Dhammapada verse 129
Chapter 10, The Rod (Daṇḍavagga) · verses 129–145
“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.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 129 mean?
Verse 129 belongs to chapter 10, The Rod (Daṇḍavagga), which gathers verses 129–145 on the rod, and not harming. It is filed under impermanence & death, self-discipline. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 128 and verse 130 are part of the same passage.
Seventeen verses on the rod, meaning punishment and harm. It opens with the line that all tremble at the rod and love their life, and from that derives the instruction to treat others as oneself. Later verses hold the person who answers harm with harm and the person who stills themselves like a broken gong.
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