ETHICS · DHAMMAPADA 118

Choosing What Does No Harm

If a man does what is good, let him do it again; let him delight in it: happiness is the outcome of good.

Dhammapada 118 · Chapter 9, Evil · trans. F. Max Müller · Read the full text at Project Gutenberg

Reflection

The verse begins, “If a man does what is good, let him do it again.” In its chapter, this image points toward the cumulative direction of repeated choices. Read goodness here as a trainable direction—choices that reduce harm and leave less residue of regret. Because this is a historic English translation, test the teaching in experience rather than treating its wording as a demand for belief.

Practice prompt

Where can you reduce harm in a practical way?