Dhammapada, Dhamma Verses (KN 2)

1: The Chapter about the Pairs – 16
Asāre sāramatino, sāre cāsāradassino, 1
Finding the essential in what is unessential, and seeing the unessential in what is essential,
te sāraṁ nādhigacchanti, micchāsaṅkappagocarā. [11]
they do not understand what is the essential, and resort to wrong intention.
Sārañ-ca sārato ñatvā, asārañ-ca asārato,
Knowing the essential in what is essential, 2 and the unessential in what is unessential,
te sāraṁ adhigacchanti, sammāsaṅkappagocarā. [12]
they understand what is essential, and resort to right intention.
Yathā agāraṁ ducchannaṁ vuṭṭhī samativijjhati,
Just as the rain penetrates a house with thatching that is poor,
evaṁ abhāvitaṁ cittaṁ rāgo samativijjhati. [13]
so passion penetrates a mind that is undeveloped.
Yathā agāraṁ succhannaṁ vuṭṭhī na samativijjhati,
Just as rain does not penetrate a house with thatching that is good,
evaṁ subhāvitaṁ cittaṁ rāgo na samativijjhati. [14]
so passion cannot penetrate a mind that is well-developed. 3
Idha socati, pecca socati,
Here 4 he laments, after death he laments,
pāpakārī ubhayattha socati,
the wicked one laments in both places,
so socati, so vihaññati,
he laments, he suffers vexation,
disvā kammakiliṭṭham-attano. [15]
seeing the defilement of his own deeds. 5
1
This parses as ca + asāra + dassino; it is not clear to me why ca is found here, as it is not needed
by the grammar, the meaning or the metre.
2
Interesting use of the ablative here, perhaps indicating the starting point.
3
This is one of the most perfect of the compositions showing reversal of meaning in the two
verses.
4
Here means here in this world. Idha often has this meaning, just as loke, in the world, often means
simply here.
5
Again this and the following verse, which were probably composed together have been separated
by the commentary and given different foundation stories.