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Dhammapada · 13 of 26
CHAPTER XIII. The World
167.Do not follow the evil law! Do not live on in thoughtlessness! Do not follow false doctrine! Be not a friend of the world.
168.Rouse thyself! do not be idle! Follow the law of virtue! The virtuous rests in bliss in this world and in the next.
169.Follow the law of virtue; do not follow that of sin. The virtuous rests in bliss in this world and in the next.
170.Look upon the world as a bubble, look upon it as a mirage: the king of death does not see him who thus looks down upon the world.
171.Come, look at this glittering world, like unto a royal chariot; the foolish are immersed in it, but the wise do not touch it.
172.He who formerly was reckless and afterwards became sober, brightens up this world, like the moon when freed from clouds.
173.He whose evil deeds are covered by good deeds, brightens up this world, like the moon when freed from clouds.
174.This world is dark, few only can see here; a few only go to heaven, like birds escaped from the net.
175.The swans go on the path of the sun, they go through the ether by means of their miraculous power; the wise are led out of this world, when they have conquered Mâra and his train.
176.If a man has transgressed one law, and speaks lies, and scoffs at another world, there is no evil he will not do.
177.The uncharitable do not go to the world of the gods; fools only do not praise liberality; a wise man rejoices in liberality, and through it becomes blessed in the other world.
178.Better than sovereignty over the earth, better than going to heaven, better than lordship over all worlds, is the reward of the first step in holiness.
Asked of Guide
Why does the chapter call the world a bubble and a mirage — what point is it making about how I should live?
The chapter says the world is like a bubble and a mirage to teach that its pleasures and honors are insubstantial and unreliable; verses 170–171 compare the world to a bubble and a royal chariot that fools are immersed in, while the wise do not touch it. That image is practical: if you see things as fleeting, you stop building your life on them and stop being led by desire and idle attachment.
Because attachment drives wrongdoing and blindness, the poem urges ethical wakefulness: “Rouse thyself! do not be idle!” (168). The reward offered is moral clarity and a durable bliss — liberation from Mâra and rebirth into better states — the same ethical promise that appears in the Jataka Tales and the Udana about refuge in the Three Gems and walking in righteousness.
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