1

Dhammapada: ATranslation
by

ThanissaroBhikkhu (GeoffreyDeGraff)

Contents

Preface Introduction I. Pairs II. Heedfulness III. TheMind IV. Blossoms V. Fools VI. TheWise VII. Arahants VIII. Thousands IX. Evil X. TheRod XI. Aging XII. Self XIII. Worlds XIV. Awakened XV. Happy XVI. DearOnes XVII. Anger XVIII. Impurities XIX. TheJudge XX. ThePath XXI. Miscellany XXII. Hell XXIII. Elephants XXIV. Craving XXV. Monks XXVI. Brahmins HistoricalNotes EndNotes

3 Glossary Abbreviations Bibliography

Preface AnothertranslationoftheDhammapada. ManyotherEnglishtranslationsarealreadyavailablethefingersofatleast fivepeoplewouldbeneededtocountthemsoIsupposethatanewtranslation hastobejustified,toprovethatitsnotjustanotherone.Indoingso, though,Idrathernotcriticizetheeffortsofearliertranslators,forIowethema greatdebt.Instead,IllaskyoutoreadtheIntroductionandHistoricalNotes,to gainanideaofwhatisdistinctiveabouttheapproachIhavetaken,andthe translationitself,whichIhopewillstandonitsownmerits.Theoriginalimpulse formakingthetranslationcamefrommyconvictionthatthetextdeservedtobe offeredfreelyasagiftofDhamma.AsIknewofnoexistingtranslations availableasgifts,Imademyown. Theexplanatorymaterialisdesignedtomeetwiththeneedsoftwosortsof readers:thosewhowanttoreadthetextasatext,inthecontextofthereligious historyofBuddhismviewedfromtheoutsideandthosewhowanttoreadthe textasaguidetothepersonalconductoftheirlives.Althoughthereisnoclear linedividingthesegroups,theIntroductionisaimedmoreatthesecondgroup, andtheHistoricalNotesmoreatthefirst.TheEndNotesandGlossarycontain materialthatshouldbeofinteresttoboth.Versesmarkedwithanasteriskinthe translationarediscussedintheEndNotes.PalitermsaswellasEnglishterms usedinaspecialsense,suchaseffluent,enlightenedone,fabrication,stress,and Unbindingwhentheyappearinmorethanoneverse,areexplainedinthe Glossary. InadditiontotheprevioustranslatorsandeditorsfromwhoseworkIhave borrowed,IoweaspecialdebtofgratitudetoJeanneLarsenforherhelpin honingdownthelanguageofthetranslation.Also,JohnBullitt,CharlesHallisey, KarenKing,AndrewOlendski,RuthStiles,ClarkStrand,PaulaTrahan,andJane Yudelmanofferedmanyhelpfulcommentsthatimprovedthequalityofthebook asawhole.Anymistakesthatremain,ofcourse,aremyownresponsibility. ThanissaroBhikkhu MettaForestMonastery ValleyCenter,CA920821409 December,1997

Introduction TheDhammapada,ananthologyofversesattributedtotheBuddha,haslong beenrecognizedasoneofthemasterpiecesofearlyBuddhistliterature.Only morerecentlyhavescholarsrealizedthatitisalsooneoftheearlymasterpieces intheIndiantraditionofkavya,orbelleslettres. ThistranslationoftheDhammapadaisanattempttorendertheversesinto Englishinawaythatdoesjusticetobothofthetraditionstowhichthetext belongs.Althoughitistemptingtoviewthesetraditionsasdistinct,dealingwith form(kavya)andcontent(Buddhism),theidealsofkavyaaimedatcombining formandcontentintoaseamlesswhole.Atthesametime,theearlyBuddhists adoptedandadaptedtheconventionsofkavyainawaythatskillfullydovetailed withtheirviewsofhowteachingandlisteningplayedaroleintheirpathof practice.Myhopeisthatthetranslationpresentedherewillconveythesame seamlessnessandskill. Asanexampleofkavya,theDhammapadahasafairlycompletebodyof ethicalandaesthetictheorybehindit,forthepurposeofkavyawastoinstructin thehighestendsoflifewhilesimultaneouslygivingdelight.Theethicalteaching oftheDhammapadaisexpressedinthefirstpairofverses:themind,throughits actions(kamma),isthechiefarchitectofoneshappinessandsufferingbothin thislifeandbeyond.Thefirstthreechapterselaborateonthispoint,toshowthat therearetwomajorwaysofrelatingtothisfact:asawiseperson,whoisheedful enoughtomakethenecessaryefforttotrainhis/herownmindtobeaskillful architect;andasafool,whoisheedlessandseesnoreasontotrainthemind. Theworkasawholeelaboratesonthisdistinction,showinginmoredetail boththepathofthewisepersonandthatofthefool,togetherwiththerewards oftheformerandthedangersofthelatter:thepathofthewisepersoncanlead notonlytohappinesswithinthecycleofdeathandrebirth,butalsotototal escapeintotheDeathless,beyondthecycleentirely;thepathofthefoolleadsnot onlytosufferingnowandinthefuture,butalsotofurtherentrapmentwithinthe cycle.ThepurposeoftheDhammapadaistomakethewisepathattractivetothe readersothathe/shewillfollowitforthedilemmapositedbythefirstpairof versesisnotoneintheimaginaryworldoffiction;itisthedilemmainwhichthe readerisalreadyplacedbythefactofbeingborn.

7 Tomakethewisepathattractive,thetechniquesofpoetryareusedtogive savor(rasa)tothemessage.AncientIndianaesthetictreatisesdevotedagreat dealofdiscussiontothenotionofsavorandhowitcouldbeconveyed.Thebasic theorywasthis:Artisticcompositionexpressedstatesofemotionorstatesof mindcalledbhava.Thestandardlistofbasicemotionsincludedlove(delight), humor,grief,anger,energy,fear,disgust,andastonishment.Thereaderor listenerexposedtothesepresentationsofemotiondidnotparticipateinthem directly;rather,he/shesavoredthemasanaestheticexperienceatoneremove fromtheemotion.Thus,thesavorofgriefisnotgrief,butcompassion.Thesavor ofenergyisnotenergyitself,butadmirationforheroism.Thesavorofloveisnot lovebutanexperienceofsensitivity.Thesavorofastonishmentisasenseofthe marvelous.Theproofoftheindirectnessoftheaestheticexperiencewasthat someofthebasicemotionsweredecidedlyunpleasant,whilethesavorofthe emotionwastobeenjoyed. Althoughaworkofartmightdepictmanyemotions,andthuslikeagood mealoffermanysavorsforthereader/listenertotaste,onesavorwassupposed todominate.Writersmadeacommonpracticeofannouncingthesavorthey weretryingtoproduce,usuallystatinginpassingthattheirparticularsavorwas thehighestofall.TheDhammapada[354]statesexplicitlythatthesavorof Dhammaisthehighestsavor,whichindicatesthatthatisthebasicsavorofthe work.ClassicaesthetictheoryliststhesavorofDhamma,orjustice,asoneofthe threebasicvarietiesoftheheroicsavor(theothertwodealwithgenerosityand war):thuswewouldexpectthemajorityoftheversestodepictenergy,andin facttheydo,withtheirexhortationstoaction,strongverbs,repeatedimperatives, andfrequentuseoftheimageryfrombattles,races,andconquests. Dhamma,intheBuddhistsense,impliesmorethanthejusticeofDhamma inaesthetictheory.However,thelongsectionoftheDhammapadadevotedto TheJudgebeginningwithadefinitionofagoodjudge,andcontinuingwith examplesofgoodjudgmentshowsthattheBuddhistconceptofDhammahas roomfortheaestheticmeaningofthetermaswell.Classictheoryalsoholdsthat theheroicsavorshould,especiallyattheendofapiece,shadeintothe marvelous.This,infact,iswhathappensperiodicallythroughoutthe Dhammapada,andespeciallyattheend,wheretheversesexpressastonishment attheamazingandparadoxicalqualitiesofapersonwhohasfollowedthepath ofheedfulnesstoitsend,becomingpathless[9293;179180]totally indescribable,transcendingconflictsanddualitiesofeverysort.Thusthe predominantemotionsthattheversesexpressinPaliandshouldalsoexpressin

8 translationareenergyandastonishment,soastoproducequalitiesoftheheroic andmarvelousforthereadertosavor.Thissavoristhenwhatinspiresthereader tofollowthepathofwisdom,withtheresultthathe/shewillreachadirect experienceofthetruehappiness,transcendingalldualities,foundattheendof thepath. Classicaesthetictheorylistsavarietyofrhetoricalfeaturesthatcanproduce savor.ExamplesfromtheseliststhatcanbefoundintheDhammapadainclude: accumulation(padoccaya)[137140],admonitions(upadista)[4748,246248,et.al.], ambiguity(aksarasamghata)[97,294295],benedictions(asis)[337],distinctions (visesana)[1920,2122,318319],encouragement(protsahana)[35,43,46,et.al.], etymology(nirukta)[388],examples(drstanta)[30],explanationsofcauseand effect(hetu)[12],illustrations(udaharana)[344],implications(arthapatti)[341], rhetoricalquestions(prccha)[44,62,143,et.al.],praise(gunakirtana)[5456,5859, 9293,et.al.],prohibitions(pratisedha)[121122,271272,371,et.al.],and ornamentation(bhusana)[passim]. Ofthese,ornamentationisthemostcomplex,includingfourfiguresofspeech andtenqualities.Thefiguresofspeecharesimile[passim],extended metaphor[398],rhyme(includingalliterationandassonance),andlamps [passim].ThislastfigureisapeculiarityofPaliaheavilyinflected languagethatallows,say,oneadjectivetomodifytwodifferentnouns,orone verbtofunctionintwoseparatesentences.(Thenameofthefigurederivesfrom theideathatthetwonounsradiatefromtheoneadjective,orthetwosentences fromtheoneverb.)InEnglish,theclosestwehavetothisisparallelism combinedwithellipsis.Anexamplefromthetranslationisinverse7 Maraovercomeshim asthewind,aweaktree whereovercomesfunctionsastheverbinbothclauses,eventhoughitis elidedfromthesecond.ThisishowIhaverenderedlampsinmostoftheverses, althoughintwocases[174,206]Ifounditmoreeffectivetorepeatthelamp word. Thetenqualitiesaremoregeneralattributesofsound,syntax,andsense, includingsuchattributesascharm,clarity,delicacy,evenness,exaltation, sweetness,andstrength.Theancienttextsarenotespeciallyclearonwhatsome ofthesetermsmeaninpractice.Evenwheretheyareclear,thetermsdealin aspectsofPali/SanskritsyntaxnotalwaysapplicabletoEnglish.Whatis

9 important,though,isthatsomequalitiesareseenasmoresuitedtoaparticular savorthanothers:strengthandexaltation,forexample,bestconveyatasteofthe heroicandmarvelous.Ofthesecharacteristics,strength(ojas)istheeasiestto quantify,foritismarkedbylongcompoundedwords.IntheDhammapada, approximatelyonetenthoftheversescontaincompoundsthatareaslongasa wholelineofverse,andoneverse[39]hasthreeofitsfourlinesmadeupofsuch compounds.BythestandardsoflaterSanskritverse,thisisrathermild,but whencomparedwithversesintherestofthePaliCanonandotherearly masterpiecesofkavya,theDhammapadaisquitestrong. Thetextalsoexplicitlyaddstothetheoryofcharacteristicsinsayingthat sweetnessisnotjustanattributeofwords,butofthepersonspeaking[363].If thepersonisatrueexampleofthevirtueespoused,his/herwordsaresweet. Thispointcouldbegeneralizedtocovermanyoftheotherqualitiesaswell. Anotherpointfromclassicaesthetictheorythatmayberelevanttothe Dhammapadaistheprincipleofhowaliteraryworkisgivenunity.Although thetextdoesnotprovideastepbystepsequentialportraitofthepathof wisdom,asalyricanthologyitismuchmoreunifiedthanmostIndianexamples ofthatgenre.Theclassictheoryofdramaticplotconstructionmaybeplayingan indirectrolehere.Ontheonehand,aplotmustexhibitunitybypresentinga conflictordilemma,anddepictingtheattainmentofagoalthroughovercoming thatconflict.ThisispreciselywhatunifiestheDhammapada:itbeginswiththe dualitybetweenheedlessandheedfulwaysofliving,andendswiththefinal attainmentoftotalmastery.Ontheotherhand,theplotmustnotshowsmooth, systematicprogress;otherwisetheworkwouldturnintoatreatise.Theremust bereversalsanddiversionstomaintaininterest.Thisprincipleisatworkinthe fairlyunsystematicorderingoftheDhammapadasmiddlesections.Verses dealingwiththebeginningstagesofthepatharemixedtogetherwiththose dealingwithlaterstagesandevenstagesbeyondthecompletionofthepath. Onemorepointisthattheidealplotshouldbeconstructedwithasubplotin whichasecondarycharactergainshis/hergoal,andinsodoinghelpsthemain characterattainhisorhers.Inadditiontotheaestheticpleasureofferedbythe subplot,theethicallessonisoneofhumancooperation:peopleattaintheirgoals byworkingtogether.IntheDhammapada,thesamedynamicisatwork.The mainplotisthatofthepersonwhomasterstheprincipleofkammatothe pointoftotalreleasefromkammaandtheroundofrebirth;thesubplot depictsthepersonwhomasterstheprincipleofkammatothepointofgaininga goodrebirthonthehumanorheavenlyplanes.Thesecondpersongainshis/her

10 goal,inpart,bybeinggenerousandrespectfultothefirstperson[106109,177], thusenablingthefirstpersontopracticetothepointoftotalmastery.Inreturn, thefirstpersongivescounseltothesecondpersononhowtopursuehis/her goal[7677,363].InthiswaytheDhammapadadepictstheplayoflifeinaway thatofferstwopotentiallyheroicrolesforthereadertochoosefrom,and delineatesthoserolesinsuchawaythatallpeoplecanchoosetobeheroic, workingtogetherfortheattainmentoftheirowntruewellbeing. PerhapsthebestwaytosummarizetheconfluenceofBuddhistandkavya traditionsintheDhammapadaisinlightofateachingfromanotherearly Buddhisttext,theSamyuttaNikaya(LV.5),onthefactorsneededtoattainones firsttasteofthegoaloftheBuddhistpath.Thosefactorsarefour:associating withpeopleofintegrity,listeningtotheirteachings,usingappropriateattention toinquireintothewaythoseteachingsapplytooneslife,andpracticinginline withtheteachingsinawaythatdoesthemjustice.EarlyBuddhistsusedthe traditionsofkavyaconcerningsavor,rhetoric,structure,andfiguresof speechprimarilyinconnectionwiththesecondofthesefactors,inorderto maketheteachingsappealingtothelistener.However,thequestionofsavoris relatedtotheotherthreefactorsaswell.Thewordsofateachingmustbespoken byapersonofintegritywhoembodiestheirmessageinhis/heractionsiftheir savoristobesweet[158,363].Thelistenermustreflectonthemappropriately andthenputthemintopracticeiftheyaretohavemorethanapassing, superficialtaste.Thusboththespeakerandlistenermustactinlinewiththe wordsofateachingifitistobearfruit.Thispointisreflectedinapairofverses fromtheDhammapadaitself[5152]: Justlikeablossom, brightcolored butscentless: awellspokenword isfruitless whennotcarriedout. Justlikeablossom, brightcolored &fullofscent: awellspokenword isfruitful whenwellcarriedout.

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Appropriatereflection,thefirststepalistenershouldfollowincarryingout thewellspokenword,meanscontemplatingonesownlifetoseethedangersof followingthepathoffoolishnessandtheneedtofollowthepathofwisdom.The Buddhisttraditionrecognizestwoemotionsasplayingaroleinthisreflection. Thefirstissamvega,astrongsenseofdismaythatcomeswithrealizingthe futilityandmeaninglessoflifeasitisnormallylived,togetherwithafeelingof urgencyintryingtofindawayoutofthemeaninglesscycle.Thesecondemotion ispasada,theclarityandserenitythatcomewhenonerecognizesateachingthat presentsthetruthofthedilemmaofexistenceandatthesametimepointsthe wayout.OnefunctionoftheversesintheDhammapadaistoprovidethissense ofclarity,whichiswhyverse82statesthatthewisegrowsereneonhearingthe Dhamma,and102statesthatthemostworthwhileverseisthemeaningfulone that,onhearing,bringspeace. However,theprocessdoesnotstopwiththesepreliminaryfeelingsofpeace andserenity.Thelistenermustcarrythroughwiththepathofpracticethatthe versesrecommend.Althoughmuchoftheimpetusfordoingsocomesfromthe emotionsofsamvegaandpasadasparkedbythecontentoftheverses,theheroic andmarveloussavoroftheversesplaysaroleaswell,byinspiringthelistenerto rousewithinhimorherselftheenergyandstrengththatthepathwillrequire. Whenthepathisbroughttofruition,itbringsthepeaceanddelightofthe Deathless[373374].Thisiswheretheprocessinitiatedbyhearingorreadingthe Dhammabearsitsdeepestsavor,surpassingallothers.Itisthehighestsensein whichthemeaningfulversesoftheDhammapadabringpeace. ***

Inpreparingthefollowingtranslation,Ihavekepttheabovepointsinmind, motivatedbothbyafirmbeliefinthetruthofthemessageoftheDhammapada, andbyadesiretopresentitinacompellingwaythatwillinducethereaderto putitintopractice.Althoughtryingtostayascloseaspossibletotheliteral meaningofthetext,Ivealsotriedtoconveyitssavor.Imoperatingonthe classicassumptionthat,althoughtheremaybeatensionbetweengiving instruction(beingscrupulouslyaccurate)andgivingdelight(providingan enjoyabletasteofthementalstatesthatthewordsdepict),thebesttranslationis onethatplayswiththattensionwithoutsubmittingtotallytoonesideatthe expenseoftheother.Toconveythesavorofthework,Ihaveaimedataspare

12 styleflexibleenoughtoexpressnotonlyitsdominantemotionsenergyand astonishmentbutalsoitstransientemotions,suchashumor,delight,andfear. Althoughtheoriginalversesconformtometricalrules,thetranslationsarein freeverse.Thisistheformthatrequiresthefewestdeviationsfromliteral accuracyandallowsforatersedirectnessthatconformswiththeheroicsavorof theoriginal.ThefreedomIhaveusedinplacingwordsonthepagealsoallows manyofthepoeticeffectsofPalisyntaxespeciallytheparallelismandellipsisof thelampstoshinethrough. IhavebeenrelativelyconsistentinchoosingEnglishequivalentsforPali terms,especiallywherethetermshaveatechnicalmeaning.Totalconsistency, althoughitmaybealogicalgoal,isbynomeansarationalone,especiallyin translatingpoetry.Anyonewhoistrulybilingualwillappreciatethispoint. Wordsintheoriginalwerechosenfortheirsoundandconnotations,aswellas theirliteralsense,sothesameprincipleswithinreasonablelimitshavebeen usedinthetranslation.Deviationsfromtheoriginalsyntaxarerare,andhave beenlimitedprimarilytosixsorts.Thefirstfourareforthesakeofimmediacy: occasionaluseoftheAmericanyouforone;occasionaluseofimperatives (Dothis!)foroptatives(Oneshoulddothis);substitutingactivefor passivevoice;andreplacinghewhodoesthiswithhedoesthisinmany oftheversesdefiningthetruebrahmininChapter26.Theremainingtwo deviationsare:makingminoradjustmentsinsentencestructuretokeepaword atthebeginningorendofaversewhenthispositionseemsimportant(e.g.,158, 384);andchangingthenumberfromsingular(thewiseperson)toplural (thewise)whentalkingaboutpersonalitytypes,bothtostreamlinethe languageandtolightenthegenderbiasoftheoriginalPali.(Asmostofthe verseswereoriginallyaddressedtomonks,Ihavefounditimpossibleto eliminatethegenderbiasentirely,andsoapologizeforwhateverbiasremains.) InverseswhereIsensethataparticularPaliwordorphraseismeanttocarry multiplemeanings,IhaveexplicitlygivenallofthosemeaningsintheEnglish, evenwherethishasmeantaconsiderableexpansionoftheverse.(Manyofthese versesarediscussedinthenotes.)Otherwise,Ihavetriedtomakethetranslation astransparentaspossible,inordertoallowthelightandenergyoftheoriginalto passthroughwithminimaldistortion. TheDhammapadahasforcenturiesbeenusedasanintroductiontothe Buddhistmindset.However,thetextisbynomeanselementary,eitherinterms ofcontentorstyle.Manyoftheversespresupposeatleastapassingknowledge ofBuddhistdoctrine;othersemploymultiplelevelsofmeaningandwordplay

13 typicalofpolishedkavya.Forthisreason,Ihaveaddednotestothetranslationto helpdrawoutsomeoftheimplicationsofversesthatmightnotbeobviousto peoplewhoarenewtoeitherofthetwotraditionsthatthetextrepresents. Ihopethatwhateverdelightyougainfromthistranslationwillinspireyouto puttheBuddhaswordsintopractice,sothatyouwillsomedaytastethesavor, notjustofthewords,butoftheDeathlesstowhichtheypoint.