Thrashing (DHP129-145)

All tremble at a thrashing.
All fear death.
Likening others to oneself,
Do not kill or lead another to kill.

All tremble at a thrashing.
All hold life dear.
Likening others to oneself,
Do not kill or lead another to kill.

One who himself seeks happiness,
And yet hurts others who desire happiness,
Will realize no happiness after death.

One who himself seeks happiness,
And does not hurt others who desire happiness,
Will realize happiness after death.

To none speak harshly.
Those spoken to would respond in kind.
Contentious speech is painful;
Retaliation would befall you.

If, like a broken gong,
You yourself are unstirred,
You have attained Nibbāna,
And no contention exists within.

Just as a cowherd drives a cow to pasture with a stick,
So old age and death drive the life of sentient beings.

A fool does not recognize his own evil act.
Devoid of wisdom, he is tormented by his actions,
As one burned by fire.

One who does violence to the innocent and
peaceable
Will quickly encounter one of ten states:

Intense pain, destitution, bodily injury, disease of
body, disease of mind,

Oppression from the king, cruel slander, loss of
relatives, loss of wealth,

Loss of houses by fire;
And after death, such a one, so devoid of wisdom,
will be reborn in hell.

Neither nakedness nor matted hair,
Neither a mud-smeared body nor fasting,
Neither lying on the ground, nor dust and sweat,
Nor sitting on one’s heels,
Can purify one who has not overcome doubt.

Even if one would walk around luxuriously attired,
If one is tranquil, tame, self-restrained, and living a
holy life,
Having renounced violence toward any living being,
Such is a brahmin, a renunciant, a monk.

Where in this world exists
One who is restrained by conscience and avoids
blame,
As a good horse avoids the whip?

Be like a good horse when touched by the whip—
ardent and alarmed.
Through strength, virtue, and vigor,
Through concentration and investigation of truth,
Mindful and possessed of right knowledge and
conduct,
You will leave this great suffering behind.

Irrigators guide water;
Fletchers straighten shafts;
Carpenters bend wood;
The well-practiced master themselves.

© Peter Feldmeier, 2013.

First published in Dhammapada — The Way of Truth : A Fresh Translation and Commentary on Buddhism’s Most Beloved Text by Buddhist Publication Society.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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