Dhammapada verse 281
Chapter 20, The Path (Maggavagga) · verses 273–289
“Guarded in speech, restrained in mind, doing no unskillful bodily deed. Purify these three ways of performing deeds, and win the path known to seers.”
Vācānurakkhī manasā susaṁvuto, Kāyena ca nākusalaṁ kayirā; Ete tayo kammapathe visodhaye, Ārādhaye maggamisippaveditaṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 281 mean?
Verse 281 belongs to chapter 20, The Path (Maggavagga), which gathers verses 273–289 on the path. It is filed under mind & intention, self-discipline, speech, the path, purity & stains. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 280 and verse 282 are part of the same passage.
Seventeen verses on the path, and the most explicitly doctrinal chapter in the book. It presents the eightfold path as the only way and lays out its factors, then insists that the path is something walked rather than admired. It includes the verses on the four noble truths and on the body as a wound that should be seen clearly.
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