The Dhammapada

by Eknath Easwaran

In the context of a comprehensive spiritual program with a supreme goal, this kind of discipline is not repression. Psychologists rightly caution that repression of anger can have disastrous physical and emotional consequences. On the Eightfold Path, however, we are not asked to repress anger but to learn to channel its raw power before it explodes in an outburst of destructive behavior, drawing on that power for spiritual growth.

The Zen poet Han-shan of Tang dynasty China said: Anger is fire in the mind Burning up the forest of your merits and blessings. If you want to walk in the path of the bodhisattvas, Endure insults and guard your mind against anger.

222 Those who hold back rising anger like a rolling chariot are real charioteers. Others merely hold the reins.

223 Conquer anger through gentleness, unkindness through kindness, greed through generosity, and falsehood by truth.

227 There is an old saying: “People will blame you if you say too much; they will blame you if you say too little; they will blame you if you say just enough.” No one in this world escapes blame.

231 Use your body for doing good, not for harm. Train it to follow the dharma. 232 Use your tongue for doing good, not for harm. Train it to speak kindly. 233 Use your mind for doing good, not for harm. Train your mind in love. 234 The wise are disciplined in body, speech, and mind. They are well controlled indeed.

235 You are like a withered leaf, waiting for the messenger of death. You are about to go on a long journey, but you are so unprepared. 236 Light the lamp within; strive hard to attain wisdom. Become pure and innocent, and live in the world of light.

237 Your life has come to an end, and you are in the presence of death. There is no place to rest on this journey, and you are so unprepared. 238 Light the lamp within; strive hard to attain wisdom. Become pure and innocent, and you will be free from birth and death.

252 It is easy to see the faults of others; we winnow them like chaff. It is hard to see our own; we hide them as a gambler hides a losing draw. 253 But when one keeps dwelling on the faults of others, his own compulsions grow worse, making it harder to overcome them.

254 There is no path in the sky; there is no refuge in the world for those driven by their desires. But the disciples of the Buddha live in freedom. 255 There is no path in the sky; there is no refuge in the world for those driven by their desires. All is change in the world, but the disciples of the Buddha are never shaken.

A person who understands the reason behind a law is more likely to obey it intelligently than someone who is simply ordered to obey. Similarly, the person who sees life interdependently linked in dharma’s cosmic web will know exactly why controlling selfish urges is essential in conduct; there will be no need to take someone else’s word for it. It is through direct, intimate, personal knowledge of dharma, rather than a high moral code or social pressure, that selfless, righteous actions arise.

262 Neither pleasant words nor a pretty face can make beautiful a person who is jealous, selfish, or deceitful. 263 Only those who have uprooted such impurities from the mind are fit to be called beautiful.

276 All the effort must be made by you; Buddhas only show the way. Follow this path and practice meditation;

277 All created things are transitory; those who realize this are freed from suffering. This is the path that leads to pure wisdom.

278 All created beings are involved in sorrow; those who realize this are freed from suffering. This is the path that leads to pure wisdom.

279 All states are without self; those who realize this are freed from suffering. This is the path that leads to pure wisdom.

280 Now is the time to wake up, when you are young and strong. Those who wait and waver, with a weak will and a divided mind, will never find the way to pure wisdom.

281 Guard your thoughts, words, and deeds. These three disciplines will speed you along the path to pure wisdom.

282 Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.

290 If one who enjoys a lesser happiness beholds a greater one, let him leave aside the lesser to gain the greater.

292 Do not fail to do what ought to be done, and do not do what ought not to be done. Otherwise your burden of suffering will grow heavier. 293 Those who meditate and keep their senses under control never fail to do what ought to be done, and never do what ought not to be done. Their suffering will come to an end.

296 The disciples of Gautama are wide awake and vigilant, with their thoughts focused on the Buddha day and night. 297 The disciples of Gautama are wide awake and vigilant, absorbed in the dharma day and night. 298 The disciples of Gautama are wide awake and vigilant, with their thoughts focused on the sangha day and night. 299 The disciples of Gautama are wide awake and vigilant, with their thoughts focused on sense-training day and night. 300 The disciples of Gautama are wide awake and vigilant, rejoicing in compassion day and night. 301 The disciples of Gautama are wide awake and vigilant, rejoicing in meditation day and night.

“The mind is its own place,” Milton says in Paradise Lost, “and in itself / Can make a heaven of hell or hell of heaven.”

The mental state is paramount; it can make life hell or heaven whatever the surroundings. The kind of experience one undergoes depends on the choices one makes. As always, the Buddha leaves this up to each individual.

309 Adultery leads to loss of merit, loss of sleep, condemnation, and increasing suffering. 310 On this downward course, what pleasure can there be for the frightened lying in the arms of the frightened, both going in fear of punishment? Therefore do not commit adultery.

320 Patiently I shall bear harsh words as the elephant bears arrows on the battlefield. People are often inconsiderate.

321 Only a trained elephant goes to the battlefield; only a trained elephant carries the king. Best among men are those who have trained the mind to endure harsh words patiently.

327 Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts. Pull yourself out of bad ways as an elephant raises itself out of the mud.

332 It is good to be a mother, good to be a father, good to be one who follows the dharma. But best of all is to be an illumined sage.

333 It is good to live in virtue, good to have faith, good to attain the highest wisdom, good to be pure in heart and mind. Joy will be yours always.

It has been said that Buddhism is essentially a psychology of desire. The second Noble Truth proclaims selfish desire or craving as the cause of all the suffering in life, and its importance in Buddhist thought is evident in the fact that the Buddha uses at least fifteen terms for it. The chief of these is trishna, which literally means “thirst.” It is an apt word, for in a tropical country like India, the intense craving for water on a scorching, dry day makes a vivid metaphor for the fiercest of human drives.

In Buddhist psychology, each desire is an isolated moment of mental activity – a dharma, in the Buddhist’s technical vocabulary – rising up in the mind. It can be ignored, or one can choose to yield to it. If one yields, the next wave of desire will have greater power to compel attention, and the mental agitation it causes will be more intense. On the other hand, if one chooses to defy a strong desire, the pain can be considerable. “Know me to be the power called Thirst,” Trishna demands of the Buddha on the eve of his enlightenment, “and give me my due of worship. Otherwise I will squeeze you with all my might and wring out the last of your life!” However, if one succeeds in not giving in to selfish desires as they arise, the mind gradually quiets down, leaving a longer and longer interval between waves of desire in which the mind is calm. This calmness is our natural birthright, a state beyond the suffering entangled with desire.

This conclusion is so contrary to human nature that it is not surprising to hear even experts maintain that in preaching the extinction of desire, the Buddha was denying everything that makes life worth living. But trishna does not mean all desire; it means selfish desire, the conditioned craving for self-aggrandizement. Far from denigrating desire, the Buddha knew it is the power of desire that fuels progress on the Noble Eightfold Path.

How could such intense effort be made without desire? Spiritual dynamics is not a matter of crushing base desires but of transforming them, drawing on their power to master the Eightfold Path.

334 The compulsive urges of the thoughtless grow like a creeper. They jump like a monkey from one life to another, looking for fruit in the forest.

341 All human beings are subject to attachment and thirst for pleasure. Hankering after these, they are caught in the cycle of birth and death. 342 Driven by this thirst, they run about frightened like a hunted hare, suffering more and more. 343 Driven by this thirst, they run about frightened like a hunted hare. Overcome this thirst and be free.