PATIENCE · DHAMMAPADA 224

Meeting Anger With Space

Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for little; by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods.

Dhammapada 224 · Chapter 17, Anger · trans. F. Max Müller · Read the full text at Project Gutenberg

Reflection

The verse begins, “Speak the truth, do not yield to anger.” 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

Let one delay be a place to practice rather than a theft of time.