Page Text
________________
74
DHAMMAPADA. CHAP. XXII.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE DOWNWARD COURSE.
. 306. He who says what is not, goes to hell; he also who, having done a thing, says I have not done it. After death both are equal, they are men with evil deeds in the next world.
307. Many men whose shoulders are covered with the yellow gown are ill-conditioned and unrestrained; such evil-doers by their evil deeds go to hell.
308. Better it would be to swallow a heated iron ball, like flaring fire, than that a bad unrestrained fellow should live on the charity of the land.
309. Four things does a reckless man gain who covets his neighbour's wife,-a bad reputation, an uncomfortable bed, thirdly, punishment, and lastly, hell.
306. I translate niraya,' the exit, the downward course, the evil path,' by 'hell,' because the meaning assigned to that ancient mythological name by Christian writers comes so near to the Buddhist idea of niraya, that it is difficult not to believe in some actual contact between these two streams of thought. See also Mahâbh. XII, 7176. Cf. Gâtaka, vol. ii. p. 416; Suttanipata, v. 660.
307, 308. These two verses are said to be taken from the Vinayapitaka I, 4, 1; D'Alwis, Nirvâna, p. 29.
308. The charity of the land, i.e. the alms given, from a sense of religious duty, to every mendicant that asks for it.
309, 310. The four things mentioned in verse 309 seem to be repeated in verse 310. Therefore, apuññalabha, bad fame,' is the same in both: gatî pâpikâ must be niraya; danda must be ninda, and ratî thokikâ explains the anikâmaseyyam. Buddhaghosa
Digitized by Google
| SR No. | 007674 |
| Book Title | Dhammapada |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Max Muller |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1881 |
| Total Pages | 2540 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 45 MB |