One of the world's great scriptures, the Dhammapada is among the best-known and best-loved of all Buddhist texts. The universality of its message, the depth of its teaching, and the refined simplicity of its language have earned it an honored place in world literature.

The Buddha communicated his wisdom orally. Beginning in the first century B.C., hundreds of years after his death, his discourses and sayings were written down in order to preserve them for wider circulation and discussion. Although the Dhammapada can be read as a straightforward summary of the essential teachings of the Buddha, it can also be appreciated as something more —a poetic representation of a sublime spiritual ideal.

This new translation by one of the leading teachers of Buddhism in the Western world seeks to inspire and encourage the qualities of gentleness, kindness, self control, simplicity, contentment, and serenity commended by the Buddha himself. Developing these qualities can led to a vision of truth that satisfies the deepest longings of the human heart.