Dhammapada

Category: Khuddaka Nikaya

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

The Dhammapada (Pāli, translates as Path of the Dharma. Also Prakrit Dhamapada, Sanskrit Dharmapada) is a Buddhist scripture, containing 423 verses in 26 categories. According to tradition, these are answers to questions put to the Buddha on various occasions, most of which deal with ethics. A fifth century commentary by Buddhaghosa includes 305 stories which give context to the verses. [1]

The Dhammapada is a popular section of the Pāli Tipitaka and is considered one of the most important pieces of Theravada literature.

Although the Pāli edition is the most well known, a Gandhari edition written in Kharosthi and a seemingly related text in Sanskrit known as the Udanavarga have also been discovered.

Despite being a primarily Theravada text, the Dhammapada is read by many Mahayana Buddhists and remains a very popular text across all schools of Buddhism

Excerpt from the Dhammapada

Contrary Ways

1. What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind. If a man speaks or acts with an impure mind, suffering follows him as the wheel of the cart follows the beast that draws the cart.
2. He insulted me, he hurt me, he defeated me, he robbed me. Those who think such thoughts will not be free from hate.
3. For hate is not conquered by hate: hate is conquered by love. This is a law eternal.

(Translation by Juan Mascaro)

Check your mind,

Be on your guard,

Pull yourself out,

As an elephant from mud.

— xxiii.8

External links

• From the Ancient World Texts: Dhammapada translated by John Richards
• Dhammapada translated by Thomas Byrom
• Dhammapada — from the Electronic Buddhist Archives
• Dhammapada: A Translation — from Access to Insight
• The Dhammapada — translated by Max Müller
• Sri Lankan Buddhism Portal - Dhammapada
• Dhammapada
• The Dhammapada
• An iPod formatted version of Dhammapada is available at: nearfar.org: Dhammapada for iPod
• Readings (mp3) from the Dhammapada by Gil Fronsdal

Reference

• Brough, John. The Gandhari Dharmapada. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Delhi, 2001.