[34] 24.
For a human being who lives heedlessly,
craving (taṇhā) grows like a māluvā creeper;
he bounds along from existence to existence,
like a monkey in the forest desiring fruit.
Whomever this wretched craving,
this entanglement (visattikā) in the world, overcomes,
his sorrows grow
like bīraṇa grass grown lush.
But whoever overcomes this wretched craving,
so hard to overcome in the world,
sorrows fall away from him
like a drop of water from a lotus leaf.
This I say to you — good fortune to you! — as many as are gathered here:
dig up the root of craving, as one in need of usīra digs up bīraṇa grass.
Let not Māra break you again and again, as a stream breaks a reed.
Just as a tree, though cut down, grows up again
if its root is unharmed and firm,
so too, while the latent tendency to craving (taṇhānusaya) is not rooted out,
this suffering (dukkha) springs up again and again.
For whomever the thirty-six streams,
flowing toward the pleasing, run strong,
the mighty thoughts grounded in lust (rāga)
carry that person of wrong view away.
#1 Also read "paripplavatī." 2 European ed.: "vāhā vahanti."
The streams flow everywhere;
the creeper, having sprung up, stands fast:
seeing that creeper arisen,
cut its root with wisdom.
Joys that stream along, saturated with affection,
arise for a being;
leaning on the agreeable, seeking pleasure,
those men indeed undergo birth and aging (jāti, jarā).
Beset by craving (tasiṇā), people
scurry about like a hare caught in a snare;
held fast by fetters (saññojana) and ties,
they come to suffering again and again, for a long time.
Beset by craving, people
scurry about like a hare caught in a snare;
therefore let a bhikkhu who desires
dispassion (virāga) for himself dispel craving.
Whoever, rid of the thicket [of craving], is bent upon the forest,
yet, freed from the forest, runs back to the very forest —
behold that person:
freed, he runs back to bondage itself!
That bond is not strong, say the wise,
which is made of iron, of wood, or of babbaja grass;
the impassioned devotion to gems and earrings,
and the longing for sons and for wives —
#1–3 Burmese ed.: "bandhito." 2 Burmese and European eds.: "saññojanasaṅgasattakā." 4 European ed.: "ākaṅkhī."
that, say the wise, is the strong bond,
dragging one down, slack, yet hard to loosen.
Cutting even this, they wander forth,
free of longing, abandoning sensual pleasure.
Those dyed with lust fall back into the stream,
as a spider onto its self-spun web;
cutting even this, the wise go on their way,
free of longing, abandoning all suffering.
Let go of what is before, let go of what is behind,
let go of the middle — gone beyond existence,
with a mind everywhere released,
you will not come again to birth and aging.
For a person churned by thoughts (vitakka),
of fierce lust, contemplating the beautiful,
craving grows all the more:
such a one indeed makes the bond strong.
But one who delights in the stilling of thoughts,
who, ever mindful (sato), cultivates the foul (asubha) —
such a one indeed will make an end [of craving];
he will cut Māra's bond.
He has reached the goal, is unafraid,
rid of craving, without blemish;
he has cut the darts of existence:
this body is his last.
Rid of craving, without grasping,
skilled in language and terms,
knowing the collocation of letters,
which come before and which after —
he indeed, bearing his final body, is called "one of great wisdom," "a great man."
All-conquering, all-knowing am I,
unsullied amid all things;
having given up all, released in the destruction of craving,
having known it directly by myself, to whom should I point [as teacher]?
The gift of the Dhamma (dhammadāna) conquers every gift;
the taste of the Dhamma conquers every taste;
delight in the Dhamma conquers every delight;
the destruction of craving conquers all suffering.
Riches slay the fool,
but not those who seek the far shore;
through craving for riches the fool
slays himself, as he would slay others.
Weeds are the blight of fields;
lust is the blight of this people:
therefore what is given to those free of lust
bears great fruit.
#1 Also read "esacchindatī." 2 Also read "no ca."
Weeds are the blight of fields;
hatred (dosa) is the blight of this people:
therefore what is given to those free of hatred
bears great fruit.
Weeds are the blight of fields;
delusion (moha) is the blight of this people:
therefore what is given to those free of delusion
bears great fruit.
Weeds are the blight of fields;
desire (icchā) is the blight of this people:
therefore what is given to those free of desire
bears great fruit.
The Twenty-Fourth Chapter: On Craving (Taṇhāvagga).
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Verses of the Dhammapada — the Twenty-Fifth Chapter: On Bhikkhus (Bhikkhuvagga)
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.