Dhammapada verse 391
Chapter 26, Brahmins (Brāhmaṇavagga) · verses 383–423
“Who does nothing wrong by body, speech or mind, restrained in these three respects, that’s who I declare a brahmin.”
Yassa kāyena vācāya, manasā natthi dukkaṭaṁ; Saṁvutaṁ tīhi ṭhānehi, tamahaṁ brūmi brāhmaṇaṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 391 mean?
Verse 391 belongs to chapter 26, Brahmins (Brāhmaṇavagga), which gathers verses 383–423 on the true brahmin. It is filed under mind & intention, self-discipline, speech. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 390 and verse 392 are part of the same passage.
Forty-one verses on the true brahmin, and the final and longest chapter. Its argument is a sustained redefinition: you are not a brahmin by birth, by hair or by ancestry, but by what you have done and given up. It closes the book by taking the highest title available and handing it to the person who has ended the work.
More verses on this