Dhammapada verse 243
Chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga) · verses 235–255
“But a worse stain than these is ignorance, the worst stain of all. Having given up that stain, be without stains, mendicants!”
Tato malā malataraṁ, avijjā paramaṁ malaṁ; Etaṁ malaṁ pahantvāna, nimmalā hotha bhikkhavo.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 243 mean?
Verse 243 belongs to chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga), which gathers verses 235–255 on stains and their removal. It is filed under wisdom & folly, purity & stains, giving & merit. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 242 and verse 244 are part of the same passage.
Twenty-one verses on stains — the defilements as dirt on a surface that can be cleaned. The chapter lists the specific stains it means, including hardness, carelessness, deceit and jealousy, and it treats purity not as innocence but as the result of scrubbing.
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