Customer Reviews

Wisdom of the Buddha: The Unabridged Dhammapada (Dover Thrift Editions)

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The Dhammapada (in Pali/the Lankan scriptural language as derived from the original Pankrit), or the Dharmapada (in Sanskrit), the Pali being the original, in this case, is a pocket-size selection of the "essence" of Gotama Buddha's thought (the dhamma, or dharma) culled from the massive Tripitaka, the comprehensive collection of all of the Buddha's recorded discourses. The selection was made by the Sangha (the Buddhist community (in those days monks and nuns) somtime between 200 to 700 years after the death of Gotama Buddha in the fifth century B.C. The succintness, gravity, and beauty of these verses has more than stood the test of time.

The Dhammapada is, in my opinion (I first heard the dhamma formally in this lifetime in 1970), the best introduction to the buddha/dhamma: a bedside book, a wake-up book, a wonderful and lifelong friend.

This translation was among the first in a European language. Muller was an enormous figure in religious studies, who in the late nineteeth century conceived, edited, and contributed to the encyclopediac fifty tome collection of translations of Sacred Texts of the East of which this work is one volume. The original companion texts seemed to have been deleted for this paperbound edition. In any case, Muller's notes have been included and are useful, though at times, obscure.

The translation is strictly nineteeth century prose, and exhibits both pros and cons of the genre. At times the translation may not suit our criteria for either accuracy or aesthetic refinement. However, as Gracian has said, to be first is to be great, and Max M was most definitely, along with Szekeley the elder . . . first.

Which ever translation of the Dhammapada you choose, please do chose one. The work is exqisite and explains the dhamma (if possible) better than any book I know (Shobogenzo 2nd at this moment). Although I still have my Muller, I myself prefer the diminuitive translation with commentaries by The Mother (not Anadamayi, but the French sanyassin who hung out with Sri Aurobindo in the the mid twentieth century. The commentaries in this tiny book are brief talks she gave in the late fifties and always appropriate. The book can be procured through Auroville, Aurobindo's ashram, or perhaps on Amazon). However, the Muller is quite sufficient and inspiring.

This book is not a quick read if you wish to take something from it. Like most Buddhist writings, it is divided in to smaller parts for discussion (like "Old Age," "The World," and "Happiness"). Within each of these parts, there is an explanation trying to illustrate this idea of the reader. It is not intended to be scanned. If you read one of these sections a day (they are usually one or two pages), just reflect on that. You will walk away with a much better understanding. It is designed to assist your personal meditations.

I think it is a quick translation because I sometimes feel that "Western" words come into the translation rather than the intended word. For instance, I think "temple" would be a much better translation than "church." It would keep an Eastern feel to the writing.

I found this edition to be more than adaquete to the casual reader desiring to become better acquainted with Buddhist beliefs. Its lack of lengthy commentary (no more than a 2-page introduction and brief, explanatory footnotes) actually serves to make it highly accessible to the casual reader. This is the Dhammapada in its rawest form, free of someone else's interpretation.

For those wishing to thoroughly research the Dhammapada, however, another edition containing scholarly annotations would be more useful. (For that purpose, I would recommend the edition by Eknath Easwaran.)

I had to read this edition for my World Literature course and I was happy with the price (can't beat it!) and happy with the fact that it is free of scholarly interpretations, which can color the reader's opinions and/or perceptions. It also leaves the reader to come to their own conclusions.

But one can entirely misinterpret the Buddha's teachings, especially if you've never read a single Buddhist text (like myself) and that's why I'm not too keen on this edition.

The Dover Thrift Editions, to me, are meant to whet the appetite for more in-depth writings about a particular book. Sometimes it *does* help to have a scholar's insight - whether that person's take on the subject threatens to color your reading experience or not.

This is a quick little read (about 50 pages) that I found to get the general point across. It often reverts to juxtaposing paraphrases, repeating itself over and over, and often alludes to many Christian concepts such as sin, Heaven, Hell, and paying homage to the church. I have come to the conclusion that this book would come in handy to the as-of-now Christian who is looking into other religions and can't yet quite grasp the concept of a religion without a god, sins, or a heaven and hell. This book I believe was originally written in 1900, so it is fairly understanding as to why it is partially ignorant of some of the vital teachings of Buddha and why it curtails the full Buddhist perception.

Whatever your faith may be there's a ton to be learned from Buddha. I'm a Christian myself but I reference this book as well as the Bible quite often. Simple principles but it's amazing how much truth there is behind it.

This book has a lot of great philosophy in it and it isn't too hard to understand.

Buddhism is a recent interest of mine and this lovely little book was a wonderful first look. It's very easy to read and more matter-of-fact than I thought. There is no bulk of metaphysical nonsense that some will say one is either too young, too inexperienced or too whatever too understand. It's not a list of impossible rules for living. It's like a small book of life goals and advice for achieving happiness in a natural, stress free, non-guilt producing way. It's good common sense and not too lofty or unreachable. It explains a way of achieving order out of chaos. I think I'll keep my copy on my nightstand for bedtime reading and for those I nights I wake too soon. It makes me feel so calm.

These essential teachings are very well translated. Each verse guides the reader onto the path of virtue through deep thought and reflection. A must have for anyone seeking spiritual enlightenment.

My gripe with this book is that there is no introduction, nor any commentary. Whilst claiming to be the Max Muller translation it avoids including any of that fine oriental scholar's discussions or commentaries.