The Dhammapada · 2 of 2 · tr. F. Max Müller

Chapter II, Section 1b

A Bhikshu (mendicant) who delights in earnestness, who looks with fear on thoughtlessness, [25.

Childers explains this island again as the state of an Arhat (arahatta-phalam).

28.

Cf.

Childers, Dictionary, Preface, p.

xiv.

See Vinaya, ed.

Oldenberg, vol.

i.

p.

5, s.f.

31.

Instead of saha m , which Dr.

Fausböll translates by 'vincens,' Dr.

Weber by 'conquering,' I think we ought to read d ahan, 'burning,' which was evidently the reading adopted by Buddhaghosa.

Mr.

R.

C.

Childers, whom I requested to see whether the MS.

at the India Office gives saha m or d aha m , writes that the reading d aha m is as clear as possible in that MS.

The fetters are meant for the senses.

See verse 370 .] p.

11 moves about like fire, burning all his fetters, small or large.

32.

A Bhikshu (mendicant) who delights in reflection, who looks with fear on thoughtlessness, cannot fall away (from his perfect state)--he is close upon Nirvâ n a.

[1.

See Childers, Notes, p.

5.]

Themes

◆Body As Obstacleanthropology

The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.

The text explicitly lists 'senses' as the objects of the fetters that are burned away.

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◆Detachment Gelassenheitpraxis

Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.

The imagery of burning fetters and moving like fire suggests a radical letting-go of attachments to the self and material states.

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◆Good Thought Word Deedethics

The Zoroastrian triad of right thought, right speech, and right action as the foundation of ethical life; truth-in-living.

The passage centrally emphasizes delighting in earnestness and reflection while fearing thoughtlessness as a foundation for liberation.

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◆Meditationpraxis

Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting.

The practice of 'delight in reflection' is presented as a core spiritual discipline for the mendicant.

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◆Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

The goal described is being 'close upon Nirvâ n a,' indicating a state of near union with the divine.

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◆Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

The text uses the paradoxical image of moving like fire to convey the transformative power of earnestness.

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◆Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The movement toward Nirvâ n a represents the soul's journey back to its divine origin.

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◆Self Examinationpraxis

Daily review of thought and action as spiritual practice.

The text instructs the mendicant to look with fear on thoughtlessness as a form of inward review.

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◆Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

The movement described is upward toward Nirvâ n a, indicating a journey of purification and elevation.

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