Dhammapada verse 49
Chapter 4, Flowers (Pupphavagga) · verses 44–59
“A bee takes the nectar and moves on, doing no damage to the flower’s beauty and fragrance; and that’s how a sage should walk in the village.”
Yathāpi bhamaro pupphaṁ, vaṇṇagandhamaheṭhayaṁ; Paleti rasamādāya, evaṁ gāme munī care.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 49 mean?
Verse 49 belongs to chapter 4, Flowers (Pupphavagga), which gathers verses 44–59 on flowers, and what they stand for. It is filed under the buddha & teachers. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 48 and verse 50 are part of the same passage.
Sixteen verses that use flowers as their working image — garlands made from a heap, a blossom that falls, a fragrance that travels with the wind or does not. The chapter moves from that image to speech, to the person who gathers what is worth gathering, and to the end of the body. It also holds the verse on knowing the body as foam and a mirage.
More verses on this