The Dhammapada: The Sayings of the Buddha [Hardcover]

"Preceded by perception are mental states,
For them is perception supreme.
From perception have they sprung."

"Preceded by mind
are phenomena,
led by mind,
formed by mind."

"We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world."

The first one is bogged down in the literal meaning of the Pali word "Sanna", or perception. In the Buddhist discourses, Sanna is the third of the Five Aggregates of existence: form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness. Thus, rather than poetical phrasing, we get a near literal translation that is cumbersome. The second one is better, but is still bogged down by the term "dharma", which in this relation, means thoughts, or mental phenomena. As for Byrom, he reads what the Pali text conveys, and then rewrites it simply, succintly, and to the point.

The next:

"Having striven, cut off the stream!
Dispel sensualities, O brahmana,
Having known the dissolution of the samkharas,
A knower of the Unmade are you, O brahmana.
"When with regard to two dhammas,
A brahmana has reached the further shore,
Then of that knowing one
All fetters come to an end.
"For whom the further shore or the nearer shore
Or both do not exist,
Who is free from distress, unyoked,
That one I call a brahmana."

"Exerting yourself, cut the stream!
Dispel sensual pleasure, superior one!
Knowing the dissolution of the modes of fabrication,
You know the uncreated, superior one.
"When the superior person
has gone to the other shore
In the twofold practice,
Then, for that one who knows,
All of his fetters disappear.
"For whom neither the far shore nor the near,
Nor both the far and near, exists,
That person, free from fetters and distress,
I call superior."

and now Byrom:

"Wanting nothing
With all your heart
Stop the stream,
When the world dissolves,
Everything becomes clear.
Go beyond
This way or that way,
To the farther shore
Where the world dissolves
and everything becomes clear.
Beyond this shore
And the farther shore
Beyond the beyond,
Where there is no beginning,
No end,
Without fear go."

I have no aversion to using Pali or Sanskrit terms in translations, indeed, I much prefer to read the name Avalokiteshvara, than to hear the ridiculous sounding "Hearer of the World's Cries", as Burton Watson translates it. But I believe a translator should use discretion. Samkhara means formations, but if you didn't know that, you'd be riffling through the notes trying to find out what he is saying. Also, the term brahmana is not very often encountered in Buddhism. It would have been better to change the word to Arhat, for at least that is familiar. Here, also, is apparent one fact that makes Byrom's translation superior. Many of the phrases referring to a disciple of the Buddha, a learner, an enlightened one, a student, are addressed instead to the reader. For this is what the Buddha is trying to convey. He is trying to inspire people, and it is much more inspiring to be directly addressed than to hear the verses addressed to a brahmana or a superior person. Anyway, I stand by this translation, and it is a rare example of a perfection that I don't think can be improved upon.