Samuel Beal - Texts from the Buddhist Canon: Commonly Known as Dhammapada

Trbners Oriental Series

TEXTS FROM THE BUDDHIST CANON

Trbners Oriental Series

BUDDHISM

In 16 Volumes

TEXTS FROM THE BUDDHIST CANON

COMMONLY KNOWN AS DHAMMAPADA

SAMUEL BEAL

First published in 1878 by

Trbner & Co Ltd

Reprinted in 2000 by

Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Transferred to Digital Printing 2007

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group

1878 Samuel Beal

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Texts from the Buddhist Canon

ISBN 0-415-24471-4

Buddhism: 16 Volumes

ISBN 0-415-24286-X

Trbners Oriental Series

ISBN 0-415-23188-4

TEXTS

FROM

THE BUDDHIST CANON,

COMMONLY KNOWN AS

DHAMMAPADA,

WITH ACCOMPANYING NARRATIVES.

Tranlated from the Chinese

BY

SAMUEL BEAL

(B.A. TRIN. COLL. CAMB.)

PROFESSOR OF CHINESE, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON.

LONDON:

TRBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL.

1878.

[All rights reserved.]

Dedicated

to

His Excellency, Iwakura Tomomi,

In Recognition of his Liberality

In Procuring for the Library of the India Office

A Complete Copy of the Buddhist Tripitaka

In the Chinese Language, From One Volume of Which

The following Translation

Has Been Prepared.

Introductory Remarks.

DHAMMAPADA (which, according to the Chinese Gloss, may be rendered Scriptural Texts or Verses) is a work of much importance in the study of Buddhism. It contains, as its title signifies, authentic Texts gathered from ancient canonical booksand these Texts are generally connected with some incident or other in the History of Buddha, helping to illustrate everyday life in India at the time when they were written, as well as the method of teaching adopted by the Founder of this remarkable Religion. Not only does the general tone pervading these verses illustrate the spirit of Buddhas doctrine,1 but by a critical examination of particular passages, we are enabled to solve some of the difficulties which always attend the interpretation of words and phrases used in a religions sense. We already possess two translations of this work from the Pli,one by V. Fausbll (1855), the other by Max Mller (1870)2and in addition to these there are the criticisms of Mr. James DAlwis and the late Professor Childers on the latter translationso that for all necessary purposes we have sufficient material before us for a correct knowledge of the work in question. I should not under these circumstances have undertaken to produce another translation bearing the same title, but for the fact that no copy of Dhammapada has hitherto been known to exist in China. It has been my good fortune to have had brought under my immediate examination the great body of books comprising the Chinese Buddhist Canon. Amongst these I found there were four copies of a work bearing the title of Law verses or Scriptural texts, which on examination were seen to resemble the Pli version of Dhammapada in many particulars. Supposing that some knowledge of these books would be acceptable to the student, I have undertaken the translation3 of the simplest of them, and with such notices of the other copies as are suggested by a brief comparison of them one with the other, I now offer my book for candid consideration.

Preface

to the

Chinese Version of Dhammapada.