Dhammapada verse 252
Chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga) · verses 235–255
“It’s easy to see the faults of others, hard to see one’s own. For the faults of others are tossed high like hay, while one’s own are hidden, as a cheat hides a bad hand.”
Sudassaṁ vajjamaññesaṁ, attano pana duddasaṁ; Paresaṁ hi so vajjāni, opunāti yathā bhusaṁ; Attano pana chādeti, kaliṁva kitavā saṭho.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 252 mean?
Verse 252 belongs to chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga), which gathers verses 235–255 on stains and their removal. 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 251 and verse 253 are part of the same passage.
Twenty-one verses on stains — the defilements as dirt on a surface that can be cleaned. The chapter lists the specific stains it means, including hardness, carelessness, deceit and jealousy, and it treats purity not as innocence but as the result of scrubbing.