Dhammapada verse 354
Chapter 24, Craving (Taṇhāvagga) · verses 334–359
“The gift of the teaching surmounts all other gifts; the taste of the teaching surmounts all other tastes; the joy of the teaching surmounts all other joys; the ending of craving surmounts all suffering.”
Sabbadānaṁ dhammadānaṁ jināti, Sabbarasaṁ dhammaraso jināti; Sabbaratiṁ dhammarati jināti, Taṇhakkhayo sabbadukkhaṁ jināti.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 354 mean?
Verse 354 belongs to chapter 24, Craving (Taṇhāvagga), which gathers verses 334–359 on craving. It is filed under craving & attachment, happiness, suffering & grief. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 353 and verse 355 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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