Sacred Text · The Dhammapada
The Dhammapada, verse 165
Chapter 12, Self · verse 165
“By oneself the evil is done, by oneself one suffers; by oneself evil is left undone, by oneself one is purified. Purity and impurity belong to oneself, no one can purify another.”
Dhammapada 165 · Müller
Translation: F. Max Müller (1881), The Dhammapada, Sacred Books of the East vol. X, public domain, via Project Gutenberg (ebook 2017). Reproduced in full and in context; verse 5 and the verse count (423 verses, 26 chapters) validated against the source before publishing.
Christian comparison
How this connects to Jesus
By oneself is one purified; no one can purify another. Here is an honest and important difference, stated plainly. Christianity teaches that we cannot in the end purify ourselves; it is Christ who cleanses us, his life laid down that makes us clean (1 John 1:7-9). Where this verse points inward, the Gospel points to a rescuer outside ourselves.
Explore: Can we purify ourselvesWhy Jesus?Read the Gospel