Dhammapada verse 37
Chapter 3, The Mind (Cittavagga) · verses 33–43
“The mind travels far, wandering alone; incorporeal, it lies hidden in the heart. Those who will restrain the mind are freed from Māra’s bonds.”
Dūraṅgamaṁ ekacaraṁ, asarīraṁ guhāsayaṁ; Ye cittaṁ saṁyamissanti, mokkhanti mārabandhanā.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 37 mean?
Verse 37 belongs to chapter 3, The Mind (Cittavagga), which gathers verses 33–43 on the mind and its taming. It is filed under mind & intention, self-discipline. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 36 and verse 38 are part of the same passage.
Eleven verses on the mind, which the chapter describes as hard to hold back, flighty, subtle, and quick to alight wherever it will. The argument is not that the mind should be stopped but that it should be tamed: a guarded mind brings happiness, and a wrongly directed mind does more harm than an enemy. It is the shortest chapter in the book after the one on the perfected.
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