| Sinhala: | ධම්මපදය |
| Pr: | धम्मपद Dhammapada |
| Km: | ធម្មបទ |
| Km-Latn: | thômmôbât |
| My: | ဓမ္မပဒ |
| Zh: | 法句經 |
| Zh-Hans: | 法句经 |
| Zh-Latn: | fǎjù jīng |
| Ja: | ダンマパダ |
| Ja-Latn: | danmapada |
| Ko: | 법구경/담마 파다 |
| Ko-Latn: | beobgugyeong/damma pada |
| Vi: | Kinh Pháp Cú |
| Th: | ธรรมบท |
The Dhammapada (Pali: धम्मपद; Sanskrit: 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.[1]
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";[2] at its root, pada means "foot" and thus by extension, especially in this context, means either "path" or "verse" (cf. "prosodic foot") or both.[3] English translations of this text's title have used various combinations of these and related words.[4] [5]
According to tradition, the Dhammapada's verses were spoken by the Buddha on various occasions.[6] 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."[7] 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.[8] 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:[10]
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.[20]
The Dhammapada is one of the most popular pieces of Theravada literature.[21] 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.[22]
The Pali Dhammapada contains 423 verses in 26 chapters (listed below in Pali and English).[23] [24]
| Ch. | Pali | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yamaka-vaggo | The Pairs (see excerpt below) | |
| 2 | Appamda-vaggo | Heedfulness | |
| 3 | Citta-vaggo | The Mind | |
| 4 | Puppha-vaggo | Flowers | |
| 5 | Bla-vaggo | Fools (excerpt) | |
| 6 | Paita-vaggo | The Wise | |
| 7 | Arahanta-vaggo | The Arahats | |
| 8 | Sahassa-vaggo | The Thousands | |
| 9 | Ppa-vaggo | Wickedness | |
| 10 | Daa-vaggo | The Stick (excerpt) | |
| 11 | Jar-vaggo | Old Age | |
| 12 | Atta-vaggo | The Self (excerpt) | |
| 13 | Loka-vaggo | The World (excerpt) | |
| 14 | Buddha-vaggo | The Buddha (excerpt) | |
| 15 | Sukha-vaggo | Happiness | |
| 16 | Piya-vaggo | Love | |
| 17 | Kodha-vaggo | Anger | |
| 18 | Mala-vaggo | Stains | |
| 19 | Dhammaha-vaggo | One who stands by Dhamma | |
| 20 | Magga-vaggo | The Path (excerpt) | |
| 21 | Pakiaka-vaggo | Miscellaneous | |
| 22 | Niraya-vaggo | The Underworld | |
| 23 | Nga-vaggo | The Elephant | |
| 24 | -vaggo | Craving (excerpt) | |
| 25 | Bhikkhu-vaggo | Monastics | |
| 26 | -vaggo | Brahmins |
Many of the themes within the Dhammapada are dichotomous. For example, contrasts between joy and suffering, virtuous action and misconduct, and truth and deceit recur throughout the text.[25]
The following Pali verses and corresponding English translations are from Ānandajoti (2017), which also contains explanatory footnotes.
Chapter 1: Pairs (Yamakavaggo) | |||
| 1. | Mind precedes thoughts, mind is their chief, their quality is made by mind, if with a base mind one speaks or acts, through that suffering follows him like a wheel follows the ox's foot.1 | Manopubbaṅgamā dhammā, manoseṭṭhā manomayā, manasā ce paduṭṭhena bhāsati vā karoti vā, tato naṁ dukkham-anveti cakkaṁ va vahato padaṁ. | |
| 2. | Mind precedes thoughts, mind is their chief, their quality is made by mind, if with pure mind one speaks or acts, through that happiness follows him like a shadow which does not depart. | Manopubbaṅgamā dhammā, manoseṭṭhā manomayā, manasā ce pasannena bhāsati vā karoti vā, tato naṁ sukham-anveti chāyā va anapāyinī. | |
| 5. | For not by hatred do hatreds cease at any time in this place, they only cease with non-hatred, this truth is surely eternal. | Na hi verena verāni sammantīdha kudācanaṁ, averena ca sammanti, esa dhammo sanantano. | |
| The translation of this simile is debated. Suddhaso Bhikku interprets the simile as "just as a track follows a wheel." He argues that other interpretations involve adding words that are not a direct translation of the original text. Specifically, cakkaṁ means wheel, va means as, vahato means following, and padaṁ means track, path, or foot. [26] | |||
Chapter 10: The Stick (Daṇḍavaggo) | |||
| 131. | One who harms with a stick beings who desire happiness, while seeking happiness for himself, won't find happiness after death. | Sukhakāmāni bhūtāni yo daṇḍena vihiṁsati,attano sukham-esāno, pecca so na labhate sukhaṁ. | |
| 132. | One who harms not with a stick beings who desire happiness, while seeking happiness for himself, will find happiness after death. | Sukhakāmāni bhūtāni yo daṇḍena na hiṁsati, attano sukham-esāno, pecca so labhate sukhaṁ. | |
| 133. | Do not say anything harsh, spoken to they might answer back to you, for arrogant talk entails misery, and they might strike you back with a stick. | Māvoca pharusaṁ kañci, vuttā paṭivadeyyu' taṁ, dukkhā hi sārambhakathā, paṭidaṇḍā phuseyyu' taṁ. | |
Chapter 12: The Self (Attavaggo) | |||
| 157. | If one regards oneself as dear one should guard oneself right well, during one of the three watches of the night the wise one should stay alert. | Attānañ-ce piyaṁ jaññā rakkheyya naṁ surakkhitaṁ, tiṇṇam-aññataraṁ yāmaṁ paṭijaggeyya paṇḍito. | |
| 158. | First one should establish oneself in what is suitable, then one can advise another, the wise one should not have any defilement. | Attānam-eva paṭhamaṁ patirūpe nivesaye, athaññam-anusāseyya, na kilisseyya paṇḍito. | |
| 159. | He should do himself as he would advise another to do, being well-trained, he could surely train another, for it is said the self is difficult to train. | Attānañ-ce tathā kayirā yathaññam-anusāsati, sudanto vata dametha, attā hi kira duddamo. | |
| 160. | For the self is the friend of self, for what other friend would there be?When the self is well-trained, one finds a friend that is hard to find. | Attā hi attano nātho, ko hi nātho paro siyā?Attanā va sudantena nāthaṁ labhati dullabhaṁ. | |
| 161. | That wickedness done by oneself, born in oneself, arising in oneself, crushes the one who is stupid, as a diamond crushes a rock-jewel. | Attanā va kataṁ pāpaṁ, attajaṁ attasambhavaṁ, abhimatthati dummedhaṁ vajiraṁ vasmamayaṁ maṇiṁ. | |
| 162. | The one who has an exceeding lack of virtue, like a deadly creeper covering a Sal tree, makes himself the same as his enemy wishes him to be. | Yassa accantadussīlyaṁ, māluvā Sālam-ivotataṁ, karoti so tathattānaṁ yathā naṁ icchatī diso. | |
| 163. | Easily done are things not good, and unbeneficial for oneself, but that which is beneficial and good is supremely hard to do. | Sukarāni asādhūni, attano ahitāni ca, yaṁ ve hitañ-ca sādhuñ-ca taṁ ve paramadukkaraṁ. | |
| 164. | Whoever reviles the worthy teaching of the Noble Ones who live by Dhamma, that stupid one, depending on wicked views, like the bamboo when it bears fruit, brings about his own destruction. | Yo sāsanaṁ arahataṁ Ari yānaṁ Dhammajīvinaṁ paṭikkosati dummedho diṭṭhiṁ nissāya pāpikaṁ, phalāni kaṭṭhakasseva attaghaññāya phallati. | |
| 165. | By oneself alone is a wicked deed done, by oneself is one defiled, by oneself is a wicked deed left undone, by oneself is one purified, purity and impurity come from oneself, for no one can purify another. | Attanā va kataṁ pāpaṁ, attanā saṅkilissati, attanā akataṁ pāpaṁ, attanā va visujjhati, suddhī asuddhī paccattaṁ, nāñño aññaṁ visodhaye. | |
| 166. | One should not neglect one's own good for another's, however great; knowing what is good for oneself one should be intent on that good. | Atta-d-atthaṁ paratthena bahunā pi na hāpaye; atta-d-attham-abhiññāya sa-d-atthapasuto siyā. | |
Chapter 13: The World (Lokavaggo) | |||
| 167. | One should not follow lowly things, one should not abide heedlessly, one should not follow a wrong view, one should not foster worldliness. | Hīnaṁ dhammaṁ na seveyya, pamādena na saṁvase, micchādiṭṭhiṁ na seveyya, na siyā lokavaḍḍhano. | |
Chapter 14: The Buddha (Buddhavaggo) | |||
| 183. | The non-doing of anything wicked, undertaking of what is good, the purification of one's mind - this is the teaching of the Buddhas. | Sabbapāpassa akaraṇaṁ, kusalassa upasampadā, sacittapariyodapanaṁ - etaṁ Buddhāna' sāsanaṁ. | |
Chapter 19: The One who stands by Dhamma (Dhammaṭṭhavaggo) | |||
| 270. | Through not hurting breathing beings one is noble (Aryan), the one who does not hurt any breathing beings is truly said to be noble (Aryan). | Na tena ariyo hoti yena pāṇāni hiṁsati, ahiṁsā sabbapāṇānaṁ ariyo ti pavuccati. | |
Chapter 20: The Path (Maggavaggo) | |||
| 276. | Your duty is to have ardour declare the Realised Ones, entering this path meditators will be released from the bonds of Māra. | Tumhehi kiccaṁ ātappaṁ akkhātāro Tathāgatā, paṭipannā pamokkhanti jhāyino Mārabandhanā. | |
| 277. | All conditions are impermanent, when one sees this with wisdom, then one grows tired of suffering – this is the path to purity. | Sabbe saṅkhārā aniccā ti, yadā paññāya passati, atha nibbindatī dukkhe – esa maggo visuddhiyā. | |
| 278. | All conditions are suffering, when one sees this with wisdom, then one grows tired of suffering – this is the path to purity. | Sabbe saṅkhārā dukkhā ti, yadā paññāya passati, atha nibbindatī dukkhe – esa maggo visuddhiyā. | |
| 279. | All components of mind and body are without self, when one sees this with wisdom, then one grows tired of suffering – this is the path to purity. | Sabbe dhammā anattā ti, yadā paññāya passati, atha nibbindatī dukkhe – esa maggo visuddhiyā. | |
Chapter 24: Craving (Taṇhāvaggo) | |||
| 343. | People surrounded by craving crawl round like a hare in a trap, therefore he should remove craving – the monk who longs for dispassion for himself. | Tasiṇāya purakkhatā pajā parisappanti saso va bādhito, tasmā tasiṇaṁ vinodaye – bhikkhu ākaṅkha' virāgam-attano. | |
| 350. | Whoever has delight in the calming of thoughts, who always mindfully cultivates what is unattractive, will surely abolish this craving, he will cut off the bond of Māra. | Vitakkupasame ca yo rato asubhaṁ bhāvayatī sadā sato, esa kho vyantikāhiti, esacchecchati Mārabandhanaṁ. | |
See also online translations listed in External links below.
"... We can with reasonable confidence say that the Gāndhārī text did not belong to the schools responsible for the Pali Dhammapada, the Udānavarga, and the Mahāvastu; and unless we are prepared to dispute the attribution of any of these, this excludes the Sarvāstivādins and the Lokottaravāda-Mahāsānghikas, as well as the Theravādins (and probably, in company with the last, the). Among possible claimants, the Dharmaguptakas and must be considered as eligible, but still other possibilities cannot be ruled out."
More than half of [the Dhammapada verses] have parallels in corresponding collections in other Buddhist schools, frequently also in non-Buddhist texts. The interrelation of these different versions has been obscured by constant contamination in the course of the text transmission. This is particularly true in case of one of the Buddhist Sanskrit parallels. The Udānavarga originally was a text corres[p]onding to the Pāli Udāna.... By adding verses from the Dhp [Dhammapada] it was transformed into a Dhp parallel in course of time, which is a rare event in the evolution of Buddhist literature.
On the evidence of the texts themselves it is much more likely that the schools, in some manner or other, had inherited from the period before the schisms which separated them, a definite tradition of a Dharmapada-text which ought to be included in the canon, however fluctuating the contents of this text might have been, and however imprecise the concept even of a 'canon' at such an early period. The differing developments and rearrangements of the inherited material would have proceeded along similar lines to those which, in the Brahmanical schools, produced divergent but related collections of texts in the different Yajur-veda traditions.He then continues:
... [When] only the common material [is] considered, a comparison of the Pali Dhammapada, the Gandhari text, and the Udanavarga, has produced no evidence whatsoever that any one of these has any superior claim to represent a 'primitive Dharmapada' more faithfully than the others. Since the contrary appears to have been assumed from time to time, it is desirable to say with emphasis that the Pali text is not the primitive Dharmapada. The assumption that it was would make its relationship to the other texts altogether incomprehensible.
Cone (1989) orders the chapters of the Patna Dharmapada as follows: