Read without ads and support Scribd by becoming a Scribd Premium Reader.

Language:

Download

Go BackAdd Note

Link

Embed

Save for later

The Dhammapada:The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom

Translated from the PalibyAcharya BuddharakkhitaIntroduction by Bhikkhu BodhiCopyright © 1985, Buddhist Publication SocietyKandy, Sri LankaFor free distribution only.You may print copies of this work foryour personal use.You may re-format and redistribute this work for use oncomputersandcomputer networks,provided that you

charge no fees

for itsdistribution or use.Otherwise, all

rights

reserved

Contents

page

Preface by Acharya Buddharakkhita 4Introduction by Bhikkhu Bodhi 6

Chapters

:1. The Pairs (vv. 1–20) 182. Heedfulness (vv. 21–32) 203. The Mind (vv. 33–43) 214. Flowers (vv. 44–59) 225. The Fool (vv. 60–75) 246. The Wise Man (vv. 76–89) 257. The Arahat:The Perfected One (vv. 90–99) 278. The Thousands (vv. 100–115) 289. Evil (vv. 116–128) 2910. Violence (vv. 129–145) 3011. Old Age (vv. 146–156) 3212. The Self (vv. 157–166) 3313. The World (vv. 167–178) 3414. The Buddha (vv. 179–196) 3515. Happiness (vv. 197–208) 3616. Affection (vv. 209–220) 3817. Anger (vv. 221–234) 3918. Impurity (vv. 235–255) 4019. The Just (vv. 256–272) 4220. The Path (vv. 273–289) 4321. Miscellaneous (vv. 290–305) 4522. The State of Woe (vv. 306–319) 4623. The Elephant (vv. 320–333) 4824. Craving (vv. 334–359) 4925. The Monk (vv. 360–382) 5226. The Holy Man (vv. 383–423) 54

Preface

by Acharya Buddharakkhita

The Dhammapada is the best known and most widely esteemed text inthe Pali Tipitaka, the sacred scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. Thework is included in the Khuddaka Nikaya (“Minor Collection”) of theSutta Pitaka, but its popularity has raised it far above the single nicheit occupies in the scriptures to the ranks of a world religious classic.Composed in the ancient Pali language, this slim anthology of versesconstitutes a perfect compendium of the Buddha’s teaching, compris-ing between its covers all the essential principles elaborated at lengthin the forty-odd volumes of the Pali Canon.According to the Theravada Buddhist tradition, each verse in theDhammapada was originally spoken by the Buddha in response to aparticular episode. Accounts of these, along with exegesis of theverses, are preserved in the classic commentary to the work, compiledby the great scholiast Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosa in the fifth cen-tury C.E. on the basis or material going back to very ancient times.The contents of the verses, however. transcend the limited and particu-lar circumstances of their origin, reaching out through the ages tovarious types of people in all the diverse situations of life. For thesimple and unsophisticated the Dhammapada is a sympathetic coun-selor; for the intellectually overburdened its clear and direct teachingsinspire humility and reflection; for the earnest seeker it is a perennialsource of inspiration and practical instruction. Insights that flashedinto the heart of the Buddha have crystallized into these luminousverses of pure wisdom. As profound expressions of practical spiritual-ity, each verse is a guideline to right living. The Buddha unambigu-ously pointed out that whoever earnestly practices the teachings foundin the Dhammapada will taste the bliss of emancipation.Due to its immense importance, the Dhammapada has been translatedinto numerous languages. In English alone several translations areavailable, including editions by such noted scholars as Max Mullerand Dr. S. Radhakrishnan. However, when presented from a non-Buddhist frame of reference, the teachings of the Buddha inevitablysuffer some distortion. This, in fact, has already happened with ouranthology: an unfortunate selection of renderings has sometimes sug-gested erroneous interpretations, while footnotes have tended to be judgmental.