The ancient Pali text, the Dhammapada is to Buddhism what the Sermon on the Mount is to Christianity and the Bhagavad Gita to Hinduism. The Dhammapada means the path of truth. It sums up the Buddha’s teachings in 26 short chapters containing terse and haunting verse composed by his immediate disciples.

The Buddha was essentially a scientist of the mind. He found that all of one’s problems, and all of one’s happiness springs from one’s own mind. The Dhammapada lays down tools to study and investigate one’s mind and to remove from it, all that gets in the way of happiness.

This is how the first chapter, called ‘Twin Verses’, begins -

Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draw it.

Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves.

Chapters are devoted to the saint, the path, the nature of desire, compulsive urges, anger, joy and pleasure. The Buddha found that the road to joy was the high road while the road to pleasure was the low road. Selfish desires may bring pleasure, but can never lead to joy. To find joy or happiness, one has to swim against the current, against every selfish impulse.

Eknath Easwaran is a Sanskrit scholar from southern India who lives and teaches meditation in Berkely. Easwaran’s translation of the Dhammapada is insightful and his commentary, contemporary. The Dhammapada is invaluable to yogis who want to know their mind and prevent hostile thoughts from arising.

Related Reading:
1.Old Path, White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha – by Thich Nhat Hahn
2.Taming The Monkey Mind – by Thubten Chodron
3.The Places That Scare You – by Pema Chodron
4.Transforming Problems – by Lama Zopa Rinpoche