- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Modern Library (Sep 7 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0679643079
- ISBN-13: 978-0679643074
- Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 13.5 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#490,878 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #17 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Dhammapada
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
"Organized in a way that is meant to encourage a fresh encounter with the Dhammapada," according to its introduction, this guide jumps right in with Wallis’s careful translation of the 2,400-year-old Buddhist text. Wallis, an assistant professor of religion at the University of Georgia, wants readers to pore over the classic itself before using the notes in the back of the book on the second, third or even fourth reading. ("Learning is slow; careful reading is tedious; understanding is elusive," he cautions.) After this initial getting-to-know-you phase, readers can progress to the book’s second half, which has an extended guide to the text as a whole and a detailed commentary on selected verses (which are marked by an asterisk in the translation). Wallis discusses the oral nature of the original work, which would have been memorized and recited by monks, nuns and laypersons. He argues that rather than being seen as a random collection of verses, the Dhammapada has an overriding structure and a coherent theme, emphasizing the need for spiritual diligence and effort. According to the text, readers should seek the meaning of these verses as a skilled gardener would gather flowers. Wallis’s dexterous translation and commentary should help them in their task, though at times his writing is a bit technical.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Book Description
Trembling and quivering is the mind,
Difficult to guard and hard to restrain.
The person of wisdom sets it straight,
As a fletcher does an arrow.
The Dhammapada introduced the actual utterances of the Buddha nearly twenty-five hundred years ago, when the master teacher emerged from his long silence to illuminate for his followers the substance of humankind’s deepest and most abiding concerns. The nature of the self, the value of relationships, the importance of moment-to-moment awareness, the destructiveness of anger, the suffering that attends attachment, the ambiguity of the earth’s beauty, the inevitability of aging, the certainty of death–these dilemmas preoccupy us today as they did centuries ago. No other spiritual texts speak about them more clearly and profoundly than does the Dhammapada.
In this elegant new translation, Sanskrit scholar Glenn Wallis has exclusively referred to and quoted from the canonical suttas–the presumed earliest discourses of the Buddha–to bring us the heartwood of Buddhism, words as compelling today as when the Buddha first spoke them. On violence: All tremble before violence./ All fear death./ Having done the same yourself,/ you should neither harm nor kill. On ignorance: An uninstructed person/ ages like an ox,/ his bulk increases,/ his insight does not. On skillfulness: A person is not skilled/ just because he talks a lot./ Peaceful, friendly, secure–/ that one is called “skilled.”
In 423 verses gathered by subject into chapters, the editor offers us a distillation of core Buddhist teachings that constitutes a prescription for enlightened living, even in the twenty-first century. He also includes a brilliantly informative guide to the verses–a chapter-by-chapter explication that greatly enhances our understanding of them. The text, at every turn, points to practical applications that lead to freedom from fear and suffering, toward the human state of spiritual virtuosity known as awakening.
Glenn Wallis’s translation is an inspired successor to earlier versions of the suttas. Even those readers who are well acquainted with the Dhammapada will be enriched by this fresh encounter with a classic text
Difficult to guard and hard to restrain.
The person of wisdom sets it straight,
As a fletcher does an arrow.
The Dhammapada introduced the actual utterances of the Buddha nearly twenty-five hundred years ago, when the master teacher emerged from his long silence to illuminate for his followers the substance of humankind’s deepest and most abiding concerns. The nature of the self, the value of relationships, the importance of moment-to-moment awareness, the destructiveness of anger, the suffering that attends attachment, the ambiguity of the earth’s beauty, the inevitability of aging, the certainty of death–these dilemmas preoccupy us today as they did centuries ago. No other spiritual texts speak about them more clearly and profoundly than does the Dhammapada.
In this elegant new translation, Sanskrit scholar Glenn Wallis has exclusively referred to and quoted from the canonical suttas–the presumed earliest discourses of the Buddha–to bring us the heartwood of Buddhism, words as compelling today as when the Buddha first spoke them. On violence: All tremble before violence./ All fear death./ Having done the same yourself,/ you should neither harm nor kill. On ignorance: An uninstructed person/ ages like an ox,/ his bulk increases,/ his insight does not. On skillfulness: A person is not skilled/ just because he talks a lot./ Peaceful, friendly, secure–/ that one is called “skilled.”
In 423 verses gathered by subject into chapters, the editor offers us a distillation of core Buddhist teachings that constitutes a prescription for enlightened living, even in the twenty-first century. He also includes a brilliantly informative guide to the verses–a chapter-by-chapter explication that greatly enhances our understanding of them. The text, at every turn, points to practical applications that lead to freedom from fear and suffering, toward the human state of spiritual virtuosity known as awakening.
Glenn Wallis’s translation is an inspired successor to earlier versions of the suttas. Even those readers who are well acquainted with the Dhammapada will be enriched by this fresh encounter with a classic text
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Preceded by mind are phenomena, led by mind, formed by mind. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
Preceded by mind are phenomena, led by mind, formed by mind. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
deeply satisfying,
By A seeker on the way ((NYC)) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Dhammapada: Verses on the Way (Hardcover)
I have read several translations of this text over the years. This one by Glenn Wallis is by far the most elegant, direct, and useful. His commentary on the verses shows a deep concern for the reader. Obviously, Wallis' hope is that the reader understand and apply the verses to real life. His language is reassuring and forceful at the same time. The verses themselves are simple yet profound. A wonderful, satisfying book in every way.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews) 26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
great wisdom, fine translation, learned commentary,
By R. Hutchinson "autonomeus" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Dhammapada: Verses on the Way (Hardcover)
THE DHAMMAPADA is a core text of the buddha-dharma. It summarizes in verse form the basic teachings of the Buddha, and is used by all traditions (Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana). This is a superb new translation by Glenn Wallis, a Sanskrit scholar. There are some passages (including the opening verse!) which I find to be more felicitously phrased in other translations, but Wallis makes a strong case for his choices in the commentary, and in most cases creates beautiful, flowing verses in modern English.An example of the value of the commentary is Wallis's discussion of his translation of the term "nirvana." It has traditionally been translated as "extinguishing," as in blowing out a candle, meaning to extinguish desire (the root of suffering). But Wallis follows an alternative translation -- "unbinding." He argues that according to the physics of 2500 B.P. India, a flame was considered to be bound to its source, and liberated when it was unbound from it. There are many translations and editions of THE DHAMMAPADA available today, but this new one is highly recommended. The Modern Library hardcover edition is well-designed for many years of use. See my BHUDDA-DHARMA list for more. 13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Gather a well-taught verse on the way",
By Janet Riehl "Riehlife Village Wisdom for the ... - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Dhammapada: Verses on the Way (Hardcover)
Just as there are many translations of the Christian Bible with virtues to be gained from studying each one, there are also many translations of this great Buddhist classic, "The Dhammapada" which Glenn Wallis subtitles "Verses on The Way" (The Path).How shall we live our lives and walk the way in goodness? These 423 verses with Wallis' lucid commentary following are a good guide. "A seeker will master this earth, this world of death and radiant beings. A seeker will gather a well-taught verse on the way, as a skilled gardener gathers a flower." --from chapter 4, Flowers This book teaches us to: Commit not a single unwholesome action and cultivate a wealth of virtue. "So why not read the Dhammapada repeatedly, taking to heart its claim to be a revealer of treasures?" (from "A Note on the Translation") Wallis' version with its delicate sense of language and fine mastery of the Buddha's teachings is an excellent version to take to heart. --Janet Grace Riehl, author Sightlines: A Poet's Diary 11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A profoundly moving series of lessons,
By William T. Keith "Portico Magazine" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Dhammapada: Verses on the Way (Hardcover)
After enjoying Bangkok 8 so much, I picked this book up thinking it would provide good background material on Sonchai's character of which his Buddhism is a central tenet. What I found was a profoundly moving series of lessons on the nature of self, the mind, relationships, the world's beauty and other dilemmas that are as relevant today as they were nearly 2,500 years ago when the Budda wrote these "poems." There are shocking moments of clarity, of realization in the short verse lessons. The verses are organized by subject, each chapter with a corresponding guide written by the author of this new translation, Glenn Wallis. It is easy to see why Buddhists worldwide value the Dhammapada (translated by Wallis as "verses on the way") for its vibrant and immediate teachings.
|
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
