The Dhammapada is an excellent text for a daily sutta practice. The verses are packed with material for contemplation as well as implementation. The reading can usually be done in as little as five minutes a day plus as much reflection time as you are able to give. If you do not have an established sutta practice, this is a great text to begin with both because of the breadth and depth of the teaching as well as being very accessible. It is also very easy to commit to reading one chapter a day and develop this habit and hunger for the suttas.
Choosing a translation
If you are a Theravada Buddhist, it is important to use a translation of the Dhammapada that accurately reflects Theravada doctrine. Because of the pithy language of the original Pali text, it is easy for a translator from a non-Buddhist tradition to subtly insert concepts that are incompatible with the Dhamma. Be careful of books called “versions” or “renderings” as they sometimes play fast and loose with important concepts.
The following are good translations to use in terms of adhering to Theravada teachings:
- The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, by Acharya Buddharakkhita. Excellent print edition from BPS as well as online version, printable PDF, Epub and Mobi/Kindle format from readingfaithfully.org
- The Dhammapada: Pali Text and Translation with Stories and Notes, by Venerable Narada. A version in PDF, Epub and Mobi/Kindle is available from this site here. You can view the complete original translation on line here.
- The Dhammapada: A Translation, by Ajahn Thanissaro. A free print edition is available from Metta Forest Monastery. There is a PDF, Epub and Mobi/Kindle version available from dhammatalks.org. You can also see the translation right away on line at Accesstoinsight.org.
All three are available on-line in some form but, as always, try to work directly from a book for your daily practice. To get a feel for which translation you like, read the same chapter in each one and pick the one that is most appealing. They are all good so there is no need to spend too much time laboring over your decision. Better just to get started. By reading a chapter every day you will be able to complete the book in less than a month so after several cycles of a single translation you can always try another one. If you stick with your favorite over several years you will begin to memorize important verses simply by repeated contact.
Regardless of the translation you use, at some point read Bhikkhu Bodhi’s introduction (available on line at accesstoinsight.org)
How much to read.
The easiest practice is to read one chapter per day. This has several advantages:
- You will always have time to do this practice. (See the 2nd P) The only reason to miss a day is if you forget. There is always five minutes to read the Dhamma, no matter what your life is like.
- There will always be at least one verse that you understand and connect with. In this way you will always have something to contemplate.
- You can read the entire Dhammapada in less than a month, fourteen times in one year.
The last chapter is about twice as long as the rest, so you may want to split that one and read it over two days.
After having done several cycles with one chapter a day, you may want to try reading the same chapter each day for a week. This will allow you to work more deeply with the verses. In this way you will read it a total of seven times in six months.
You could also simply read until you find a verse that strikes you and then contemplate on it for some time. Mark where you stopped with a post-it flag and pick up there the next day. In this way you will be sure to cover everything eventually.
Make it your story
The ancient commentaries contain a record of the events that lead the Buddha to utter each verse. These are an excellent source of inspiration and understanding.
For a sutta practice, however, it is beneficial to imagine how the Buddha might have uttered these verses as a result of events in our own lives. Can you remember a time when you were caught in an argument, causing much suffering for yourself and other people? How would it have been for the Buddha to have appeared and uttered verse number 6:
6. There are those who do not realize that one day we all must die. But those who do realize this settle their quarrels. A. Buddharakkhita, trans.
Imagine what it would have been like to hear the teachings in that moment. This is how we make the suttas come alive. When we do this, it will be easier to remember to bring these teachings to mind the next time a dispute arises.
Keep it a sutta practice
The Dhammapada is also an excellent text for deeper textual study, Pali language study, and even comparing different translations. However, during your designated practice time, try to work with the text on a personal, experiential level. To this end it is beneficial to:
- Stick with a single translation at a time, at least for a year. The translations listed above will be useful to illuminate areas for personal cultivation and reflection.
- Just read the text and not the background stories at least for the first three or four cycles.
- Focus on implementation not interpretation.
Lofty language
As you are reading you will come across many passages that talk about arahants, fully enlightened beings. This may not always be obvious because the language used is generally non-technical. But it may be clear that it is talking about someone who has reached a high level of perfection. We have to use these verses to lift up our hearts, fill them with happiness knowing that such a state is possible, and that the path leading to that state was taught by the Blessed One. These are our heroes and we need to get to know their qualities very personally.
Conclusion
As with any sutta practice, try to connect it with a regular daily activity. Really commit to reading every day. This will give you a lot of energy for your understanding and keep the Dhamma constantly in your life. Consider using the Don’t Break the Chain technique. And remember this can be a perpetual practice, so always begin again.
Some of these verses will surely end up in your Personal Anthology. And even if you haven’t started a Personal anthology, you can easily use the Almost Anthology technique with the Dhammapada, simply flagging verses as you find them.
In his excellent introduction to Ven Buddharakkhita’s translation of the Dhammapada, Bhikkhu Bodhi makes a wonderful case for using the Dhammapada as a constant companion in your sutta practice:
As a great religious classic and the chief spiritual testament of early Buddhism, the Dhammapada cannot be gauged in its true value by a single reading, even if that reading is done carefully and reverentially. It yields its riches only through repeated study, sustained reflection, and most importantly, through the application of its principles to daily life. Thence it might be suggested to the reader in search of spiritual guidance that the Dhammapada be used as a manual for contemplation. After his initial reading, he would do well to read several verses or even a whole chapter every day, slowly and carefully, relishing the words. He should reflect on the meaning of each verse deeply and thoroughly, investigate its relevance to his life, and apply it as a guide to conduct. If this is done repeatedly, with patience and perseverance, it is certain that the Dhammapada will confer upon his life a new meaning and sense of purpose. Infusing him with hope and inspiration, gradually it will lead him to discover a freedom and happiness far greater than anything the world can offer.
I’m reading a chapter almost every day. I sometimes worry that the goals are too lofty for me. This tends to feed into my resistance, making it harder to sit. Do you have anything to say to someone troubled in this way?
I much appreciate the structure the posting offers. Metta and thanks. M
I’m also reading a chapter every day and the practice is regular, at least as far as sitting. But during the sitting, I am very distracted, and then impatient with myself. It does help to have faith. Many thanks for your comments. I didn’t find them until today (May 3) so will now take them with me to my reading and sitting. M
If we notice we are having trouble with the verses, our first job is to establish confidence in the enlightenment of the Buddha. Once that is there we can be sure that these lofty goals are possible, at least for someone. Then we establish confidence in the Dhamma as being well proclaimed and leading to enlightenment. We do this by focusing on the verses we can directly apply to our lives. When you are sure that this Dhamma leads to the final goal, then it is easy to establish confidence in the enlightenment of the Sangha, those who have realized some level of awakening. Then we are sure that others besides the Buddha can do this.
If we don’t believe that the Blessed One was enlightened, then we can’t even come close to thinking it is possible for us to remove unwholesome qualities and develop wholesome qualities. But when we know the Buddha did it, then we know any unwholesome quality we have in ourselves has also been overcome by him. There is no defilement in us that the Buddha did not overcome.
So some of the verses explain the path and some explain the goal. If you can’t have confidence in the goal, then at least focus on the path. Put the weight of your attention on those verses that you can see right away how you can relate to your own life and put into practice. This is why it is beneficial to read a whole chapter in a day. You usually get a mixture of path and goal type verses. Making the Dhammapada into an Almost Anthology would also be helpful. Then if you are overwhelming your mind with a particular verse, you can switch to reading one of the verses you have marked.
You may also try writing this down on a piece of paper and keeping it in the book. Read the first part before the lofty verse and the second part after:
——————————–
These are the qualities of my great teacher, the Fully Enlightened Buddha:
[Lofty Verse]
How lucky I am to have found this teacher who out of compassion taught such a well proclaimed Dhamma.
——————————–
Or something similar that puts the verse in the proper context of establishing faith.
So in summary,
* Try working with a whole chapter so you have some path type verses every day
* Start an Almost Anthology https://readingfaithfully.org/almost-personal-anthology/
* Use the context phrases to keep the intention clear
And don’t give up! 🙂
Many thanks! I’m going straight to my reading with your comments and the verse in hand. M
@David- Can you explain a bit what you mean by “contact”? Is it that the verses in the first few chapters are more commonly quoted so you see them more often? Or that you begin reading the Dhammapada but rarely make it to the end?
Thanks for explaining and sharing your experience. Moving through a whole collection is very valuable. This is a good technique. If we fall away from reading a book of suttas I think it is good to just pick back up where we left off. But if we are unsure where that was, etc, then moving from the end to the beginning is a way to do it.
Sadhu, Sadhu! That is excellent. Did you memorize in Pali or translation?
I have memorized it in Pali. I already had some knowledge of the language.
However, there was a problem with correct pronunciation.
I found this resource http://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/BDLM/en/lesson/pali/lesson_pali3.htm very helpful.
It is also important to know the stories behind each verse, so you don’t pick them out of context.
Wonderful. Do keep it up so you don’t loose what you have memorized.
It is indeed good to read the origin stories from time to time. I do encourage practicing on a daily basis with just the verses so it is easier to reflect on them in the context of our own lives.