Dhammapada verse 50
Chapter 4, Flowers (Pupphavagga) · verses 44–59
“Don’t find fault with others, with what they’ve done or left undone. You should only watch yourself, what you’ve done or left undone.”
Na paresaṁ vilomāni, na paresaṁ katākataṁ; Attanova avekkheyya, katāni akatāni ca.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 50 mean?
Verse 50 belongs to chapter 4, Flowers (Pupphavagga), which gathers verses 44–59 on flowers, and what they stand for. It is filed under self-discipline. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 49 and verse 51 are part of the same passage.
Sixteen verses that use flowers as their working image — garlands made from a heap, a blossom that falls, a fragrance that travels with the wind or does not. The chapter moves from that image to speech, to the person who gathers what is worth gathering, and to the end of the body. It also holds the verse on knowing the body as foam and a mirage.
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