Ven. Weragoda Sarada Thera - Treasury of Truth: Text from the Illustrated Dhammapada

Treasury of T

T

ruth

reasury of T

Dhammapada (Text)

Ven. Weragoda Sarada Thero

e

BUDDHANET'S

BOOK LIBRARY

E-mail: bdea@buddhanet.net

Web site: www.buddhanet.net

Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc.

reasury

of

ruth

Illustrated

Dhammapada

Man who achieved a great victory

One of the first scholars to begin the work of

translating the Pali Literature into English, was

the son of a well-known clergyman.

His object in undertaking the work was to prove

the superiority of Christianity over

Buddhism. He failed in this task but he achieved

a greater victory than he expected.

He became a Buddhist. We must never forget the

happy chance which prompted him to undertake

this work and thereby make the precious Dhamma

available to thousands in the West. The name of

this great scholar was Dr. Rhys Davids.

Ven. A. Mahinda, Blueprint of Happiness

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Yamaka Vagga

Twin Verses

Chapter 2

Appamda Vagga

Heedfulness

Chapter 3

Citta Vagga

Mind

Chapter 4

Puppha Vagga

Flowers

Chapter 5

Bla Vagga

Fools

Chapter 6

Paita Vagga

The Wise

Chapter 7

Arahanta Vagga

The Saints

Chapter 8

Sahassa Vagga

Thousands

Chapter 9

Ppa Vagga

Evil

Chapter 10

Daa Vagga

Punishment

Chapter 11

Jar Vagga

Old Age

Chapter 12

Atta Vagga

Self

Chapter 13

L oka Vagga

World

Chapter 14

Buddha Vagga

The Buddha

Chapter 15

Sukha Vagga

Happiness

Chapter 16

Piya Vagga

Affection

Chapter 17

K odha Vagga

Anger

Chapter 18

Mala Vagga

Impurities

Chapter 19

Dhammaha Vagga Established in Dhamma

Chapter 20

Magga Vagga

The Path

Chapter 21

Pakiaka Vagga

Miscellaneous

Chapter 22

Niraya Vagga

Hell

Chapter 23

Nga Vagga

The Great

Chapter 24

Tah Vagga

Craving

Chapter 25

Bhikkhu Vagga

The Monk

Chapter 26

Brhmaa Vagga

The Brhmaa

The Pali Alphabet

Pronunciation of Letters

a

as

u

in

b u t

n

as

gn

in

Sig n or

a

"

a

"

a rt

t

"

t

"

no t

i

"

i

"

p i n

d

"

d

"

hi d

i

"

i

"

mach i ne

n

"

n

"

hi n t

u

"

u

"

p u t

p

"

p

"

li p

u

"

u

"

r u le

b

"

b

"

ri b

e

"

e

"

t e n

m

"

m

"

hi m

e

"

a

"

f a te

y

"

y

"

y ard

o

"

o

"

h o t

r

"

r

"

r at

o

"

o

"

n o te

l

"

l

"

se ll

k

"

k

"

k e y

v

"

v

"

v ile

g

"

g

"

g e t

s

"

s

"

s it

n

"

ng

"

ri ng

h

"

h

"

h ut

c

"

ch

"

ri ch

l

"

l

"

fe l t

j

"

j

"

j ug

"

ng

"

si ng

The vowels e and o are always long, except when followed by a

double consonant, e.g., ettha, oa. But, to make reading the Pali text easier, long e and long o are indicated thus: and . We

adopted this non-conventional method, to make for easier reading.

There is no difference between the pronunciation of n and .

The former never stands at the end, but is always followed by a

consonant of its group.

The dentals and are pronounced with the tip of the tongue

placed against the front upper teeth.

The aspirates kh, gh, h, h, th, dh, ph, bh are

pronounced with h sound immediately following, as in block

head, pighead, cathead, loghead, etc. where the h in each is combined with the preceding consonant in pronunciation.

Acknowledgement

In the religious literature of the world that pre-eminently repre

sents mans continued urge towards the spiritual, The

Dhammapada occupies a place of high distinction. Its sacred contents have unceasingly influenced human thought, holding

aloft the torch of knowledge to light the path of men in their

quest for truth and inner solace. In the current global context,

The Dhammapada has evolved into the stature of an outstanding treasure of the common human heritage, transcending man

made borders and boundaries and rising above limitations

imposed by time. The Dhammapada, in short, is among the

handful of gems of sacred literature esteemed by people all

over the globe, irrespective of cleavages of creed, faith and

variegated religious professions.

The primary purpose of the present English rendering of The

Dhammapada, under the title The Treasury of Truth is to take the word of the Buddha further afield, in a verbal and visual id-iom that will have greater appeal to the modern mind. The eter

nal wisdom embodied in the verses of The Dhammapada holds

within it the potential to bring tranquility to men and women

troubled by the stresses and conflicts of life as it is being lived by a good majority of the people in todays world of disharmony and distress. In spite of the deeply felt need of the

contemporary world, to yearn for peace, solace and tranquility,

the word of the Buddha has not generally been presented in a

frequency that throbs to the rhythm of the modern mind-set.

The rationale of the present translation, therefore, is to bring

The Dhammapada closer to generations who are being brought 44

up right round the globe on a staple fare of visual messages emanating in multiple colour, from the worlds visual primary

media both of electronic and print categories.

In consequence, The Treasury of Truth has, as its most prominent core feature a series of 423 specially commissioned illus

trations, at the rate of one per stanza in The Dhammapada. This

veritable gallery of Dhammapada illustrations is the creation of

artist P. Wickramanayaka, a well-known Sri Lankan profes

sional. He was assisted by artist K. Wi-Jayakeerthi. The illustrations bear witness to the wisdom encapsulated in the

Chinese proverb, One picture is worth ten thousand words.