My Notes on Dhammapada

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The cause of duhkha is selfish desire: trishna

When the fires of selfishness have been extinguished, when the mind is free of selfish desire, what remains is the state of wakefulness, of peace, of joy, of perfect health, called nirvana.

happiness cannot come from anything outside

Happiness can come from within.

“Every human being has the capacity to overcome suffering.”

They will tell you that coffee has a pleasant smell, as if this were as factual as saying it has a brown color. But these attributions are personal, conditioned by past experience and association.

In reality, the smell of brewing coffee is neither pleasant nor unpleasant; it is just a smell.

More than those who hate you, more than all your enemies, an undisciplined mind does greater harm.

Better to live in virtue and wisdom for one day than to live a hundred years with an evil and undisciplined mind.

Do not do evil, and suffering will not come

If you're suffering and not doing evil, then maybe you're actually not suffering.

Health is the best gift, contentment the best wealth, trust the best kinsman, nirvana the greatest joy.

Attachment to pleasure is one of the most serious obstacles to spiritual growth.

Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts.

Vibhava-trishna, by contrast, is the oppressive desire for self-oblivion or self-destruction, prompted in Buddhist psychology by the revulsion with life that comes as the fruits of selfishness turn rotten or bitter.

The Sanskrit name for a Buddhist monk is bhikshu, from the root bhiksh, “to beg for alms.” Bhikshus have no set home and no possessions save robe and begging bowl.