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Verse 33. The Wise Person Straightens The Mind

Mind agitated, wavering,
hard to guard and hard to check,
one of wisdom renders straight
as arrow-maker a shaft.

Explanation: In the Dhammapada there are several references to the craftsmanship of the fletcher. The Buddha seems to have observed the process through which a fletcher transforms an ordinary stick into an efficient arrow-shaft. The disciplining of the mind is seen as being a parallel process. In this stanza the Buddha says that the wise one straightens and steadies the vacillating mind that is difficult to guard, like a fletcher straightening an arrow-shaft. Continue reading “Verse 33. The Wise Person Straightens The Mind”

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Verse 31. The Heedful Advance

The bhikkhu liking heedfulness,
seeing fear in heedlessness,
advances as a conflagration
burning fetters great and small.

Explanation: The monk, as the seeker after the truth, is frightened of mindlessness because he knows that if one is unmindful, one is caught up in the unending suffering of samsara. Therefore, he forges ahead diligently, and mindfully burning away those bonds that fetter people to worldliness. Continue reading “Verse 31. The Heedful Advance”

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Verse 29. The Mindful One Is Way Ahead Of Others

Among the heedless, heedful,
among the sleepy, wide awake.
As the swift horse outruns a hack
so one of good wisdom wins.

Explanation: The extremely wise individual of deep wisdom is always alert and mindful. He is therefore like a wide-awake individual among those who are deep in sleep. That wise person, who possesses supreme insight overtakes in spirituality all those ordinary masses, just as a fast horse overtakes a weak one. Continue reading “Verse 29. The Mindful One Is Way Ahead Of Others”

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Verse 28. The Sorrowless View The World

When one who’s wise does drive away
heedlessness by heedfulness,
having ascended wisdom’s tower
steadfast, one surveys the fools,
griefless, views the grieving folk,
as mountaineer does those below.

Explanation: The wise person is always mindful. Through this alertness he discards the ways of the slothful. The wise person ascends the tower of wisdom. Once he has attained that height he is capable of surveying the sorrowing masses with sorrowless eyes. Detached and dispassionate he sees these masses like a person atop a mountain peak, surveying the ground below. Continue reading “Verse 28. The Sorrowless View The World”

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Verse 26. Treasured Mindfulness

Foolish folk of little wit
in heedlessness indulge,
the one who’s wise guards heedfulness
kin to the greatest wealth.

Explanation: Those who are foolish and undiscriminating indulge in heedlessness. But the wise cherish mindfulness as a great treasure. The foolish people live a life of sensual pleasure. They indulge in pursuits that are not at all conductive to spiritual advancement. To obtain worldly acquisitions, people need wealth. In the same way, to obtain high spiritual acquisitions we need some wealth, and that wealth is mindfulness. Continue reading “Verse 26. Treasured Mindfulness”

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Verse 25. Island Against Floods

By energy and heedfulness,
by taming and by self-control,
the one who’s wise should make as isle
no flood can overwhelm.

Explanation: The whole world is full of defilements. The sensualities of life are a vast and forceful flood. But the wise person builds steadfastly for himself an Island that cannot be washed away by those vast floods. The Island is built of steadfastness, mindfulness, restraint and discipline. Once steadily established on that island, the flood cannot overwhelm the wise. Continue reading “Verse 25. Island Against Floods”