The Dhammapada – the essential teachings of the Buddha

The Dhammapada contains the most essential oral teachings of the Buddha.  Perhaps, the best know Buddhist text, it consists of 423 verses compiled in the 3rd century BCE.  The teachings of the Buddha aim to set out the Law of the Universe, and if we live within these laws, happiness and peace will be the result.

I am no Yogi, Buddhist, or true Zen practitioner. I’m just a guy trying to find a little peace in this crazy of a world of ours.  And one of my goals with E.Y.D is to share a little of that peace with you.  So I hope you will enjoy a few enlightening verses of wisdom.  Each photo links directly to its original source of Flickr, and you can find a full audio version of The Dhammapada on my Youtube Channel.

Part 1: the essential teachings of the Buddha – Verses from The Dhammapada

The Choice

“All that we are is the result of our thoughts; it is founded on our thoughts and made up of our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. If a man speaks or acts with a harmonious thought happiness follows him as his own shadow, never leaving him.”  The Buddha,  The Dhammapada v2

“Hating can never overcome hatred. Only love can bring the end of hating. This is the eternal law.”   v4

“All the holy words you read and all the holy words you speak are as nothing if you do not act upon them.  Even if you read little and say little but live the right way, forsaking craving, hatred and delusion, you will know the truth and find calmness and will show others the path.”  The Buddha,  v20 The Dhammapada

Watchfulness

“A kindly person who is energetic for good will be looked upon well by everybody.”   The Buddha, v24  The Dhammapada

“Stay awake. Watch and reflect.  Work with careful attention.  In this way you will find the lights within yourself.”   v27

“Watchful among the thoughtless, awake among the sleepers, the meditating man advances like a racer, without hindrance.”  The Buddha, v29   The Dhammapada

The Mind

“As the bowman makes straight his arrows, so the wise man straightens his unsteady mind.”   v33

“Such as wandering  mind is weak and unsteady, attracted here, there, and everywhere. How good it is to control it and know the happiness of freedom.”   v35

“A troubled mind, however, does not see the way.  If a man is ignorant and filled with doubt, he can never find the true path.”  v38

“Whatever an enemy may do, he cannot harm as much as your own wrongly directed thoughts.” v40
“But once you understand, no one – neither your father nor mother – can do much good to you as your own well-directed thoughts.”  The Buddha,  v43   The Dhammapada

Flowers

“While such a thoughtless man is gathering the flowers of pleasure, he is overtaken by death before he can ever be satisfied.”  v48

“When the bee collects honey it does not spoil the beauty or scent of the flower. So let the sage settled in himself and wander as he wills.”    v49

“Like beautiful flowers that have colour but no scent are the eloquent but empty sayings of the man who does not act according to his words.”   v51

“Craving never blocks the path of those who live upright lives. Their wisdom sets them free.“  The Buddha  The Dhammapada,  v57

The Fool

“The fool thinks anxiously, ‘The children and this wealth is mine.’ But he is not even master of himself, much less of children.”  The Buddha,  The Dhammapada  v62

“Do only what you will not regret and the fruit of your deeds will be reaped in joy.”  The Buddha,  The Dhammapada v68

The Wise Man

“Look upon the wise man how shows you where you are mistaken as a revealer of treasures. It is good to know such a man.”  The Buddha  The Dhammapada, v62.

“The wise man follows the way of the awakened. He lives happily, with his mind as ease.”  v72

“As the rock remains unmoved by the storm, so the wise remain unmoved by praise or blame.”  The Buddha The Dhammapada, v81