Dhammapada Commentary - Magga Vagga

Dhammapada Commentary ( Dhammapada Atthakatha )

Edited by
Bhikkhu Pesala


20 — Magga Vagga
The Path
The Eightfold Path is Best
1. Maggān’aṭṭhaṅgiko seṭṭho, saccānaṃ caturo padā
Virāgo seṭṭho dhammānaṃ, dvipadānañca cakkhumā.273
2. Eso’va1 maggo natth’añño, dassanassa visuddhiyā
Etañhi tumhe paṭipajjatha, mārass’etaṃ pamohanaṃ.274
3. Etañhi tumhe paṭipannā, dukkhassantaṃ karissatha
Akkhāto vo2 mayā maggo,
aññāya sallakantanaṃ3.275
4. Tumhehi kiccaṃ ātappaṃ, akkhātāro Tathāgatā
Paṭipannā pamokkhanti, jhāyino mārabandhanā.276
1. The best of paths is the Eightfold Path. The best of truths are the four
Sayings. Non-attachment is the best of states. The best of bipeds is the
Seeing One.
2. This is the only Way. There is none other for the purity of vision.
Do you follow this path. This is the bewilderment of Māra.
3. Entering upon that path, you will make an end of pain.
Having learnt the removal of thorns, have I taught you the path.
4. Striving should be done by yourselves; the Tathāgatas are only teachers.
The meditative ones, who enter the way, are delivered from the bonds of
Māra.

1
Eso’va
2
ve
3
sallasatthanaṃ


Five Hundred Monks
When the Buddha returned to the monastery at Sāvatthī after his touring the
country some monks were discussing the routes they had taken. The Buddha
remarked that those paths were irrelevant to their emancipation and advised
them to follow the Noble Eightfold Path, uttering the above verses.
All Conditions Are Impermanent
5. “Sabbe saṅkhārā aniccā”ti, yadā paññāya passati
Atha nibbindati dukkhe, esa maggo visuddhiyā.277
5. “All conditions are impermanent:” when one sees this with wisdom,
one is disenchanted with suffering; this is the path to purity.
The Characteristic of Impermanence
The Buddha, perceiving that many monks had meditated on impermanence
in the past, advised them to continue that meditation.
All Conditions Are Unsatisfactory
6. “Sabbe saṅkhārā dukkhā”ti, yadā paññāya passati
Atha nibbindati dukkhe, esa maggo visuddhiyā.278
6. “All conditions are unsatisfactory:” when one sees this with wisdom,
one is disenchanted with suffering; this is the path to purity.
The Characteristic of Unsatisfactoriness
The Buddha, perceiving that many monks had meditated on
unsatisfactoriness in the past, advised them to continue that meditation.
All Phenomena Are Not-self
7. “Sabbe dhammā1 anattā”ti, yadā paññāya passati
Atha nibbindati dukkhe, esa maggo visuddhiyā.279
7. “All phenomena are not-self:” when one sees this with wisdom,
one is disenchanted with suffering; this is the path to purity.

1
All phenomena, both conditioned and unconditioned are not-self. Nibbāna is not
impermanent, nor unsatisfactory, but it is still lacking any permanent self or soul.


The Characteristic of Not-self
The Buddha, perceiving that many monks had meditated on not-self in the
past, advised them to continue that meditation.
The Slothful Do Not Realise the Path
8. Uṭṭhānakālamhi anuṭṭhahāno,
yuvā balī ālasiyaṃ upeto,
Saṃsannasaṅkappamano kusīto,
paññāya maggaṃ alaso na vindati.280
8. The inactive idler who strives not when he should strive, who, though
young and strong, is slothful, with (good) thoughts depressed, does not
by wisdom realise the Path.
Striving Tissa’s Story
Five hundred sons of good families went forth together, and having obtained
a meditation object, they went to the forest and attained Arahantship, except for
one idle monk who remained behind in the monastery. When they returned to
Sāvatthī, the Buddha exchanged friendly greetings with them, but not with the
one who had been negligent. This stimulated him to strive to attain Arahantship.
He strove hard in the night, but overcome by drowsiness he stumbled and broke
his thigh. His cries brought his fellow monks to attend on him. The Buddha
commented on the difficulty of an idle person gaining realisation.
Purify Thoughts, Words, and Deeds
9. Vācānurakkhī manasā susaṃvuto,
kāyena ca nākusalaṃ1 kayirā,
Ete tayo kammapathe visodhaye,
ārādhaye maggaṃ isippaveditaṃ.281
9. Watchful of speech, well restrained in mind, let him do nought unskilful
through his body. Let him purify these three ways of action and win the
path realised by the sages.

1
akusalaṃ na


The Pig Ghost
In the time of the Buddha Kassapa, a monk divided two monks who were
friends. When he died he was reborn in Avīci hell, and during the time of the
Buddha Gotama was reborn as a hideous Peta. The Elder Moggallāna saw him and
mentioned it to the Buddha, who said that he had also seen him on an earlier
occasion. The Buddha related the story of his previous life to warn of the evil
consequences of slandering, and uttered the above verse.
Cultivate Wisdom
10. Yogā ve jāyatī
1 bhūri, ayogā bhūrisaṅkhayo
Etaṃ dvedhā pathaṃ ñatvā, bhavāya vibhavāya ca
Tath’attānaṃ niveseyya, yathā bhūri pavaḍḍhati.282
10. From meditation arises wisdom. Without meditation wisdom wanes.
Knowing this twofold path of gain and loss, let one so conduct oneself so
that wisdom increases.
The Elder Poṭṭhila’s Story
The Elder Poṭṭhila, though well versed in the Tipiṭaka, was constantly
addressed by the Buddha as “Empty Poṭṭhila” in order to stimulate him to attain
Arahantship. He took the hint and went to a distant forest monastery where lived
thirty Arahants. He asked the seniormost elder for meditation instruction, but
thinking he would be too proud to instruct, the elder sent him to the next elder.
He thought the same and sent him to the next most senior elder. Finally, he
begged the youngest novice to be his teacher. The novice asked if he would do his
bidding. The elder said he would enter a fire if told to. The novice told him to
plunge into a nearby pool to test his sincerity. At once, the elder plunged into the
pool with all his robes on. The novice told him to come out, and instructed him.
“To catch a lizard that had entered an ant-hill with six holes, one would cover five
holes and keep watch at the sixth. Thus one should close the five sense, and watch
the mind. The elder understood, and meditated thus to gain Arahantship. Seeing
him with his Divine Eye, the Buddha projected his image before him and uttered
the above verse. At the conclusion of the discourse, the elder gained Arahantship.

1
jāyati


Be Without Attachment
11. Vanaṃ chindatha mā rukkhaṃ, vanato jāyati bhayaṃ
Chetvā vanañca vanathañca, nibbanā hotha bhikkhavo.283
12. Yāva hi vanatho na chijjati, aṇumatto’pi narassa nārisu
Paṭibaddhamano1 tāva so,
vaccho khīrapako’va mātari.284
11. Cut down the entire forest, not just a single tree. From the forest springs
fear. Cutting down both forest and brushwood, be passionless, O monks.
12. For as long as the slightest passion2 of man towards women is not cut
down, so long is his mind in bondage, like the calf to its mother.
Five Elderly Monks
Five elderly men went forth as monks. They built for themselves a hermitage
at the edge of the monastery, went for alms to the houses of their sons and
daughters, and ate their meal at the house of the former wife of one of the
monks, who offered curries and sauces. When she died of some disease, the
monks gathered back at the hermitage and wept. The monks reported this to the
Buddha who advised them to practise non-attachment.
Cultivate this Path of Peace
13. Ucchinda sineham attano,
kumudaṃ sāradikaṃ ’va [pāṇinā]
Santimaggam eva brūhaya,
nibbānaṃ sugatena desitaṃ.285
13. Cut off your affection, as though it were an autumn lily, with the hand.
Cultivate this path of peace. Nibbāna has been expounded by the
Auspicious One.
The Goldsmith Elder
A young monk went forth under the Elder Sāriputta. Thinking, “Young men
are lustful,” he taught him to meditate on the impurities of the body. After a
month, he had had no success, so he returned to the elder who explained the

1
Paṭibaddhamanova
2
The vines and undergrowth of the forest are compared to the entanglements of passion.


meditation object again. After a second and a third month the elder took him to
see the Buddha, who, perceiving his disposition, created for him a lotus of ruddy
gold as a focus for mental concentration. The monk succeeded in his meditation,
gained the jhānas and developing his faculties as advised by the Buddha. The
Buddha then made the lotus fade, and gaining the perception of impermanence,
the young monk attained Arahantship within a single day.
A Fool Does Not Think of Death
14. Idha vassaṃ vasissāmi, idha hemantagimhisu
Iti bālo vicinteti, antarāyaṃ na bujjhati.286
14. Here will I live in the rainy season, here in the autumn and in the
summer: thus muses the fool. He realises not the danger (of death).
The Merchant of Great Wealth
A merchant from Benares travelled to Sāvatthī with five hundred carts to sell
his merchandise during an annual festival, but his progress was halted by a river
in flood. Since had come a long way (about 300 miles) he thought of selling his
goods and spending the rainy season, cold season, and hot season there, trading
his goods. The Buddha smiled when he saw that the man would fall into the jaws
of death within seven days. The Elder Ānanda asked him why he smiled, and on
being told the reason, he walked for alms where the merchant was staying and
the merchant respectfully offered him alms. When the elder asked the merchant
how long he would stay there, the merchant informed him of his plans. The Elder
Ānanda said that though one’s death might be near it was hard to realise it. When
the merchant asked, the elder informed him of what the Buddha had said about
his impending death. He was filled with urgency and, inviting the Buddha and
the Saṅgha, offered alms for seven days. The Buddha advised him to meditate on
death. He attained the first state of Sainthood and on the seventh day passed away
as predicted.
Death Seizes the Doting Man
15. Taṃ puttapasusammattaṃ, byāsattamanasaṃ naraṃ
Suttaṃ gāmaṃ mahogho’va, maccu ādāya gacchati.287
15. The doting man with mind set on children and herds, death seizes and
carries away, as a great flood (sweeps away) a slumbering village.


Kisāgotamī’s Story
This story is related in detail in the Sahassa Vagga, verse 114.
No Protection At the Moment of Death
16. Na santi puttā tāṇāya, na pitā na’pi bandhavā
Antakenādhipannassa, natthi ñātisu tāṇatā.288
17. Etam atthavasaṃ ñatvā, paṇḍito sīlasaṃvuto
Nibbānagamanaṃ maggaṃ, khippam eva visodhaye.289
16. There are no sons for one’s protection, neither father nor even kinsmen;
for one who is overcome by death no protection is to be found among
kinsmen.
17. Realising this fact, let the virtuous and wise person swiftly clear the way
that leads to nibbāna.
Pāṭacāra’s Story
This story is related in detail in the Sahassa vagga, verse 113.