Dhammapada verse 338
Chapter 24, Craving (Taṇhāvagga) · verses 334–359
“A tree grows back even when cut down, so long as its roots are strong and undamaged; suffering springs up again and again, so long as the tendency to craving is not pulled out.”
Yathāpi mūle anupaddave daḷhe, Chinnopi rukkho punareva rūhati; Evampi taṇhānusaye anūhate, Nibbattatī dukkhamidaṁ punappunaṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 338 mean?
Verse 338 belongs to chapter 24, Craving (Taṇhāvagga), which gathers verses 334–359 on craving. It is filed under craving & attachment, suffering & grief. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 337 and verse 339 are part of the same passage.
Twenty-six verses on craving, and the longest sustained passage in the book. The image is thirst, then a creeper that spreads by night, then the house-builder who builds again and again until the rafters are broken. The chapter is the one most directly concerned with the mechanism by which the self renews its own difficulty.
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