Dhammapada verse 206
Chapter 15, Happiness (Sukhavagga) · verses 197–208
“It’s good to see the noble ones, staying with them is always good. Were you not to see fools, you’d always be happy.”
Sāhu dassanamariyānaṁ, sannivāso sadā sukho; Adassanena bālānaṁ, niccameva sukhī siyā.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 206 mean?
Verse 206 belongs to chapter 15, Happiness (Sukhavagga), which gathers verses 197–208 on happiness. It is filed under wisdom & folly, happiness. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 205 and verse 207 are part of the same passage.
Twelve verses on happiness, and on where it is said to come from. The chapter is explicit that the happiness it means is not the happiness of acquisition: it is the happiness of one who has given up, who is free of fever, and it repeatedly sets that against the delight of people who are still tied to what they cling to.
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