Flowers : Verses 44 and 45

Dhammapada Verses 44 and 45

The Story of Five Hundred Bhikkhus

Five hundred bhikkhus, after accompanying the Buddha to a village, returned to the Jetavana monastery. In the evening, while the bhikkhus were talking about the trip, especially the condition of the land, whether it was level or hilly, or whether the soil was clayey or sandy, red or black, etc., the Buddha came to them. Knowing the subject of their talk, he said to them, "Bhikkhus, the earth you are talking about is external to the body; it is better, indeed, to examine your own body and make preparations (for meditation practice)."

The Buddha then spoke in verse as follows:

Ko imam pathavim vicessati
yamalokanca imam sadevakam
ko dhammapadam sudesitam¹kusalo pupphamiva pacessati.

Verse 44: Who shall examine this earth (i.e., this body), the world of Yama (i.e., the four Apayas) and the world of man together with the world of devas? Who shall examine the well-taught Path of Virtue (Dhammapada) as an expert florist picks and chooses flowers?

Sekho pathavim vicessati
yamalokanca imam sadevakam
sekho dhammapadam sudesitam
kusalo pupphamiva pacessati.

Verse 45: The Ariya Sekha² shall examine this earth (i.e., the body), the world of Yama (i.e., the four Apayas) and the world of man together with the world of devas. The Ariya Sekha shall examine the well-taught Path of Virtue (Dhammapada) as an expert florist picks and chooses flowers.

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1. dhammapadam sudesitam: the well-taught Path of Virtue; here it means the thirty-seven Factors of Enlightenment (Bodhipakkhiya Dhamma).
2. sekho/sekhapuggala: one who is practising the Dhamma, and has entered the Path, but has not yet become an arahat. The term is applied to the first seven ariyapuggalas, the eighth or arahat being asekho.

* Sekha/Ariya Sekha: one who practices the Dhamma and has entered the Path, but has not yet become an arahat.