Dhammapada verse 264
Chapter 19, The Just (Dhammaṭṭhavagga) · verses 256–272
“A liar and breaker of vows is no ascetic just because they shave their head. How on earth can one be an ascetic who’s full of desire and greed?”
Na muṇḍakena samaṇo, abbato alikaṁ bhaṇaṁ; Icchālobhasamāpanno, samaṇo kiṁ bhavissati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 264 mean?
Verse 264 belongs to chapter 19, The Just (Dhammaṭṭhavagga), which gathers verses 256–272 on what makes a person just. It is filed under craving & attachment. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 263 and verse 265 are part of the same passage.
Seventeen verses on the just person. Most of the chapter is a series of distinctions: you do not become just by passing hasty judgment, by seniority, by eloquence, or by complexion. The chapter defines the just person by what they weigh, not by what they claim.
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