Dhammapada Verses 231, 232, 233 and 234
Chabbaggiya Vatthu

Kayappakopam rakkheyya
kayena sambyuto siya
kayaduccaritam hitva
kayena sucaritam care.

Vacipakopam rakkheyya
vacaya samvuto siya
vaciduccaritam hitva
vacaya sucaritam care.

Manopakopam rakkheyya
manasa samvuto siya
manoduccaritam hitva
manasa sucaritam care.

Kayena samvuta dhira
atho vacaya sambuta
manasa samvuta dhira
te ye suparisamvuta.

Verse 231: Guard against evil deeds, control your body. Giving up evil deeds, cultivate good deeds.

Verse 232: Guard against evil speech, control your speech. Giving up evil speech, cultivate good speech.

Verse 233: Guard against evil thoughts, control your mind. Giving up evil thoughts, cultivate good thoughts.

Verse 234: The wise are controlled in deed, they are controlled in speech, they are controlled in thought. Indeed, they are perfectly self-controlled.

The Story of a Group of Six Bhikkhus

While residing at the Veluvana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verses (231) to (234) of this book, with reference to a group of six bhikkhus.

Six bhikkhus wearing wooden sandals, and each holding a staff with both hands, were walking to and fro on a big stone slab, making much noise. The Buddha hearing the noises asked Thera Ananda what was going on, and Thera Ananda told him about the six bhikkhus. The Buddha then prohibited the bhikkhus from wearing wooden sandals. He further exhorted the bhikkhus to restrain themselves both in words and deeds.

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:

Verse 231: Guard against evil deeds, control your body. Giving up evil deeds, cultivate good deeds.


Verse 232: Guard against evil speech, control your speech. Giving up evil speech, cultivate good speech.


Verse 233: Guard against evil thoughts, control your mind. Giving up evil thoughts, cultivate good thoughts.


Verse 234: The wise are controlled in deed, they are controlled in speech, they are controlled in thought. Indeed, they are perfectly self-controlled.

End of Chapter Seventeen: Anger (Kodhavagga)


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Wat asokaram Buddhist white temple, Tambon Thai Ban, on Sukhumvit road, Bangkok, Thailand. Phra Ajahn Lee Dhammadaro is enshrined in this temple.

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The Basic Method of Meditation
By Ajahn Brahmavamso

The Basic Method of Meditation by Ajahn Brahm is a classic introduction and overview introducing new meditators to the terrain of the mind that they will encounter as they develop the successive stages of meditation.

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Dhammapada Verses 235, 236, 237 and 238
Goghatakaputta Vatthu

Pandupalasova danisi
yamapurisapi ca te upatthita
uyyogamukhe1 ca titthasi
patheyyampi ca te na vijjati.

So karohi dipamattano
khippam vayama pandito bhava
niddhantamalo anangano
dibbam ariyabhumim2 upehisi.

Upanitavayo ca danisi
sampayatosi yamassa santikam
vase te natthi antara
patheyyampi ca te na vijjati.

So karohi dipamattano
khippam vayama pandito bhava
niddhantamalo anangano
na punam jatijaram upehisi.

Verse 235: You are now like a withered leaf; the messengers of death are near you; you are about to set out on a long journey; (yet), you have no provisions (for the journey).

Verse 236: Make a firm support for yourself; hasten to strive hard, and be wise. Having removed impurities and being free from moral defilements you shall enter the abodes of the Ariyas (i.e., Suddhavasa brahma realm).

Verse 237: Now you are of advanced age; you are going to the presence of the King of Death and you cannot stop on the way; (yet) you have no provisions (for the journey).

Verse 238: Make a firm support for yourself; hasten to strive hard, and be wise. Having removed impurities and being free from moral defilements you will no longer be subject to rebirth and decay.

1. uyyogamukhe: lit., about to set out on a long journey, i.e., the journey of samsara.

2. dibbam ariyabhumim: the celestial plane of the ariyas. The reference is to the Suddhavasa brahma realm or the Pure Abodes which are exclusively inhabited by tbe anagamis (the Never-Returners).

The Story of the Son of a Butcher

While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verses (235) to (238) of this book, with reference to the son of a butcher.

Once in Savatthi, there was a man who had been a butcher for fifty-five years. All this time, he slaughtered cattle and sold the meat and everyday he took meat curry with his rice. One day, he left some meat with his wife to cook it for the family, and then left for the riverside to have his bath. During his absence, a friend coaxed his wife to sell that particular piece of meat to him. As a result, there was no meat curry for the butcher on that day. But as the butcher never took his meal without meat curry, he hurriedly went to the back of his house, where an ox was standing. He promptly cut off the tongue of the ox and baked it over a fire. When having his meal, the butcher had a bite of the tongue of the ox, but as he did so his own tongue was cut off and fell into his plate of rice. Thus the ox and the butcher were in the same plight, both of them having had their tongues cut off. The butcher was in great pain and agony, and he went about agitatedly on his knees, with blood dripping profusely from his mouth. Then the butcher died and was reborn in the Avici Niraya.

The butcher's wife was greatly disturbed and she was anxious for her son to get away to some other place, lest this evil should befall him too. So she sent her son to Taxila. At Taxila, he acquired the art of a goldsmith. Later, he married the daughter of his master and some children were born to them. When their sons came of age he returned to Savatthi. The sons were endowed with faith in the Buddha and were religiously inclined. They were anxious about their father, who had grown old with no thought of religion or of his future existence. So one day, they invited the Buddha and the bhikkhus to their house for alms-food. After the meal they said to the Buddha, "Venerable Sir, we are making this offering to you today on behalf of our father. Kindly give a discourse specially for him." So the Buddha said, "My disciple! You are getting old; but you have not made any provisions of merit for your journey to the next existence; you should now find a support for yourself."

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:

Verse 235: You are now like a withered leaf; the messengers of death are near you; you are about to set out on a long journey; (yet), you have no provisions (for the journey).


Verse 236: Make a firm support for yourself; hasten to strive hard, and be wise. Having removed impurities and being free from moral defilements you shall enter the abodes of the Ariyas (i.e., Suddhavasa brahma realm).


Verse 237: Now you are of advanced age; you are going to the presence of the King of Death and you cannot stop on the way; (yet) you have no provisions (for the journey).


Verse 238: Make a firm support for yourself; hasten to strive hard, and be wise. Having removed impurities and being free from moral defilements you will no longer be subject to rebirth and decay.

At the end of the discourse the father of the donors of alms-food (i.e., the son of the butcher) attained Anagami Fruition.


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Fear of Silence

While we can connect to others more readily than ever before, are we losing our connection to body and mind? A Zen master thinks so, and offers a nourishing conscious breathing practice as a remedy.
By Thich Nhat Hanh

I have the impression that many of us are afraid of silence. We’re always taking in something—text, music, radio, television, or thoughts—to occupy the space. If quiet and space are so important for our happiness, why don’t we make more room for them in our lives.

One of my longtime students has a partner who is very kind, a good listener, and not overly talkative; but at home her partner always needs to have the radio or TV on, and he likes a newspaper in front of him while he sits and eats his breakfast.

I know a woman whose daughter loved to go to sitting meditation at the local Zen temple and encouraged her to give it a try. The daughter told her, “It’s really easy, Mom. You don’t have to sit on the floor; there are chairs available. You don’t have to do anything at all. We just sit quietly.” Very truthfully the woman replied, “I think I’m afraid to do that.”

We can feel lonely even when we’re surrounded by many people. We are lonely together. There is a vacuum inside us. We don’t feel comfortable with that vacuum, so we try to fill it up or make it go away. Technology supplies us with many devices that allow us to “stay connected.” These days, we are always “connected,” but we continue to feel lonely. We check incoming e-mail and social media sites multiple times a day. We e-mail or post one message after another. We want to share; we want to receive. We busy ourselves all day long in an effort to connect.

What are we so afraid of? We may feel an inner void, a sense of isolation, of sorrow, of restlessness. We may feel desolate and unloved. We may feel that we lack something important. Some of these feelings are very old and have been with us always, underneath all our doing and our thinking. Having plenty of stimuli makes it easy for us to distract ourselves from what we’re feeling. But when there is silence, all these things present themselves clearly.

Practice: Nourishing

When feeling lonely or anxious, most of us have the habit of looking for distractions, which often leads to some form of unwholesome consumption—whether eating a snack in the absence of hunger, mindlessly surfing the Internet, going on a drive, or reading. Conscious breathing is a good way to nourish body and mind with mindfulness. After a mindful breath or two, you may have less desire to fill yourself up or distract yourself. Your body and mind come back together and both are nourished by your mindfulness of breathing. Your breath will naturally grow more relaxed and help the tension in your body to be released.

Coming back to conscious breathing will give you a nourishing break. It will also make your mindfulness stronger, so when you want to look into your anxiety or other emotions you’ll have the calm and concentration to be able to do so.

Guided meditation has been practiced since the time of the Buddha. You can practice the following exercise when you sit or walk. In sitting meditation, it’s important for you to be comfortable and for your spine to be straight and relaxed. You can sit on a cushion with your legs crossed or on a chair with your feet flat on the floor. With the first in-breath, say the first line of the meditation below silently to yourself, and with the out-breath say the second line. With the following in-and out-breaths, you can use just the key words.

Breathing in, I know I’m breathing in.
Breathing out, I know I’m breathing out.
(In. Out.)

Breathing in, my breath grows deep.
Breathing out, my breath grows slow.
(Deep. Slow.)

Breathing in, I’m aware of my body.
Breathing out, I calm my body.
(Aware of body. Calming.)

Breathing in, I smile.
Breathing out, I release.
(Smile. Release.)

Breathing in, I dwell in the present moment.
Breathing out, I enjoy the present moment.
(Present moment. Enjoy.)

From Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise by Thich Nhat Hanh.
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Thich Nhat Hanh (1926–2022) was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, author, and peace activist who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr.

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“Mendicants, there are eight causes and reasons that lead to acquiring the wisdom fundamental to the spiritual life, and to its increase, growth, and full development once it has been acquired. What eight?

1. It’s when a mendicant lives relying on the Teacher or a spiritual companion in a teacher’s role. And they set up a keen sense of conscience and prudence for them, with warmth and respect. This is the first cause.

2. When a mendicant lives relying on the Teacher or a spiritual companion in a teacher’s role—with a keen sense of conscience and prudence for them, with warmth and respect—from time to time they go and ask them questions: ‘Why, sir, does it say this? What does that mean?’ Those venerables clarify what is unclear, reveal what is obscure, and dispel doubt regarding the many doubtful matters. This is the second cause.

Partial excerpts from AN 8.2 Paññāsutta: Wisdom

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Inspiration from Enlightened Nuns - Therigatha
By Susan Elbaum Jootla

On this booklet we will be exploring poems composed by the arahant bhikkhunis or enlightened Buddhist nuns of old, looking at these poems as springs of inspiration for contemporary Buddhists.

Most of the poems we will consider come from the Therigatha, a small section of the vast Pali Canon. The Therigatha has been published twice in English translation by the Pali Text Society, London: first in 1909 (reprinted in 1980) by C. A. R. Rhys Davids in verse under the noscript Psalms of the Early Buddhists: The Sisters; and second in 1971 by K. R. Norman in prose under the noscript The Elders’ Verses, II. We have used quotations from both translations here, referring to Psalms of the Early Buddhists by page number and to The Elders’ Verses by verse number. Mrs. Rhys Davids’ translations have sometimes been slightly modified. Our discussion will also draw upon the verses of bhikkhunis from the Samyutta Nikaya (Kindred Sayings), included by Mrs. Rhys Davids at the end of Psalms of the Sisters

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Dhammapada Verse 239
Annatara brahmana Vatthu

Anupubbena medhavi
thokam thokam khane khane
kammaro rajatasseva
niddhame malamattano.

Verse 239: By degrees, little by little, from moment to moment a wise man removes his own impurities (moral defilements), as a smith removes the dross of silver or gold.

The Story of a Brahmin

While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (239) of this book, with reference to a brahmin.

Once, a brahmin saw a group of bhikkhus re-arranging their robes as they were preparing to enter the city for alms-food. While he was looking, he found that the robes of some of the bhikkhus touched the ground and got wet because of dew on the grass. So he cleared that patch of ground. The next day, he found that as the robes of the bhikkhus touched bare ground, the robes got dirty. So he covered that patch of ground with sand. Then again, he observed that the bhikkhus would sweat when the sun was shining and that they got wet when it was raining. So finally, he built a rest house for the bhikkhus at the place where they gathered before entering the city for alms-food.

When the building was finished, he invited the Buddha and the bhikkhus for alms-food. The brahmin explained to the Buddha how he had performed this meritorious deed step by step. To him the Buddha replied "O Brahmin! The wise perform their acts of merit little by little, and gradually and constantly they remove the impurities of moral defilements."

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 239: By degrees, little by little, from moment to moment a wise man removes his own impurities (moral defilements), as a smith removes the dross of silver or gold.

At the end of the discourse the brahmin attained Sotapatti Fruition.


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