44. Who will conquer this earth,44 this realm of Yama, 45 and this world,46 along with the world of the gods? As a garland-maker chooses the right flowers, choose the well taught Path of the Dhamma, 47 and go beyond the realms of death and of the gods.
45. A disciple in training48 will conquer this earth, this realm of Yama, and this world, along with the world of the gods. As a garland-maker chooses the right flowers, such a disciple will choose the well-taught Path of the Dhamma and go beyond the realms of death and of the gods.
46. One who remembers that this body is as impermanent as froth, 49 as insubstantial as a mirage,50 will break the flower-tipped arrows of Māra51 and pass beyond the sight of the King of Death.
47. Like those who spend their lives gathering flowers, those whose minds are attached to sense pleasures are swept away by death, just as a flood sweeps away a sleeping village.
48. Like those who spend their lives gathering flowers, those whose minds are attached to sense pleasures, whose desires are insatiable, are swept away by death.
49. As a bee drinks nectar and then flies away without harming the flower, so should a Bhikkhu wander through a village.52.
50. Do not give your attention to what others do or fail to do, whether they are doing what is right or what is wrong. Rather, give your attention to what you do or fail to do, whether you are doing what is right or what is wrong.
51. Just as a lovely flower, full of color but lacking in fragrance, cannot give anyone the benefit of its scent, the well-spoken words of the Buddha are of no benefit to those who do not put the Dhamma into practice.
52. Just as a lovely flower, full of both color and fragrance, will give the benefit of its scent to all, the well-spoken words of the Buddha will benefit those who put the Dhamma into practice.
53. Just as many garlands can be made from a heap of flowers, many good deeds can be done in this life (through the sharing of one’s wealth with others53).
54. The scent of flowers cannot travel against the wind, nor can the scent of sandalwood or rhododendron or jasmine; but the fragrance54 of those who do good spreads everywhere.
55. Neither the scent of sandalwood nor rhododendron, neither the scent of lotus nor jasmine, can come near the fragrance of those who do good.
56. Faint is the scent of sandalwood and rhododendron, but the fragrance of those who do good rises high, even to the abode of the gods.
57. Māra55 cannot find the path56 taken by those who are endowed with virtue, who live mindfully, and who have been freed from moral defilements by Right Knowledge.57
58–59. A true follower of the Buddha shines among blind mortals,58 as the fragrant lotus, growing in the garbage by the roadside, brings joy to all who pass by.
Footnotes: 44 This body.
45 The four states of woe (duggati): (1) hell; (2) the animal kingdom; (3) the Peta or hungry ghost realms; and (4) the Asura or demon realms. Hell is not permanent according to Buddhism. It is a state of misery, as are the Peta realm and the Asura realm, where beings suffer for their past evil actions.
46 Namely, the world of human beings and the six celestial planes. These seven are regarded as states of bliss (sugati).
47 Dhammapada: the well-taught Path of Virtue; here, it means the thirty-seven Requisites of Enlightenment (bodhipakkhiya).
48 Sekha or sekhapuggala “one who is still undergoing training.” This term is applied to disciples who have attained any of the first three stages of holiness: (1) Stream-Winner (Sotāpanna); (2) Once-Returner (Sakadāgāmi); and (3) Non-Returner (Anāgāmi). Those who have totally eradicated all of the passions and attained the fruit stage of an Arahat are known as asekhas “those who have completed their training.”
49 This body, that is, the aggregate of form or corporeality, is like froth or foam in that it is powerless and weak and does not last a long time — in other words, it is transient, fleeting, soon to perish. 50 From a distance, a mirage appears to be real, but, up close, one realizes that it is empty, hollow, and intangible. In like manner, the body is like a mirage in the sense of passing away and reappearing at every instant. 51 These “flower-tipped arrows of Māra” represent the tivaṭṭaṁor the three kinds of rounds (vaṭṭaṁ): (1) the round of moral defilements (kilesavaṭṭaṁ); (2) the round of volitional action (kammavaṭṭaṁ); and (3) and the round of resultant effects (vipākavaṭṭaṁ).
50 From a distance, a mirage appears to be real, but, up close, one realizes that it is empty, hollow, and intangible. In like manner, the body is like a mirage in the sense of passing away and reappearing at every instant. 51 These “flower-tipped arrows of Māra” represent the tivaṭṭaṁ or the three kinds of rounds (vaṭṭaṁ): (1) the round of moral defilements (kilesavaṭṭaṁ); (2) the round of volitional action (kammavaṭṭaṁ); and (3) and the round of resultant effects (vipākavaṭṭaṁ).
52 Seeking alms, without inconveniencing anyone.
53 Out of faith and generosity.
54 That is, the reputation of those who do good.
55 The personification of evil.
56 Arahats, having eradicated moral defilements, are no longer subject to rebirth. So Māra, for all his power, cannot find where such Arahats go after death.
57 Those who, having understood the nature of phenomena by perceiving cause, by inference, by reason, have attained liberation through the fivefold release: (1) release through elimination (vikkhambhanavimutti); (2) release through cultivating the opposite (tadaṅga-vimutti); (3) release through cutting off (samuccheda-vimutti); (4) release through subsidence (paṭippassaddhi-vimutti); and (5) release through moving away (nissaraṇa-vimutti).
58 Mortals (worldlings) are like the blind because they are lacking in wisdom