✶Gnosis
← Contents
Theme
04 / 26

Listen

Dhammapada · narration sample

A one-minute narration sample. Every book in the library is narrated end to end — hear the rest in the app.

Dhammapada · 4 of 26

CHAPTER IV. Flowers

44.Who shall overcome this earth, and the world of Yama (the lord of the departed), and the world of the gods? Who shall find out the plainly shown path of virtue, as a clever man finds out the (right) flower?

45.The disciple will overcome the earth, and the world of Yama, and the world of the gods. The disciple will find out the plainly shown path of virtue, as a clever man finds out the (right) flower.

46.He who knows that this body is like froth, and has learnt that it is as unsubstantial as a mirage, will break the flower-pointed arrow of Mâra, and never see the king of death.

47.Death carries off a man who is gathering flowers and whose mind is distracted, as a flood carries off a sleeping village.

48.Death subdues a man who is gathering flowers, and whose mind is distracted, before he is satiated in his pleasures.

49.As the bee collects nectar and departs without injuring the flower, or its colour or scent, so let a sage dwell in his village.

50.Not the perversities of others, not their sins of commission or omission, but his own misdeeds and negligences should a sage take notice of.

51.Like a beautiful flower, full of colour, but without scent, are the fine but fruitless words of him who does not act accordingly.

52.But, like a beautiful flower, full of colour and full of scent, are the fine and fruitful words of him who acts accordingly.

53.As many kinds of wreaths can be made from a heap of flowers, so many good things may be achieved by a mortal when once he is born.

54.The scent of flowers does not travel against the wind, nor (that of) sandal-wood, or of Tagara and Mallikâ flowers; but the odour of good people travels even against the wind; a good man pervades every place.

55.Sandal-wood or Tagara, a lotus-flower, or a Vassikî, among these sorts of perfumes, the perfume of virtue is unsurpassed.

56.Mean is the scent that comes from Tagara and sandal-wood;—the perfume of those who possess virtue rises up to the gods as the highest.

57.Of the people who possess these virtues, who live without thoughtlessness, and who are emancipated through true knowledge, Mâra, the tempter, never finds the way.

58.As on a heap of rubbish cast upon the highway the lily will grow full of sweet perfume and delight, thus the disciple of the truly enlightened Buddha shines forth by his knowledge among those who are like rubbish, among the people that walk in darkness.

Asked of Guide

Why does the chapter keep comparing people to flowers and bees?

The chapter uses flowers and bees as concrete images to teach how presence and conduct determine value: a bee takes nectar without harming the flower (verse 49), and a fragrant flower stands for speech backed by action (verses 51–52). Those who gather flowers while distracted are swept away by death (verses 47–48), so the similes warn that careless pleasure-seeking leads to harm while mindful conduct yields lasting fruit (verse 53).

The fragrance metaphor extends moral influence: ordinary perfumes cannot travel against the wind, but “the odour of good people travels even against the wind” (verse 54), meaning virtue radiates outward beyond immediate surroundings. The chapter’s final image—an enlightened disciple shining amid rubbish (verse 58)—echoes moral teachings about inner worth overcoming outer circumstance, as similar moral contrasts appear in Proverbs and other wisdom literature.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.

Echoes elsewhere

The Apocrypha (Deuterocanonical Books) · Christianityknowledge of a wise man shall abound like a flood: and his counsel is like a pure fountain of life. The inner parts of a fool are like a broken vessel, and he will hold no knowledgThe Septuagint · Christianityknowledge of a wise man shall abound like a flood: and his counsel is like a pure fountain of life. The inner parts of a fool are like a broken vessel, and he will hold no knowledgThe Bible · Christianity1. Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. 2. A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. 3.The Wisdom of Ptah-Hotep · Egyptianon the morrow; but understanding shall establish him. As for the fool, he shall be crushed. 40. As for the fool, devoid of obedience, he doeth nothing. Knowledge he regardeth as ig