COMPASSION · DHAMMAPADA 145

Speech That Leaves No Wound

Well-makers lead the water (wherever they like); fletchers bend the arrow; carpenters bend a log of wood; good people fashion themselves.

Dhammapada 145 · Chapter 10, Punishment · trans. F. Max Müller · Read the full text at Project Gutenberg

Reflection

The verse begins, “Well-makers lead the water (wherever they like).” In its chapter, this image points toward recognizing that other beings fear pain as we do. The water imagery emphasizes accumulation: a mind and a life are shaped by many small conditions, not one dramatic moment. Because this is a historic English translation, test the teaching in experience rather than treating its wording as a demand for belief.

Practice prompt

Notice the shared human wish beneath a disagreement.