Dhammapada verse 155
Chapter 11, Old Age (Jarāvagga) · verses 146–156
“When young they spurned the spiritual path and failed to earn any wealth. Now they brood like old cranes in a pond bereft of fish.”
Acaritvā brahmacariyaṁ, aladdhā yobbane dhanaṁ; Jiṇṇakoñcāva jhāyanti, khīṇamaccheva pallale.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 155 mean?
Verse 155 belongs to chapter 11, Old Age (Jarāvagga), which gathers verses 146–156 on old age. It is filed under the path. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 154 and verse 156 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.
More verses on this