Dhammapada verse 254
Chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga) · verses 235–255
“In the atmosphere there is no track, there’s no true ascetic outside here. People enjoy proliferation, the Realized Ones are free of proliferation.”
Ākāseva padaṁ natthi, samaṇo natthi bāhire; Papañcābhiratā pajā, nippapañcā tathāgatā.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 254 mean?
Verse 254 belongs to chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga), which gathers verses 235–255 on stains and their removal. It is filed under happiness. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 253 and verse 255 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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