Gil Fronsdal is the guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Center (IMC) of Redwood City. He has a PhD in Buddhist Studies from Stanford University. His many dharma talks available online contain basic information on meditation and Buddhism, as well as subtle concepts of Buddhism explained at the level of the lay person.
A timeless classic, and one of few books I make a point of reading every year. Highly recommended to anyone interested in Buddhism or other contemplative traditions!
Exquisite translation! 2nd time I have read this one, with pleasure. This time I read one chapter each morning, including the fascinating footnotes. :) Jack Kornfield says in the foreword to this edition, "You hold in your hands the most beloved of all Buddhist texts, both poetic and profound. These verses of the Dhammapada sum up in the simplest language the core teachings of the Buddha." If you are interested in learning more about Buddhism or just about life, this entirely worth your while.
Poetry is what's lost in translation, and there weren't many verses in this that I thought were poetic. A lot of them are generally uninteresting or redundant to boot. I marked down about 10 out of the 423 verses as memorable. I'm more interested in the suttas, which I think are a better starting point than the Dhammapada for anyone interested in Buddhism.
I have always been interested in Buddhism. I have not read any books like this. I really enjoyed it! There are 26 chapters and each is titled. In the back of the book are some tips on how the author translated the original language. I am assuming there are many ways of translating these type of texts from the original language. It did help illuminate what is going on with the verses that are in each chapter. I found the key in the back of the book very useful.
I liked reading it and thinking about the meaning of the verses and different chapters that cover different topics. I’m basically a Christian, but I do enjoy the philosophy of Buddhism. It’s interesting to me to see a different approach to spirituality.