Dhammapada verse 269
Chapter 19, The Just (Dhammaṭṭhavagga) · verses 256–272
“and shunning the bad— that is a sage, <j>and that is how one becomes a sage. One who sagely weighs both in the world, is thereby said to be a sage.”
Pāpāni parivajjeti, sa munī tena so muni; Yo munāti ubho loke, “muni” tena pavuccati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 269 mean?
Verse 269 belongs to chapter 19, The Just (Dhammaṭṭhavagga), which gathers verses 256–272 on what makes a person just. It is filed under the buddha & teachers. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 268 and verse 270 are part of the same passage.
Seventeen verses on the just person. Most of the chapter is a series of distinctions: you do not become just by passing hasty judgment, by seniority, by eloquence, or by complexion. The chapter defines the just person by what they weigh, not by what they claim.
More verses on this