MINDFULNESS · DHAMMAPADA 184
Remembering What Matters
The Awakened call patience the highest penance, long-suffering the highest Nirvana; for he is not an anchorite (pravragita) who strikes others, he is not an ascetic (sramana) who insults others.
Dhammapada 184 · Chapter 14, The Buddha (The Awakened) · trans. F. Max Müller · Read the full text at Project Gutenberg
Reflection
The verse begins, “The Awakened call patience the highest penance, long-suffering the highest Nirvana.” In its chapter, this image points toward awakening as a lived discipline. Its value is practical when it changes how you meet one choice, relationship, or difficult feeling today. 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 might remembering your intention change the next hour?