For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an old rule.
Buddha Dhammapada, Verse 5, The Twin-Verses (300 BCE) Translated by F. Max Müller
Source checked by an editor
When and why it was written
- When
- From the first chapter of the Dhammapada, in the Pali Canon.
- Why
- The verse follows a warning about dwelling on how others have wronged us.
What it means
The Buddha calls this an old rule, as if it were a law of nature rather than a moral wish. Answering hatred with hatred keeps it alive; only something different ends it.
It is simple to state and difficult to practise, which is why it is worth returning to.
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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