Let us live so very happily, loving among the hostile. Among hostile humans, let us live with love.
15. Happiness
Dhp 197-208 · Sukhavagga
Let us live so very happily, healthy among the ailing. Among ailing humans let us live healthily.
Let us live so very happily, content among the greedy. Among greedy humans, let us live content.
Let us live so very happily, we who have nothing. We shall feed on rapture, like the gods of sublime luminosity.
Victory breeds enmity; the defeated sleep badly. The peaceful sleep at ease, having left victory and defeat behind.
There is no fire like greed, no crime like hate, no suffering like the aggregates, no bliss beyond peace.
Hunger is the worst illness, conditions are the worst suffering. When one has known this as it is, extinguishment is the ultimate happiness.
Health is the ultimate blessing; contentment, the ultimate wealth; trust is the ultimate family; extinguishment, the ultimate happiness.
Having drunk the nectar of seclusion and the nectar of peace—free of stress, free of evil, drink the joyous nectar of truth.
It’s good to see the noble ones, staying with them is always good. Were you not to see fools, you’d always be happy.
For one who consorts with fools grieves long. Painful is living with fools, like being stuck with your enemy. Happy is living with an attentive one, like meeting with your kin.
Therefore: An attentive one, wise and learned, a behemoth of virtue, true to their vows, noble: follow a true and intelligent person such as this, as the moon tracks the path of the stars.
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.