Verses
Who shall conquer this earth, and this realm of Yama with its deities? Who shall investigate the well-taught path of Dhamma, as an expert florist chooses flowers?
Verse 1
The noble trainee (sekha) shall conquer this earth, and this realm of Yama with its deities; the noble trainee shall investigate the well-taught path of Dhamma, as an expert florist chooses flowers.
Verse 2
Knowing this body to be like froth, understanding it to be of mirage-nature, cutting off the flowery arrows of Māra, one passes beyond the sight of the King of Death.
Verse 3
The person who plucks only flowers of sensual pleasure, whose mind is attached and distracted, death carries away just as a great flood sweeps away a sleeping village.
Verse 4
The person who plucks only flowers of sensual pleasure, whose mind is attached and distracted, while yet insatiate in lusts, the End-Maker (Death) brings under his sway.
Verse 5
Just as a bee takes nectar and departs without harming the color or fragrance of the flower, so should a sage move through a village.
Verse 6
One should not observe the faults of others, nor what others have done or left undone; one should only consider one's own deeds, what has been done and what has been left undone.
Verse 7
Like a beautiful flower that is bright in color but devoid of fragrance, even so are the well-spoken words fruitless for one who does not practice them.
Verse 8
Like a beautiful flower that is bright in color and rich in fragrance, even so are the well-spoken words fruitful for one who practices them.
Verse 9
Just as from a heap of flowers one can make many garlands, so by a mortal being born in this world much wholesome good should be performed.
Verse 10
The fragrance of flowers does not travel against the wind, nor does that of sandalwood, tagara, or jasmine; but the fragrance of the virtuous person moves even against the wind: the good person pervades all directions.
Verse 11
Sandalwood, tagara, lotus, and jasmine: of all these kinds of fragrance, the fragrance of moral virtue is supreme.
Verse 12
Faint is this fragrance of tagara and sandalwood; but the fragrance of the virtuous is supreme, wafting even to the heavenly deities.
Verse 13
Of those who are perfected in virtue, who abide in heedfulness, and are liberated by right knowledge, Māra cannot find their path.
Verse 14
Just as on a heap of rubbish discarded beside the highway, a lotus will bloom there, fragrant and delightful;
Verse 15
Even so, among the blind worldlings who are like rubbish, the disciple of the fully Awakened One shines resplendently with wisdom.
Verse 16
Background
This chapter belongs to the Pali Dhammapada (Khuddaka Nikaya, Pali Canon), Pupphavagga, verses 44–59. Drawn from the Khuddaka Nikāya of the Pali Canon, Puppha Vagga uses organic floral imagery familiar to ancient Indian life. The Atthakathā commentary records that the Buddha spoke these verses to various disciples including the monks meditating on the mirage-like body and Queen Mallikā, illustrating that while earthly flowers wither and death carries away the heedless like a great flood sweeping away a sleeping village, the fragrance of virtue reaches even the heavenly realms.
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 Garland Maker Metaphor (Verse 53)
Just as a garland-maker chooses blossoms of diverse hues to string an exquisite mala, a wise person uses human life to perform varied meritorious and compassionate deeds.
Fragrance Against the Wind (Verse 54)
Sandalwood, tagara, and jasmine only spread their perfume in the direction of the breeze; but the fragrance of the virtuous person (sīla-gandha) travels even against the wind, pervading all directions.
The Lotus on the Rubbish Heap (Verses 58–59)
In a heap of refuse discarded beside the highway, a fragrant and lovely lotus blooms; identically, among the blind and foolish worldlings, the disciple of the fully Awakened One shines brightly with wisdom.
Death as a Sweeping Flood (Verse 47)
The person who gathers sensory pleasures like plucked flowers with an unsatisfied craving is swept away by death (Māra), just as a torrential flash flood sweeps away a sleeping village.
The Honeybee Principle (Verse 49)
The sage wanders through village and city like a bee that gathers nectar without harming the color or the fragrance of the flower, taking only sustenance and leaving peace.
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