Summary: The Malavagga ("Stains") is the eighteenth chapter of the dhammapada, twenty-one verses (Dhp 235–255) on the defilements, bad habits, and attachments that corrupt the practitioner. It opens with the stark image of death's approach — a withered leaf, Yama's men at the gate, no supplies for the road — and closes with the declaration that true asceticism is internal, that no conditions last forever, and that the Awakened Ones are unshaken (Dhp 235, 254–255). Between these poles, the chapter presents a catalogue of specific stains in conduct and livelihood, identifies ignorance as the supreme stain, contrasts shamelessness with conscience, and condemns fault-finding and hypocrisy.
Themes
- Death's approach and the unprepared self (Dhp 235–238): the chapter opens with urgent death imagery. The person is a withered leaf, Yama's men are waiting, and there are no supplies (pātheyya) for the road. The response is to make oneself an island (dīpamattano), strive, and purge stains.
- Gradual purification (Dhp 239): the smith smelting silver is the classic image for gradual, moment-by-moment self-purification. The stain is not removed all at once but thokaṃ thokaṃ (bit by bit).
- Self-destructive conduct (Dhp 240): the rust that arises from iron and consumes it is a precise image for how one's own deeds undo oneself. The atidhonacārin (overly ascetic) who lacks wisdom is especially vulnerable — austerity without understanding becomes its own stain.
- A catalogue of stains (Dhp 241–242): neglect of study, neglect of household duties, laziness, negligence, misconduct, stinginess — each domain has its own mala. The list is practical rather than abstract.
- Ignorance as the supreme stain (Dhp 243): above all specific stains stands avijjā, the worst stain of all. The verse is an exhortation to the mendicants: give this up and be stainless.
- The shameless life versus the conscientious life (Dhp 244–245): the crow-like shameless person lives easily; the conscientious person seeking purity lives hard. This is not pessimism but a realistic assessment of the friction involved in integrity.
- The five precepts as root-digging vices (Dhp 246–248): killing, lying, stealing, adultery, and intoxication are presented as actions that dig up one's own root. The passage is framed as direct address: "Know this, my friend."
- Jealousy over offerings and the loss of samādhi (Dhp 249–250): resentment over what others receive destroys meditative immersion. Cutting this out at the root is what makes samādhi possible by day and night.
- The four great dangers (Dhp 251): greed is a fire, hate is a crime, delusion is a net, craving is a river. Four of the most powerful images in the Dhammapada are compressed into a single verse.
- Hypocrisy and fault-finding (Dhp 252–253): it is easy to see others' faults and hard to see one's own. The person who constantly looks for others' faults grows in defilements and remains far from liberation.
- True asceticism and the unshaken Awakened Ones (Dhp 254–255): there is no track in the sky and no true ascetic outside the Buddha's teaching. People delight in proliferation (papañca); the Tathāgatas are free of it. No conditions are eternal; the Buddhas are not shaken.
Verses
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Verse 235
Pali (dhp235:1–235:4)
Paṇḍupalāsova dānisi,
Yamapurisāpi ca te upaṭṭhitā;
Uyyogamukhe ca tiṭṭhasi,
Pātheyyampi ca te na vijjati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp235:1–235:4)
Today you’re like a withered leaf,
Yama’s men await you.
You stand at the departure gates,
yet you have no supplies for the road.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
දැන් (පැසී වියලි) පරණලා පතක් මෙන් වෙහි. යමදූතයෝද තා කරා පැමිණ සිටියහ. මරණ මුඛයෙහිද සිටියෙහි. තට මාර්ගෝපකරණය කුදු නැත.
Key terms: paṇḍupalāsa (withered leaf), yamapurisa (Yama’s men), uyyogamukha (departure gates), pātheyya (supplies for the road) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 236
Pali (dhp236:1–236:4)
So karohi dīpamattano,
Khippaṁ vāyama paṇḍito bhava;
Niddhantamalo anaṅgaṇo,
Dibbaṁ ariyabhūmiṁ upehisi.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp236:1–236:4)
Make an island of yourself!
Swiftly strive, learn to be wise!
Purged of stains, flawless,
you’ll go to the heavenly realm of the noble ones.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
ඒ තෝ තමහට පිහිටක් කර, වහාම වීර්යකර, නුවණැති වෙව. (ii) නසනලද (රාගාදී) මල ඇත්තේ (එහෙයින්ම) කෙලෙස් නැත්තේ ශෝභාවත්වූ සුද්ධාවාස භූමියට පැමිණෙන්නෙහිය.
Key terms: dīpa (island, refuge), vāyama (strive), niddhantamala (purged of stains), anaṅgaṇa (flawless), ariyabhūmi (realm of the noble ones) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 237
Pali (dhp237:1–237:4)
Upanītavayo ca dānisi,
Sampayātosi yamassa santikaṁ;
Vāso te natthi antarā,
Pātheyyampi ca te na vijjati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp237:1–237:4)
You’ve journeyed the stages of life,
and now you set out to meet Yama.
Along the way there’s nowhere to stay,
yet you have no supplies for the road.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
දැන් ගියාවූ වයස් ඇත්තේද, වෙහිය. යමයා සමීපයට පැමිණියේ වෙහි. තට අතුරෙහි වාසයකුදු නැත. තට මාර්ගෝපකරණද නැත.
Key terms: upanītavaya (advanced age), yamassa santika (Yama’s presence), antarā (along the way) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 238
Pali (dhp238:1–238:4)
So karohi dīpamattano,
Khippaṁ vāyama paṇḍito bhava;
Niddhantamalo anaṅgaṇo,
Na punaṁ jātijaraṁ upehisi.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp238:1–238:4)
Make an island of yourself!
Swiftly strive, learn to be wise!
Purged of stains, flawless,
you’ll not come again to rebirth and old age.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
ඒ තෝ (2 (ii) ඡෙදය යෙදිය යුතුයි) ජාති ජරාවන්ට නොඑලඹෙන්නෙහිය.
Key terms: jātijara (rebirth and old age) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 239
Pali (dhp239:1–239:4)
Anupubbena medhāvī,
thokaṁ thokaṁ khaṇe khaṇe;
Kammāro rajatasseva,
niddhame malamattano.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp239:1–239:4)
A smart person would purge
their own stains gradually,
bit by bit, moment by moment,
like a smith smelting silver.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
ප්රාඥතෙම පිළිවෙළින් ක්ෂණ ක්ෂණයෙහි මද මද තමාගේ රාගාදී මල (රන්) ස්වර්ණකාරයෙකු රිදියේ දෝෂය මෙන් දුරු කරන්නේය.
Key terms: anupubbena (gradually), thokaṃ thokaṃ (bit by bit), khaṇe khaṇe (moment by moment), kammāra (smith), rajata (silver), niddhame (purges) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 240
Pali (dhp240:1–240:4)
Ayasāva malaṁ samuṭṭhitaṁ,
Tatuṭṭhāya tameva khādati;
Evaṁ atidhonacārinaṁ,
Sāni kammāni nayanti duggatiṁ.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp240:1–240:4)
It is the rust born on the iron
that eats away the place it arose.
And so it is their own deeds
that lead the overly-ascetic to a bad place.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
යකඩින්ම නැංගාවූ මලය. එයින්ම නැඟී ඒ යකඩම යම්සේ කාද එසේම සිව්පසය නොසෝදා (ප්රත්යවෙක්ෂාකොට) පරිභෝග කරණ ප්රඥාවෙන් ඉක්මුණු මහණහු, තමන්ගේ ඒ පාපකර්මයෝ (ඔහු) දුගතියට පමුණුවන්නාහ.
Key terms: aya (iron), mala (rust), samuṭṭhita (born, arisen), atidhonacārin (overly ascetic), duggati (bad destination) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 241
Pali (dhp241:1–241:4)
Asajjhāyamalā mantā,
anuṭṭhānamalā gharā;
Malaṁ vaṇṇassa kosajjaṁ,
pamādo rakkhato malaṁ.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp241:1–241:4)
Not rehearsing is the stain of hymns.
The stain of houses is neglect.
Laziness is the stain of beauty.
A guard’s stain is negligence.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
හදාරණ ලද ශාස්ත්රයෝ නොපිරිවීම මලකොට ඇත්තාහ. ගෘහයෝ නොනැංවීම මල කොට ඇත්තාහ. (ශරීර) වර්ණයට කුසීත බව මලයි. (යම් කිසිවක්) රක්නාහට ප්රමාදවීම මලයි.
Key terms: asajjhāya (not rehearsing), manta (hymns, sacred texts), anuṭṭhāna (neglect), kosajja (laziness), rakkhata (guard) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 242
Pali (dhp242:1–242:4)
Malitthiyā duccaritaṁ,
maccheraṁ dadato malaṁ;
Malā ve pāpakā dhammā,
asmiṁ loke paramhi ca.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp242:1–242:4)
Misconduct is a woman’s stain.
A giver’s stain is stinginess.
Bad qualities are a stain
in this world and the next.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
ස්ත්රියකට දුශ්චරිතය මලයි. දන් දෙන්නාට මසුරු සිත මලයි. අකුශල ධර්මයෝ මෙලොවද පරලොවද මලයෝය.
Key terms: duccarita (misconduct), macchera (stinginess), pāpakā dhammā (bad qualities) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 243
Pali (dhp243:1–243:4)
Tato malā malataraṁ,
avijjā paramaṁ malaṁ;
Etaṁ malaṁ pahantvāna,
nimmalā hotha bhikkhavo.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp243:1–243:4)
But a worse stain than these
is ignorance, the worst stain of all.
Having given up that stain,
be without stains, mendicants!
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
මහණෙනි, ඒ සියලු මලට වඩා අධිකතර මලයක් (තොපට කියමි) අවිද්යා (ඇත්ත නොදැනීම) තොමෝ උතුම්වූ මලයෙක. මේ මලය දුරුකොට නිර්මලව.
Key terms: avijjā (ignorance), paramaṃ mala (supreme stain), nimmala (stainless) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 244
Pali (dhp244:1–244:4)
Sujīvaṁ ahirikena,
kākasūrena dhaṁsinā;
Pakkhandinā pagabbhena,
saṅkiliṭṭhena jīvitaṁ.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp244:1–244:4)
Life is easy for the shameless.
With all the rude courage of a crow,
they live pushy,
rude, and corrupt.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
(පාපයෙහි) හිරිඔතප් නැත්තාවූ ගසා කෑමෙහි ශූරවූ කවුඩෙකු වැනිවූ. (අනුන්ගේ) ගුණමකුවූ ගෙන් ගෙට දිවන සුලුවූ, බුහුටිවූ, කිලිටිවූවහු විසින් ජීවත්වීම සුවසේ කට හැක්කේයි.
Key terms: ahirika (shameless), kākasūra (crow-bold), dhaṃsin (rude, insolent), pakkhandin (pushy, aggressive), pagabbha (rude, impudent), saṅkiliṭṭha (corrupt) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 245
Pali (dhp245:1–245:4)
Hirīmatā ca dujjīvaṁ,
niccaṁ sucigavesinā;
Alīnenāppagabbhena,
suddhājīvena passatā.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp245:1–245:4)
Life is hard for the conscientious,
always seeking purity,
neither clinging nor rude,
pure of livelihood and discerning.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
(පාපයෙහි) හිරිඔතප් ඇත්තාවූ නිතොර පිරිසිදු (කායකර්මාදිය) සොයන සුලුවූ, කුසීත නොවූ, ආඩම්බර නොවූ, පිරිසිදු ආජීව ඇති (එම පිරිසිදු ආජීවය සාරකොට) දක්නාවූවහු (ලජ්ජී මහණහු) විසින් ජීවත්වීම දුක්ය.
Key terms: hirīmatā (conscientious), sucigavesin (seeking purity), alīna (not clinging), appagabbha (not rude), suddhājīva (pure livelihood), passatā (discerning) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 246
Pali (dhp246:1–246:4)
Yo pāṇamatipāteti,
musāvādañca bhāsati;
Loke adinnamādiyati,
paradārañca gacchati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp246:1–246:4)
Take anyone in this world
who kills living creatures,
speaks falsely, steals,
commits adultery,
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
යම් පුද්ගලයෙක් පරපණ නසාද, බොරුකියාද මේ සත්ව ලෝකයෙහි (හිමියන් විසින්) නොදෙන ලද වස්තුව සොරා ගණීද පරස්ත්රීන් කරා යේද.
Key terms: pāṇātipāta (killing living beings), musāvāda (false speech), adinnādāna (stealing), paradāra (adultery) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 247
Pali (dhp247:1–247:4)
Surāmerayapānañca,
yo naro anuyuñjati;
Idheva meso lokasmiṁ,
mūlaṁ khaṇati attano.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp247:1–247:4)
and indulges in drinking
beer and wine.
Right here they dig up
the root of their own self.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
යම් පුරුෂයෙක් රහමෙර බීමෙහිද නැවත නැවත යෙදේද, මෙබඳු පුද්ගල තෙම, මෙලොවදීම තමාගේ (ප්රතිෂ්ඨා) මූලය කණන්නේය.
Key terms: surāmerayapāna (drinking beer and wine), mūlaṃ khaṇati (digs up the root) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 248
Pali (dhp248:1–248:4)
Evaṁ bho purisa jānāhi,
pāpadhammā asaññatā;
Mā taṁ lobho adhammo ca,
ciraṁ dukkhāya randhayuṁ.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp248:1–248:4)
Know this, my friend:
they are unrestrained and wicked.
Don’t let that greed and unrighteousness
inflict pain on you for long.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
භවත් පුරුෂය, ලාමකවූ අකුශල ධර්මයෝ නොසන්සුන් කළ හැක්කාහයි මෙසේ දනුව (විෂමවූ) ලෝභයද ද්වේෂයද (යන අකුශල මූලයෝ දෙදෙන) බොහෝ කලක් නරකාදී දුකට නොපමුණුවත්වා.
Key terms: pāpadhammā (wicked qualities), asaññatā (unrestrained), lobha (greed), adhamma (unrighteousness) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 249
Pali (dhp249:1–249:6)
Dadāti ve yathāsaddhaṁ,
yathāpasādanaṁ jano;
Tattha yo ca maṅku bhavati,
paresaṁ pānabhojane;
Na so divā vā rattiṁ vā,
samādhimadhigacchati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp249:1–249:6)
The people give according to their faith,
according to their confidence.
If you get upset over that,
over other’s food and drink,
you’ll not, by day or by night,
become immersed in samādhi.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
ජනතෙම ශ්රද්ධාවට අනුරූප පරිද්දෙන් ප්රසාදයට අනුරූප පරිද්දෙන් (අනුන්ට) දෙන්නේය. ඒ කෑම් බීම්හි යමෙක් (මහණෙක් දොම්නස්වීද ඒ මහණතෙම ඒකාන්තයෙන් දවාලකවත් රාත්රියකවත් සමාධියකට නොපැමිණෙන්නේය.
Key terms: yathāsaddha (according to faith), yathāpasādana (according to confidence), maṅku (upset, dejected), samādhi (immersion, meditative concentration) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 250
Pali (dhp250:1–250:4)
Yassa cetaṁ samucchinnaṁ,
mūlaghaccaṁ samūhataṁ;
Sa ve divā vā rattiṁ vā,
samādhimadhigacchati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp250:1–250:4)
Those who have cut that out,
dug it up at the root, eradicated it,
they will, by day or by night,
become immersed in samādhi.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
යම් මහණෙකු විසින් මේ (මංකුභාවයයි කියන ලද) අකුශලය, මනාකොට සිඳින ලදද, අර්හත් මාර්ගඥානයෙන්) මූලඝාතන (මුල් සුන්) කොට සිඳින ලදද, සම්පූර්ණයෙන් උගුලන ලදද ඒ මහණතෙම ඒකාන්තයෙන් දවාලෙකවත් රාත්රියෙකවත් සාමාධියකට නොපැමිණෙන්නේය.
Key terms: samucchinna (cut out), mūlaghacca (uprooted), samūhata (eradicated) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 251
Pali (dhp251:1–251:4)
Natthi rāgasamo aggi,
natthi dosasamo gaho;
Natthi mohasamaṁ jālaṁ,
natthi taṇhāsamā nadī.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp251:1–251:4)
There is no fire like greed,
no crime like hate,
no net like delusion,
no river like craving.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
රාගය හා සමාන ගින්නක් නැත. ද්වෙෂය සම අල්ලාගැනීමක් නැත. මොහය හා සමාන දැලක් නැත. තෘෂ්ණාව හා සමාන ගඟක්වත් නැත.
Key terms: rāga (greed), dosa (hate), moha (delusion), taṇhā (craving) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 252
Pali (dhp252:1–252:6)
Sudassaṁ vajjamaññesaṁ,
attano pana duddasaṁ;
Paresaṁ hi so vajjāni,
opunāti yathā bhusaṁ;
Attano pana chādeti,
kaliṁva kitavā saṭho.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp252:1–252:6)
It’s easy to see the faults of others,
hard to see one’s own.
For the faults of others
are tossed high like hay,
while one’s own are hidden,
as a cheat hides a bad hand.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
අනුන්ගේ ස්වල්ප මාත්රවූ වරද සුවසේ දැක්ක හැකි. තමාගේ වූකලී (මහත් වරදද) නොදැක්ක හැකි (අනුන්ගේ වරද සොයන) ඒ පුද්ගලතෙම (ස්වල්පවූද) අනුන්ගේ දෝෂයක් (උසස් තැනෙක සිට) රොඩු බොල් මෙන් පොලන්නේය. තමාගේ වූකලි (මහත් වරදද කොළ කැලෑ වලින්) ශරීරය මුවහ කරන්නාවූ කපටි ලිහිණි වැද්දා මෙන් වසන්නේය.
Key terms: sudassa (easy to see), duddasa (hard to see), opunāti (tosses up), bhusa (chaff, hay), kali (bad hand), kitavā (cheat), saṭha (deceiver) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 253
Pali (dhp253:1–253:4)
Paravajjānupassissa,
niccaṁ ujjhānasaññino;
Āsavā tassa vaḍḍhanti,
ārā so āsavakkhayā.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp253:1–253:4)
When you look for the flaws of others,
always finding fault,
your defilements only grow,
you’re far from ending defilements.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
අනුන්ගේ වරද දක්නා සුලුවූ නිතොර (අනුන්ගේ සිදුරු සොයන බැවින්) අවමන් කරණ සුලුවූ ඒ මහණහුට (කාමාදි) ආශ්රවයෝ වැඩෙති. ඒ මහණ තෙම රහත් ඵලයෙන් දුරුයි.
Key terms: paravajjānupassin (looking for others’ faults), ujjhānasaññin (finding fault), āsava (defilements), āsavakkhaya (ending of defilements) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 254
Pali (dhp254:1–254:4)
Ākāseva padaṁ natthi,
samaṇo natthi bāhire;
Papañcābhiratā pajā,
nippapañcā tathāgatā.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp254:1–254:4)
In the atmosphere there is no track,
there’s no true ascetic outside here.
People enjoy proliferation,
the Realized Ones are free of proliferation.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
අකාශයෙහි පියවරක් නැත. බාහිර සස්නෙහි මහණෙක් නම් නැත. ප්රජාතොම ප්රපඤ්චයෙහි (පමාවෙහි) අලුණාය. බුදුවරයෝ ප්රපඤ්ච රහිතයෝයි.
Key terms: ākāsa (atmosphere, space), samaṇa (ascetic), bāhira (outside), papañca (proliferation, conceptual elaboration), nippapañca (free of proliferation), tathāgata (Realized One) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 255
Pali (dhp255:1–255:5)
Ākāseva padaṁ natthi,
samaṇo natthi bāhire;
Saṅkhārā sassatā natthi,
natthi buddhānamiñjitaṁ.
Malavaggo aṭṭhārasamo.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp255:1–255:5)
In the atmosphere there is no track,
there’s no true ascetic outside here.
No conditions last forever,
the Awakened Ones are not shaken.
>
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
ශාස්වත (නිත්යව පවත්නා) වූ ස්කන්ධ කෙනෙක් නැත. බුදුවරයන්ට එකද ඉඤ්ජිතයෙක් (කම්පාවට) කරුණක් නැති.
Key terms: saṅkhāra (conditions, formations), sassata (eternal), iñjita (shaken, agitated) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Textual notes
- Dhp 235–238 form a death-urgency quartet. Verses 236 and 238 share the same first half (make an island, strive, be wise, purged of stains) but differ in the result: 236 promises the heavenly realm of the noble ones, while 238 promises freedom from rebirth and old age. The latter is the stronger, definitive goal.
- Dhp 240's image of iron-rust makes the harm internal: the stain arises from the iron and consumes the iron, just as bad conduct leads the doer to a bad destination.
- Dhp 241’s list of stains is culturally specific: not rehearsing hymns (asajjhāyamalā mantā) reflects a Brahmanical context where textual recitation was a duty. The principle — neglect of one’s proper study or practice is a stain — is transferable.
- Dhp 243 elevates avijjā (ignorance) above the specific stains just listed, calling it the worst stain and urging mendicants to give it up.
- Dhp 246–247 together enumerate the five precepts (pañcasīla): killing, false speech, stealing, sexual misconduct, and intoxication. The Pali splits them across two verses; the English translation follows the same split. This is one of the most compact presentations of the five precepts in the Dhammapada.
- Dhp 251 compresses four images into one verse: greed as fire, hate as crime, delusion as net, and craving as river.
- Dhp 252–253 treat fault-finding as a stain: others' faults are easy to see, one's own are hard to see, and a person who keeps looking for others' faults remains far from the ending of defilements.
- Dhp 254–255 share their first half and differ in the second. Dhp 254 contrasts papañca with nippapañca; Dhp 255 says that conditions are not eternal and that the Buddhas are unshaken.
- No registered high-risk passage is in scope.
Related pages
- dhammapada — parent text
- dhammapada 17 kodhavagga — preceding vagga on anger and its overcoming
- dhammapada 19 dhammatthavagga — following vagga on the just and the disciplined
- paticcasamuppada — dependent origination, relevant to avijjā
- kamma — action and its fruit, relevant to Dhp 240 and 246–248
- kamma action and fruit — doctrinal concept of kamma and result
- nibbana — the stainless state beyond all mala
- sila — morality, the five precepts enumerated in Dhp 246–247
- virtue sila — doctrinal concept of moral virtue
- panna — wisdom, the antidote to avijjā (Dhp 243)
- sati — mindfulness, the guard against negligence (Dhp 241)
- heedfulness appamada — the opposite of the negligence that is itself a stain
- buddha — the Awakened Ones who are unshaken (Dhp 255)
- fool and wise bala pandita — the contrast underlying Dhp 244–245