Dhammapada

The Dhammapada (Pāli; sa, धर्मपद, Dharmapada) is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures. The original version of the Dhammapada is in the Khuddaka Nikaya, a division of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism.

The Buddhist scholar and commentator Buddhaghosa explains that each saying recorded in the collection was made on a different occasion in response to a unique situation that had arisen in the life of the Buddha and his monastic community. His translation of the commentary, the ''Dhammapada Atthakatha'', presents the details of these events and is a rich source of legend for the life and times of the Buddha.

Etymology

The title "Dhammapada" is a compound term composed of ''dhamma'' and ''pada'', each word having a number of denotations and connotations. Generally, ''dhamma'' can refer to the Buddha's "doctrine" or an "eternal truth" or "righteousness" or all "phenomena"; at its root, ''pada'' means "foot" and thus by extension, especially in this context, means either "path" or "verse" (cf. " prosodic foot") or both. English translations of this text's title have used various combinations of these and related words.

History

According to tradition, the Dhammapada's verses were spoken by the Buddha on various occasions. Glenn Wallis states: "By distilling the complex models, theories, rhetorical style and sheer volume of the Buddha's teachings into concise, crystalline verses, the Dhammapada makes the Buddhist way of life available to anyone...In fact, it is possible that the very source of the Dhammapada in the third century B.C.E. is traceable to the need of the early Buddhist communities in India to laicize the ascetic impetus of the Buddha's original words." The text is part of the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Sutta Pitaka, although over half of the verses exist in other parts of the Pali Canon. A 4th or 5th century CE commentary attributed to Buddhaghosa includes 305 stories which give context to the verses.

Although the Pāli edition is the best-known, a number of other versions are known:''Buddhist Studies Review'', 6, 2, 1989, page 153, reprinted in Norman, ''Collected Papers'', volume VI, 1996, Pali Text Society, Bristol, page 156
* " Gāndhārī Dharmapada" – a version possibly of Dharmaguptaka or Kāśyapīya origin in Gāndhārī written in Kharosthi script
* "Patna Dharmapada" – a version in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, most likely Sammatiya
* " Udānavarga" – a seemingly related Mula-Sarvastivada or Sarvastivada text in
** 3 Sanskrit versions
** a Tibetan translation, which is popular in traditional Tibetan Buddhism
* "Mahāvastu" – a Lokottaravāda text with parallels to verses in the Pāli Dhammapada's ''Sahassa Vagga'' and ''Bhikkhu Vagga''.
* "FaJuJing 法句经" – 4 Chinese works; one of these appears to be an expanded translation of the Pali version; this has not traditionally been very popular.

Comparing the Pali Dhammapada, the Gandhari Dharmapada and the Udanavarga, Brough (2001) identifies that the texts have in common 330 to 340 verses, 16 chapter headings and an underlying structure. He suggests that the three texts have a "common ancestor" but underlines that there is no evidence that any one of these three texts might have been the "primitive Dharmapada" from which the other two evolved.

The Dhammapada is one of the most popular pieces of Theravada literature.See, for instance, Buswell (2003): "rank among the best known Buddhist texts" (p. 11); and, "one of the most popular texts with Buddhist monks and laypersons" (p. 627). Harvey (2007), p. 322, writes: "Its popularity is reflected in the many times it has been translated into Western languages"; Brough (2001), p. xvii, writes: "The collection of Pali ethical verses entitled "Dhammapada" is one of the most widely known of early Buddhist texts." A critical edition of the Dhammapada was produced by Danish scholar Viggo Fausbøll in 1855, becoming the first Pali text to receive this kind of examination by the European academic community.

Organization

The Pali Dhammapada contains 423 verses in 26 chapters (listed below in Pali and English).English chapter titles based on Ānandajoti (2017).

Excerpts

The following Pali verses and corresponding English translations are from Ānandajoti (2017), which also contains explanatory footnotes.

English translations

See also online translations listed in External links below.

* Daniel Gogerly, printed the first English translation of ‘’Dhammapada’’, comprising verses 1-255 in 1840 in Ceylon.
* Tr F. Max Müller, in ''Buddhist Parables'', by E. W. Burlinghame, 1869; reprinted in ''Sacred Books of the East'', volume X, Clarendon/Oxford, 1881; reprinted in ''Buddhism'', by Clarence Hamilton; reprinted separately by Watkins, 2006; reprinted 2008 by Red and Black Publishers, St Petersburg, Florida, ; the first English translation (a Latin translation by V. Fausböll had appeared in 1855)
* Tr J. Gray, American Mission Press, Rangoon, 1881
* Tr J. P. Cooke & O. G. Pettis, Boston (Massachusetts?), 1898
* ''Hymns of Faith'', tr Albert J. Edmunds, Open Court, Chicago, & Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., London, 1902
* Tr Norton T. W. Hazeldine, Denver, Colorado, 1902
* ''The Buddha's Way of Virtue'', tr W. D. C. Wagiswara & K. J. Saunders, John Murray, London, 1912
* Tr Silacara, Buddhist Society, London, 1915
* Tr Suriyagoda Sumangala, in ''Ceylon Antiquary'', 1915
* Tr A. P. Buddhadatta, Colombo Apothecaries, 1920?
* ''The Buddha's Path of Virtue'', tr F. L. Woodward, Theosophical Publishing House, London & Madras, 1921
* In ''Buddhist Legends'', tr E. W. Burlinghame, Harvard Oriental Series, 1921, 3 volumes; reprinted by Pali Text Societybr>
Bristol; translation of the stories from the commentary, with the Dhammapada verses embedded
* Tr R. D. Shrikhande and/or P. L. Vaidya (according to different bibliographies; or did one publisher issue two translations in the same year?), Oriental Book Agency, Poona, 1923; includes Pali text
* "Verses on Dhamma", in ''Minor Anthologies of the Pali Canon'', volume I, tr C. A. F. Rhys Davids, 1931, Pali Text Society, Bristol; verse translation; includes Pali text
* Tr N. K. Bhag(w?)at, Buddha Society, Bombay, 1931/5; includes Pali text
* ''The Way of Truth'', tr S. W. Wijayatilake, Madras, 1934
* Tr Irving Babbitt, Oxford University Press, New York & London, 1936; revision of Max Müller
* Tr K. Gunaratana, Penang, Malaya, 1937
* ''The Path of the Eternal Law'', tr Swami Premananda, Self-Realization Fellowship, Washington DC, 1942
* Tr Dhammajoti, Maha Bodhi Society, Benares, 1944
* Comp. Jack Austin, Buddhist Society, London, 1945
* ''Stories of Buddhist India'', tr Piyadassi, 2 volumes, Moratuwa, Ceylon, 1949 & 1953; includes stories from the commentary
* (see article) Tr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Oxford University Press, London, 1950; includes Pali text
* ''Collection of Verses on the Doctrine of the Buddha'', comp Bhadragaka, Bangkok, 1952
* Tr T. Latter, Moulmein, Burma, 1950?
* Tr W. Somalokatissa, Colombo, 1953
* Tr Narada, John Murray, London, 1954
* Tr E. W. Adikaram, Colombo, 1954
* Tr A. P. Buddhadatta, Colombo, 1954; includes Pali text
* Tr Siri Sivali, Colombo, 1954
* Tr ?, Cunningham Press, Alhambra, California, 1955
* Tr C. Kunhan Raja, Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar/Madras, 1956; includes Pali text
* Free rendering and interpretation by Wesley La Violette, Los Angeles, 1956
* Tr Buddharakkhita, Maha Bodhi Society, Bangalore, 1959; 4th edn, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 1996; includes Pali text
* Tr Suzanne Karpelès, serialized in ''Advent'' (Pondicherry, India), 1960–65; reprinted in ''Questions and Answers'', Collected Works of the Mother, 3, Pondicherry, 1977
* ''Growing the Bodhi Tree in the Garden of the Heart'', tr Khantipalo, Buddhist Association of Thailand, Bangkok, 1966; reprinted as ''The Path of Truth'', Bangkok, 1977
* Tr P. Lal, New York, 1967/70
* Tr Juan Mascaró, Penguin Classics, 1973
* Tr Thomas Byrom, Shambhala, Boston, Massachusetts, & Wildwood House, London, 1976 ()
* Tr Ananda Maitreya, serialized in ''Pali Buddhist Review'', 1 & 2, 1976/7; offprinted under the title ''Law Verses'', Colombo, 1978; revised by Rose Kramer (under the Pali title), originally published by Lotsawa Publications in 1988, reprinted by Parallax Press in 1995
* ''The Buddha's Words'', tr Sathienpong Wannapok, Bangkok, 1979
* ''Wisdom of the Buddha'', tr Harischandra Kaviratna, Pasadena, 1980; includes Pali text
* ''The Eternal Message of Lord Buddha'', tr Silananda, Calcutta, 1982; includes Pali text
* Tr Chhi Med Rig Dzin Lama, Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, India, 1982; tr from the modern Tibetan translation by dGe-'dun Chos-'phel; includes Pali & Tibetan texts
* Tr & pub Dharma Publishing, Berkeley, California, 1985; tr from the modern Tibetan translation by dGe-'dun Chos-'phel
* Commentary, with text embedded, tr Department of Pali, University of Rangoon, published by Union Buddha Sasana Council, Rangoon (date uncertain; 1980s)
* Tr Daw Mya Tin, Burma Pitaka Association, Rangoon, 1986; probably currently published by the Department for the Promotion and Propagation of the Sasana, Rangoon, and/or Sri Satguru, Delhi
* ''Path of Righteousness'', tr David J. Kalupahana, Universities Press of America, Lanham, Maryland, c. 1986
* Tr Raghavan Iyer, Santa Barbara, 1986; includes Pali text
* (see article) Tr Eknath Easwaran, Arkana, London, 1986/7(); reissued with new material Nilgiri Press 2007, Tomales, CA ()
* Tr John Ross Carter & Mahinda Palihawadana, Oxford University Press, New York, 1987; the original hardback edition also includes the Pali text and the commentary's explanations of the verses; the paperback reprint in the World's Classics Series omits these
* Tr U. D. Jayasekera, Colombo, 1992
* ''Treasury of Truth'', tr Weragoda Sarada, Taipei, 1993
* Tr Thomas Cleary, Thorsons, London, 1995
* ''The Word of the Doctrine'', tr K. R. Norman, 1997, Pali Text Society, Bristol; the PTS's preferred translation
* Tr Anne Bancroft?, Element Books, Shaftesbury, Dorset, & Richport, Massachusetts, 1997
* The Dhammapada: The Buddha's Path of Wisdom, tr Buddharakkhita, Buddhist Publication Society, 1998. ()
* ''The Way of Truth'', tr Sangharakshita, Windhorse Publications, Birmingham, 2001
* Tr F. Max Müller (see above), revised Jack Maguire, SkyLight Pubns, Woodstock, Vermont, 2002
* Tr Glenn Wallis, Modern Library, New York, 2004 ();
The Dhammapada: Verses on the Way
'
* Tr Gil Fronsdal, Shambhala, Boston, Massachusetts, 2005 ()
* Tr Bhikkhu Varado, Inward Path, Malaysia, 2007;
Dhammapada in English Verse
'

Musical settings

* Ronald Corp's 2010 a cappella choral setting of Francis Booth's translation, released on Stone Records

* Dhammapada - Sacred Teachings of the Buddha. Hariprasad Chaurasia & Rajesh Dubey. 2018 - Freespirit Records

Notes

Sources

* Ānandajoti, Bhikkhu (2007).
A Comparative Edition of the Dhammapada
'. U. of Peradeniya
Ancient Buddhist Texts
Retrieved 25 Nov 2008.
* Ānandajoti, Bhikkhu (2017).

'' 2nd edition
Ancient Buddhist Texts
Retrieved 1 May 2022.
* Brough, John (2001). ''The Gāndhārī Dharmapada''. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited.
* Buswell, Robert E. (ed.) (2003). ''Encyclopedia of Buddhism''. MacMillan Reference Books. .
* Cone, Margaret (transcriber) (1989).

in the ''Journal of the Pali Text Society'' (Vol. XIII), pp. 101–217. Oxford: PTS. Online text interspersed with Pali parallels compiled by Ānandajoti Bhikkhu (2007)
Ancient Buddhist Texts
Retrieved 06-15-2008.
* Easwaran, Eknath (2007) ( see article). ''The Dhammapada''. Nilgiri Press. .
* Fronsdal, Gil (2005). ''The Dhammapada''. Boston: Shambhala. .
* Geiger, Wilhelm (trans. by Batakrishna Ghosh) (1943, 2004). ''Pāli Literature and Language''. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. .
* Harvey, Peter (1990, 2007). ''An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .
* Hinüber, Oskar von (2000). ''A Handbook of Pāli Literature''. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. .
* Müller, F. Max (1881). '' The Dhammapada'' (Sacred Books Of The East, Vol. X). Oxford University Press.
* Ñāamoli, Bhikkhu (trans.) & Bhikkhu Bodhi (ed.) (2001). ''The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya''. Boston: Wisdom Publications. .
* Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). ''The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary''. Chipstead: Pali Text Society
Search inside the Pali–English Dictionary
University of Chicago

External links

Translations

Dhammapada, illustrated edition
(1993) With stories and commentary, by Ven. Weagoda Sarada Maha Thero ncludes glossary* by Max Müller (1881) from Wikisource
* by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1950
Reprint, Oxford University Press
(1996)


(1980)


(1985)
pdf
has intro by Bhikkhu Bodhi)


(1993)

by Thomas Byrom
(1993)
* by Eknath Easwaran (1996)

by Thanissaro
(1997)

by Gil Fronsdal – Reading by Chapter from ''The Dhammapada: A New Translation of the Buddhist Classic with Annotations''
– 2006

by Bhikkhu Varado and Samanera Bodhesako
(2008)


including explanation of grammar

Multilingual edition of Dhammapada in the Bibliotheca Polyglotta

Parallel Reading (paragraph granularity) of The Buddha's Path of Wisdom-- Dhammapada (Dhp.)

Voice recordings

Readings (mp3) from the Dhammapada
translated and read by Gil Fronsdal
*

{{Gautama Buddha

Khuddaka Nikaya
Buddhist poetry
Buddhist texts