Preface:
The Dhammapada — The Path to Truth — is an excellent book to keep in
one’s pocket and refer to at leisure. It contains 423 verses in 26 chapters,
covering all kinds of topics.
In this edition I have included the Pāḷi text following the Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana
Tipiṭaka published by the Vipassanā Research Institute. Variant readings found in
the Sinhalese edition of the text are annotated.
The translation is based on Nārada Mahāthera’s, but I have rephrased the
English to bring it up to date, and added my own footnotes. A few words like
“Arahant” cannot adequately be translated into English, so they have been left in
the original Pāḷi. The Pāḷi words “thera” and “therī” have both been translated
“elder.” The Pāḷi word “Brāhmaṇa” means little to the average reader so I have
translated it as “Saint,” which best conveys in English the meaning of freedom
from human failings like lust, anger, jealousy, and so forth. You will find a
glossary of Pāḷi terms in the Appendices defining some of these difficult words.
The meaning of the verses is greatly clarified by the stories from the
commentaries, which put them into context. I have relied on this context to give
the most appropriate translation rather than trying to ensure word for word
consistency. The long narrative of the commentary fleshes out the characters,
which is fine for story-telling, but it adds little for the modern reader, so I have
condensed them substantially, though I have included more than just a synopsis.
The full translation of the commentary by Burlingame for the Pāḷi Text Society
runs to three volumes, while this edition would comfortably fit a single volume.
I am aware that this first edition has many defects, but I am sure that the
readers will gain some benefit. Improved editions may follow later if I find time.
This map of India shows the Ganges valley, where the Buddha mostly lived
and taught, and the adjacent countries to which missionary monks went and from
which pilgrims came to visit the Buddha. The Four Holy Sites are marked
where the Bodhisatta was born, where the Buddha gained Enlightenment, where
he started teaching the Dhamma, and where he passed away by attaining the final
nibbāna (parinibbāna). After the Buddha’s demise, his body was cremated at
Kusināra, and his relics were enshrined in ten funereal mounds (cetiya or stūpa).
His relics were divided into eight portions by the Brahmin Doṇa who
diplomatically prevented the various kings from fighting over the Buddha’s
remains. He was given the jewel-encrusted funeral urn, over which he built a
ninth cetiya, and the Moriyās of Pippalivana, who arrived too late to obtain a
share of the relics, erected a cetiya over the ashes of the funeral pyre at
Pippalivana.
To understand the Dhamma properly we need to see it in context. It is a
practical teaching that is best understood through practice, rather than mere
study. (cf. Dhp vv 19, 20) Nevertheless, it is a detailed teaching that needs careful
study. If we don’t know the teaching well enough, then we won’t be able to
practise it correctly. (cf. Dhp v 152) Study, practice, and realisation are all
important. Realisation is the goal, practice is the method, and study is the map
showing the right way. MsSVig
The Dhammapada — The Path to Truth — is an excellent book to keep in
one’s pocket and refer to at leisure. It contains 423 verses in 26 chapters,
covering all kinds of topics.
In this edition I have included the Pāḷi text following the Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana
Tipiṭaka published by the Vipassanā Research Institute. Variant readings found in
the Sinhalese edition of the text are annotated.
The translation is based on Nārada Mahāthera’s, but I have rephrased the
English to bring it up to date, and added my own footnotes. A few words like
“Arahant” cannot adequately be translated into English, so they have been left in
the original Pāḷi. The Pāḷi words “thera” and “therī” have both been translated
“elder.” The Pāḷi word “Brāhmaṇa” means little to the average reader so I have
translated it as “Saint,” which best conveys in English the meaning of freedom
from human failings like lust, anger, jealousy, and so forth. You will find a
glossary of Pāḷi terms in the Appendices defining some of these difficult words.
The meaning of the verses is greatly clarified by the stories from the
commentaries, which put them into context. I have relied on this context to give
the most appropriate translation rather than trying to ensure word for word
consistency. The long narrative of the commentary fleshes out the characters,
which is fine for story-telling, but it adds little for the modern reader, so I have
condensed them substantially, though I have included more than just a synopsis.
The full translation of the commentary by Burlingame for the Pāḷi Text Society
runs to three volumes, while this edition would comfortably fit a single volume.
I am aware that this first edition has many defects, but I am sure that the
readers will gain some benefit. Improved editions may follow later if I find time.
This map of India shows the Ganges valley, where the Buddha mostly lived
and taught, and the adjacent countries to which missionary monks went and from
which pilgrims came to visit the Buddha. The Four Holy Sites are marked
where the Bodhisatta was born, where the Buddha gained Enlightenment, where
he started teaching the Dhamma, and where he passed away by attaining the final
nibbāna (parinibbāna). After the Buddha’s demise, his body was cremated at
Kusināra, and his relics were enshrined in ten funereal mounds (cetiya or stūpa).
His relics were divided into eight portions by the Brahmin Doṇa who
diplomatically prevented the various kings from fighting over the Buddha’s
remains. He was given the jewel-encrusted funeral urn, over which he built a
ninth cetiya, and the Moriyās of Pippalivana, who arrived too late to obtain a
share of the relics, erected a cetiya over the ashes of the funeral pyre at
Pippalivana.
To understand the Dhamma properly we need to see it in context. It is a
practical teaching that is best understood through practice, rather than mere
study. (cf. Dhp vv 19, 20) Nevertheless, it is a detailed teaching that needs careful
study. If we don’t know the teaching well enough, then we won’t be able to
practise it correctly. (cf. Dhp v 152) Study, practice, and realisation are all
important. Realisation is the goal, practice is the method, and study is the map
showing the right way. MsSVig