What is joy, what is laughter, when the flames are ever burning? Swathed in darkness, would you not seek a light?
11. Old Age
Dhp 146-156 · Jarāvagga
See this fancy puppet, a body built of sores, diseased, obsessed over, in which nothing lasts at all.
This body is decrepit and frail, a nest of disease. This foul carcass falls apart, for life ends in death.
These dove-grey bones are tossed away like dried gourds in the autumn—what joy is there in such a sight?
In this city built of bones, plastered with flesh and blood, old age and death are stashed away, along with conceit and contempt.
Fancy chariots of kings wear out, and even this body gets old. But the truth of the good never gets old—so the good proclaim to the good.
A person of little learning ages like an ox—their flesh grows, but not their wisdom.
Transmigrating through countless rebirths, I’ve journeyed without reward, searching for the house-builder; painful is birth again and again.
I’ve seen you, house-builder! You won’t build a house again! Your rafters are all broken, your roof-peak demolished. The mind, set on demolition, has reached the end of cravings.
When young they spurned the spiritual path and failed to earn any wealth. Now they brood like old cranes in a pond bereft of fish.
When young they spurned the spiritual path and failed to earn any wealth. Now they lie like spent arrows, bemoaning over things past.
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
Recordings naming Dhp 146-156
- Dhp 152 153 The Inner CriticBhante Bodhidhamma · Reference in title
- Dhp 153 154 The Buddha's Victory VersesBhante Bodhidhamma · Reference in title
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
- The Wings to Awakening: An Anthology 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.