EVERYDAY LIFE · DHAMMAPADA 294

Living the Teaching

A true Brahmana goes scatheless, though he have killed father and mother, and two valiant kings, though he has destroyed a kingdom with all its subjects.

Dhammapada 294 · Chapter 21, Miscellaneous · trans. F. Max Müller · Read the full text at Project Gutenberg

Reflection

The verse begins, “A true Brahmana goes scatheless, though he have killed father and mother, and two valiant kings,….” In its chapter, this image points toward finding the teaching in mixed, everyday circumstances. 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

Leave one place or conversation a little better than you found it.