Dhammapada verse 188
Chapter 14, The Buddhas (Buddhavagga) · verses 179–196
“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.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 188 mean?
Verse 188 belongs to chapter 14, The Buddhas (Buddhavagga), which gathers verses 179–196 on the Buddhas and the awakened. It is filed under no theme. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 187 and verse 189 are part of the same passage.
Eighteen verses on the Buddhas, the awakened, and what makes a teacher worth following. It is the chapter that gives the famous line about not doing evil, doing good and purifying the mind, and it treats the awakened person as the one case in which a teacher is beyond reproach.