Dhammapada 130

Everyone trembles at the rod

Everyone trembles at the rod; life is dear to everyone. Taking yourself as the measure, do not kill or cause killing.

Translated from the Pāli by Banya

In plain words

Life is dear to others just as it is to you, and beings shrink from violence. The verse makes this shared concern a reason to avoid killing or causing killing.

Key words

piya

dear, cherished — Here what is dear is each being's life.

The story behind the verse

The Band of Six

In the commentary, the commentary again describes the Band of Six and the Band of Seventeen at Jetavana. The Band of Six struck their fellow monks, and the other group responded with threatening gestures. The Buddha heard the resulting outcry, and after learning the cause, he established a rule against threatening gestures. He taught that others tremble at violence just as we do, and he also reminded the monks that life is dear to others, and they should neither kill nor cause killing.

Retold by Banya from the traditional commentary, after E. W. Burlingame, Buddhist Legends (1921).

Explanation by Banya. Traditional readings vary.