Dhammapada verse 285
Chapter 20, The Path (Maggavagga) · verses 273–289
“Cut out affection for oneself, like plucking an autumn lotus. Foster only the path to peace, the extinguishment the Holy One taught.”
Ucchinda sinehamattano, Kumudaṁ sāradikaṁva pāṇinā; Santimaggameva brūhaya, Nibbānaṁ sugatena desitaṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 285 mean?
Verse 285 belongs to chapter 20, The Path (Maggavagga), which gathers verses 273–289 on the path. It is filed under self-discipline, the path. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 284 and verse 286 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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