Dhammapada Scripts

The Dhammapada

The Dhammapada is a remarkable collection of memorable utterances attributed to Buddha. Given the rich variety of meanings which can be ascribed to the dhamma and to pada, the title may be translated 'The Way of Virtue',  'The Path of the Law',  or 'The Foundation of Religion'. We will also talk about the Discourses of The Buddha.

The Dhammapada is a collection of 423 Buddhist verses, arranged into 26 chapters by topic. It is said by many to contain the essence of the Buddha's teachings, and is one of the best-loved works in the Pali Canon.

Starting or adding to my collection of books, I use two books by Thomas Cleary:

The Dhammapada is an anthology. In general, it belongs, in part, to the Theravada Pali Canon of scriptures known as the Khuddaka Nikaya.

The Mindful Individual

Organization of Texts

Dhammapada - Blossoms

The Mindful Individual

The mindful individual neither succumbs nor invades in a world of deceptive appearances. He does what should be done and attends appropriately to his needs and tasks, without interfering with others or becoming ineffectually involved in things. 

Just as a bee gathers honey and flies away, without harming the colour or fragrance of the flower, even so the silent Sage moves about in the village (IV.6). 

The fool is fascinated by the world and thinks he learns thereby, but the wise man is not fascinated, indulgent or afraid and so moves noiselessly through the world, ever reflecting upon universal Dharma, the Tathagatas, the sweetness and light radiating from the invisible pillars of the never-ending Sangha.

Organization of Texts

Almost a quarter of the verses are to be found in other parts of the Pali Tipitaka, particularly in the other verse parts of the Khuddaka Nikaya such as the Sutta Nipata and the Thera- and Theri-gatha. 

The Dhammapada is probably the most popular book of the Pali Canon, with the possible exception of the Satipatthana Sutta, or the Sutta on the Turning of the Wheel of the Law (Dhamma-cakka-ppavattana Sutta). It is certainly the most frequently translated portion. 

There are a number of Mahayana works to which it appears to be closely related. 

There are in the Chinese scriptures 4 works resembling the Dhammapada. The nearest is the Fa Chu Ching, which was translated in AD 223. (translated by Beal), the first part of which seems to be a direct translation of the Pali Dhammapada.

Myriad schools and far-flung traditions sprang from the fertile streams of Mahayana thought. They developed in their own distinctive way in Tibet, but in China, Korea and Japan they were deeply influenced by the Sthavira philosophy preserved in Theravadin teachings. Some schools incorporated potent ideas from Taoist alchemy and others emphasized the elimination of doubt by deep faith, giving rise to the Pure Land (sukhavati) schools. Yet others stressed meditation, dhyana, developing the Ch'an tradition which became Zen in Japan. However divergent the perspectives, they all readily recognized and consistently preached the fundamental importance of morality in thought, word and deed to any authentic progress on the Path to Enlightenment.

It is indeed significant that the Dhammapada has always been venerated as the finest expression of the ethical principles upon which all wise practice and compassionate therapy must be firmly based. 

The Dhammapada is a remarkable collection of memorable utterances attributed to Buddha. Given the rich variety of meanings which can be ascribed to the dhamma and to pada, the title may be translated 'The Way of Virtue', 'The Path of the Law', 'The Foundation of Religion' and even 'Utterances of Scriptures'.