Dhammapada verse 340
Chapter 24, Craving (Taṇhāvagga) · verses 334–359
“The streams flow everywhere; a weed springs up and remains. Seeing this weed that has been born, cut the root with wisdom.”
Savanti sabbadhi sotā, latā uppajja tiṭṭhati; Tañca disvā lataṁ jātaṁ, mūlaṁ paññāya chindatha.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 340 mean?
Verse 340 belongs to chapter 24, Craving (Taṇhāvagga), which gathers verses 334–359 on craving. It is filed under wisdom & folly. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 339 and verse 341 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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