Dhammapada verse 161
Chapter 12, The Self (Attavagga) · verses 157–166
“For the evil that is done by oneself, born and produced in oneself, grinds down a simpleton, as diamond grinds a lesser gem.”
Attanā hi kataṁ pāpaṁ, Attajaṁ attasambhavaṁ; Abhimatthati dummedhaṁ, Vajiraṁvasmamayaṁ maṇiṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 161 mean?
Verse 161 belongs to chapter 12, The Self (Attavagga), which gathers verses 157–166 on the self as one’s own responsibility. It is filed under good & evil, self-discipline. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 160 and verse 162 are part of the same passage.
Ten verses on the self, understood here as one’s own responsibility rather than a permanent essence. The chapter says the self is the refuge and the self is the thing to train, and it warns against the person who is skilled at correcting others and not at correcting themselves.
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