Dhammapada verse 144
Chapter 10, The Rod (Daṇḍavagga) · verses 129–145
“Like a fine horse under the whip, be keen and full of urgency. With faith, ethics, and energy, immersion, and investigation of principles, accomplished in knowledge and conduct, mindful, give up this vast suffering.”
Asso yathā bhadro kasāniviṭṭho, Ātāpino saṁvegino bhavātha; Saddhāya sīlena ca vīriyena ca, Samādhinā dhammavinicchayena ca; Sampannavijjācaraṇā patissatā, Jahissatha dukkhamidaṁ anappakaṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 144 mean?
Verse 144 belongs to chapter 10, The Rod (Daṇḍavagga), which gathers verses 129–145 on the rod, and not harming. It is filed under mind & intention, suffering & grief, giving & merit. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 143 and verse 145 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