Dhammapada verse 403
Chapter 26, Brahmins (Brāhmaṇavagga) · verses 383–423
“Deep in wisdom, intelligent, expert in the path and what is not the path; arrived at the highest goal: that’s who I declare a brahmin.”
Gambhīrapaññaṁ medhāviṁ, maggāmaggassa kovidaṁ; Uttamatthamanuppattaṁ, tamahaṁ brūmi brāhmaṇaṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 403 mean?
Verse 403 belongs to chapter 26, Brahmins (Brāhmaṇavagga), which gathers verses 383–423 on the true brahmin. It is filed under wisdom & folly, the path. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 402 and verse 404 are part of the same passage.
Forty-one verses on the true brahmin, and the final and longest chapter. Its argument is a sustained redefinition: you are not a brahmin by birth, by hair or by ancestry, but by what you have done and given up. It closes the book by taking the highest title available and handing it to the person who has ended the work.
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