The Dhammapada is one of the best known and best loved Buddhist texts, a sequence of verses traditionally said to have been spoken by the Buddha himself to help people on the path to liberation. In her version for Penguin Classics, Valerie J Roebuck seeks to translate the Pali into modern English verse that will keep the beauty and clarity of the original.

Posts Tagged ‘Dhammapada’

A new journal article

Posted on: September 21st, 2012 by admin No Comments

Sept21

Last week I sent off the corrected proofs of a new article on the Dhammapada and related texts, called Dhammapada, Dharmapada and Udānavarga: the Many Lives of a Buddhist Text. It is to be included in the December edition of the journal Religions of South Asia, which is published by the Equinox Press.

A New Year Resolution?

Posted on: December 31st, 2011 by admin 2 Comments

Dec31

Whatever an enemy can do to an enemy,
Or a rival to a rival,
A wrongly directed mind
Will do worse to you than that.

What mother or father cannot do,
Or any other kin,
A rightly directed mind
Will do better for you than that.

Dhammapada 42-3

These are some of my favourite verses from the Dhammapada, though in their apparent simplicity they are particularly difficult to translate. (The original Pali is given below.)
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People Can Change

Posted on: September 8th, 2011 by admin 6 Comments

Sept8

A Dhammapada thought for a time when we are inclined to dismiss those who have made mistakes, and deny the value of second chances!
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