The present translation was originally written in the late 1950's. This, in fact, has already happened with our anthology: an unfortunate selection of renderings has sometimes suggested erroneous interpretations, while footnotes have tended to be judgmental. However, when presented from a non-Buddhist frame of reference, the teachings of the Buddha inevitably suffer some distortion. In English alone several translations are available, including editions by such noted scholars as Max Muller and Dr. The Buddha unambiguously pointed out that whoever earnestly practices the teachings found in the Dhammapada will taste the bliss of emancipation.ĭue to its immense importance, the Dhammapada has been translated into numerous languages. As profound expressions of practical spirituality, each verse is a guideline to right living. Insights that flashed into the heart of the Buddha have crystallized into these luminous verses of pure wisdom. For the simple and unsophisticated the Dhammapada is a sympathetic counselor for the intellectually overburdened its clear and direct teachings inspire humility and reflection for the earnest seeker it is a perennial source of inspiration and practical instruction. The contents of the verses, however, transcend the limited and particular circumstances of their origin, reaching out through the ages to various types of people in all the diverse situations of life. on the basis or material going back to very ancient times. Accounts of these, along with exegesis of the verses, are preserved in the classic commentary to the work, compiled by the great scholiast Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosa in the fifth century C.E. Composed in the ancient Pali language, this slim anthology of verses constitutes a perfect compendium of the Buddha's teaching, comprising between its covers all the essential principles elaborated at length in the forty-odd volumes of the Pali canon.Īccording to the Theravada Buddhist tradition, each verse in the Dhammapada was originally spoken by the Buddha in response to a particular episode. The work is included in the Khuddaka Nikaya ("Minor Collection") of the Sutta Pitaka, but its popularity has raised it far above the single niche it occupies in the scriptures to the ranks of a world religious classic. The Dhammapada is the best known and most widely esteemed text in the Pali Tipitaka, the sacred scriptures of Theravada Buddhism.
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