“A mendicant who loves diligence, seeing fear in negligence— advances like fire, burning up fetters big and small.”
Appamādarato bhikkhu, pamāde bhayadassi vā; Saṁyojanaṁ aṇuṁ thūlaṁ, ḍahaṁ aggīva gacchati.
Buddha Quotes on Fear, from the Dhammapada
16 verses of 423 · English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0) · Pali alongside
Fear in the Dhammapada is usually somebody else’s. Verses 129 and 130 open with all trembling at the rod and all fearing death, and use that as the reason not to strike or kill. The reader is asked to feel the other person’s fear first.
Where the book speaks to the reader’s own fear, it is usually about what happens to fear when something else is settled: verse 196 describes the person who is quenched and therefore fears nothing from any quarter, and verse 188 contrasts taking refuge in mountains and groves with taking refuge in what actually holds.
The verses
In book order. Open any verse for the Pali, the copy button and the card maker.
“A mendicant who loves diligence, seeing fear in negligence— such a one can’t decline, and has drawn near to extinguishment.”
Appamādarato bhikkhu, pamāde bhayadassi vā; Abhabbo parihānāya, nibbānasseva santike. Appamādavaggo dutiyo.
“One whose mind is not festering, whose heart is undamaged, who’s given up right and wrong, alert, has nothing to fear.”
Anavassutacittassa, ananvāhatacetaso; Puññapāpapahīnassa, natthi jāgarato bhayaṁ.
“All tremble at the rod, all fear death. Treating others like oneself, neither kill nor incite to kill.”
Sabbe tasanti daṇḍassa, sabbe bhāyanti maccuno; Attānaṁ upamaṁ katvā, na haneyya na ghātaye.
“All tremble at the rod, all love life. Treating others like oneself, neither kill nor incite to kill.”
Sabbe tasanti daṇḍassa, sabbesaṁ jīvitaṁ piyaṁ; Attānaṁ upamaṁ katvā, na haneyya na ghātaye.
“So many go for refuge to mountains and forest groves, to shrines in tended parks; those people are driven by fear.”
Bahuṁ ve saraṇaṁ yanti, pabbatāni vanāni ca; Ārāmarukkhacetyāni, manussā bhayatajjitā.
“quenched, fearing nothing from any quarter— the merit of one venerating such as these, cannot be calculated by anyone, saying it is just this much.”
Te tādise pūjayato, nibbute akutobhaye; Na sakkā puññaṁ saṅkhātuṁ, imettamapi kenaci. Buddhavaggo cuddasamo. Paṭhamabhāṇavāraṁ.
“Sorrow springs from what we hold dear, fear springs from what we hold dear; one free from holding anything dear has no sorrow, let alone fear.”
Piyato jāyatī soko, piyato jāyatī bhayaṁ; Piyato vippamuttassa, natthi soko kuto bhayaṁ.
“Sorrow springs from attachment, fear springs from attachment; one free from attachment has no sorrow, let alone fear.”
Pemato jāyatī soko, pemato jāyatī bhayaṁ; Pemato vippamuttassa, natthi soko kuto bhayaṁ.
“Sorrow springs from relishing, fear springs from relishing; one free from relishing has no sorrow, let alone fear.”
Ratiyā jāyatī soko, ratiyā jāyatī bhayaṁ; Ratiyā vippamuttassa, natthi soko kuto bhayaṁ.
“Sorrow springs from desire, fear springs from desire; one free from desire has no sorrow, let alone fear.”
Kāmato jāyatī soko, kāmato jāyatī bhayaṁ; Kāmato vippamuttassa, natthi soko kuto bhayaṁ.
“Sorrow springs from craving, fear springs from craving; one free from craving has no sorrow, let alone fear.”
Taṇhāya jāyatī soko, taṇhāya jāyatī bhayaṁ; Taṇhāya vippamuttassa, natthi soko kuto bhayaṁ.
“You’re not an astute scholar just because you speak a lot. One who is secure, free of enmity and fear, is said to be astute.”
Na tena paṇḍito hoti, yāvatā bahu bhāsati; Khemī averī abhayo, “paṇḍito”ti pavuccati.
“Cut down the jungle, not just a tree; from the jungle springs fear. Having cut down jungle and snarl, be free of jungles, mendicants!”
Vanaṁ chindatha mā rukkhaṁ, vanato jāyate bhayaṁ; Chetvā vanañca vanathañca, nibbanā hotha bhikkhavo.
“He accrues wickedness and is reborn in a bad place, all so a frightened couple <j>may snatch a moment’s pleasure, for which rulers impose a heavy punishment. That’s why a man should not <j>sleep with another’s wife.”
Apuññalābho ca gatī ca pāpikā, Bhītassa bhītāya ratī ca thokikā; Rājā ca daṇḍaṁ garukaṁ paṇeti, Tasmā naro paradāraṁ na seve.
“One who is confident, unafraid, rid of craving, free of blemish, having struck down the arrows flying to future lives, this bag of bones is their last.”
Niṭṭhaṅgato asantāsī, vītataṇho anaṅgaṇo; Acchindi bhavasallāni, antimoyaṁ samussayo.
Where these verses sit
2. Diligence3. The Mind10. The Rod14. The Buddhas16. The Beloved19. The Just20. The Path22. Hell24. Craving
Most of these verses come from chapter 2, which the book arranges as a short run on one subject rather than as isolated lines. This chapter is built on one opposition: heedfulness and negligence. Its twelve verses return again and again to the claim that the heedful person does not fall where the negligent one does, and it closes with a portrait of the diligent practitioner advancing like fire. Verses 21–23 are the ones usually quoted on death and the deathless.
Questions
What does the Dhammapada say about fear of death?
Verses 129–130 say that all beings tremble at punishment and love their life, which is used as an argument for non-harming rather than as comfort about death. The book’s consolation language sits elsewhere, chiefly in chapter 15.
Which verse is about taking refuge?
Verses 188–192 in the chapter on the Buddhas: many go for refuge to mountains, forests and shrines, but the secure refuge is the Buddha, the teaching and the community.
Is “fear is the mind killer” from the Dhammapada?
No — that line is from Frank Herbert’s novel Dune. Nothing in the Dhammapada corresponds to it.
Read next
Every line on this page is a verse of the Dhammapada, numbered and unaltered. English translation by Bhikkhu Sujato, released CC0 via SuttaCentral; the Pali is the Mahāsaṅgīti edition held there. See sources for the full licence trail.