Dhammapada 5

Hatred never settles through hatred here

Hatred never settles through hatred here. Through non-hatred it settles. This is an ancient law.

Translated from the Pāli by Banya

In plain words

Returning hatred with more hatred keeps a feud going. The verse presents meeting it without hatred as an old principle for bringing it to an end.

Key words

vera

hatred, enmity — Includes an ongoing feud, beyond a passing flash of anger.

The story behind the verse

The story of the dark ogress (Kāḷayakkhinīvatthu)

The commentary begins with a feud between two women involving the loss of children. Their hostility continues through later births, with each harming the other. In the final encounter, a mother flees an ogress and takes shelter with the Buddha. He teaches them to stop answering hatred with hatred, and their feud ends.

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

Explanation by Banya. Traditional readings vary.