for 114–15
verse
alliteration xv
metre xv
and oral tradition xlvi
read aloud lvii
rhyme xv
rhythm xlviii
wise sayings in (tradition of) xiv

Vesāli, city of 199

Vibhajjavāda (Doctrine of Analysis) see Theravāda school of Buddhism

Vidyāprabhākara, translator xxxv

Vinaya xxii, xxvi, xxvii, xxix, xxxi, lix(n), 108, 111, 115, 126, 139, 143, 167, 176, 186, 191, 211

Vinaya Piṭaka, disciplinary code (Pali Canon) xxii, xxvi, xxvii, xxxiii, lviii(n)

vipassanā 108, 111, 216
vipaśyanā see vipassanā

Vipaśyin, previous Buddha 178

Visākha/Viśakhā, lay follower, xlv, 111
vows xlii

Vulture Peak 215
wakefulness, through mindfulness 188
wanderer 6, 30, 38, 50, 52, 61, 65, 76, 85
see also samaṇa
war, arts of xlix
warriors xlix, 75
water, dispute over 180
water-pot 26

‘water-pot slaves’ 169
wealth 165
weaver’s daughter 172
wedding celebration 181
weeds 69–70

Weizhinan, compiler xxxiv
wisdom 197

‘Wise Man’, chapter 17–19, 139–42
women
adulterous 191
in apparition 159
and burglars 213–14
drowned at sea 157
drunken 162
jealousy of slave woman 203–4
observing a fast-day 159
and parched corn 153–4
tempted by Māra 180–81
wood/desire pun 55, 67, 198, 208

‘World’, chapter 35–6, 169–75
worldly satisfactions 141
wrong speech, precept against 174
yakkha 103, 112

Avaruddhaka 149
former rich man 160
yakkhinī 112
child-eater 115
mother of novice monk 205
and retired executioner 146–7
yakṣa see yakkha
yakṣī/yakṣíṇī see yakkhinī

Yama, deity (ruler and judge of dead) l, 11, 47, 103, 112

Yiddish language lii
yoga 7, 177, 183
yoga-kkhema (peace of yoga) 7, 123
yoga-kkhemin 177

Zen school of Buddhism xxvi

Zhu Fonian, translator xxxv
zodiacs, lunar and solar 182–3

* Mahāsamaṇa – see Glossary under mahā and samaṇa.

* This is regarded as the inevitable result of committing a great crime against a Buddha or an Arahat (cf. the stories for vv. 69, 128, 176, 363): the Buddha or the Arahat has not caused it to happen.

* It is noteworthy that her exploit is viewed in these terms, and never as the killing of a husband. Presumably it was felt that, because of his actions, the bandit had forfeited this status; however, this suggests a different view of marriage from that of many Hindu texts, where a woman is encouraged to be devoted to her husband, however badly he treats her.

* Burlingame (1921: II, 268–71) translates devatā, ‘deity’, as ‘goddess’; but, though the word is grammatically feminine, it is used of any deity when the sex is not particularly important. Contrast the being in the previous story, who is specifically a devadhītā (literally, ‘daughter of the gods’) because her sex is relevant to the story.

* sapattivāsā. Burlingame (1921: II, 300) interprets their reply as ‘from the power of our husbands’, from the variant reading sapati, ‘one’s own husband’, in place of sapatti, ‘co-wife’.

*‘How does one become a yoga-kkhemin [a possessor of yoga-kkhema: see the note on vv. 21–3]?’

† ‘One becomes a yoga-kkhemin.’

* As in the notes on vv. 119–20, the word devatā (deity) is used, so it is not explicitly stated that the being is female. However, in the course of this story the deity uses feminine forms in reference to herself.