Dhammapada

The Dhammapada, an anthology of four hundred and twenty three verses, compiled approximately six hundred years before Christ, belongs to the Khuddaka Nikaya (Compact Collection) of the sacred Buddhist scripture, the Tipitaka. Handed down in the Pali language, in which the Buddha spoke, the Tipitaka (The three Baskets) has preserved the original teachings of the Enlightened One.
The Buddha enunciated his Dhamma (Teachings) in 2 different forms. Though distinct, they ultimately converge in the unfolding of insight into the realities of existence and the beyond. One approach was in philosophical terms, incisive and analytical. The other took the form of discourses in simple, direct language intelligible to the masses, and often precipitated by a specific question or incident. It is from body of material that the Dhammapada was compiled. Each verse was prompted by a particular episode, accounts of which are preserved in the Dhammapada Atthakatha, one of the commentaries on the Pali canon.
What the Gita is to the Hindus, the Bible to Christians and the Koran to Muslims, the Dhammapada is to the Buddhists. For the simple and unsophisticated, it is a sympathetic counsellor; for the intellectually overburdened its clear and direct teachings inspire humility and reflection; for the earnest seeker, it is a perennial source of inspiration. Insight that flashed into the heart of the Buddha have crystallized into these luminous verses of pure wisdom. As profound expressions of practical spirituality, each verse is a guideline to right living. The Buddha unambiguously pointed out that whoever earnestly practices the verses of the Dhammapada would taste the bliss of emancipation.