Dhammapada 221

Give up anger

Give up anger; let go of conceit; go beyond every fetter. Suffering does not follow one who does not cling to mind and body, who has nothing.

Translated from the Pāli by Banya

In plain words

The verse asks for release from anger, conceit, and every binding attachment. It describes not clinging to mind and body; having nothing may refer to possessions or to what is held onto.

Key words

māna

conceit — Concern with one's standing or superiority, distinct from simple confidence.

nāmarūpa

mind and body — Literally name-and-form; the verse concerns not clinging to them.

The story behind the verse

How anger marred a maiden’s looks

In the commentary, Anuruddha visited his family at Kapilavatthu. His sister Rohinī stayed indoors because of a skin eruption, and he asked her to come and advised her to support the building of an assembly hall. She sold an ornament and arranged the work, and she later hosted the Buddha and the monks. The Buddha related her affliction to a former life in which jealousy had led her to harm a dancer, and the commentary says her generosity bore fruit and she was later reborn among the gods.

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

Explanation by Banya. Traditional readings vary.