Dhammapada 338
As a tree, even cut down, grows again if its root remains strong and unharmed, so, if the underlying…
As a tree, even cut down, grows again if its root remains strong and unharmed, so, if the underlying craving is not uprooted, this suffering arises again and again.
Translated from the Pāli by Banya
Pāli
Yathāpi mūle anupaddave daḷhe,
Chinnopi rukkho punareva rūhati;
Evampi taṇhānusaye anūhate,
Nibbattatī dukkhamidaṁ punappunaṁ.
In plain words
Cutting down a tree does not stop it growing again if the root survives. Likewise, suffering returns while the underlying tendency to crave remains, so removing only the visible expression is not the whole work.
Key words
- taṇhānusaya
- underlying tendency to craving — A latent tendency, not merely one visible habit.
The story behind the verse
The young sow
In the commentary, the Buddha saw a young sow while walking, and Ānanda asked about his smile, and he described the animal’s earlier lives. The being had once been a hen, then a princess, and the princess developed meditation after observing a heap of maggots. She was reborn in a high spiritual realm but later returned to other births, and the commentary continues her journey through further lives, including the young sow. Eventually she entered the nuns’ community and attained liberation, and the Buddha used the account to teach that suffering returns while underlying craving remains.
Retold by Banya from the traditional commentary, after E. W. Burlingame, Buddhist Legends (1921).
To reflect on
What underlying want might be feeding a repeated difficulty?
Try it today
When one repeated urge appears, quietly name what it is wanting.
Practise it with
Equanimity (upekkhā)
Explanation by Banya. Traditional readings vary.