Building upon many years of privately shared thoughts on the real benefits of Stoic Philosophy, Liam Milburn eventually published a selection of Stoic passages that had helped him to live well. They were accompanied by some of his own personal reflections. This blog hopes to continue his mission of encouraging the wisdom of Stoicism in the exercise of everyday life. All the reflections are taken from his notes, from late 1992 to early 2017.
The Death of Marcus Aurelius
Monday, July 10, 2023
Dhammapada 324
The elephant called Dhanapalaka, his temples running with sap, and difficult to hold, does not eat a morsel when bound; the elephant longs for the elephant grove.
I'm a little lost. Is this a homesick elephant, or an isolated but fertile tree that keeps throwing up saplings being compared to an elephant? "Temples running with sap" and "does not eat a morsel when bound" threw me a little.
That helps, thank you. I think the message of the poem, that a thing wants to be what it is, is true in either sense, but it's good to know what imagery the poet was going for.
I'm a little lost. Is this a homesick elephant, or an isolated but fertile tree that keeps throwing up saplings being compared to an elephant? "Temples running with sap" and "does not eat a morsel when bound" threw me a little.
ReplyDelete"Temples running with sap" also translated as "brow sweating profusely and pungently"
DeleteThat helps, thank you. I think the message of the poem, that a thing wants to be what it is, is true in either sense, but it's good to know what imagery the poet was going for.
Delete