Dhammapada verse 345
Chapter 24, Craving (Taṇhāvagga) · verses 334–359
“The attentive say that shackle is not strong that’s made of iron, wood, or knots. But obsession with jeweled earrings, concern for your partners and children:”
Na taṁ daḷhaṁ bandhanamāhu dhīrā, Yadāyasaṁ dārujapabbajañca; Sārattarattā maṇikuṇḍalesu, Puttesu dāresu ca yā apekkhā.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 345 mean?
Verse 345 belongs to chapter 24, Craving (Taṇhāvagga), which gathers verses 334–359 on craving. It is filed under no theme. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 344 and verse 346 are part of the same passage.
Twenty-six verses on craving, and the longest sustained passage in the book. The image is thirst, then a creeper that spreads by night, then the house-builder who builds again and again until the rafters are broken. The chapter is the one most directly concerned with the mechanism by which the self renews its own difficulty.