Earnestness is the path of immortality (Nirvana), thoughtlessness the path of death.
Buddha Dhammapada, Verse 21, On Earnestness (300 BCE) Translated by F. Max Müller
Source checked by an editor
When and why it was written
- When
- From the chapter on earnestness, or heedfulness, in the Dhammapada.
- Why
- The chapter praises a steady, attentive way of living.
What it means
Earnestness in Müller's translation means heedfulness: being awake to what you are doing. Thoughtlessness is living on autopilot.
The verse makes attention the difference between a living practice and a dead routine.
Our reading of the passage cited above, not a quotation from a commentary.
Read the source
Dhammapada by Traditional (Pali Canon), 300 BCE
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