PATIENCE · DHAMMAPADA 223

Strength Without Harshness

Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good; let him overcome the greedy by liberality, the liar by truth!

Dhammapada 223 · Chapter 17, Anger · trans. F. Max Müller · Read the full text at Project Gutenberg

Reflection

The verse begins, “Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good.” In its chapter, this image points toward meeting anger without becoming anger. The practical question is whether replaying injury protects you or keeps the injury active. Because this is a historic English translation, test the teaching in experience rather than treating its wording as a demand for belief.

Practice prompt

What would strength without harshness look like here?