Dhammapada verse 265
Chapter 19, The Just (Dhammaṭṭhavagga) · verses 256–272
“One who stops all wicked deeds, great and small, because of stopping wicked deeds is said to be an ascetic.”
Yo ca sameti pāpāni, aṇuṁthūlāni sabbaso; Samitattā hi pāpānaṁ, “samaṇo”ti pavuccati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 265 mean?
Verse 265 belongs to chapter 19, The Just (Dhammaṭṭhavagga), which gathers verses 256–272 on what makes a person just. It is filed under good & evil. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 264 and verse 266 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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