Feb 16

Valerie recently learned of a review of her Dhammapada translation by Elizabeth Harris, an eminent scholar of Theravāda Buddhism, which was published in Religions of South Asia 6.1 (2012) 133-134:

Book Review

Valerie’s article, Dhammapada, Dharmapada and Udānavarga: The Many Lives of a Buddhist Text, was published in the following edition of the same journal, which is now available and can be ordered here.

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.

Sept8

Valerie Roebuck will be giving a talk entitled An Introduction to the Dhammapada as part of the Summer Programme at the Manchester Centre for Buddhist Meditation. It will be open to all, and no previous knowledge of the text or of Buddhism is required.
more…

Valerie Roebuck’s Bibliography of the Dharmapada literature, including Dhammapada, Dharmapada and Udānavarga, has just been published online by the Oxford University Press. You can navigate to it via ‘What’s New’ or ‘Buddhism’. www.oxfordbibliographies.com

The verse in the image comes from a version of the Dharmapada that belonged to the Dharmaguptaka school of early Buddhism. An equivalent verse is also found in the Pāli Canon, though not in the Dhammapada. (It’s at Theragāthā 398). Translation from Richard Salomon, 2018. ‘The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhāra: an Introduction with Selected Translations.’ Somerville, MA: Wisdom Books, p. 193. The image of the musician comes from www.riaa.com.

The mind is hard to restrain, light,
Flying where it will.
Control of it is good.
Mind controlled brings happiness.

Dhammapada 35

We live in an age where, more and more, we expect instant results. We lead busy lives and want faster broadband, quick service and next day delivery. It is hard to believe that ‘self-control’ or ‘control of the mind’ can really bring happiness. Spontaneity is all, regardless of whether the thing we want to do is objectively good for us or not. But if we look around us, it is not hard to see the suffering that can be caused when people surrender to all their impulses.

There is a tendency now to see ourselves as passive creatures, helpless in the face of urges such as desire or anger. How often do we hear (or find ourselves saying) things like: ‘He made me so angry, I said something I regretted’? But the anger is not ‘out there’, it has arisen in ourselves. Perhaps the other person did do something wrong, but we chose to act upon our anger. Reacting in a different way – from calmness and strength – might have resolved the situation in a better way, leaving less regret behind. The problem is that impulses like anger, greed, fear, hatred etc arise so quickly that they can take control of our minds before we even see them coming.

Meditation is a useful tool here because it brings insight into what is happening, almost seeming to slow the process down, so we can catch the impulses as (or even before) they arise. The insight allows us to take a degree of control over the impulses, rather than be swept away by them.

Meditation also helps us to develop more wholesome mental states, such as calmness, kindness, and wisdom. These states are natural to us, but they become overridden by habit and conditioning. Once we are able to turn away from distractions, we will find a peace and strength that we may have lost sight of over the years. Then when, as is bound to happen in this world, we are faced with difficult situations or people, we will begin to respond with wisdom and compassion rather than anger, envy, or fear.

As the verse tells us, finding this kind of control is not always easy, and it may go against decades of habit, and the values of society around us. But if we can find it, it will bring genuine happiness, regardless of our circumstances, deeper and more lasting than can be afforded by any technology or fashion.

(An article originally written for the Newsletter of the Manchester Centre for Buddhist Meditation)

For Vesakh 2016 CE/2599 BE, I have posted under ‘Verses’ a translation of the Karaṇīya Metta Sutta, which many of us chant regularly, but perhaps don’t always think about what it means. It describes the way to practise Mettā, or loving kindness to all beings. The translation, though fairly literal, is in modern, everyday language. It’s the one I included in the Order of Service for my husband’s funeral in 2012, because I wanted everyone present to be able to understand it, even if they were new to the Buddha’s teaching.

It will be seen that the love described in this sutta is not something soft or woolly, but a state of great strength and clarity that forms an intrinsic part of practice on the Buddha’s path.

May all beings be well. May all beings be happy.

Karaṇīya Metta Sutta

The Buddha’s Teaching on Loving Kindness

This is what to do if you know what is best for you
And seek to attain the place of peace:
Be able, upright—truly upright,
Easy to speak to, gentle, not arrogant,

Content, with needs easily met,
With few responsibilities, of simple livelihood,
With senses calmed, skilful,
Not proud, not possessive about families.

You should not do the slightest thing
For which other wise folk might reproach you.
Think: ‘Happy and at peace,
May all beings be happy-minded.

‘Whatever living things there are,
Without exception, weak or strong,
Tall, large, or medium-sized,
Small, atom-sized or huge,

‘Seen or unseen,
Living far or near,
Born or about to be born,
May all beings be happy-minded.

‘Let not one deceive another
Or despise another, anywhere;
Let not one wish evil on another,
Through anger or ill-will.’

Just as a mother would protect her own child,
Her only child, even with her life,
You should develop a limitless mind
Towards all beings.

You should develop a limitless mind,
Spread loving kindness to the whole world,
Above, below and across,
Without obstruction, enmity or hatred.

Standing, walking, sitting,
Or lying down, so long as you are awake,
You should maintain this awareness:
They call this Divine Abiding here.

So, not falling into wrong view,
Of good character, endowed with insight,
Giving up grasping for sense-pleasures,
You will not return to a womb again.

Like a beautiful flower,

Colourful but scentless,

The well-taught word is fruitless

For one who does not practise.

Like a beautiful flower,

Colourful and fragrant,

The well-taught word is fruitful

For one who practises.

(vv. 51-2)

Even finely painted royal chariots wear out:

Just so the body grows old.

The Dhamma of the good does not grow old.

Indeed, the good make it known to the good.

(v. 151)