Dhammapada verse 371
Chapter 25, Mendicants (Bhikkhuvagga) · verses 360–382
“Practice absorption, don’t be negligent! Don’t let the mind delight in the senses! Don’t heedlessly swallow a hot iron ball! And when it burns, don’t cry, “Oh, the pain!””
Jhāya bhikkhu mā pamādo, Mā te kāmaguṇe ramessu cittaṁ; Mā lohaguḷaṁ gilī pamatto, Mā kandi “dukkhamidan”ti dayhamāno.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 371 mean?
Verse 371 belongs to chapter 25, Mendicants (Bhikkhuvagga), which gathers verses 360–382 on the mendicant’s day. It is filed under mind & intention, suffering & grief, the path. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 370 and verse 372 are part of the same passage.
Twenty-three verses on the mendicant, meaning the monastic practitioner, and much of it is practical: restraint in the body, in speech and at the bowl, and contentment with what is giving. The chapter has less doctrine than chapter 24 and more description of how a day of practice is arranged.
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