Dhammapada
The Dhammapada — the Buddha's path in verse, by chapter.
The discourses
26 texts
Dhp 01 · Pairs
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
The mind as forerunner of every word and deed, shaping suffering or happiness, and hostility stilled only through non-hostility.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 02 · Heedfulness
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Heedfulness as the path to the deathless and heedlessness as the path to death, with vigilance named the wise person's highest wealth.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 03 · The Mind
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
The mind's wildness and subtlety, hard to grasp and restrain, and the ease that comes from taming and guarding it.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 04 · Blossoms
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
The body's impermanence likened to foam and a mirage, and death's swift claim on those absorbed only in gathering sensual pleasures.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 05 · Fools
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
The company of fools and its perils, contrasted with self-reliance, and the fool's torment over possessions that were never truly his.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 06 · The Wise
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
The worth of a wise companion who points out one's faults, and the counsel to seek admirable friends over base ones.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 07 · Arahants
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
The qualities of the arahant—free of sorrow, unattached to home or nutriment, untraceable as birds in flight, calm in mind and speech.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 08 · Thousands
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
One meaningful word outweighing a thousand empty ones, and conquering oneself as the greatest of all victories.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 09 · Evil
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Kamma's slow ripening: hastening toward good deeds and shunning evil, since small unwholesome acts accumulate like drops filling a jar.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 10 · The Rod
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Nonviolence toward all beings, since everyone trembles at violence and fears death just as oneself does.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 11 · Aging
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
The body's inevitable decay and death, urging contemplation of its foulness beneath youth's beguiling surface.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 12 · Self
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Self-discipline as the foundation of wisdom: taming oneself before attempting to guide or teach others.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 13 · Worlds
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Heedful vigilance and right view, seeing the world as insubstantial as a bubble or mirage.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 14 · Awakened
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
The boundless, untraceable freedom of the awakened mind, and the rarity of a human birth that meets the true Dhamma.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 15 · Happy
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
The serene happiness of one who lives free of hostility, greed, and busyness amid a world driven by all three.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 16 · Dear Ones
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
How grief and fear are born from attachment to loved ones, and how freedom from clinging ends both.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 17 · Anger
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Conquering anger with patience, ill will with kindness, and falsehood with truth, rather than reacting in kind.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 18 · Impurities
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
The urgency of spiritual practice before death, and the gradual purification of the mind's defilements like a smith refining silver.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 19 · The Judge
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
True wisdom, eldership, and righteous judgment as matters of inner virtue and restraint, not age, eloquence, or haste.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
Dhp 20 · The Path
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary
The Noble Eightfold Path as the sole route to liberation, and the three marks of impermanence, suffering, and not-self.
BuddhismSutta PiṭakaTextIndianThe BuddhaṬhānissaro BhikkhuDhammapadaVersePaliEarly BuddhistLibrary