Commentary on the Dhammapada–by Swami Nirmalananda Giri

The Ways of the Wise

Take it within

“He who drinks in the Dharma will live happily with a peaceful mind. A wise man always delights in the Dharma taught by the Aryas.” (Dhammapada 79)

Water is essential to life, possessing many aspects necessary to the maintenance of form and function. We can live a long time without food, but not without water. Dharma is equally necessary for the true life of the inmost consciousness. But both water and dharma are valueless if they are not internalized–and not drop by drop, but by continual, deep drinking. Buddha is explaining to us that we must drink up dharma as the thirsting man seizes water and drinks it with urgency and delight. Just as the most virulent poison will not harm us, or the best medicine will not cure us, if we do not swallow it, in the same way dharma will have no effect unless we make it part of our very being by taking it into our consciousness.

Looking, touching, applying, or even immersing ourselves in water is useless if we do not drink it. And talking about it is the most useless of all! It is the same with dharma. That is why Saint Paul spoke of “Christ IN you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) An external Christ is of no value whatsoever. That is why Jesus spoke of “eating” and “drinking” the “flesh” and “blood” of Christ–in other words, internalizing and absorbing Christ. It is the same with dharma.

Work on yourself; change yourself

“Irrigators channel water, fletchers shape arrows, and carpenters bend wood, but the wise discipline themselves.” (80)

Long ago I got an anthology of Buddhist texts, and among them was a life of Buddha. It opened with an account of a discussion taking place in a higher world regarding where Buddha should be born. Various heavenly beings had various recommendations, but finally a wise one said: “You do not understand: a Buddha can only be born in India.” They all agreed; and so it was. There are many reasons for that statement, and not the least is the Indian capacity to convey a tremendous amount of information in a very concise manner. And this verse is an example of that. It is a marvel. And if we follow it, we will ourselves become marvels.

Irrigators channel water. First, they find a source of water. Then they dig a channel to the place where water is needed. Finally, they remove the barrier between the water and the channel, and the water flows in and their work is done. It is hard work that demands perseverance and good engineering. Spirituality is not for lazies or dummies, excellent as Spirituality For Dummies may be. (Those who read it will no longer be dummies!)

Sri Ramakrishna speaks about it this way: “There happened to be drought in the country. All the peasants began digging channels to bring water. One of them was stubbornly determined. One day he vowed that he would go on digging a channel until it became connected with the river and water began to flow into it. He proceeded digging. The time came for his bath. The wife sent the daughter to him with oil. The daughter said, ‘Father, it is late already. Finish bathing quickly after rubbing the body with oil.’ He told her to go away for he still had work to do. It was past midday and the farmer still kept working. No thought at all of taking a bath. Then his wife came to the field and said, ‘Why haven’t you bathed as yet? The food is getting cold. You carry things too far. You may finish it tomorrow or even after taking your meal.’ Scolding, the farmer ran after her with spade in hand and said, ‘Have you no sense? There has not been any rain. There has been no farming at all. What will the children eat? You will all die of starvation. I have taken the vow that I will bring water to the field today and then worry about bath and food.’ Observing his mood the wife fled running. After a whole day’s bone-breaking labor the farmer connected the channel with the river. Then he sat down for a while and watched the water from the river flowing into the field with a pleasant gurgle. His mind was at peace and filled with joy.

“Now there was another farmer who was also trying to bring water to his field. His wife went to him and said, ‘It is very late. Come now, there is no need for overdoing things so much.’ He dropped the spade without much protest and told his wife, ‘Let’s go, since you say so.’ That farmer did not ever succeed in bringing water to his field.”

So we have to know where the “water of life” is to be found, how to remove the barriers between it and us, and how to channel it into ourselves. This is what dharma really is, and its most important component is meditation.

Fletchers shape arrows. It is no easy thing to make an arrow. The wood must be strong, free from defect, and of the right density or weight. It must be shaped in such a way that it will move through the air at maximum speed. More important, it must be absolutely straight so it will fly unerringly to its target. Obviously this is a symbol of the mind itself.

The mind is a field of energy, and the quality of that energy is crucial for the sadhaka. Just as a machine can have gears of tempered steel or cheap shoddy plastic, in the same way, although everyone has a mind, the character of the mind substance, the manasic energy, varies greatly. Even intelligence counts for little if the mind itself is of inferior energy. As Yogananda pointed out, Handel took a sequence of notes and got the opening of the Hallelujah Chorus, while an American composer took the same notes and got Yes We Have No Bananas. As the Chandogya Upanishad explains: “Mind consists of food. That which is the subtle part of milk moves upward when the milk is churned and becomes butter. In the same manner, the subtle part of the food that is eaten moves upward and becomes mind. Thus, mind consists of food.” (Chandogya Upanishad 6.5.4; 6.6.1,2,5) The type of thoughts habitual to a person also determines the rate of vibration of his mind. Obviously, the japa of Om produces the highest mental vibration. The mind must be strong and steady, yet at the same time it must be fluidic, responsive, and capable of mirroring correctly that which is presented to it. Without yoga this is simply impossible.

Carpenters bend wood. It is interesting that Buddha refers to the bending of wood. We usually think of carpenters cutting or planing wood, but wood is bent in the making of furniture, and even in the making of yokes for oxen and other animals that pull carts. (It is said that Saint Thomas the Apostle was especially skilled in this.) To bend wood it is necessary to soak it and soften the fibers to the right degree and then to ever so slowly bend it to the desired shape, affix it in that shape, and then let it dry. If everything was done right, it will permanently hold that configuration. It is the same with us. Great care and skill are needed for us to rework and reshape ourselves–particularly our minds so there will be a permanent change for the better.

As Buddha concludes: “The wise discipline themselves.”

Wise indifference

“As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, so the wise are not moved by praise or blame.” (81)

A rock is not shaken by wind because it is so substantial and firmly settled on the earth. In the same way, a person who possesses self-knowledge–and therefore knowledge as to what is not himself–is not moved by praise or blame, since neither mean anything–for the true Self is beyond anything that can be said about It.. Also, knowing that whatever occurs in the outer world is only a passing show, the wise take nothing seriously that is said or done in relation to them.

The way to peace

“The wise find peace on hearing the truth, like a deep, clear, undisturbed lake.” (82)

Already wise in their inmost consciousness, the wise need only hear the truth of dharma to instantly recognize it and to come to the end of their search for realities of life–and beyond. The mind of a truly dharmic person is deep, clear, and undisturbed by any phenomena arising either from within or without. We usually think about peace of mind, but there is also peace of will. That is, once a person has fixed his intention on the attainment of higher consciousness, and resolved to do all that is necessary to attain that precious thing, then nothing can shake him from that steadiness of will (sankalpa). Inwardly he will have peace, even if he is somewhat affected by fluctuations in his emotional or intellectual levels. Those who keep their mind’s eye steadfastly on the goal, like an archer aiming at the target, will know peace that is unshakable.