Dhammapada verse 159
Chapter 12, The Self (Attavagga) · verses 157–166
“If one were to treat oneself as one instructs another, the well-tamed indeed would tame: for the self, it seems, is hard to tame.”
Attānañce tathā kayirā, yathāññamanusāsati; Sudanto vata dametha, attā hi kira duddamo.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 159 mean?
Verse 159 belongs to chapter 12, The Self (Attavagga), which gathers verses 157–166 on the self as one’s own responsibility. 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 158 and verse 160 are part of the same passage.
Ten verses on the self, understood here as one’s own responsibility rather than a permanent essence. The chapter says the self is the refuge and the self is the thing to train, and it warns against the person who is skilled at correcting others and not at correcting themselves.
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