Dhammapada verse 134
Chapter 10, The Rod (Daṇḍavagga) · verses 129–145
“If you still yourself like a broken gong, you reach extinguishment and know no conflict.”
Sace neresi attānaṁ, kaṁso upahato yathā; Esa pattosi nibbānaṁ, sārambho te na vijjati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 134 mean?
Verse 134 belongs to chapter 10, The Rod (Daṇḍavagga), which gathers verses 129–145 on the rod, and not harming. It is filed under self-discipline. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 133 and verse 135 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.
More verses on this