Dhammapada

The reviews of these authors' version of the Dhammapada on Amazon have got very jumbled up. The Amazon review provided under 'Product Information' at the beginning of the page about the short Oxford World's Classics edition is very misleading. It states: "Carter and Palihawadana have not only proivde [sic] a fresh English translation of the Pali but a transliteration of the Dhammapada" This is NOT true - there is no transliteration of the Pali text in that particular edition. The fuller edition, of over 500 pages, does have a transliteration of the Pali text. To add to the confusion, my review, which you are reading now, has been attached by Amazon to the shorter OUP edition AND the full edition with transliteration.

All the teachings of all the introductions to Buddhism are in here, and more, but instead of academic sentences, you get memorable stansas. Its directness and conciseness make it a much more effective tool. Read together with the helpful notes, a complete novice to Buddhism would have a very good idea what it was all about from reading this text alone.

I have previously read classic Max Muller's version, Mascaros poetic version and some translations foud at numerous web-pages. I think this is clearly the best of them. Carter and Palihawadana have retained texts lyric style but still their ambition is to bring autentic text as such to us. Hence reader have to use glossary where most importánt words and referensees are. I may be a bit annoying but If you really want know exactly what what is in original dhammapada you has to use such method. Some at web "intreprete" too much, then the text may look easier but It may go also wrong. Only negative comment is that people to which english is not native language, text may have too mamy many fine but unfamiliar words. I recommend this book. It is one of the classics of Worlds religious teachings.

I bought the Dhammapada, having encountered passages from it as aphorisms, and wanting to read it as a whole. I do not like this translation: the beauty of the Dhammapada (to me) is its extreme simplicity and clarity of expression, and I think that this translation obscures these characteristics, and sometimes also obscures the meaning of the text. I am not qualified to comment on the 'authenticity' of the various translations of the Pali original, or whether this is somehow more true to the Pali, but my preferred versions are the Penguin Classics version and (my favorite) Gil Fronsdal's translation, published by Shambhala Publicatons. I recommend using the Amazon 'look inside' feature to read some of the text and see which best speaks to you; if you are particularly keen to explore the finer nuances of meaning, reading more than one translation highlights how different translators translate different Pali words/meanings into English.

I purchased this as I'm studying Yoga and I had an assignment to write a book review on it. I was confused as to which copy to buy so I went by the star ratings. However my tutor was not impressed when I showed him the book, he explained there were better and easier translations on the market. Hence why I have recently purchased the Penguin Classics version. I just wish I could get my money back on this copy.

Very good books small in page number but very thorough. Definitely I would recommend.

I have six or more translations of the Dhammapada, including the much larger version by the same authors. This one is nice for carrying around, and it has some new details in it as well in the introduction and the notes. Other versions are worth consulting, but this one to me is the clearest. For example the phrase in this version "absence of enmity" is translated as the word "love" in other versions. Nothing against love, but the word love does not do much for me other than suggest the idea of trying to conjure up an emotion that doesn't last very long. I find "absence of enmity" to be much more specific, something I can relate to. And it is more congruent with the Buddha's overall teachings about calmness. Also, in the first verse we learn about the relation between our perceptions and our mental states. This is what mindfulness is all about. Other versions just simply did not get this point across to me. But, again, other versions are worth comparing, especially the translation by Glenn Walliis which is very close to the version above. Wallace has wonderful commentary in his "Guide To Reading The Text", which is the second half of his book.

Kindle customers, please note that all the customer reviews are based on the printed editions, not the Kindle edition. The Kindle addition does not contain the Pali transcription. Also, the notes are marked by asterisks in the Kindle text, with no way to link to the corresponding numbered note at the end of the book. If you're just looking for an excellent translation, this is one of them.

A very clear and open book on many of the most pivotal and wise sayings of the Buddha. This is a great reference to have.

This short English edition of the Dhammapada, written by two distinguished scholars in the field, and published under Oxford World's Classics series, contains a short introduction and explanatory notes aside from the main text. As such, it forms a handy English version of this very important Buddhist text, useful both as an introduction to it as well as a source of reference. Some previous acquaintance with the tenets of Buddhism is recommended, as this is not an introduction to the Buddha's teachings, and the short length of the text does not allow for thorough discussion of some important concepts. Brevity and succinctness are the name of the game here. The one major deficiency of this text which struck me as a Vipassana meditation practitioner, however, was that the explanations offered to quite a number of verses by the authors attest to a significant lack of understanding which can only be gained through the practice of insight meditation. I will mention a few examples. First, in their explanation of the very famous v. 113, the authors interpret "seeing the rise and demise" of phenomena as an intellectual understanding of the concept, while this verse is commonly known among Vipassana practitioners to refer to an advanced and defining stage of the practice where one sees clearly (and not conceptually) into the moment-to-moment rising and passing away of phenomena (the authors make no mention of this). A similar misinterpretation is given to v. 374, which alludes to the positive mental states which emerge in connection with witnessing the rising and passing away of phenomena during advanced meditation practice. In their explanation to v. 279 ("All dhammas are without self"), the authors point out that the characteristic sign of no-self "is not as wide-embracing as the first two" (impermanence and unsatisfactoriness), but "restricted to 'dhammas', that is, all aspects of consciousness." That is no small a deviation from the teachings of the Buddha, who taught that all conditioned phenomena are characterized by lack of an abiding self, as – again – one clearly perceives through intensive Vipassana practice. In their commentary to v. 295 ("Having slain the tiger's domain, as fifth"), the authors suggest a metaphorical representation of the "five hindrances", which "deflect virtuous qualities"; again, as any meditator knows, the precise function of the five hindrances is to hinder one from deepening their meditation practice, and thus their understanding of the dhamma and the resulting purification of mind. Here, again, there is no reference to the significance of the five hindrances in the context of meditation practice, a central pillar of the "Noble Eightfold Path". And so, perhaps what this book serves to teach us most of all, is how essential is the practice of insight meditation to gaining a full and true understanding of the Buddha's teachings, aside from the accumulation of textual knowledge.