PATIENCE · DHAMMAPADA 227
A Softer Answer
This is an old saying, O Atula, this is not only of to-day: `They blame him who sits silent, they blame him who speaks much, they also blame him who says little; there is no one on earth who is not blamed.
Dhammapada 227 · Chapter 17, Anger · trans. F. Max Müller · Read the full text at Project Gutenberg
Reflection
The verse begins, “This is an old saying, O Atula, this is not only of to-day.” In its chapter, this image points toward meeting anger without becoming anger. It treats speech as an action with consequences, asking for truth and care before a reaction becomes language. Because this is a historic English translation, test the teaching in experience rather than treating its wording as a demand for belief.
Practice prompt
Wait for the heat of one reaction to pass.