Dhammapada verse 273
Chapter 20, The Path (Maggavagga) · verses 273–289
“Of paths, the eightfold is the best; of truths, the four statements; dispassion is the best of things, and the Clear-eyed One is the best of humans.”
Maggānaṭṭhaṅgiko seṭṭho, saccānaṁ caturo padā; Virāgo seṭṭho dhammānaṁ, dvipadānañca cakkhumā.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 273 mean?
Verse 273 belongs to chapter 20, The Path (Maggavagga), which gathers verses 273–289 on the path. It is filed under the path. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 272 and verse 274 are part of the same passage.
Seventeen verses on the path, and the most explicitly doctrinal chapter in the book. It presents the eightfold path as the only way and lays out its factors, then insists that the path is something walked rather than admired. It includes the verses on the four noble truths and on the body as a wound that should be seen clearly.
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