The Dhammapada, "The Path of the Dhamma," is so well known that it almost needs no introduction. It is by far the most widely translated Buddhist text. Therefore, I will keep my remarks to a minimum. The Dhammapada is the second book of the Khuddaka Nikāya, which is, itself, the fifth and last collection (nikāya) of the Sutta Piṭaka. The Dhammapada consists of 423 verses spoken by the Buddha on various occasions. These verses are arranged according to topic into 26 chapters. Though most of the verses were spoken to Bhikkhus, they are, nonetheless, of universal applicability. Indeed, they provide an incomparable guide on how to live a noble, rewarding, and useful life. In addition to the text of The Dhammapada, there also exist the stories of the events that prompted the Buddha to utter these verses as well as commentaries on the individual verses. The stories provide the context. The Commentary contains much useful material and, in some cases, provides the only means to understand the underlying meaning of the point that the Buddha was trying to get across. I had several goals in mind when I undertook the task of preparing yet another translation of The Dhammapada. The first was to prepare a version that was doctrinally accurate, that is, fully in accord with the doctrinal positions of Theravādin Buddhism. The second was to reduce sexist language as much as possible. The third and final goal was to render the verses into English that was fresh, alive, and easy to understand, and that would appeal to a modern reader. Consulting the Commentary made the first goal easy to achieve. Much of the commentarial material is included in the footnotes that accompany each chapter. In a number of cases, I followed the common practice of incorporating the commentarial material into the translation itself, especially when a word-for-word translation would have been incomprehensible by itself. The second goal required careful wording. I used two devices to reduce sexist language: (1) I used plural pronouns and (2) I used indefinite pronouns. In those cases where it was obviously males who were being spoken to or spoken about, I made no changes. As for the final goal, I will let the readers judge for themselves whether I have succeeded. As a final check on the accuracy of my translation, I compared it against several other popular translations. ■

Meditation and Jhanas

2017

A collection of translated Dhamma talks given in Thai by Phra Ajahn Suchart Abhijato (Translated by M Naparat)

2019

Dhammasaṅgaṇi is the fundamental first book of the Pāli Abhidhamma Piṭaka. Its contents represent quintessence of the entire Theravada Abhidhamma philosophy. This book elaborates in considerable detail in six chapters, covering important topics on couplets and triplets of the Abhidhammamātikā, and couplets of the Suttantamātikā in the first chapter; the 89 states of consciousness (cittāni) in the second chapter; 52 mental concomitants (cetasikā) and explain how each of these cetasikas correlates with the 89 states of consciousness in the third chapter; all aspects of corporeality/matters (rūpa) in the fourth chapter; detail as to how the terms in each cluster from the Abhidhammamātikā are to be applied are explained in the fifth chapter; enumerated expositions on the unconditioned element (Nibbāna) are given in the last chapter. Dhammasaṅgaṇi expounds all conceivable phenomenal existence with these four ultimate realities (paramatthā): states of consciousness, mental concomitants, corporeality, and Nibbāna. Many useful charts are included and explained in this book for assisting readers and students in enhancing their understanding.

A collection of classic passages from the Pāḷi texts presented in interlinear line by line text and translations with teachings about the doctrine, meditation, the factors of awakening, Abhidhamma and the Buddha.

Connaître Dieu Métamorphoses de la théologie comme science dans les religions monothéistes, 2024

A brief introduction to the Tibetan contemplative and philosophical genre of "Guides to the View." This was written for an audience of theologians and published in a volume entitled "To Know God." But that's in fact not quite my theme here - I've never been comfortable with the idea of "theology" in a Buddhist context - and the article may be of some interest to those studying Tibetan Buddhism alone. Pierre Hadot's thinking on "spiritual exercise" is also referenced, however.

The Dhammapada is one of the most widely known and studied Buddhist texts spanning from the Theravada tradition in South East Asia to the East Asian Buddhist tradition. The popularity of the Dhammapada, is not just felt in the Asian Buddhist traditions, but is also one of the first Buddhist texts to be translated fully into English and typically thought to be one of the first Buddhist texts Westerners come in contact with. The Dhammapada is still one of the most translated Buddhist texts in the West and is typically easily accessible for the interested novice of the Buddha’s teachings. With all of this in consideration, it begs the question, is the Dhammapada a representational text for the Theravada Buddhist tradition? Scholars of early Buddhist thought and in the Theravada Buddhist tradition are in general consensus that the Dhammapada is a representational text of Theravada Buddhism. Evidence for this thesis is the Dhammapada’s short and concise treatment of the Buddha’s wisdom in the Dhammapada, the various commentaries found in Southeast Asia and East Asia, with well known and respected Buddhist monk, Buddhaghosa, composing the most notable commentary of the Dhammapada. In addition, the various translations of the Dhammapada and interpretations of the text make it accessible for various peoples to study. The Dhammapada can be seen as a Buddhist-like Bible, as it encompasses the wisdom of Theravada Buddhism in one text in contrast to the hundreds of texts in the Pali Canon.

2005

A review article of Noa Ronkin, Early Buddhist metaphysics: the making of a philosophical tradition (London & New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2005), xiii, 279 pp.

ix initial stage. Layout issues, as usual, have been the job of Ms. Yamashita Harumi, of the ISEAS staff. Phyllis Brooks Schafer from California contributed to this enterprise with her professional skills in copy-editing and checking of English usage. At the last minute Alberto Todeschini, an Italian Tibetologist presently affiliated with ISEAS, also gave us a hand with editorial and linguistic matters, a very much appreciated final reinforcement for our work. To all of them goes our gratitude.