Summary: The Dhammaṭṭhavagga ("The Just") is the nineteenth chapter of the dhammapada, seventeen verses (Dhp 256–272) on the difference between titles and attainment. Again and again the chapter overturns appearance: one is not just by hasty judgment, not wise by much speech, not a true elder by grey hair, not an ascetic by a shaven head, and not secure in renunciation without the ending of the taints. The chapter's controlling question is therefore not "what is one called?" but "what qualities have actually been purified?"
Themes
- Justice is discernment, not haste (Dhp 256–257): the dhammaṭṭha (one grounded in justice / dhamma) is the person who distinguishes attha (what is pertinent) from anattha (what is not), judges without rashness, and proceeds evenly rather than impulsively.
- Wisdom is not verbosity (Dhp 258–259): the paṇḍita (wise one) is not the one who speaks much or recites much, but the one who is secure, non-hostile, and directly sees the dhamma without negligence. See fool and wise bala pandita.
- True seniority is ethical and inward (Dhp 260–263): age, eloquence, and good looks do not make a thera (elder) or sādhurūpa (one of holy appearance); truth, harmlessness, restraint, and uprooted defilements do.
- Renunciant labels are tested by conduct (Dhp 264–267): shaving the head, begging, and outward monastic signs are insufficient by themselves; the chapter defines samaṇa (ascetic) and bhikkhu (mendicant) through the ending of evil and the disciplined holy life.
- The sage weighs and chooses (Dhp 268–269): the muni (sage) is not made by mere silence, but by discerning judgment — "holding up the scales" and shunning what is bad. This extends the Dhammapada's wider fool/wise polarity.
- Nobility is harmlessness (Dhp 270): an ariya (noble one) is known not by rank but by ahiṁsā (non-harming) toward all living beings.
- Mere observance is not enough; the goal is āsavakkhaya (Dhp 271–272): precepts, learning, concentration, and seclusion are not denied, but the chapter refuses to equate them with fulfillment. Renunciation-bliss becomes secure only with āsavakkhaya (the ending of the taints), the liberated end of the path.
Verses
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Verse 256
Pali (dhp256:1–256:4)
Na tena hoti dhammaṭṭho,
yenatthaṁ sāhasā naye;
Yo ca atthaṁ anatthañca,
ubho niccheyya paṇḍito.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp256:1–256:4)
You don’t become just
by passing hasty judgment.
An astute person evaluates both
what is pertinent and what is irrelevant.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
යම් කාරණයකින් කටයුතුවූ අර්ථය (ඡන්දාගති ආදියෙහි පිහිටා මුසාවාදයෙන්) වහා විනිශ්චයකෙරේද ඒ කාරණයෙන් (විනිශ්චය) ධර්මයෙහි පිහිටියා නම් නොවෙයි. නුවණැත්තාවූ යමෙක් වනාහි සත්යවූ කාරණයද අසත්යවූ කාරණයද යන දෙක නිශ්චය කෙරේද.
Key terms: dhammaṭṭha (one established in justice / dhamma), attha and anattha (what is pertinent and not pertinent), wise discernment rather than rash judgment Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 257
Pali (dhp257:1–257:4)
Asāhasena dhammena,
samena nayatī pare;
Dhammassa gutto medhāvī,
“dhammaṭṭho”ti pavuccati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp257:1–257:4)
A wise one judges others without haste,
justly and impartially;
that guardian of the law
is said to be just.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
සත්යවූ තෙපුලෙන් පිළිවෙළින් (විනිශ්චය) ධර්මයෙන් සමසේ (අපරාධවූ පරිද්දෙන්) අනුන් හික්මවාද (විනිශ්චය) ධර්මය රක්නා ලද්දාවූ නුවණැති පුරුෂ තෙම (විනිශ්චය) ධර්මයෙහි පිහිටියේයයි කියනු ලැබේ.
Key terms: asāhasa (non-haste), samena (evenly, impartially), dhammassa gutto (guarded by dhamma), true justice as measured judgment Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 258
Pali (dhp258:1–258:4)
Na tena paṇḍito hoti,
yāvatā bahu bhāsati;
Khemī averī abhayo,
“paṇḍito”ti pavuccati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp258:1–258:4)
You’re not an astute scholar
just because you speak a lot.
One who is secure, free of enmity and fear,
is said to be astute.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
යම් පමණ කාරණයකින් බෙහෝ කොට බෙණේද? ඒකාරණයෙන් පණ්ඩිත නම් නොවෙයි. යමෙක් වනාහි තෙමේ ක්ෂෙමීවේද පඤ්චදුශ්චරිතයන් නැත්තේද අවෛරීවේද, යමෙකු කෙරෙන් මහජනයාට භය නැත්තේද (හෙතෙම) පණ්ඩිතයයි කියනු ලැබේ.
Key terms: not wisdom by much speech, khemī (secure), averī (without enmity), abhaya (free from fear), the wise one as ethically untroubled Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 259
Pali (dhp259:1–259:6)
Na tāvatā dhammadharo,
yāvatā bahu bhāsati;
Yo ca appampi sutvāna,
dhammaṁ kāyena passati;
Sa ve dhammadharo hoti,
yo dhammaṁ nappamajjati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp259:1–259:6)
You’re not one who has memorized the teaching
just because you recite a lot.
Someone who directly sees the teaching
after hearing only a little
is truly one who has memorized the teaching,
for they can never forget it.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
යම් පමණකින් බොහෝකොට බෙණේද, එපමණකින් (ධර්මධර) ධර්මය දරන්නේ නම් නොවෙයි. යමෙක් වනාහි මඳ දෙයකුදු අසා නාමකායෙන් (චතුස්සත්යය) ධර්මය දකීද, යමෙක් ධර්මයෙහි නොපමා වේද, ඒ මහණතෙම ඒකාන්තයෙන් ධර්මධර නම් වෙයි.
Key terms: dhammadharo (one who truly bears the dhamma), hearing little yet directly seeing, kāyena passati (sees with the body / directly), nappamajjati (does not neglect) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 260
Pali (dhp260:1–260:4)
Na tena thero so hoti,
yenassa palitaṁ siro;
Paripakko vayo tassa,
“moghajiṇṇo”ti vuccati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp260:1–260:4)
You don’t become a senior
by getting some grey hairs;
for one ripe only in age,
is said to have aged in vain.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
යම් (වයෝවෘද්ධතා) කාරණයකින් ඔහුගේ හිස පැසුනේ වේද, ඒ කාරණයෙන් ස්ථවිර (වැඩිසිටි) නම් නොවෙයි. ඔහුගේ වයස මුහුකුරා ගියේ වෙයි. හෙතෙම (ස්ථවිර කර ධර්මයන් නැතිහෙයින්) හිස් මහල්ලායයි කියනු ලැබේ.
Key terms: thera (elder) not by grey hair, palitaṁ siro (grey head), moghajiṇṇa (aged in vain), empty seniority Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 261
Pali (dhp261:1–261:4)
Yamhi saccañca dhammo ca,
ahiṁsā saṁyamo damo;
Sa ve vantamalo dhīro,
“thero” iti pavuccati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp261:1–261:4)
One who is truthful and principled,
harmless, restrained, and self-controlled,
attentive, purged of stains,
is said to be a senior.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
යම් පුද්ගලයෙකු කෙරෙහි චතුරාර්ය සත්යයද නවලොකොත්තර ධර්මයද අවිහිංසාවද (හෙවත් මෙත්තා කරුණා මුදිතා උපෙක්ඛාද) කායවාග් හික්මීමද (ඉන්ද්රිය) දමනයද යන මේ ගුණ ඇද්ද (අර්හත් මාර්ගඥාන නැමැති මුඛයෙන්) වමනය කරණ ලද (රාගාදී) මල ඇති ධෛර්ය සම්පන්නවූ ඒ (මහණ) තෙම ස්ථවිරයයි කියනු ලැබේ.
Key terms: sacca (truth), dhamma (principled conduct), ahiṁsā (non-harming), saṁyama and dama (restraint, self-control), vantamalo (purged of stains) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 262
Pali (dhp262:1–262:4)
Na vākkaraṇamattena,
vaṇṇapokkharatāya vā;
Sādhurūpo naro hoti,
issukī maccharī saṭho.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp262:1–262:4)
Not by mere enunciation,
or a beautiful complexion
does a person become holy,
if they’re jealous, stingy, and devious.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
(මිහිරි) තෙපුල් ඇති පමණකින් හෝ (ශරීර) වර්ණය යහපත් බැවින් හෝ ඊර්ෂ්යා කරණ සුළුවූ, මසුරුවූ, කෛරාටිකවූ මිනිස් තෙම සාධු ස්වරූප ඇත්තේ නොවෙයි.
Key terms: holiness not by eloquence or beauty, issukī (jealous), maccharī (stingy), saṭho (devious), false saintliness Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 263
Pali (dhp263:1–263:4)
Yassa cetaṁ samucchinnaṁ,
mūlaghaccaṁ samūhataṁ;
Sa vantadoso medhāvī,
“sādhurūpo”ti vuccati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp263:1–263:4)
But if they’ve cut that out,
dug it up at the root, eradicated it,
that wise one, purged of vice,
is said to be holy.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
යමෙකු විසින් මේ (ඊර්ෂ්යාදී දෝෂ සමූහය) මනාකොට සිඳින ලදද කෙලෙස් මුල් හා සමග නසනලදද, නසනලද (ඊර්ෂ්යාදී) දෝෂ ඇති ප්රඥාවත්වූ හෙතෙම සාධු ස්වරූප (හොඳ ගති පැවතුම්) ඇත්තේයයි කියනු ලැබේ.
Key terms: samucchinna (cut off), mūlaghacca (struck at the root), samūhata (eradicated), vantadosa (rid of vice), true sādhurūpa Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 264
Pali (dhp264:1–264:4)
Na muṇḍakena samaṇo,
abbato alikaṁ bhaṇaṁ;
Icchālobhasamāpanno,
samaṇo kiṁ bhavissati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp264:1–264:4)
A liar and breaker of vows is no ascetic
just because they shave their head.
How on earth can one be an ascetic
who’s full of desire and greed?
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
හිස මුඩු පමණින් ශ්රමණයෙක් නොවෙයි. ව්රතගුණ නැති බොරු කීමෙන්, ඉච්ඡා (කැමත්ත) හා ලෝභයෙන් යුක්තවූයේ කෙසේ නම් ශ්රමණයෙකැයි කියනු ලැබේද?
Key terms: muṇḍaka (shaven-head), abbata (without vows), alikaṁ bhaṇaṁ (speaking falsely), icchā and lobha (desire and greed), outward asceticism without inner renunciation Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 265
Pali (dhp265:1–265:4)
Yo ca sameti pāpāni,
aṇuṁthūlāni sabbaso;
Samitattā hi pāpānaṁ,
“samaṇo”ti pavuccati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp265:1–265:4)
One who stops all wicked deeds,
great and small,
because of stopping wicked deeds
is said to be an ascetic.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
යමෙක් වනාහි ස්වල්පවූද මහත්වූද අකුශලයින් සර්වප්රකාරයෙන් සංසිඳුවාද අකුශලයන් සංසිඳුවන ලද බැවින් හෙතෙම ශ්රමණයයි කියනු ලැබේ.
Key terms: sameti pāpāni (calms or stops evil deeds), great and small evil alike, true samaṇa through cessation rather than appearance Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 266
Pali (dhp266:1–266:4)
Na tena bhikkhu so hoti,
yāvatā bhikkhate pare;
Vissaṁ dhammaṁ samādāya,
bhikkhu hoti na tāvatā.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp266:1–266:4)
You don’t become a mendicant
just by begging from others.
One who has undertaken domestic duties
has not yet become a mendicant.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
යම් පමණෙකින් අනුන් සිඟාද ඒ කාරණෙන් භික්ෂූනම් නොවෙයි විෂමවූ (පාප) ධර්මයන් (නොහොත් දුගඳ හමන කාය කර්මාදිය) සමාදන්ව වසන්නේ එපමණකින් භික්ෂූ නම් නොවේ.
Key terms: bhikkhu not by begging alone, bhikkhate pare (begs from others), mendicancy as a disciplined state rather than a mere livelihood-form Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 267
Pali (dhp267:1–267:4)
Yodha puññañca pāpañca,
bāhetvā brahmacariyavā;
Saṅkhāya loke carati,
sa ve “bhikkhū”ti vuccati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp267:1–267:4)
But one living a spiritual life,
who has banished both merit and evil,
who wanders having appraised the world,
is said to be a mendicant.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
මේ ශාසනයෙහි යම් මහණෙක් කුශලයද අකුශලයද යන මේ දෙකම (මාර්ග බ්රහ්මචර්යයෙන්) දුරුකොට (මාර්ග) බ්රහ්මචර්යයෙන් යුක්ත වේද, (ස්කන්ධාදී ලෝකයෙහි සියලු ධර්මයන්) නුවණින් සලකා හැසිරේද, හෙතෙම ඒකාන්තයෙන් භික්ෂුයයි කියනු ලැබේ.
Key terms: puñña and pāpa (merit and evil), bāhetvā (having banished), brahmacariyavā (living the holy life), saṅkhāya loke carati (moves through the world with understanding) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 268
Pali (dhp268:1–268:4)
Na monena munī hoti,
mūḷharūpo aviddasu;
Yo ca tulaṁva paggayha,
varamādāya paṇḍito.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp268:1–268:4)
You don’t become a sage by being sagelike,
while still confused and ignorant.
The astute one who holds the scales,
taking only the best,
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
මූඪගති ඇති අඥාන පුද්ගල තෙම, තුෂ්ණිම්භූත වීමෙන් මුනිනම් නොවෙයි. ප්රාඥයා වනාහි තරාදියක් ගෙණ කිරන්නට සිටි එකක්හු මෙන් ගතයුතුවූ උතුම් දෙය ගෙණ වෙසේද.
Key terms: mona (mere silence) is not enough, muni (sage), tulaṁva paggayha (holding up the scales), taking the better with discernment Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 269
Pali (dhp269:1–269:4)
Pāpāni parivajjeti,
sa munī tena so muni;
Yo munāti ubho loke,
“muni” tena pavuccati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp269:1–269:4)
and shunning the bad—
that is a sage, <j>and that is how one becomes a sage.
One who sagely weighs both in the world,
is thereby said to be a sage.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
අකුශලයන් දුරු කෙරේද, හෙතෙම එයින් මුනි නම් වේ. යමෙක් තෙම උභය ලෝකයන් (නුවණින්) පිරිසිඳ දනීද ඒ කාරණයෙන් හෙතෙම මුනියයි කියනු ලැබේ.
Key terms: parivajjeti (shuns what is bad), munāti (understands sagely), ubho loke (both worlds), true muni through understanding and avoidance of evil Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 270
Pali (dhp270:1–270:4)
Na tena ariyo hoti,
yena pāṇāni hiṁsati;
Ahiṁsā sabbapāṇānaṁ,
“ariyo”ti pavuccati.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp270:1–270:4)
You don’t become a noble one
by harming living beings.
One harmless towards all living beings
is said to be a noble one.
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
යම් කාරණයෙකින් ප්රාණින් නසාද එබැවින් ආර්යය නම් නොවෙයි. සියලු සත්වයන්ට හිංසා නොකිරීම හේතුකොටගෙණ ආර්යයයි කියනු ලැබේ.
Key terms: ariya (noble one), ahiṁsā sabbapāṇānaṁ (non-harming toward all beings), nobility defined by harmlessness Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 271
Pali (dhp271:1–271:4)
Na sīlabbatamattena,
bāhusaccena vā pana;
Atha vā samādhilābhena,
vivittasayanena vā.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp271:1–271:4)
Not by precepts and observances,
nor by much learning,
nor by meditative immersion,
nor by living in seclusion,
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
ශීලමාත්රයකින් හෝ වත් පිළිවෙත් මාත්රයකින් හෝ නැවත (ත්රිපිටක ධරවීම්) බහු ශ්රැත මාත්රයකින් හෝ නොහොත් සමාධි ලාභයෙන් හෝ විවේකව විසීමෙන් හෝ
Key terms: sīlabbata (precepts and observances), bāhusacca (much learning), samādhilābha (attainment of concentration), vivittasayana (living in seclusion), mere supports not finality Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Verse 272
Pali (dhp272:1–272:5)
Phusāmi nekkhammasukhaṁ,
aputhujjanasevitaṁ;
Bhikkhu vissāsamāpādi,
appatto āsavakkhayaṁ.
Dhammaṭṭhavaggo ekūnavīsatimo.
English — Bhikkhu Sujato (dhp272:1–272:5)
do I experience the bliss of renunciation
not frequented by ordinary people.
A mendicant cannot rest confident
without attaining the end of defilements.
>
Sinhala — A.P. de Zoysa
පුහුදුන් විසින් නොසෙවිය හැකි නෛෂ්ක්රම්යය. සුබය (හෙවත් අනාගාමී ඵල සුබය) ස්පර්ශ කෙරෙමියි කියා හෝ මහණ රහත් ඵලයට නොපැමිණියාවූ තෝ (භවයෙහි) විශ්වාසයට නොපැමිණෙව.
Key terms: nekkhammasukha (bliss of renunciation), aputhujjanasevita (not frequented by ordinary people), vissāsa (confidence), āsavakkhaya (ending of the taints) Traditional vatthu (Dhp-a): pending commentary review. (commentary — not canonical)
Textual notes
- Dhp 256–270 are built as a sequence of definitional reversals. The repeated "not by this" pattern should be read as criterial: the chapter is not anti-speech, anti-age, or anti-monastic form in themselves, but anti-confusion of outward signs with inner attainment.
- The chapter's title-terms — dhammaṭṭha, paṇḍita, thera, sādhurūpa, samaṇa, bhikkhu, muni, ariya — are not simple synonyms. Each verse sharpens a different moral or soteriological register, and the chapter should not be flattened into a single generic claim about "being good."
- Dhp 267's language of banishing both puñña and pāpa belongs to a liberation register, not to ordinary moral indifference. The verse does not license neglect of ethics; it frames the mendicant as one no longer moving within merit-seeking and evil-doing as rival accumulations.
- Dhp 271 is a warning against taking supports for completion. Sīla (virtue), much learning, concentration, and seclusion are not criticized as worthless; rather, the chapter denies that any one of them, taken "merely" (-mattena), is identical with the finished goal announced in Dhp 272.