Dhammapada verse 255
Chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga) · verses 235–255
“In the atmosphere there is no track, there’s no true ascetic outside here. No conditions last forever, the Awakened Ones are not shaken.”
Ākāseva padaṁ natthi, samaṇo natthi bāhire; Saṅkhārā sassatā natthi, natthi buddhānamiñjitaṁ. Malavaggo aṭṭhārasamo.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 255 mean?
Verse 255 belongs to chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga), which gathers verses 235–255 on stains and their removal. It is filed under the buddha & teachers. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 254 and verse 256 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.
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