Essence of the Dhammapada: The Buddha's Call to Nirvana

by Eknath Easwaran

Eknath Easwaran, translator of the best-selling edition of the "Dhammapada, " sees this powerful scripture as a perfect map for the spiritual journey. Said to be the text closest to the BuddhaOCOs actual words, it is a collection of short teachings memorized during his lifetime by his disciples. Easwaran presents the "Dhammapada" as a guide to spiritual perseverance, progress, and ultimately enlightenment ? a heroic confrontation with life as it really is, with straight answers to our deepest questions. We witness the heartbreak of death, for instance ? what does that mean for us? What is love? How does karma work? How do we follow the spiritual life in the midst of work and family? Does nirvana really exist, and if so, what is it like to be illumined?
In his interpretation of Buddhist themes, illustrated with stories from the BuddhaOCOs life, Easwaran offers a view of the concept of Right Understanding that is both exhilarating and instructive. He shares his experiences on the spiritual path, giving the advice that only an experienced teacher and practitioner can offer, and urges us to answer for ourselves the BuddhaOCOs call to nirvana ? that mysterious, enduring state of wisdom, joy, and peace.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Buddhism, Spirituality, Religion

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 10, 2013

About the author

Eknath Easwaran (1910–1999) is the originator of passage meditation and the author of more than 30 books on spiritual living.

Easwaran is a recognized authority on the Indian spiritual classics. His translations of The Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads, and The Dhammapada are the best-selling editions in the USA, and over 1.5 million copies of his books are in print.

Easwaran was a professor of English literature and well known in India as a writer and speaker before coming to the United States in 1959 on the Fulbright exchange program. In 1961, he founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, based in Tomales, California, which continues his work today through publications and retreats.

His 1968 class on the theory and practice of meditation at UC Berkeley is believed to be the first accredited course on meditation at any Western university. For those who seek him as a personal spiritual guide, Easwaran assured us that he lives on through his eight-point program of passage meditation.

"I am with you always”, he said. “It does not require my physical presence; it requires your open heart."

Please visit bmcm.org for a fuller biography.

Reviews

[Marc Mannheimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this was a great experience. A text that represents the Buddha's words to all practitioners -- lay and monastic -- its translation left nothing to be desired for. I liked the rather long introduction by Easwaran,, which delineated various key points of Buddhism, the separate introductions to each chapter, by a colleague of Easwaran (they were very helpful in explaining the rather terse text chapters), and the text chapters themselves, translated by Easwaran -- very succinct and powerful nuggets of wisdom from the Buddha. All in all, it put my understanding of Buddhism in clearer perspective.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great interpretation of the Dhammapada, and it's great to read and experience it in a very different way - in the style of Easwaran.

[Braga · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, however, can be safely ignored/shelved. No need to read through this book as this is neither going to give any practical input like "Mind Illuminated by John Yates" nor a lot of inspiration like "The Art of Living by Goenka". It does touch the essence of Buddha's teachings, here and there, however, it does talk about an "ism" here and there which was not what Buddha strived to establish in the first place. The Sangh is much different from the current theory of Religion, at least that is how I interpret this. If you want some inspirational quotes here and there, perhaps you can give this a skim, even in that case, I would recommend better books than this one.

[Cherie Kephart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of light and wisdom, a beautiful account of The Buddha's teachings.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good.

[Becky Holum-B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this treasury on the eve of Trump's election. The only sanity of the evening. The Dhammapada is lovely, filled with timeless gems of thought.

[Merrikay · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dhammapada is one of the most beloved of Buddhist texts.  There are many translations and many books written expounding upon it.  What sets Easwaran's apart is its profound simplicity.  Profound simplicity can seem like an oxymoron, but Easwaran is one of the teachers who is especially skilled at translating these teachings in English.  He manages to take stories and ideas that originate in a different culture and retain the essence of that culture and teaching while finding a way, maybe an anecdote, to relate it to Western thinking.  This is the second of his books that I have read, the first being Take Your Time:  Finding Balance in a Hurried World, which I also found very helpful.  I will be reading more of his work.  Five stars

This review is from an early review copy of the book given to me by the publisher.

[Joyce Yanney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eknath Easwaran translates this book. It was written as a guidebook for buddhists and non buddhists. Text of Buddha's actual words of short stories from teachers that he remembers during his lifetime. Answers to our questions, heartbreak of death, love, how to follow spiritual life with family and work, how Karma works, does nirvana really exist and if it does what it is to be illumined. Nirvana - a mysterious state of wisdom, peace, and joy. A book for a person that wants to learn of this lifestyle or to answer to the call of Buddha.

[Peacejanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book - a clear discussion of the Buddha's teachings and movement toward Nirvana. This is an excellent book for the non-Buddhist to understand what Nirvana is and to compare the teachings of Buddha and Christ without all the "religious" overtones. I have been taught Christian ideals and beliefs and know little about other philosophies of life. The teachings are a blueprint for anyone who lives in the world and seeks a peaceful existence. I received a review copy of this book through GoodReads.

[Sej Saraiya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is essentially Easwaran's commentary on certain verses from the Dhammapada which he explains using anecdotes from his own and Buddha's life. The book seems weak in the beginning, but the chapter on Inner Journey is the reason why I really like this book. Easwaran talks about the various stages we go through once we start to meditate and how to deal with them. Nobody teaches us these things, and Easwaran breaches questions that might have not even been evoked in our minds until we read the explanations and directions. Worth reading once.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic clear translation that is helpful for beginners on up. It asks many questions for today's lifestyle and answers them with Buddhas calming words

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had hoped this was the full translation of the Dhammapada. That said this is a great start to reading and understanding Buddhism. I would definitely recommend it to those interested in the topic.