Dhammapada verse 34
Chapter 3, The Mind (Cittavagga) · verses 33–43
“Like a fish pulled from the sea and cast upon the shore, this mind flounders about, trying to throw off Māra’s dominion.”
Vārijova thale khitto, okamokataubbhato; Pariphandatidaṁ cittaṁ, māradheyyaṁ pahātave.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 34 mean?
Verse 34 belongs to chapter 3, The Mind (Cittavagga), which gathers verses 33–43 on the mind and its taming. It is filed under mind & intention. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 33 and verse 35 are part of the same passage.
Eleven verses on the mind, which the chapter describes as hard to hold back, flighty, subtle, and quick to alight wherever it will. The argument is not that the mind should be stopped but that it should be tamed: a guarded mind brings happiness, and a wrongly directed mind does more harm than an enemy. It is the shortest chapter in the book after the one on the perfected.
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