Dhammapada 129
Everyone trembles at the rod
Everyone trembles at the rod; everyone fears death. Taking yourself as the measure, do not kill or cause killing.
Translated from the Pāli by Banya
Pāli
Sabbe tasanti daṇḍassa,
sabbe bhāyanti maccuno;
Attānaṁ upamaṁ katvā,
na haneyya na ghātaye.
In plain words
Your own fear of violence and death offers a way to recognize another being's fear. The verse asks you neither to kill nor to get someone else to kill.
Key words
- ghātaye
- cause killing — The causative includes having killing carried out by another.
The story behind the verse
The Band of Six
In the commentary, at Jetavana, a group known as the Band of Seventeen prepared lodging. Monks of the Band of Six claimed it because they were older, and the first group refused to surrender the lodging they had prepared. The Band of Six struck them, and they cried out in fear, and the Buddha heard the outcry and learned what had happened. He established a rule against monks striking one another, and he taught them to recognize others’ fear of violence and death through their own fear.
Retold by Banya from the traditional commentary, after E. W. Burlingame, Buddhist Legends (1921).
To reflect on
Whose fear might become more visible if you took your own as a comparison?
Try it today
Move one small creature out of your way without killing it.
Practise it with
Compassion (karuṇā)
Explanation by Banya. Traditional readings vary.