Citta Vagga — The Chapter on the Mind
The Dhammapada · Chapter 3 · 11 verses with translation and commentary
Verse 33
ผนฺทนํ จปลํ จิตฺตํ ทุรกฺขํ ทุนฺนิวารยํ อุชุํ กโรติ เมธาวี อุสุกาโรว เตชนํ
The mind is unsteady and wavering, hard to guard and hard to restrain; the wise one straightens it, just as a fletcher straightens an arrow.
This verse was spoken concerning the Elder Meghiya, who went to practice meditation in a pleasant mango grove but was instead disturbed by unwholesome thoughts until his mind grew restless. So the Buddha pointed out to him the nature of the mind.
The mind is unsteady, wavering, hard to guard, and hard to restrain, for it loves to dart after various moods and refuses to be still. But the wise one can train it to be straight, just as a fletcher straightens a crooked arrow through effort and skill until it can shoot true.
The lesson is: do not despair that your mind is too disordered to fix. A scattered mind is like green wood that can still be bent — only set to work training it with steady mindfulness, and in the end the mind will grow firm and tame.
Verse 34
วาริโชว ถเล ขิตฺโต โอกโมกตอุพฺภโต ปริผนฺทติทํ จิตฺตํ มารเธยฺยํ ปหาตเว ฯ
This mind quivers and thrashes about, like a fish taken from the water and thrown onto dry land; therefore the wise one should abandon the realm of Māra.
This verse too was spoken concerning the Elder Meghiya, as with the previous one, portraying the agitation of a mind still attached to sensual pleasure.
A mind that once delighted in the five strands of sensual pleasure, when drawn to settle in meditation, quivers and thrashes about and refuses to be calm, like a fish taken from the water and thrown onto dry land that struggles because it has been torn from its home. So the Buddha taught the wise one to abandon the snare of Māra — that is, the cycle of defilements bound fast by ignorance, craving, and clinging.
The lesson is: when you first train the mind to escape its old habits, the discomfort that arises is only natural. Do not give up and return to old moods, but endure until the mind grows familiar with peace.
Verse 35
ทุนฺนิคฺคหสฺส ลหุโน ยตฺถ กามนิปาติโน จิตฺตสฺส ทมโถ สาธุ จิตฺตํ ทนฺตํ สุขาวหํ ฯ
The taming of the mind — hard to control, quick to change, forever alighting on whatever it desires — is good, for a mind that is tamed brings happiness.
This verse was spoken concerning a certain monk, in praise of the virtue of taming the mind.
The mind is hard to control and quick to change, and it constantly seeks out the moods that please it. To tame such a mind and bring it under one's power is therefore a most excellent thing, for a well-tamed mind brings happiness — both happiness in the present and the happiness born of the path and its fruits to come.
The lesson is: outward wealth is easier to look after than one's own mind, yet most people let the mind flow wherever it pleases. If you diligently train the mind even a little at a time, the result is a steady happiness that depends on nothing outside.
Verse 36
สุทุทฺทสํ สุนิปุณํ ยตฺถ กามนิปาตินํ จิตฺตํ รกฺเขถ เมธาวี จิตฺตํ คุตฺตํ สุขาวหํ ฯ
The wise one should guard the mind, so very hard to see, so very subtle, forever alighting on whatever it desires, for a guarded mind brings happiness.
This verse was spoken concerning a monk yearning to leave the robe, warning him to turn back to caring for and guarding his own mind.
The mind is so very hard to see and so very subtle, for it has no form to grasp, and it loves to dart after the moods it desires. So the wise one should guard the mind well by training it with the Noble Path, for a guarded mind brings happiness — the happiness born of the path, its fruits, and the attainment of Nibbāna, which is the highest of all benefits.
The lesson is: when the wish to disrobe or a sense of weariness overwhelms you, that is precisely the voice of a mind let loose to wander. Watch over your heart with mindfulness and guard it. True happiness lies in guarding the mind, not in fleeing after moods.
Verse 37
ทูรงฺคมํ เอกจรํ อสรีรํ คุหาสยํ เย จิตฺตํ สญฺญเมสฺสนฺติ โมกฺขนฺติ มารพนฺธนา ฯ
Those who restrain the mind that travels far, wanders alone, is without form, and dwells in a cave — they shall be freed from the bonds of Māra.
This verse was spoken concerning the Elder Saṅgharakkhita, speaking of the virtue of one who can restrain the mind.
The mind has the nature of traveling far — it can take up objects that are far away; of wandering alone — it arises and passes away one moment at a time, not simultaneously; of being without form — it has no color or shape; and of dwelling in a cave — it rests upon this very physical body. Whoever can restrain a mind of such a nature is freed from the bonds of Māra — released from the round of rebirth that circles through the three realms of existence.
The lesson is: though the mind is so subtle and swift that it seems beyond control, it is not beyond one's power. Once you can train yourself to restrain and watch over it, freedom from suffering is not far off.
Verse 38
อนวฏฺฐิตจิตฺตสฺส สทฺธมฺมํ อวิชานโต ปริปฺลวปสาทสฺส ปญฺญา น ปริปูรติ
For one of unsteady mind, who does not know the true Dhamma, whose confidence wavers, wisdom does not come to fullness.
This verse was spoken concerning the Elder Cittahattha, who repeatedly disrobed and re-ordained many times because his mind was unsteady; the Buddha spoke it to the assembly of monks.
One of an unsteady mind does not know the true Dhamma and has a confidence that wavers and lacks firmness. When the very foundations — faith and steadiness — are still shaking like this, wisdom cannot grow to full completion.
The lesson is: progress in the Dhamma depends on a heart that is firm and a faith that runs deep. If the heart wavers — believing one moment, doubting the next — it is like a tree transplanted again and again that can never take root. Cultivate steadiness in the heart first, and then wisdom will flourish.
Verse 39
อนวสฺสุตจิตฺตสฺส อนนฺวาหตเจตโส ปุญฺญปาปปหีนสฺส นตฺถิ ชาครโต ภยํ ฯ
For one whose mind is not soaked with lust, not troubled by hatred, who has abandoned both merit and evil, and is wakeful, there is no fear.
This verse was spoken concerning the Elder Cittahattha, continuing from the previous verse, speaking of the qualities of an arahant whose defilements are exhausted.
One whose mind is not soaked with lust and not troubled by hatred, who has moreover abandoned both merit and evil — that is, gone beyond the accumulation of both good and bad kamma — and who is ever wakeful, is one for whom there is no fear, meaning the danger of the defilements that scorch the heart.
The lesson is: as long as the heart is still overpowered by lust and hatred, danger keeps threatening from within. True safety comes not from outside, but from a heart that is clean, awake, and unshaken by any provocation.
Verse 40
กุมฺภูปมํ กายมิทํ วิทิตฺวา นครูปมํ จิตฺตมิทํ ถเกตฺวา โยเธถ มารํ ปญฺญาวุเธน ชิตญฺจ รกฺเข อนิเวสิโน สิยา ฯ
Knowing that this body is like a clay pot, having made this mind like a fortified city, one should fight Māra with the weapon of wisdom, guard the victory won, and remain unattached.
This verse was spoken concerning five hundred monks, teaching the way to fight Māra with wisdom.
The Buddha bade them consider that this body is like a clay pot, fragile and easily broken, not to be clung to; and then to guard the mind like a fortified city, keeping watch so that the defilements cannot storm in. From there one should fight Māra with the weapon of wisdom, and once victorious, one should guard the victory won, yet remain unattached — that is, even having gained some level of absorption or insight, one does not stop there, but goes on contemplating the formations until reaching the highest path and fruit.
The lesson is: to conquer the defilements once is not yet the end. Do not grow heedless and content with small successes. Strive to guard your gains and press on until you reach the true goal.
Verse 41
อจิรํ วตยํ กาโย ปฐวึ อธิเสสฺสติ ฉุฑฺโฑ อเปตวิญฺญาโณ นิรตฺถํว กลิงฺครํ ฯ
Before long, this body will lie upon the earth, bereft of consciousness, cast aside, like a useless log of wood.
This verse was spoken concerning the Elder Tissa of the putrid body, warning the monks to see the impermanence of the body.
The Buddha pointed out that before long this body will be bereft of consciousness, cast aside to lie upon the earth, worthless like a useless log of wood that no one gives a second glance. The body we cherish so dearly is in the end but a corpse that must be returned to the ground.
The lesson is: when one recalls that this body is not lasting and must break apart, one loosens one's clinging to the physical form and turns instead to hastening in wholesome deeds — doing what has substance while breath still remains, before the body becomes a worthless log.
Verse 42
ทิโส ทิสํ ยนฺตํ กยิรา เวรี วา ปน เวรินํ มิจฺฉาปณิหิตํ จิตฺตํ ปาปิโย นํ ตโต กเร ฯ
A wrongly directed mind can do one greater harm than the harm a robber does to a robber, or an enemy does to an enemy.
This verse was spoken concerning Nanda the cowherd, spoken to the monks about the danger of a wrongly directed mind.
A wrongly directed mind — a mind set upon the ten courses of unwholesome action — brings greater harm to oneself than even a robber to a robber or an enemy to an enemy could inflict. For an outer foe can harm one only in this life, but a wrongly directed heart drives one down into states of woe for a hundred thousand births.
The lesson is: the most dangerous enemy is not another person, but one's own heart when it is let loose to think and do evil. Guard your mind and keep it set upon the right path, for no one can harm you as much as your own deluded heart.
Verse 43
น ตํ มาตา ปิตา กยิรา อญฺเญ วาปิ จ ญาตกา สมฺมาปณิหิตํ จิตฺตํ เสยฺยโส นํ ตโต กเร ฯ
A rightly directed mind confers a benefit more excellent than what mother and father could give, or any other kinsmen could bestow.
This verse was spoken concerning the Elder Soreyya, spoken to the monks about the virtue of a rightly directed mind, forming a pair with the previous verse.
A rightly directed mind — a mind devoted to conduct in keeping with the ten courses of wholesome action — confers a most excellent benefit upon oneself, a benefit that even mother and father with their supreme love, or any kinsmen, could not bestow. For the goodness that arises from one's own heart is too profound for another to hand over in one's stead.
The lesson is: the love and goodwill of those around us are of great worth, but the most excellent thing in life must be built from our own rightly directed heart. No one can do it for us. Diligently incline the heart toward the wholesome path, and the finest of results will surely be ours.