(OPRC) Lesson 108 (December 18, 2025) | Dhammapada 90 | Bhante Dr. G. Chandima

               

Dhammapda 90
(Sayings of the Dhamma)

Arahanta
(Fully liberated one)

90. Gataddhino visokassa,

For one who has completed the journey, is free of sorrow,

Vippamuttassa sabbadhi;
has been completely liberated in every way,

Sabba gantha pahīnassa,
who has abandoned all ties,

Parilāho na vijjati.

No burning affliction can be found.

Full Translation:

For one who has completed the journey, is free of sorrow, has been completely liberated in every way, and has abandoned all ties, no burning affliction can be found.

Story: Jīvaka Pañha  Vatthu

Notes for Context:

Gataddhino — “One Who Has completed the journey.”

In Buddhist teachings, this designation applies to the arahant. Human beings are said to travel two broad kinds of journeys:

1. The wilderness road (kantāra)

2. The road of repeated existence (saṃsāra)

Sabba gantha pahīnassa — “One Who Has Abandoned All ties”

The phrase sabbaganthappahīnassa refers to one who has completely given up all ties (gantha). These bonds are the forces that bind beings to saṃsāra.

The Four Ties (Gantha)

There are four principal bonds:

1. Abhijjhā — covetousness
   The desire for the possessions of others; grasping fueled by craving.

2. Vyāpāda — ill will
   Hatred, resentment, anger, and hostility toward others.

3. Sīlabbata-parāmāsa — alienated discipline
   Clinging rigidly to rules, rituals, and observances as ends in themselves, divorced from wisdom and liberation.

4. Idaṃ saccābhinivesa (saccābhinivesa) — dogmatic fixation on views
   The bias that “what I hold is absolutely true, and all other views are false.”

These four ties shackle beings to recurrent existence. They perpetuate clinging, conflict, delusion, and rebirth. An arahant, having abandoned all four, is described as sabbaganthappahīnassa—fully unbound.