Here is [Ven. Sujato's translation](https://suttacentral.net/dhp179-196/en/sujato):

> Not to do any evil;  
_Sabbapāpassa akaraṇaṁ,_  
to embrace **the good**;  
_**kusalas**sa upasampadā;_ 

The Pali word 'kusala' includes the word '[kusa](https://suttacentral.net/define/kusa?lang=en)', which is a type of grass.

Importantly, kusa grass is a type of grass that can cut the hand. The Dhammapada says:

> When kusa grass is wrongly grasped
> 
> Kuso yathā duggahito,
> 
> it only cuts the hand.
> 
> hatthamevānukantati;
> 
> So too, the ascetic life, when wrongly taken,
> 
> Sāmaññaṁ dupparāmaṭṭhaṁ,
> 
> drags you to hell.
> 
> nirayāyupakaḍḍhati.
>
>[Dhp 311](https://suttacentral.net/dhp306-319/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=linebyline&reference=none&notes=none&highlight=true&script=latin)

Therefore, contrary to what appears to be Sujato's antithetical translation of "embrace", the relevant Pali word "upasampadā" appears to mean "perfect" or "attain skill" or "handle with skill". It appears to mean to cultivate "the grass" or "the good" so the intention to do good does not lead to one's own harm. Again, the Dhammapada makes this clear, when it says: 

> Never neglect your own good
> 
> Attadatthaṁ paratthena,
> 
> for the sake of another, however great. bahunāpi na hāpaye;
> 
> Knowing well what’s good for you,
> 
> Attadatthamabhiññāya,
> 
> be intent upon your true goal.
> 
> sadatthapasuto siyā.
>
>[Attavagga](https://suttacentral.net/dhp157-166/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=linebyline&reference=none&notes=none&highlight=true&script=latin)

Also, [SN 12.63](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.063.than.html) is about how the road to hell is paved with good intentions, as follows:

> And how is the nutriment of intellectual intention to be regarded?
> Suppose there were a pit of glowing embers, deeper than a man's
> height, full of embers that were neither flaming nor smoking, and a
> man were to come along — loving life, hating death, loving pleasure,
> abhorring pain — and two strong men, having grabbed him by the arms,
> were to drag him to the pit of embers. To get far away would be that
> man's intention, far away would be his wish, far away would be his
> aspiration. Why is that? Because he would realize, 'If I fall into
> this pit of glowing embers, I will meet with death from that cause, or
> with death-like pain.' In the same way, I tell you, is the nutriment
> of intellectual intention to be regarded. When the nutriment of
> intellectual intention is comprehended, the three forms of craving
> [for sensuality, for becoming, and for non-becoming] are comprehended.
> When the three forms of craving are comprehended, I tell you, there is
> nothing further for a disciple of the noble ones to do.

If we struggle to understand the above & particularly why 'upasampadā" does not mean to 'embrace' [with lust] the grass that, when the ascetic life, when wrongly taken, drags you to hell, Sujato's latest offering to the world of worldlings makes this perfectly clear. 

> In any case, this makes it clear why the Sutta says the gandhabba must
> be present, while the Veda says Viśvāvasu must depart.... This is not
> something new, or something that has been left unaddressed by cultures
> in the past. Anxiety about potency and paternity is a fundamental
> component, perhaps the single most important distinguishing feature,
> of the male psyche, and forms the foundation of misogyny. Patriarchal
> institutions like marriage traditionally aimed to subjugate women,
> yes, but they also tried to temper the worst of men. In freeing women
> from patriarchal suppression, it is crucial to find ways to address
> this deeply irrational male anxiety.
>
>[On the gandhabba and male anxiety](https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/on-the-gandhabba-and-male-anxiety/30928)

In summary, Dhp 183 says to cultivate the grass to ensure one is not cut by the grass.