The Dhammapada: Your Guide on the Path to Enlightenment in the 21st Century
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The Dhammapada is a foundational text of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. It is a collection of 423 verses, grouped into 26 themes that the Buddha was fond of telling to those who would gather around and listen. They are the oral teachings of the Enlightened One. How delightful it is to imagine him under a shady tree with a group of people around him, telling these gems of spiritual instruction.
The collection of verses was compiled soon after the Buddha’s death. Interested parties and disciples met and agreed that the oral teachings of the Buddha should be recorded so they would not be lost or corrupted in the absence of the author himself. The Dhammapada is the result of that worthy effort.
The original text was expressed in the language and idiom of an ancient time and place (2,500 years ago in Northern India). After all, the authors wanted to reach the audience that was alive then and there, not at some far distant future world whose language and customs would be very difficult to understand.
This edition with a commentary expressed in 21st Century language to make it accessible to a wide range of modern readers, is based on the work of Friedrich Max Müller (1823: –1900) at Oxford University. Müller, who was born in Dessau, Germany, was an notable scholar of comparative religions. While the Dhammapada has been translated many times in the centuries since it was written, Müller’s version is considered one of the best.
Every effort has been made in the writing of this commentary to preserve the underlying message that the Buddha wanted to convey. This has been done through careful study of not just the Buddhist writings, but those of other major religions and philosophies. This study has been performed by the author over four decades, the objective of which has been to identify and understand the sub-text, the common underlying message that all religions express regardless of the language in which it is expressed. If an idea, such as the Golden Rule of doing unto others what you would have them do to you exists independently in every religion, regardless of time or place, then we have what is arguably an absolute truth, at least in relation human beings. There are many such truths to be found across various religions.
Each verse has a heading and commentary that expresses in 21st century language the essence of the verse. Müller’s translation of the verse then appears in italic script, complete with verse number. Readers are therefore able to easily compare and contrast the verses in this edition with those in other renderings of this classic work.
David Tuffley
David Tuffley (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & Socio-Technical Studies at Griffith University in Australia.David writes on a broad range of interests; from Comparative Religion, Anthropology, Psychology, Ancient and Modern History, Linguistics, Rhetoric, Philosophy, Architectural History, Environments and Ecosystems.
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The Dhammapada - David Tuffley
The Dhammapada
Your Guide on the Path to Enlightenment in the 21st Century
David Tuffley
Published by Altiora Publications at Smashwords
www.altiorapublications.com
© Copyright 2012 David Tuffley
Our progress on the spiritual path is greatly helped or hindered depending on the company one keeps. If you can find a wise and intelligent companion, then travel together, meeting difficulties and overcoming dangers. But if you do not find a wise and intelligent companion, then go your way alone like a wealthy man leaving his riches behind, or like a great elephant living alone in the deep forest. – The Buddha.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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About the Author
David Tuffley David Tuffley PhD is a lecturer and researcher at Griffith University in Australia.
Join him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tuffley
David Tuffley’s Profile & other eBooks: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/tuffley
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Twin-Verses
Chapter 2: Mindfulness
Chapter 3: Consciousness
Chapter 4: Enlightenment is an art
Chapter 5: The Fool
Chapter 6: The Wise
Chapter 7: The Enlightened
Chapter 8: The Thousands
Chapter 9: Evil
Chapter 10: Punishment
Chapter 11: Old Age
Chapter 12: Self
Chapter 13: The World
Chapter 14: The Buddha
Chapter 15: Happiness
Chapter 16: Pleasure
Chapter 17: Anger
Chapter 18: Impurity
Chapter 19: The Just
Chapter 20: The Way
Chapter 21: Miscellaneous
Chapter 22: The Downward Path
Chapter 23: The Elephant
Chapter 24: Thirst
Chapter 25: The Monk
Chapter 26: The Enlightened
Epilogue
Introduction
The Dhammapada is a foundational text of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. It is a collection of 423 verses, grouped into 26 themes that the Buddha was fond of telling to those who would gather around and listen. They are the oral teachings of the Enlightened One. How delightful it is to imagine him under a shady tree with a group of people around him, telling these gems of spiritual instruction.
The collection of verses was compiled soon after the Buddha’s death. Interested parties and disciples met and agreed that the oral teachings of the Buddha should be recorded so they would not be lost or corrupted in the absence of the author himself. The Dhammapada is the result of that worthy effort.
The original text was expressed in the language and idiom of an ancient time and place (2,500 years ago in Northern India). After all, the authors wanted to reach the audience that was alive then and there, not at some far distant future world whose language and customs would be very difficult to understand.
This edition with a commentary expressed in 21st Century language to make it accessible to a wide range of modern readers, is based on the work of Friedrich Max Müller (1823 –1900) at Oxford University. Müller, who was born in Dessau, Germany, was an notable scholar of comparative religions. While the Dhammapada has been translated many times in the centuries since it was written, Müller’s version is considered one of the most consistent and accurate.
Every effort has been made in the writing of this commentary to preserve the underlying message that the Buddha wanted to convey. This has been done through careful study of not just the Buddhist writings, but those of other major religions and philosophies. This study has been performed by the author over four decades, the objective of which has been to identify and understand the sub-text, the common underlying message that all religions express regardless of the language in which it is expressed. If an idea, such as the Golden Rule of doing unto others what you would have them do to you exists independently in every religion, regardless of time or place, then we have what is arguably an absolute truth, at least in relation human beings. There are many such truths to be found across various religions.
Each verse has a heading and commentary that expresses in 21st century language the essence of the verse. Müller’s translation of the verse then appears in italic script, complete with verse number. Readers are therefore able to easily compare and contrast the verses in this edition with those in other renderings of this classic work.
Chapter 1: The Twin-Verses
The verses of this chapter are twinned; each set of two expresses the same truth from opposing points of view. Doing this helps the reader understand the concept. One verse says what the idea is, the second verse says what it is not. You get an understanding from both sides.
Negative actions follow negative thoughts
Your experience of the world begins with your thoughts. To a greater extent than most people realize, what happens to you is the result of what you have thought at some earlier time. There are cause-and-effect linkages between past thoughts and present circumstances. Your challenge is to learn to recognize them.
If you think malicious thoughts, negative consequences inevitably follow. The situation is likened to the trailer being pulled by a car. The trailer has no choice but to follow the car and its driver. So too the consequences of evil thoughts cannot be anything other than negative.
Verse 1: All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts; it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.
Positive actions follow positive thoughts
Likewise (see previous) when your thoughts are positive and you have good will, your experience of the world will be a positive one. How could it be otherwise when there is a cause-and-effect link between what you think and what happens to you.
Verse 2: All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.
Anger is an acid that burns the vessel
You will remain angry for as long as you hold onto past hurt. Have you been harshly treated? For your own sake, you must let go of this hurt, of your victim-hood, and forgive. Not for their sake but for yours. As the Mark Twain saying goes, anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.
The negative thoughts associated with an angry and aggrieved mind-set inevitably attracts negative events into your life. Vengeance never results in positive outcomes.
Verse 3: He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me,
--in those who harbour such thoughts hatred will never cease.
Let go of anger and find inner peace
Living with people inevitably results in conflict. It is human nature, we are a quarrelsome species. We must not allow these conflicts to remain unresolved. To do so is to allow the negativity to accumulate over time until you are full of resentment and bitterness. This is a kind of poison. No good can come of it, only suffering and death.
Make the effort to rid yourself of anger and hatred by forgiving those who have wronged you. Only then will you find inner peace, contentment and happiness. It is impossible to hold onto your anger and be truly happy.
Verse 4: He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me,
--in those who do not harbour such thoughts hatred will cease.
Hatred can only be defeated by love
Meeting hated with more hatred will only intensify the hatred, raising it to a higher level of destructiveness.
The only way to end hatred is to apply love to the problem. The results can be miraculous. This principle has been known about since the dawn of time, but so seldom practiced and only then by the wise.
Verse 5: For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an old rule.
Accept your mortality and be at peace
The fear of death is the root fear of all fears, therefore it follows that if you can master the fear of death, you need not fear anything; you can live your life to the fullest, you be at peace.
Attachment to impermanence is the fundamental cause of suffering in this world. The human ego becomes attached to all manner of things, all of which are impermanent. Most of all, the ego is attached to its own existence. As a self-aware living entity, the ego wants more life; it seeks to survive this threat. But the ego knows, deep down, that there is no avoiding death, so the it deals with the inevitability of death by avoiding the issue.
This refusal to acknowledge the impermanence of our earthly existence creates a deep anxiety that inhibits your spiritual progress. Put another way, if we are to progress on the spiritual path, it is necessary to fully accept the impermanence of life and the certainty of death.
Come to terms with your mortality. Accept the reality that one day your egoic identity will cease to exist, that the illusion of separateness will vanish and the essence of you that has always existed will come to experience itself with indescribable joy as being one with all things, like a rain-drop falling into the ocean and feeling its oneness. As Socrates wisely said, death may be the greatest of all human blessings.
Verse 6: The world does not know that we must all come to an end here;--but those who know it, their quarrels cease at once.
Let your higher self be in control
Humans are multi-layered creatures. We have our base nature, that we share with animals, which seeks to eat and drink and procreate and exert as little effort as possible. We also have a higher nature that seeks after spiritual growth, or at least the capability is there, even if it remains unused in many people.
If you live only for sensory gratification, for the many pleasures enjoyed by the flesh, you will lack the discipline to grow spiritually, since such growth depends on having brought our emotional, pleasure-seeking natures under control. Your rational, higher self must be in control.
This does not imply that you should deny yourself all pleasures. Enjoy them if you wish, but in moderation and never to let them control you by becoming addicted to them. Doing so makes you weak, susceptible to harm.
Verse 7: He who lives looking for pleasures only, his senses uncontrolled, immoderate in his food, idle, and weak, Mara (the tempter) will certainly overthrow him, as the wind throws down a weak tree.
Spiritual strength
When you transcend the weakness that dependency on worldly pleasures bring, you become stronger than you imagined possible because the physical world does not have a tight hold on you.
When you dwell consistently in the higher self you become strong like a mountain. You achieve this by practicing your daily discipline of meditation, reading the sacred texts (from whatever tradition you choose) and living moderately (not eating or drinking too much, taking recreational drugs, having indiscriminate sex, greedily pursuing wealth and so on).
This does not preclude having engagement with the world through your family or career or hobbies. You can still have these, but spiritual discipline comes first. The Noble Eight-Fold Path outlines how. After all, the only thing you can take with you when you die is your state of mind, your level of spiritual understanding. Nothing is more important than that.
Verse 8: He who lives without looking for pleasures, his senses well controlled, moderate in his food, faithful and strong, him Mara will certainly not overthrow, any more than the wind throws down a rocky mountain.
Clothes do not maketh the man
A person does not become virtuous simply by putting on the clothes of a virtuous person or indeed by adopting any outward appearance of virtue.
Virtue is an inner quality acquired through self-discipline, moral behavior and transcendence of base nature. It comes from within; it does not come from without.
So it is that a person ruled by their base nature, even though they wear the yellow robes of a monk, is