Dhammapada 405
One who has laid down the rod toward beings, whether trembling or steady, who does not kill or cause…
One who has laid down the rod toward beings, whether trembling or steady, who does not kill or cause killing: that one I call a brahmin.
Translated from the Pāli by Banya
Pāli
Nidhāya daṇḍaṁ bhūtesu,
tasesu thāvaresu ca;
Yo na hanti na ghāteti,
tamahaṁ brūmi brāhmaṇaṁ.
In plain words
The person praised has put down violence toward living beings and neither kills nor causes killing. Brahmin means spiritual attainment here, and the paired words trembling and steady have more than one possible sense.
Key words
- daṇḍa
- rod, violence or force — Putting down the rod is an image of refraining from harm.
- brāhmaṇa
- brahmin — Here it names spiritual attainment rather than inherited caste.
The story behind the verse
The monk and the woman
In the commentary, a woman quarreled with her husband and decided to return to her family, and she set out through a forest. She saw a monk traveling there and followed him, and her husband came after her and saw them on the road. He assumed the monk had taken his wife away, and Despite her explanation, he beat the monk. The monk did not retaliate with anger, and the Buddha later taught about a person who has laid down violence toward beings.
Retold by Banya from the traditional commentary, after E. W. Burlingame, Buddhist Legends (1921).
To reflect on
Where could you put down a small use of force today?
Try it today
Choose a request rather than a threat in one ordinary interaction.
Practise it with
Compassion (karuṇā)
Explanation by Banya. Traditional readings vary.