Better than a thousand meaningless sayings is a single meaningful saying, hearing which brings you peace.
8. The Thousands
Dhp 100-115 · Sahassavagga
Better than a thousand meaningless verses is a single meaningful verse, hearing which brings you peace.
Better than reciting a hundred meaningless verses is a single saying of Dhamma, hearing which brings you peace.
The supreme conqueror is not he who conquers a million men in battle, but he who conquers a single man: himself.
It is surely better to conquer oneself than all those other folk. When a person has tamed themselves, always living restrained,
no god nor centaur, nor Māra nor divinity, can undo the victory of such a personage.
Rather than a thousandfold sacrifice, every month for a full century, it’s better to honor for a single hour one who has developed themselves. That offering is better than the hundred year sacrifice.
Rather than serve the sacred flame in the forest for a hundred years, it’s better to honor for a single hour a personage who has developed themselves. That offering is better than the hundred year sacrifice.
Whatever sacrifice or offering in the world a seeker of merit may make for a year, none of it is worth a quarter of bowing to the sincere.
For one in the habit of bowing, always honoring the elders, four blessings grow: lifespan, beauty, happiness, and strength.
Better to live a single day ethical and absorbed in meditation than to live a hundred years unethical and lacking immersion.
Better to live a single day wise and absorbed in meditation than to live a hundred years witless and lacking immersion.
Better to live a single day energetic and strong, than to live a hundred years lazy and lacking energy.
Better to live a single day seeing rise and fall than to live a hundred years blind to rise and fall.
Better to live a single day seeing the state free of death than to live a hundred years blind to the state free of death.
Better to live a single day seeing the supreme teaching than to live a hundred years blind to the supreme teaching.
Connections
Collection & context
- DhammapadaThe collection containing this text
- The Pāli canonCanonical collection in which this edition is preserved
- Theravāda traditionsTransmission and study context
- The early Buddhist communityHistorical and traditional setting
Books
- The Dhammapada: A New Translation of the Buddhist ClassicGil Fronsdal (translator) · Complete collection edition
- Handful of Leaves: an Anthology from the Sutta PiṭakaEarly Buddhist discourses; Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu (translator and compiler) · Included in anthology
- On the Path: An Anthology on the Noble Eightfold Path drawn from the Pāli CanonṬhānissaro Bhikkhu · Referenced in this book
About this edition
Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato · SuttaCentral · CC0
This translation is an expression of an ancient spiritual text that has been passed down by the Buddhist tradition for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is dedicated to the public domain via Creative Commons Zero (CC0). You are encouraged to copy, reproduce, adapt, alter, or otherwise make use of this translation. The translator respectfully requests that any use be in accordance with the values and principles of the Buddhist community. In particular, please do not use this work in AI training datasets, for the development of any AI model or algorithm, or in any AI-derived technologies.
Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader. This source combines a range of related numbered discourses.
The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.