Summary: The Maggavagga ("The Path") is the twentieth chapter of the dhammapada, seventeen verses (Dhp 273–289) on the path to purity, the wisdom that sees impermanence and not-self, the urgency of timely effort, and the cutting of attachment. Its opening cluster (Dhp 273–276) is one of the Dhammapada's densest summaries of the training: the noble eightfold path, the four truths, dispassion, the Buddha as guide, and the practitioner's own work are set out in four compressed verses. The rest of the chapter shows what walking that path looks like in practice: insight, diligence, purification of action, cutting the jungle of attachment, and refusing complacency in the face of death.
Themes
- The path cluster: truths, dispassion, and the Buddha as guide (Dhp 273–276): the chapter opens by naming the noble eightfold path as supreme among paths, the four truths among truths, virāga (dispassion) among dhammas, and the cakkhumā (clear-eyed Buddha) among bipeds. The Tathāgatas show the way, but each practitioner must do the work. See buddha.
- Wisdom sees the three marks (Dhp 277–279): the path to purity is insight — seeing all conditioned things as impermanent and suffering, and all things as not-self, with paññā (wisdom) rather than mere formula.
- Heedfulness is timely effort (Dhp 280–282): laziness misses the path, while disciplined restraint of body, speech, and mind purifies the three courses of action. Meditation and application are presented as the conditions for wisdom's increase. See heedfulness appamada and kamma action and fruit.
- Cut the jungle of entanglement (Dhp 283–285): the chapter turns from abstract path-language to strong images of cutting vana/vanatha (jungle and entangling thicket), severing attachment, and fostering the path to peace and nibbāna.
- Complacent planning is folly (Dhp 286): the fool imagines secure residence through the seasons while failing to see the danger pressing in.
- Death strips away assumed shelter (Dhp 287–288): affection for children, cattle, and kin cannot protect one when death seizes its object; these verses sharpen the renunciant urgency of the chapter's earlier path-language.
- Virtue clears the path to nibbāna (Dhp 289): the wise one, restrained by sīla (virtue), is urged to purify the path leading to nibbāna quickly, closing the chapter with effort joined to ethical restraint.
Verses
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Verse 273
Pali (dhp273:1–273:4)
Maggānaṭṭhaṅgiko seṭṭho,
saccānaṁ caturo padā;
Virāgo seṭṭho dhammānaṁ,
dvipadānañca cakkhumā.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp273:1–273:4)
Of paths, the eightfold is the best;
of truths, the four statements;
dispassion is the best of things,
and the Clear-eyed One is the best of humans.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
මාර්ගයන් අතුරෙන් ආර්ය අෂ්ටාංගික මාර්ගය ශ්රෙෂ්ඨයි. සත්යයින් අතුරෙන් දුක්ඛාය (සත්ය) පදයෝ සතර දෙන ශ්රෙෂ්ඨයහ. ධර්මයන් අතුරෙන් නිර්වාණයයි කියන ලද නොඇල්ම ශ්රෙෂ්ඨයි. දෙපාඇති සත්වයන්ට පසැස් ඇති තථාගතතෙම ශ්රෙෂ්ඨයි.
Key terms: aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo (the eightfold path), caturo padā (the four truths / statements), virāga (dispassion), cakkhumā (the clear-eyed one) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 274
Pali (dhp274:1–274:4)
Eseva maggo natthañño,
Dassanassa visuddhiyā;
Etañhi tumhe paṭipajjatha,
Mārassetaṁ pamohanaṁ.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp274:1–274:4)
<em>This</em> is the path, there is no other
for the purification of vision.
You all must practice this,
it is the way to baffle Māra.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
(මාර්ගඵලයයි කියන ලද) දර්ශනයාගේ විශුද්ධිය පිණිස මේ මගය. අනික් මගෙක් නැති තෙපි මේ මාර්ගයෙහි පිළිපදුව මේ (ආර්ය අෂ්ටාංගික මාර්ගය) මාරයා මුළා කරන්නේය.
Key terms: eseva maggo (this very path), dassanassa visuddhi (purification of vision), Mārassa pamohanaṁ (bewildering or baffling Māra) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 275
Pali (dhp275:1–275:4)
Etañhi tumhe paṭipannā,
dukkhassantaṁ karissatha;
Akkhāto vo mayā maggo,
aññāya sallakantanaṁ.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp275:1–275:4)
When you all are practicing this,
you will make an end of suffering.
I have explained the path to you
for extracting the thorn with wisdom.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
මෙහි (ආර්ය අෂ්ටාංගික මාර්ගයෙහි) පිළිපන්නාවූ තෙපි සියලු (වෘත්ත) දුක්ඛය කෙළවර කරව්. (රාගාදි) උල් දුරු කරන්නාවූ මේ (ආර්ය) මාර්ගය (ප්රත්යක්ෂ ඥානයෙන්ම) දැන මා විසින් කියන ලදී.
Key terms: end of suffering, sallakantana (extracting the thorn), the path as a healing and freeing discipline Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 276
Pali (dhp276:1–276:4)
Tumhehi kiccamātappaṁ,
akkhātāro tathāgatā;
Paṭipannā pamokkhanti,
jhāyino mārabandhanā.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp276:1–276:4)
You yourselves must do the work,
the Realized Ones just show the way.
Meditators practicing absorption
are released from Māra’s bonds.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
තොප විසින් සම්යක් ප්රධාන වීර්යය කටයුතුයි. සර්වඥවරයෝ (නිවණට පමුණුවන මග හුදෙක්) කියන්නාහුම වෙති. (කියන ලෙස) පිළිපන්නාවූ යෝගාවචරයෝ මාර බන්ධනයෙන් මිදෙන්නාහුයි.
Key terms: ātappa (ardor, sustained effort), Tathāgatas as path-showers, jhāyino (meditators), release from Māra's bonds Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 277
Pali (dhp277:1–277:4)
“Sabbe saṅkhārā aniccā”ti,
yadā paññāya passati;
Atha nibbindati dukkhe,
esa maggo visuddhiyā.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp277:1–277:4)
All conditions are impermanent—
when this is seen with wisdom,
one grows disillusioned with suffering:
this is the path to purity.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
සියලු සංස්කාරයෝ අනිත්යහයි (යම් කලෙක්හි විදර්ශනා ප්රඥාවෙන්) දකීද එකල්හි මේ ස්කන්ධ පරිහරණයයි කියන ලද) දුක්ඛයෙහි කලකිරෙන්නේය. මේ කලකිරීම නිර්වාණයට මාර්ගයයි.
Key terms: sabbe saṅkhārā aniccā (all conditioned things are impermanent), paññāya passati (sees with wisdom), nibbindati (becomes disillusioned), path to purity Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 278
Pali (dhp278:1–278:4)
“Sabbe saṅkhārā dukkhā”ti,
yadā paññāya passati;
Atha nibbindati dukkhe,
esa maggo visuddhiyā.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp278:1–278:4)
All conditions are suffering—
when this is seen with wisdom,
one grows disillusioned with suffering:
this is the path to purity.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
සියලු සංස්කාරයෝ දුක්ඛයහයිද යම් කල්හි (විදර්ශනා ප්රඥාවෙන්) දකීද එකල්හි (මේ ස්කන්ධ පරිහරණයයි කියන ලද) දුක්ඛයෙහි කලකිරෙයි. මේ කලකිරීම නිර්වාණයට මාර්ගයයි.
Key terms: sabbe saṅkhārā dukkhā (all conditioned things are suffering / unsatisfactory), wisdom, disillusionment, purity Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 279
Pali (dhp279:1–279:4)
“Sabbe dhammā anattā”ti,
yadā paññāya passati;
Atha nibbindati dukkhe,
esa maggo visuddhiyā.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp279:1–279:4)
All things are not-self—
when this is seen with wisdom,
one grows disillusioned with suffering:
this is the path to purity.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
සියලු ධර්මයෝ අනාත්මයහයි යම් කලෙක්හි විදර්ශනා ප්රඥාවෙන් දකීද, එකල්හි මේ (ස්කන්ධ පරිහරණයයි කියන ලද) දුක්ඛයෙහි කලකිරෙයි. මේ කලකිරීම නිර්වාණයට මාර්ගයකි.
Key terms: sabbe dhammā anattā (all things are not-self), seeing with wisdom, disillusionment as the path to purity Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 280
Pali (dhp280:1–280:4)
Uṭṭhānakālamhi anuṭṭhahāno,
Yuvā balī ālasiyaṁ upeto;
Saṁsannasaṅkappamano kusīto,
Paññāya maggaṁ alaso na vindati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp280:1–280:4)
They don’t get going when it’s time to start;
they’re young and strong, but given to sloth.
Their mind depressed in sunken thought,
lazy and slothful, they can’t discern the path.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
(වීර්ය කරන්ට) සුදුසුකල්හි වීර්ය නොකරන්නේ තරුණ වූයේද, කායබල ඇත්තේද, ඉදින් අලසකමින් යුක්ත නම් අතිශයින්ම සිත් ඇතියේ කුසීතවූයේ කම්මැළිවූයේ ප්රඥාවෙන් දැක්ක යුතුවූ ආර්ය මාර්ගය නොලබන්නේය.
Key terms: uṭṭhānakāla (time for exertion), ālasiya (sloth), kusīta (lazy), failure to discern the path through negligence Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 281
Pali (dhp281:1–281:4)
Vācānurakkhī manasā susaṁvuto,
Kāyena ca nākusalaṁ kayirā;
Ete tayo kammapathe visodhaye,
Ārādhaye maggamisippaveditaṁ.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp281:1–281:4)
Guarded in speech, restrained in mind,
doing no unskillful bodily deed.
Purify these three ways of performing deeds,
and win the path known to seers.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
වචනින් රැකුනේ වේද, මනසින් සුසංවෘතද කයිනුත් අකුසල් නොකරන්නේවේද, මේ කර්ම පථයන් තුන්දෙන යමෙක් පිරිසිදු කෙරේනම් හෙතෙම (බුද්ධාදී) සෘෂීන් විසින් ප්රතිවේධ කරණ ලද ආර්ය මාර්ගය සිද්ධ කරන්නේය.
Key terms: guarded speech, restrained mind, no bodily unskillfulness, tayo kammapathe (three courses of action), the seers' path Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 282
Pali (dhp282:1–282:6)
Yogā ve jāyatī bhūri,
ayogā bhūrisaṅkhayo;
Etaṁ dvedhāpathaṁ ñatvā,
bhavāya vibhavāya ca;
Tathāttānaṁ niveseyya,
yathā bhūri pavaḍḍhati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp282:1–282:6)
From meditation springs wisdom,
without meditation, wisdom ends.
Knowing these two paths—
of progress and decline—
you should conduct yourself
so that wisdom grows.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
(අටතිස් අරමුණෙහි යෝනිසෝමනසිකාරයෙහි) භාවනය (සිත වැඩීම) හේතුකොටගෙණ ඒකාන්තයෙන් (ලොකොත්තර) ප්රඥාතොම උපදනීය. භාවනා (මනස්කාර) යෙහි නොයෙදීම හේතුකොටගෙණ ප්රඥාවගේ විනාශය වෙයි. වැඩ පිණිසද අවැඩ පිණිසද පවත්නාවූ මේ දෙමග දැන යම්සේ ප්රඥාව වැඬේද, එසේ තමා (යෝනිසෝමනසිකාරයෙහි) පිහිටු වන්නේය.
Key terms: yoga (disciplined application / meditation), bhūri (wisdom), ayoga (lack of disciplined application), growth and decline Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 283
Pali (dhp283:1–283:4)
Vanaṁ chindatha mā rukkhaṁ,
vanato jāyate bhayaṁ;
Chetvā vanañca vanathañca,
nibbanā hotha bhikkhavo.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp283:1–283:4)
Cut down the jungle, not just a tree;
from the jungle springs fear.
Having cut down jungle and snarl,
be free of jungles, mendicants!
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
මහණෙනි, කෙලෙස් නැමැති වනය කපව්. රුක් නොකපව්. (රාගාදී කෙලෙස්) වනයෙන් (ජාතිභයාදී) භය උපදවන්නේය. (මහත් කෙලෙස් නැමැති) වනයද වාසය (අර්හත් මාර්ග ඥාන නැමැති ශස්ත්රයෙන්) කපා කෙලෙස් වනරහිතවව්.
Key terms: vana (jungle), vanatha (entangling thicket or snarl), fear springing from the jungle, becoming jungle-free Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 284
Pali (dhp284:1–284:4)
Yāva hi vanatho na chijjati,
Aṇumattopi narassa nārisu;
Paṭibaddhamanova tāva so,
Vaccho khīrapakova mātari.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp284:1–284:4)
So long as the vine, no matter how small,
that ties a man to women is not cut,
his mind remains trapped,
like a calf suckling its mother.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
ස්ත්රීන් කෙරෙහි පුරුෂයාගේ ස්වල්පමාත්රවූ ද කෙලෙස් නැමැති වනය යම්තාක් කල් නොසිඳේද, ඒතාක් කල් ඒ පුරුෂ තෙම මව කෙරෙහි ප්රේමයෙන් ඇලුණු කිරිබොන වස්සෙකු මෙන් එක්ව බැඳුණු සිත් ඇත්තේම වේ.
Key terms: even a tiny vanatha (entangling vine), mind bound like a calf to its mother, lingering attachment as bondage Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 285
Pali (dhp285:1–285:4)
Ucchinda sinehamattano,
Kumudaṁ sāradikaṁva pāṇinā;
Santimaggameva brūhaya,
Nibbānaṁ sugatena desitaṁ.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp285:1–285:4)
Cut out affection for oneself,
like plucking an autumn lotus.
Foster only the path to peace,
the extinguishment the Holy One taught.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
සරත් කාලයෙහිවූ කුමුදු මලක් අතින් (උදුරා ගන්නාක්) මෙන් තමාගේ (තෘෂ්ණායයි කියන ලද) ස්නේහය අර්හත් මාර්ග ඥාන (නැමැති ශස්ත්ර) යෙන් සිඳපියව. අෂ්ටාංගික මාර්ගයම වඩව. නිර්වාණය තථාගතයන් විසින් දෙසන ලදද එහෙයිනි.
Key terms: sineha (attachment, clinging affection), autumn lotus simile, santimagga (path to peace), nibbāna taught by the Sugata Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 286
Pali (dhp286:1–286:4)
Idha vassaṁ vasissāmi,
idha hemantagimhisu;
Iti bālo vicinteti,
antarāyaṁ na bujjhati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp286:1–286:4)
“Here I will stay for the rains;
here for winter, here the summer”;
thus the fool thinks,
not realizing the danger.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
වැසි සාරමස මෙහිම වෙසෙමි. හිමත් සාරමසද ගිමන් සාරමසද මෙහිම වෙසෙන්නෙමි. මෙසේ අඥාන පුද්ගලතෙම සිතයි. (තමහට වන) ජීවිතාන්තරාය නොදකියි.
Key terms: seasonal planning, the bāla (fool), unrecognized danger, complacency before death Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 287
Pali (dhp287:1–287:4)
Taṁ puttapasusammattaṁ,
byāsattamanasaṁ naraṁ;
Suttaṁ gāmaṁ mahoghova,
maccu ādāya gacchati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp287:1–287:4)
As a mighty flood sweeps away a sleeping village,
death steals away a man
who dotes on children and cattle,
his mind caught up in them.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
දරුවන් හා ගවමහීෂාදීන් කරණකොට ගෙණ වෙසෙසින් මත්වූ විශේෂයෙන් ලග්නවූ (ඇලුණු) සිත් ඇති ඒ මනුෂ්යයා නිදන්නාවූ ගම්වැසි ජනයා (මුහුදට ගෙණ යන්නාවූ) මහ වතුරක් මෙන් මරණ තෙම හැරගෙණ යන්නේය.
Key terms: puttapasusammatta (intoxicated with children and cattle), byāsattamanasaṁ (attached mind), death like a flood sweeping away a sleeping village Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 288
Pali (dhp288:1–288:4)
Na santi puttā tāṇāya,
na pitā nāpi bandhavā;
Antakenādhipannassa,
natthi ñātīsu tāṇatā.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp288:1–288:4)
Children provide you no shelter,
nor does father, nor relatives.
When you’re seized by the terminator,
there’s no shelter in family.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
මරහු විසින් මඩනා ලද සත්වයාට ආරක්ෂාව පිණිස දරුවෝ නොවන්නාහ. පියෙක්ද නොවන්නේය. සෙසු නෑයෝද (ආරක්ෂාව පිණිස) නොවන්නාහ. නෑයන් කෙරෙහි පිහිට වියයුතු බවෙක් නැති.
Key terms: children and kin as no refuge, antaka (the ender, death), no shelter in relatives when death has seized one Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 289
Pali (dhp289:1–289:5)
Etamatthavasaṁ ñatvā,
paṇḍito sīlasaṁvuto;
Nibbānagamanaṁ maggaṁ,
khippameva visodhaye.
Maggavaggo vīsatimo.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp289:1–289:5)
Knowing the reason for this,
astute, and ethically restrained,
one would quickly clear the path
that leads to extinguishment.
>
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
මේ කාරණ දැන ශීලයෙන් සංවරණයවූ නුවණැත්තේ නිවන් යන මග වහාම පිරිසිදු කර ගන්නේය.
Key terms: sīlasaṁvuto (restrained by virtue), nibbānagamanaṁ maggaṁ (the path leading to nibbāna), quickly clearing the path Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Textual notes
- Dhp 273–276 should be read as a tightly compressed path-summary, not as four unrelated maxims. The verses move from doctrinal orientation (path, truths, dispassion, Buddha) to practical demand: the Tathāgatas indicate the way, but release depends on one's own effort.
- Dhp 277–279 make a deliberate lexical distinction: the first two verses say sabbe saṅkhārā (all conditioned formations), while the third says sabbe dhammā (all things). The chapter's sequence should preserve that change rather than paraphrasing all three into one undifferentiated slogan.
- Dhp 283–285 use forest imagery metaphorically. The chapter is not about literal trees but about the thicket of attachment and entanglement that gives rise to fear and obstructs peace.
- Dhp 286–289 pair renunciant urgency with ethical restraint. The warning about family and seasonal plans is not contempt for kinship as such; it is a refusal to mistake familiar supports for final refuge when death and liberation are in view.
Related pages
- dhammapada — parent text
- buddha
- virtue sila
- heedfulness appamada
- kamma action and fruit
- truths sacca — the four truths mentioned in Dhp 273
- noble eightfold path — the path mentioned in Dhp 273
- dhammapada 19 dhammatthavagga