Verses
273. Of all paths the Eightfold is the best; of all truths the Four Words (Noble Truths) are the best; of all dhammas detachment (virāga) is the best; and of all two-footed beings the All-Seeing One is the best.
Verse 1
274. This is the only path; there is no other for the purification of vision. Enter upon this path! For this is the utter bewilderment of Māra.
Verse 2
275. Walking this path, you will make an end of suffering. Having personally realized how to extract the arrows of grief, I have declared this path to you.
Verse 3
276. You yourselves must strive; the Tathāgatas are only teachers. Those who enter the path and practice meditative absorption are released from the bonds of Māra.
Verse 4
277. 'All conditioned things are impermanent'—when one perceives this with true insight, then one turns away in weariness from suffering. This is the path to purification.
Verse 5
278. 'All conditioned things are unsatisfactory and subject to suffering'—when one perceives this with true insight, then one turns away in weariness from suffering. This is the path to purification.
Verse 6
279. 'All phenomena are devoid of self (anattā)'—when one perceives this with true insight, then one turns away in weariness from suffering. This is the path to purification.
Verse 7
280. Not rising when it is time to rise, though young and strong, yet given to indolence, with weak resolves and a sluggish mind—such a lazy person never finds the path of wisdom.
Verse 8
281. Guarded in speech, well-controlled in mind, and doing no unwholesome deed with the body—let one purify these three avenues of action and win the path revealed by the ancient Seers.
Verse 9
282. Truly from meditation springs great wisdom; from lack of meditation wisdom diminishes. Recognizing this twofold path of growth and decline, let one so establish oneself that wisdom continuously increases.
Verse 10
283. Cut down the forest of lust, not just a single tree! For from the forest of lust springs fear. Having cleared both the forest of desires and its tangled brushwood, be free from the forest, O monks!
Verse 11
284. For as long as even the subtlest brushwood of passion of man toward woman is not cut down, so long is his mind held in bondage, like a suckling calf tied to its mother.
Verse 12
285. Pluck out your self-attachment, just as one plucks an autumn white lily with the hand! Cultivate the path of supreme peace alone—the Nibbāna taught by the Sugata.
Verse 13
286. 'Here shall I dwell during the rains, here in winter and summer'—thus thinks the foolish man, utterly oblivious to the impending danger of death.
Verse 14
287. That man intoxicated with children and cattle, his heart hopelessly entangled in worldly things, is seized and carried away by death, just as a mighty torrent sweeps away a slumbering village.
Verse 15
288. There are no sons to give protection, neither father nor kinsmen. For one overtaken by the King of Death (Antaka), there is no shelter to be found among relatives.
Verse 16
289. Understanding this profound reality, let the wise and morally restrained person swiftly clear the path leading directly to Nibbāna.
Verse 17
Background
This chapter belongs to the Pali Dhammapada (Khuddaka Nikaya, Pali Canon), Magga Vagga, verses 273–289. Delivered in Jetavana at Sāvatthi, these verses were expounded to five hundred monks who were debating various worldly roads and travel routes. Overhearing their conversation, the Buddha entered the assembly hall and explained the true, incomparable road: the Noble Eightfold Path that leads beyond all sorrow. Verses 283–284 were delivered to monks contemplating a forest, using the wordplay between 'vana' (forest) and 'vanatha' (the brushwood of lust). Verses 287–288 were spoken to Kisāgotamī after the death of her child, reminding all mortals that when death comes like a great flash flood sweeping away a sleeping village, neither sons, nor father, nor kin can offer any protection.
About this Text
Composed by: Gautama Buddha · Founder of Buddhism · c. 5th–6th century BCE, Northern India/Nepal
Born Siddhartha Gautama in Lumbini, he attained enlightenment and spent the rest of his life teaching the Dhamma across northern India. His discourses (Suttas), preserved orally for generations before being written down in the Pali Canon, form the doctrinal foundation of Buddhism.
Did You Know?
The Supreme Path (Verse 273)
Of all paths, the Eightfold Path is the best; of all truths, the Four Words (Four Noble Truths) are the best; of all dhammas, dispassion (virāga) is supreme; and among beings, the Seeing One (the Buddha) is foremost.
Self-Striving and the Teachers (Verse 276)
You yourselves must make the effort; the Tathāgatas are only teachers who point the way. Those who enter the path and meditate will be freed from the fetters of Māra.
The Three Marks of Existence (Verses 277–279)
'All conditioned things are impermanent (anicca)'; 'All conditioned things are unsatisfactory (dukkha)'; 'All phenomena are non-self (anattā)'. When one sees this with profound wisdom, one turns away from suffering: this is the path to purification.
Cut Down the Forest of Desire (Verses 283–284)
Cut down the whole forest of lust, not just a single tree! For from the forest of desire springs danger. Having cleared the forest and its tangled underbrush, become free, O monks!
Death's Great Deluge (Verses 287–288)
A man infatuated with children and cattle, with his mind passionately entangled in worldly life, is seized by death and swept away just as a sleeping village is carried off by a mighty flash flood. Neither sons, nor fathers, nor relatives can be a refuge when death arrives.
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