Dhammapada
423 verses of Buddhist ethical poetry across 26 chapters (vaggas) — the most-translated and most-quoted Buddhist text. Khuddaka Nikāya of the Sutta Piṭaka. Müller's 1881 translation.
Source context· Indian stream · Ancient Indian cultural impulse
- Stream
- Indian
- Cultural impulse
- Ancient Indian (1st post-Atlantean cultural age)
- Composed
- c. 100 BCE
- Written down
- Greco-Latin (4th post-Atlantean cultural age) manuscript epoch
- 1Introduction — Müller's 1881 introduction to the Pāli canon
Max Müller's prefatory essay to the Sacred Books of the East translation: the place of the Dhammapada within the Khuddaka Nikāya, its likely date, its place in the early Buddhist canon, and the principles of his translation.
18,817 words - 2Chapter I. The Twin-Verses. — Mind precedes all things; the pairs of opposites
The famous opening: 'All that we are is the result of what we have thought.' Twenty verses in matched pairs contrasting the impure and the pure, hatred and non-hatred, the unrestrained and the restrained. The Buddhist analogue of the Two Ways.
1,971 words - 3Chapter II. On Earnestness. — Heedfulness (appamāda) is the path to the Deathless
Twelve verses on heedfulness — the central Buddhist virtue. 'Heedfulness is the path to the deathless; heedlessness is the path to death.' The Buddha's last reported teaching to the saṅgha placed first in this thematic chapter.
643 words - 4Chapter III. Thought. — The mind, hard to restrain, leads in all directions
Eleven verses on the disciplining of the mind — flickering, unstable, hard to guard. 'As an archer makes straight an arrow, so the wise man makes straight his trembling mind.'
1,039 words - 5Chapter IV. Flowers. — Gathering flowers — the appearance of the world
Sixteen verses on the world's flowering forms and their gathering. The metaphor of the bee that draws only the honey, leaving the flower unharmed — the model of the sage's relation to the world.
976 words - 6Chapter V. The Fool. — Bāla — the unawakened sleepwalker
Sixteen verses on the fool — bāla, the one who lacks discernment. The fool fears what should not be feared, glories in what is shameful, walks in the night thinking it is day.
866 words - 7Chapter VI. The Wise Man (Pandita). — Paṇḍita — the discerning sage
Fourteen verses on the wise man. He who shows the faults of others as one points out treasure; the wise are not bent by praise or blame; they are like a deep, calm, clear pool.
1,194 words - 8Chapter VII. The Venerable (Arhat). — The Arhat — the one who has reached the goal
Ten verses on the Arhat (the worthy one): his journey ended, his mind set free, his bonds cut. The gods themselves long to see such a one.
1,108 words - 9Chapter VIII. The Thousands. — Quality over quantity
Sixteen verses contrasting the thousand vain words with the single useful one. Better than a hundred years of unwise living is one day of wisdom; better than sovereignty over the earth is the first step of holiness.
913 words - 10Chapter IX. Evil. — On the sowing and reaping of evil
Thirteen verses on the law of moral causation. 'Make haste in doing good; restrain your mind from evil. The mind of one who is slow in doing good delights in evil.' Karma compressed into aphorism.
540 words - 11Chapter X. Punishment. — Ahimsā — all beings tremble before violence
Seventeen verses on non-violence. All beings tremble before violence; all fear death; all love life. Comparing oneself with others — therefore one should not kill nor cause to kill.
1,375 words - 12Chapter XI. Old Age. — The decay of the body; the dwelling-place of the soul
Eleven verses on old age and the body's transience. 'This body is wasted; full of sickness, frail; this heap of corruption breaks to pieces — life ends in death.'
1,195 words - 13Chapter XII. Self. — The self as one's own master
Ten verses on the self — paradoxical in Buddhist context. 'Self is the lord of self; who else could be the lord?' The disciplined self is the foundation; the undisciplined self is the worst enemy.
498 words - 14Chapter XIII. The World. — Loka — the world of becoming
Eleven verses contrasting the world of becoming with the world beyond. 'Rouse thyself, do not be idle! Follow the law of virtue! The virtuous rests in bliss in this world and in the next.'
596 words - 15Chapter XIV. The Buddha (The Awakened). — Buddha — the Awakened One
Eighteen verses in praise of the Buddha and his teaching. 'Difficult to obtain is the birth of men; difficult is the life of mortals; difficult is the hearing of the True Law; difficult is the appearance of the Awakened.'
1,268 words - 16Chapter XV. Happiness. — Sukha — the happiness of the unburdened
Twelve verses on the deep happiness available to one who has put down the burden. 'Let us live happily then, free from greed among the greedy; among men who are greedy let us dwell free from greed.'
950 words - 17Chapter XVI. Pleasure. — On the bondage of attachment
Twelve verses on pleasure (piya) and the danger of clinging. From what is dear comes grief, from what is dear comes fear; he who is free from what is dear knows no grief or fear.
392 words - 18Chapter XVII. Anger. — Krodha — overcoming anger by non-anger
Fourteen verses on anger. 'Let a man overcome anger by love; let him overcome evil by good; let him overcome the greedy by liberality, the liar by truth.'
558 words - 19Chapter XVIII. Impurity. — Malam — the inner impurities of greed, hatred, and delusion
Twenty-one verses on the inner stains. 'There is no impurity like ignorance; cleanse the impurity of ignorance, O monks, and ye shall be without impurity.'
1,237 words - 20Chapter XIX. The Just. — Dharma — the marks of the just
Seventeen verses on what makes a person truly just (dhammaṭṭha). 'A man is not just because he carries a matter by violence; the wise man examines what is right and what is wrong, and arbitrates by what is right.'
809 words - 21Chapter XX. The Way. — Magga — the Eightfold Path
Seventeen verses on the path. The Noble Eightfold Path is the best of paths; the Four Noble Truths the best of truths; passionlessness the best of states; the Awakened the best of bipeds.
773 words - 22Chapter XXI. Miscellaneous. — Pakiṇṇaka — miscellaneous wisdom
Sixteen verses on diverse themes. If by giving up a lesser happiness one may behold a greater, let the wise man give up the lesser to gain the greater.
1,020 words - 23Chapter XXII. The Downward Course. — Niraya — the downward course to hell
Fourteen verses on the consequences of evil. 'He who says what is not goes to hell, and also he who having done a thing says, I have not done it; both after death they are equal — men of base actions.'
621 words - 24Chapter XXIII. The Elephant. — Nāga — the elephant as image of the disciplined sage
Fourteen verses on the elephant. As an elephant in battle bears the arrows shot from the bow, even so will the sage endure abuse: most people are ill-natured.
705 words - 25Chapter XXIV. Thirst. — Taṇhā — craving as the root of suffering
Twenty-six verses on craving, the root of saṃsāra. 'The thirst of a thoughtless man grows like a creeper; he runs from life to life, like a monkey seeking fruit in the forest.' The fullest treatment of tṛṣṇā in the Dhammapada.
1,282 words - 26Chapter XXV. The Bhikshu (Mendicant). — Bhikkhu — the wandering monk
Twenty-three verses on the monk's life. Restraint in eye, ear, nose, tongue; restraint in body, speech, mind; in all things restrained — by restraint the monk is released from all suffering.
865 words - 27Chapter XXVI. The Brâhmana (Arhat). — Brāhmaṇa — redefining the Brahmin as the Arhat
The closing chapter — forty-one verses redefining who is truly a 'Brahmin.' Not by birth, not by matted hair, not by family does one become a Brahmin — but by purity, truth, and the casting-off of every fetter.
2,075 words
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