Dhammapada verse 39
Chapter 3, The Mind (Cittavagga) · verses 33–43
“One whose mind is not festering, whose heart is undamaged, who’s given up right and wrong, alert, has nothing to fear.”
Anavassutacittassa, ananvāhatacetaso; Puññapāpapahīnassa, natthi jāgarato bhayaṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 39 mean?
Verse 39 belongs to chapter 3, The Mind (Cittavagga), which gathers verses 33–43 on the mind and its taming. It is filed under mind & intention, giving & merit. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 38 and verse 40 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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