Thursday, October 10, 2019

Dhammapada verse

If you find no equal or
Better in life,
Go alone.

Loneliness is preferable
To the company
Of fools.
Such is my probably-flawed recollection of one verse in the P. Lal translation of "The Dhammapada."

1 comment:

  1. You have the general idea of the verse.

    A more recent translation of verse 329:

    "If you do not find an intelligent companion,
    A fellow traveler
    Of good conduct and wise,
    Travel alone,
    Like a king renouncing a conquered kingdom, Like the elephant Matanga in the forest."

    - Gil Fronsdale, The Dhammapada A New Translation of the Buddhist Classic with Annotations


    Either way at my age the verse makes me think a bit about the nature of judgement and tolerance more than about just going it alone because I cant find someone good enough. I'm lucky to find folks even a little interested in Buddhism.

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