If we were to isolate and analyze each verse in the Dhammapada by itself, we would miss a great deal, for each verse draws much meaning from a larger context.

If you don’t feel challenged by the text, then the text isn’t doing its work.

… but I feel my life has been enriched by having these verses come bubble up in my mind.

This talk took place at the Insight Meditation Center in Barre, MA, in 2005, as a book launch for Gil Fronsdal’s then-newly published translation of the Dhammapada. In his talk, Fronsdal gives context to the Dhammapada and proceeds to read various verses and explain them, giving a broad flavor of the work.

All actions in this life are preceded by mind. Mind is their chief.

A straightforward translation of the Dhammapada based on a contemporary Sinhalese translation.

For a nearly-complete list of Dhammapada translations in English, see Bodhgaya News.

Although the mediums and content have changed significantly, the methods used to instruct the Dhammapada have remained largely the same since the sixteenth century. Instruction still operates on a system of drawing selected Pali words from the text and offering expanded creative glosses and analogies to contemporary issues.

This translation had a large impact on Pāli scholarship, being the first reliable and beautiful translation of the book in English. Every translation since (and there have been many!) is deeply indebted to Venerable Buddharakkhita’s thoughtful rendering, now available for free through the generosity of the BPS.