The Dhammapada · 3 of 3 · tr. F. Max Müller

Chapter III, Section 1c

I translate it therefore in a more general sense, let him not return or turn away from the battle, let him watch Mâra, even after he is vanquished, let him keep up a constant fight against the adversary, without being attached to anything or anybody.] p.

15 an enemy to an enemy, a wrongly-directed mind will do us greater mischief.

43.

Not a mother, not a father will do so much, nor any other relative; a well-directed mind will do us greater service.

[43.

See Beal, Dhammapada, p.

73.]

§ Ask Guru about this passage →

Themes

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 instruction to keep up a constant fight against the adversary without being attached to anything aligns with the practice of radical letting-go.

All passages →

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 explicitly contrasts the service of a well-directed mind with the mischief caused by a wrongly-directed one, reflecting the Zoroastrian triad of right thought.

All passages →

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 instruction to 'watch Mâra' implies a disciplined inward attention required for spiritual vigilance.

All passages →

Paradox As Teachingethics

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

The statement that a well-directed mind does greater service than even a mother or father uses reversal to emphasize the value of mental state over familial ties.

All passages →

Renunciation Of Wealthethics

The spiritual danger of attachment to material possessions; wealth as a spiritual obstacle.

The passage explicitly instructs not to be attached to anything or anybody, emphasizing detachment from material and personal attachments.

All passages →

Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

The text emphasizes the importance of directing one's mind correctly as a path to liberation from evil.

All passages →

Related passages · 10 parallels

christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 1 (part 4)

“Let them, therefore, again go out with their will from their wilful ignorance or malignity and enter again into the will of God." ( Menschwerdung , 3, 5.) All this goes to show that it is useless and vain to seek for divine wisdom, meaning…”

Shared concept: Self Knowledge — The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology. (derived)

hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III|Sutra 7

“This threefold power, of Attention, Meditation, Contemplation, is more interior than the means of growth previously described. Very naturally so; because the means of growth previously described were concerned with the extrication of the sp…”

Shared concept: Meditation — Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting. (derived)

christian_mysticism|Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation)|PREFACE-a

““ Meister Eckhart ,” who has been called the “Father of German thought,” was a Dominican monk, and one of the most profound thinkers of the Middle Ages. He was born about 1260 A.D. in Thuringia, and died at Cologne 1327 A.D. In 1295 he w…”

Shared concept: Detachment Gelassenheit — 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. (derived)

western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|The Hiramic Legend-e

“(See The Indian Religions , by Hargrave Jennings.) "It is mentioned as a tradition in some of the accounts of the burning," writes Jennings, "that Molay, ere he expired, summoned Clement, the Pope who had pronounced the bull of abolition ag…”

Shared concept: Good Thought Word Deed — The Zoroastrian triad of right thought, right speech, and right action as the foundation of ethical life; truth-in-living. (derived)

hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book IV|Sutra 16

“Nor do material objects defend upon a single mind, for how could they remain objective to others, if that mind ceased to think of them? This is but a further development of the thought of the preceding Sutra, carrying on the thought that, w…”

native_american|The Soul of the Indian|Chapter I-b

“Sometimes an old man, standing upon the brink of eternity, might reveal to a chosen few the oracle of his long-past youth. The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget…”

Shared concept: Renunciation Of Wealth — The spiritual danger of attachment to material possessions; wealth as a spiritual obstacle. (derived)

hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III|Sutra 3

“When the perceiving consciousness in this meditative is wholly given to illuminating the essential meaning of the object contemplated, and is freed from the sense of separateness and personality, this is contemplation (samadhi). Let us revi…”

christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 11, Section 1c

“And the perfect Peace guards each several individuality unalloyed by Its providential gift of peace, keeping all things without internal or mutual discord or confusion, and establishing all things, in the power of unswerving stability, so a…”

Shared concept: Paradox As Teaching — Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight. (derived)

christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 13 (part 9)

“279 free will already in the beginning (of a desire) destroys the desire, so that it does not become substantial, then is the physician (for the cure of that disease) already born, and there will not be needed such great earnestness as will…”

Shared concept: Renunciation Of Wealth — The spiritual danger of attachment to material possessions; wealth as a spiritual obstacle. (derived)

zoroastrianism|Avesta (Gathas)|Ahunavaiti Gatha, Yasna XXXI, Section 1c

“49 harm to the tiller's herd, to the pious husbandman's flock, who speaks no word with lying, (who abjures the Lie-demon's faith 1 )? 16. Yea, I would ask Thee such a thing as this: How such an one as he who, with wise action, has striven…”

Shared concept: Good Thought Word Deed — The Zoroastrian triad of right thought, right speech, and right action as the foundation of ethical life; truth-in-living. (derived)