Dhammapada (Shambhala Pocket Classics): Amazon.ca: Books

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5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one I carry with me everywhere, Nov 16 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Dhammapada (Shambhala Pocket Classics) (Paperback)

These basic and sacred Buddhist teachings will take you far, very far if you just read slowly. Read it when you are sad, lonely, when you are anxious, bored, or annoyed. It will calm you and it will center you, and take you back to your perfect self.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Dhammapada: Book Review, Feb 16 2004

By

Lena Young - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dhammapada (Shambhala Pocket Classics) (Paperback)

Dhammapada is a collection of early sayings in Sanskrit from the Buddha translated by Thomas Byrom. The founder of the Buddhist religion and a prince who abdicated his crown in Northern India to live the life as an ascetic, Buddha (563-483 B.C.) left his teachings in the form of oral discourses. These were in turn passed down through generations by means of oral transmission. Because of this attribute many such teachings (now known as Sutras) are metered as repetitive poems made easy for oral recitation.
Dhammapada differs from other Sutras in that it ventures little into the metaphysical nature of reality or life. Instead, it is a simple treatise that reminds us about the many virtues of life that we should practice daily. Thus, lessons about "living purely" (104), "blissful awakening" (78), "[letting] go of anger... [and] pride" (59), "living in honesty and strength" (88), "living in love" (100), and many others abound throughout the text. It contains a treasure of aphorisms that will make the reader stop, think over, and radically confront the truths held therein. Because of its positive affirmation of life and all its virtues, it is an uplifting Sutra that purifies the heart and enlightens the mind.
The English translation rendered by Byrom is exceptional in that it captures the poetic eloquence and fluidity of the original text with its own metered tempo. As presented, the translation is a masterpiece in its own right, with the translator juggling with words that take the reader to dizzying heights of poetic contemplation. Byrom's masterful choice of words strikes a deep resonance with this reader. When further weighed with Buddha's teachings in the background, this small text unfolds as a jewel of mystic and enlightened literature that stands second to none.
Although the text teaches mainly the practice of the virtues in our daily lives, it does not lose sight of the ultimate aspiration for all of us, namely liberation or nirvana. Thus by meditating on love, purifying the heart, and freeing the mind from "passion, enmity, folly" (6), "from desire and sorrow" (27), "from attachment and appetite" (26), it teaches that we will at last reach "freedom without bounds" (27).
A few of my all-time favorites include:

In this world
Hate never yet dispelled hate.
Only love dispels hate,
This is the law,
Ancient and inexhaustible (2).

and

However young,
The seeker who sets out upon the way
Shines bright over the world (102) .

... day and night
The man who is awake
Shines in the radiance of the spirit (104).

Meditate.
Live purely.
Be quiet.
Do your work, with mastery (104).

Like the moon,
Come out from behind the clouds!
Shine (102).
(my own arrangement of sequence)

This heartening sutra can be read thousands of time and yet with each reading it will still remain fresh as something new arouses the mind.

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5.0 out of 5 stars One Of The Most Important Books I Have Read, Dec 1 2001

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Marzine (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dhammapada (Shambhala Pocket Classics) (Paperback)

I think I found this book in WaldenBooks when I was in ninth grade.When the others in my age group were more interested in parties and clothes I was more interested in finding Divine Truth and that is what this book was to me.An awakening and an awareness of many things I had never before understood.The words of Buddha are poetic and truthful.Truths that would make this world a place of beauty to live in.If only more people would read this book and genuinely take what is said to heart.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazeing
I do not know how this stands as a accurate translation but the way the the text works on you is profound. Read more

Published on Sep 27 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars The Eternal Wisdom of Buddha
The Dhammapada is one of the most popular and accessible books in all of Buddhist literature. In it are the words of Shakyamuni Buddha, which teach that all suffering stems from... Read more

Published on Jan 10 2001 by Wendy Williams