Dhammapada verse 146
Chapter 11, Old Age (Jarāvagga) · verses 146–156
“What is joy, what is laughter, when the flames are ever burning? Swathed in darkness, would you not seek a light?”
Ko nu hāso kimānando, niccaṁ pajjalite sati; Andhakārena onaddhā, padīpaṁ na gavesatha.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 146 mean?
Verse 146 belongs to chapter 11, Old Age (Jarāvagga), which gathers verses 146–156 on old age. It is filed under happiness. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 145 and verse 147 are part of the same passage.
Eleven verses on old age. Its images are the body as a city built of bones and plastered with flesh, and old age and death driving life the way a cowherd drives cattle. The chapter is not only lament: it also contains the verses telling the reader to make an island of themselves and strive while there is time.
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