Dhammapada verse 86
Chapter 6, The Astute (Paṇḍitavagga) · verses 76–89
“When the teaching is well explained, the people who practice accordingly will cross over Death’s dominion so hard to pass.”
Ye ca kho sammadakkhāte, dhamme dhammānuvattino; Te janā pāramessanti, maccudheyyaṁ suduttaraṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 86 mean?
Verse 86 belongs to chapter 6, The Astute (Paṇḍitavagga), which gathers verses 76–89 on the astute. It is filed under impermanence & death, the path. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 85 and verse 87 are part of the same passage.
The astute, the discerning, the one worth following, in fourteen verses. It balances the previous chapter: the wise person is described as one who advises, instructs and steers others away from harm, and the chapter includes the instruction not to keep company with the worst but to keep company with good friends.
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