Dhammapada verse 143
Chapter 10, The Rod (Daṇḍavagga) · verses 129–145
“Can a person constrained by conscience be found in the world? Who shies away from blame, like a fine horse from the whip?”
Hirīnisedho puriso, koci lokasmi vijjati; Yo niddaṁ apabodheti, asso bhadro kasāmiva.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 143 mean?
Verse 143 belongs to chapter 10, The Rod (Daṇḍavagga), which gathers verses 129–145 on the rod, and not harming. It is filed under no theme. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 142 and verse 144 are part of the same passage.
Seventeen verses on the rod, meaning punishment and harm. It opens with the line that all tremble at the rod and love their life, and from that derives the instruction to treat others as oneself. Later verses hold the person who answers harm with harm and the person who stills themselves like a broken gong.