Dhammapada Verses and Stories

The Dhammapada is the second book of the Khuddaka Nikāya of the Sutta(nta) Pi aka, consisting of 423 verses in 26 chapters arranged under various headings. These verses were culled from various discourses given by the Buddha in the course of 45 years of his teaching, as he travelled in the valley of the Ganges (Ganga) and the sub-mountain tract of the Himalayas. Through them the Buddha exhorts one to achieve that greatest of all conquests, the conquest of self; to escape from the evils of craving, aversion and ignorance; and to strive hard to attain freedom from the round of rebirths. Each verse contains a truth (dhamma), an exhortation, a piece of advice. The verses were translated into English from the Dhammapada Pāli the text approved by the Sixth International Buddhist Council. The authors have tried to make the translation as close to the text as possible.

Summaries of the Dhammapada stories are given in the second part of the book; it is generally believed that the Dhammapada Commentary written by Buddhaghosa (fifth century A.D.) is a great help towards a better understanding of the Dhammapada. Three hundred and five stories are included in the Commentary, mostly of incidents that took place during the lifetime of the Buddha, but some references to past existences are also included.

Bibliography: 

Dhammapada Verses and Stories. Trans. Daw Mya Tin, M.A. Washington: Pariyatti Publishing. 2018