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Dhammapada: The Way of Truth
Experiences are preceded by mind, led by mind, and produced by mind. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow that never departs. One of the seminal texts in the Buddhist literary canon, the Dhammapada presents the timeless wisdom of the Buddha. This edition is introduced and translated by the founder of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) and is annotated to help the reader gain a deeper understanding. Sangharakshita is the founder of FWBO, a worldwide Buddhist movement. He spent many years living as a monk in India and studying Buddhism. With a lifetime of teaching experience, he is the author of over forty titles published by Windhorse Publications.
- GenresBuddhismNonfiction
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
8 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Sangharakshita
205 books76 followersSangharakshita was born Dennis Lingwood in South London, in 1925. Largely self-educated, he developed an interest in the cultures and philosophies of the East early on, and realized that he was a Buddhist at the age of sixteen.
The Second World War took him, as a conscript, to India, where he stayed on to become the Buddhist monk Sangharakshita. After studying for some years under leading teachers from the major Buddhist traditions, he went on to teach and write extensively. He also played a key part in the revival of Buddhism in India, particularly through his work among followers of Dr B.R. Ambedkar.
After twenty years in the East, he returned to England to establish the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order in 1967, and the Western Buddhist Order in 1968 (now known as the Triratna Buddhist Community and the Triratna Buddhist Order respectively).
Sangharakshita has always particularly emphasized the decisive significance of commitment in the spiritual life, the paramount value of spiritual friendship and community, the link between religion and art, and the need for a ‘new society’ supportive of spiritual aspirations and ideas.
In recent years Sangharakshita has been handing on most of his responsibilities to his senior disciples in the Order. Based at the Adhisthana retreat centre in Herefordshire UK, he is now focusing on personal contact with people. For more, go to www.sangharakshita.org.
A collection of 27 volumes will represent the definitive edition of his life’s work as a Buddhist writer and teacher. Find out more about The Complete Works of Sangharakshita
A series of talks by Sangharakshita: ‘Launch of The Essential Sangharakshita and Living Ethically’.
The Second World War took him, as a conscript, to India, where he stayed on to become the Buddhist monk Sangharakshita. After studying for some years under leading teachers from the major Buddhist traditions, he went on to teach and write extensively. He also played a key part in the revival of Buddhism in India, particularly through his work among followers of Dr B.R. Ambedkar.
After twenty years in the East, he returned to England to establish the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order in 1967, and the Western Buddhist Order in 1968 (now known as the Triratna Buddhist Community and the Triratna Buddhist Order respectively).
Sangharakshita has always particularly emphasized the decisive significance of commitment in the spiritual life, the paramount value of spiritual friendship and community, the link between religion and art, and the need for a ‘new society’ supportive of spiritual aspirations and ideas.
In recent years Sangharakshita has been handing on most of his responsibilities to his senior disciples in the Order. Based at the Adhisthana retreat centre in Herefordshire UK, he is now focusing on personal contact with people. For more, go to www.sangharakshita.org.
A collection of 27 volumes will represent the definitive edition of his life’s work as a Buddhist writer and teacher. Find out more about The Complete Works of Sangharakshita
A series of talks by Sangharakshita: ‘Launch of The Essential Sangharakshita and Living Ethically’.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 28, 2019
The Dhammapada, an anthology of verses attributed to the Buddha, has long been recognized as one of the masterpieces of early Buddhist literature. It is one of the seminal texts in the Buddhist Pali canon. This book is one of the, easiest to read, English translations available out there.
The short verses and their sequencing lay out the teachings of the Buddha in a very digestible format. Even though I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone with no prior background on the subject, I still think those who are interested in Buddhism should read it at least once. The book is dense and almost every verse contains a reference to a Buddhist teaching, instruction or concept, hence having a background on the subject is mandatory.
What follows are some of my favorite verses:
1. Experiences are preceded by mind, led by mind, and produced by mind. If one speaks or acts with an impure mind, suffering follows even as the cart-wheel follows the hoof of the ox (drawing the cart).
2. Experiences are preceded by mind, led by mind, and produced by mind. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow that never departs.
81. As a solid mountain cannot be shaken by the wind, so the spiritually mature person is unmoved by praise or blame.
251. There is no fire like lust. There is no grip like anger. There is no net like delusion. There is no river like craving.
279. ‘All things (whatsoever) are devoid of unchanging selfhood.’ When one sees this with insight (panna) one becomes weary of suffering. This is the Way to Purity.
313. If you have something to do, attack it vigorously. One who lives the homeless life half-heartedly scatters much dust of passion around.
351. The one who has arrived at (spiritual) perfection, who is devoid of fear, free from craving, and without (moral) blemish, (that person) has wrenched out the darts of (mundane) existence. This is the last body (he will wear).
The short verses and their sequencing lay out the teachings of the Buddha in a very digestible format. Even though I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone with no prior background on the subject, I still think those who are interested in Buddhism should read it at least once. The book is dense and almost every verse contains a reference to a Buddhist teaching, instruction or concept, hence having a background on the subject is mandatory.
What follows are some of my favorite verses:
1. Experiences are preceded by mind, led by mind, and produced by mind. If one speaks or acts with an impure mind, suffering follows even as the cart-wheel follows the hoof of the ox (drawing the cart).
2. Experiences are preceded by mind, led by mind, and produced by mind. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow that never departs.
81. As a solid mountain cannot be shaken by the wind, so the spiritually mature person is unmoved by praise or blame.
251. There is no fire like lust. There is no grip like anger. There is no net like delusion. There is no river like craving.
279. ‘All things (whatsoever) are devoid of unchanging selfhood.’ When one sees this with insight (panna) one becomes weary of suffering. This is the Way to Purity.
313. If you have something to do, attack it vigorously. One who lives the homeless life half-heartedly scatters much dust of passion around.
351. The one who has arrived at (spiritual) perfection, who is devoid of fear, free from craving, and without (moral) blemish, (that person) has wrenched out the darts of (mundane) existence. This is the last body (he will wear).
March 21, 2024
A rather dry translation; not the best introduction to the Buddha's teachings.
Sangharakshita, formerly Dennis Lingwood of London, provides a useful preface on the origins of the Dhammapada, or "Way of Truth". For the first (perhaps three) centuries after the Buddha's death, his teachings were preserved by oral transmission among his followers. Only in the first century BCE, were they first committed to writing. As different Buddhist schools emerged, the teachings were recorded in four different languages. The largest extant corpus is that in the Pali language of the Sri Lankan Theravada School, one of the which texts is the Dhammapada. The authenticity of the Pali Dhammapada is confirmed by similar texts in the Prakit and Sanskrit languages (as well as later Chinese translations of the Sanskrit originals). These texts differ somewhat from the Pali version in the number and ordering of verses, but all have blocks of verses in common.
There have evidently been more than 30 translations of the Dhammapada. Sangharakshita's translation was initiated in the 1960s and continued over the following decades, resulting in this 2001 publication. Unlike some versions, he prefers not to include commentary so that "there should be nothing to stand between the reader and the Buddha." This is a valid position, but it does mean that the Buddha's teachings need to stand on their own, as clear and convincing to the reader.
There are a couple of problems here. First, the teachings sometimes approach the pedantic. The Buddha's philosophical tradition appears to have been based on making classifications and distinctions, rather than speaking in parables, like Jesus, say. Thus, we find many repetitious sections of text which risk losing their power, along the following lines:
"A religiously upright man can be characterized by eight virtues, A through H (each being spelled out);
"A man who exhibits virtue A demonstrates religious virtue;
"A man who turns away from virtue A is spiritually immature;
"A man who exhibits virtue B demonstrates religious virtue;
"A man who turns away from virtue B is spiritually immature..." (and so on.)
At the same time, what seems to be a faithful translation of the Dhammapada text can seem opaque to a modern reader. Different translators have been more willing to use a poetic, more creative translation, which can be more effective in communicating the Buddha's teachings. Through borrowing and past purchases, I happen to have three translations of the Dhammapada, and prefer the 1967 version by the Indian Sanskrit scholar, Professor P. Lal.
For comparison, I take the first five of the twelve verses of the thirteenth section of the Dhammapada.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, translated by P. Lal, 1967
The World
"Think clearly; avoid evil; forsake false doctrine, deny the world.
"Wake up! There is no time to lose. Follow Dhamma. The follower of Dhamma is happy now and forever.
"Follow Dhamma, not the path of evil. The follower of Dhamma is happy now and forever.
"Say: "The world is a bubble, the world is a shadow." The king of death is helpless in the face of this wisdom.
Look! The world is a royal chariot, glittering with paint. No better. Fools are deceived, but the wise man knows better..."
A translation that is powerful, gripping, and poetic. While perhaps adhering less rigorously to the Pali original than the two versions below, it carries the Buddha's message very convincingly.
Penguin Classics, translated by Juan Mascaro, 1973
Arise! Watch
"Live not a low life; remember and forget not; follow not wrong ideas; sink not into the world.
"Arise! Watch. Walk on the right path. He who follows the right path has joy in this world and in the world beyond.
"Follow the right path: follow not the wrong path. He who follows the right path has joy in this world and the world beyond.
"When a man considers this world as a bubble of froth, and as the illusion of appearance, then the king of death has no power over him.
"Come and look at this world. It is like a royal painted chariot wherein fools sink. The wise are not imprisoned in the chariot..."
Perhaps a more accurate translation, but archaic in style ("follow not the wrong path"). And some sections could be misinterpreted ("the wise are not imprisoned in the chariot").
Barnes and Noble, translated by Sangharakshita, 2001
The World
"Don't follow inferior principles. Don't live heedlessly. Don't entertain false views. Don't be one who (by following inferior principles etc.) keeps the world going.
"Get up! Don't be heedless! Live practicing the Dhamma, (the Dhamma) which is good conduct. One who lives practicing the Dhamma (Dhammacari) dwells happily (both) in this world and the other (world).
"Live practicing the Dhamma. Do not live behaving badly. One who lives practicing the Dhamma (dhammacari) dwells happily (both) in this world and the other (world).
"Look upon (the world) as a bubble; look upon (it) as a mirage. The King of Death does not see one who looks upon the world in this way.
"Come, (just) look at this world, which is like a decorated royal chariot in which the spiritually immature sink down (or: are dejected), but (with regard to which) there is no attachment on the part of those who really know..."
To my mind, the least accessible of the three options. By trying to stay as close as possible to the Pali original, the translator includes numerous distracting parenthetic texts, including some words in the original Pali, which would be of interest only to linguists.
Sangharakshita, formerly Dennis Lingwood of London, provides a useful preface on the origins of the Dhammapada, or "Way of Truth". For the first (perhaps three) centuries after the Buddha's death, his teachings were preserved by oral transmission among his followers. Only in the first century BCE, were they first committed to writing. As different Buddhist schools emerged, the teachings were recorded in four different languages. The largest extant corpus is that in the Pali language of the Sri Lankan Theravada School, one of the which texts is the Dhammapada. The authenticity of the Pali Dhammapada is confirmed by similar texts in the Prakit and Sanskrit languages (as well as later Chinese translations of the Sanskrit originals). These texts differ somewhat from the Pali version in the number and ordering of verses, but all have blocks of verses in common.
There have evidently been more than 30 translations of the Dhammapada. Sangharakshita's translation was initiated in the 1960s and continued over the following decades, resulting in this 2001 publication. Unlike some versions, he prefers not to include commentary so that "there should be nothing to stand between the reader and the Buddha." This is a valid position, but it does mean that the Buddha's teachings need to stand on their own, as clear and convincing to the reader.
There are a couple of problems here. First, the teachings sometimes approach the pedantic. The Buddha's philosophical tradition appears to have been based on making classifications and distinctions, rather than speaking in parables, like Jesus, say. Thus, we find many repetitious sections of text which risk losing their power, along the following lines:
"A religiously upright man can be characterized by eight virtues, A through H (each being spelled out);
"A man who exhibits virtue A demonstrates religious virtue;
"A man who turns away from virtue A is spiritually immature;
"A man who exhibits virtue B demonstrates religious virtue;
"A man who turns away from virtue B is spiritually immature..." (and so on.)
At the same time, what seems to be a faithful translation of the Dhammapada text can seem opaque to a modern reader. Different translators have been more willing to use a poetic, more creative translation, which can be more effective in communicating the Buddha's teachings. Through borrowing and past purchases, I happen to have three translations of the Dhammapada, and prefer the 1967 version by the Indian Sanskrit scholar, Professor P. Lal.
For comparison, I take the first five of the twelve verses of the thirteenth section of the Dhammapada.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, translated by P. Lal, 1967
The World
"Think clearly; avoid evil; forsake false doctrine, deny the world.
"Wake up! There is no time to lose. Follow Dhamma. The follower of Dhamma is happy now and forever.
"Follow Dhamma, not the path of evil. The follower of Dhamma is happy now and forever.
"Say: "The world is a bubble, the world is a shadow." The king of death is helpless in the face of this wisdom.
Look! The world is a royal chariot, glittering with paint. No better. Fools are deceived, but the wise man knows better..."
A translation that is powerful, gripping, and poetic. While perhaps adhering less rigorously to the Pali original than the two versions below, it carries the Buddha's message very convincingly.
Penguin Classics, translated by Juan Mascaro, 1973
Arise! Watch
"Live not a low life; remember and forget not; follow not wrong ideas; sink not into the world.
"Arise! Watch. Walk on the right path. He who follows the right path has joy in this world and in the world beyond.
"Follow the right path: follow not the wrong path. He who follows the right path has joy in this world and the world beyond.
"When a man considers this world as a bubble of froth, and as the illusion of appearance, then the king of death has no power over him.
"Come and look at this world. It is like a royal painted chariot wherein fools sink. The wise are not imprisoned in the chariot..."
Perhaps a more accurate translation, but archaic in style ("follow not the wrong path"). And some sections could be misinterpreted ("the wise are not imprisoned in the chariot").
Barnes and Noble, translated by Sangharakshita, 2001
The World
"Don't follow inferior principles. Don't live heedlessly. Don't entertain false views. Don't be one who (by following inferior principles etc.) keeps the world going.
"Get up! Don't be heedless! Live practicing the Dhamma, (the Dhamma) which is good conduct. One who lives practicing the Dhamma (Dhammacari) dwells happily (both) in this world and the other (world).
"Live practicing the Dhamma. Do not live behaving badly. One who lives practicing the Dhamma (dhammacari) dwells happily (both) in this world and the other (world).
"Look upon (the world) as a bubble; look upon (it) as a mirage. The King of Death does not see one who looks upon the world in this way.
"Come, (just) look at this world, which is like a decorated royal chariot in which the spiritually immature sink down (or: are dejected), but (with regard to which) there is no attachment on the part of those who really know..."
To my mind, the least accessible of the three options. By trying to stay as close as possible to the Pali original, the translator includes numerous distracting parenthetic texts, including some words in the original Pali, which would be of interest only to linguists.
February 17, 2023
“There is no track in the sky.The race of men delight in illusion.” Great guideline with a clear structure to follow.
March 20, 2025
There are better translations by less controversial figures
September 11, 2012
A translation of the Dhammapada that is couched in simple, direct language and that is, so far as I can tell, faithful to the letter and to the spirit of the Master.
March 26, 2017
81. As a solid rock cannot be shaken by the wind, so the spiritually mature person is unmoved by praise or blame.
One of the seminal texts in the Buddhist literary canon, the Dhammapada presents the timeless wisdom of the Buddha. This edition is introduced and translated by the founder of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO
One of the seminal texts in the Buddhist literary canon, the Dhammapada presents the timeless wisdom of the Buddha. This edition is introduced and translated by the founder of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews