The Dhammapada: Verses & Sotries

Dhammapada is one of the best known books of the Pitaka. It is a collection of the teachings of the Buddha expressed in clear, pithy verses. These verses were culled from various discourses given by the Buddha in the course of forty five years of his teaching, as he traveled the valley of the Ganges and the sub-mountain tract of the Himalayas. Each verse contains a truth (dhamma), an exhortation, a piece of advice. The present books id divided into two parts. Part 1 is the translation of the verses. The present translation of verses is from Pali into English. The Pali text used in the Dhammapada Pali approved by the Sixth International Buddhist Synod. When there is any doubt in the interpretation the dhamma concept of the verses or when the literal meaning is vague or intelligible, the translator has referred to the Commentary (in Pali) and the Burmese translation of the Commentary by the Nyaunglebin Sayadaw, a very learned thera. The second part of the book contains it is generally believed that the Dhammapada commentary written by Buddhaghosa is a great help towards a better understanding of the Dhammapada. Three hundred and five stories are included in the commentary. A translation of the verses is given at the end of each story. In the end book contains glossary of the terms and an index of the words.