As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, wise people falter not amidst blame and praise.
Buddha Dhammapada, Verse 81, The Wise Man (300 BCE) Translated by F. Max Müller
Source checked by an editor
When and why it was written
- When
- From the chapter on the wise in the Dhammapada.
- Why
- The verse describes a steadiness that does not depend on what others say.
What it means
Blame and praise are the wind here. Both move us if we let them, and both pass.
The image asks for a self that is not built on other people's opinions, in either direction.
Our reading of the passage cited above, not a quotation from a commentary.
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Dhammapada by Traditional (Pali Canon), 300 BCE
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