Dhammapada – Concise Instruction
This is a collection of chapters from the Dhammapada. Additional sections will be added as part of my Thursday evening Dhamma talk.
Please click on title for full article and recordings.
Appamadavagga – Refined Mindfulness – Dhammapada 2
This text is from the second chapter of the Dhammapada. This is called the Appamadavagga and teaches the importance of Right Mindfulness. …
Yamakavagga – Mind Governs All
This sutta is from the Dhammapada 1. It teaches the importance of developing the Heartwood of the Dhamma – the Eightfold Path – to establish the refined mindfulness necessary to develop profound Right View.
Brahmanavagga – Culmination Of The Path – Dhammapada 26
The Brahmanavagga provides clear and profound guidance on how to distinguish between ordinary abstract views and confusing and contradictory “dharmas” rooted in ignorance of Four Noble Truths and useful and authentic Dhamma practice…
Cittavagga – A Well Restrained Mind
The Cittavagga teaches the suffering that follows from a mind rooted in ignorance of Four Noble Truths and the peaceful mind developed through the Eightfold Path…
Wise Restraint – Bhikkhuvagga – Dhammapada 25
The Bhikkhuvagga is the twenty-fifth chapter of the Dhammapada. This chapter teaches wise restraint as the defining characteristic of the wise Dhamma practitioner. ..
Abandon Craving – Tanhavagga – Dhammapada 24
In this way, the Tanhavagga describes in practical detail the scope and purpose of the Buddha’s Dhamma. The Buddha taught a single path, the Eightfold Path, to develop a profound understanding of Four Noble Truths so to recognize and abandon all views rooted in ignorance of these Four Noble Truths and live free of the stress of constant craving…
Wisdom Of Restraint – Nagavagga – Dhammapada 23
The Nagavagga is the twenty-third chapter of the Dhammapada. The Buddha uses the metaphor of a well-trained elephant to describe the wisdom of developing wise restraint if one is to develop the Eightfold Path and a calm and well-concentrated mind..
Hell And Nibbana – Nirayavagga – Dhammapada 22
The Nirayavagga is the twenty-second chapter of the Dhammapada. It describes the living hell that follows ignorance of Four Noble Truths and the release from greed, aversion, and deluded thinking develop through the Heartwood Of The Dhamma…
Greater And Lesser Happiness – Pakinnkavagga – Dhammapada 21
The Pakinnakavagga is a broad presentation of the Buddha’s Dhamma with a common emphasis on recognizing and abandoning unskillful “dharmas”…
Maggavagga – The Eightfold Path – Dhammapada 20
The Maggavagga, the twentieth chapter of the Dhammapada is remarkable in its clarity and directness of the Buddha’s words and his singular path to the cessation of craving rooted in ignorance of Four Noble Truths. ..
Judgment and Wisdom – Dhammatthavagga – Dhammapada 19
The sutta below s from the Dhammapada 19. It teaches the importance of developing the Heartwood of the Dhamma – the Eightfold Path – if one is to safely judge one’s own Dhamma practice and judge and teach others.
Stainless – Malavagga – Dhammapada 18
In the Malavagga the Buddha teaches the importance of wholehearted engagement with his Dhamma. The Buddha taught a Dhamma to develop awakening – full human maturity – in this present life. ..
Abandon Anger – Kodhavagga – Dhammapada 17
The Kodhavagga is the seventeenth chapter of the Dhammapada. This chapter teaches the importance to recognize and abandon anger. Anger with ourselves, with other’s, or with the world, is an easily identified manifestation of self-identification with impermanent phenomena arising and passing away. Anger is the immediate manifestation of ignorance of Four Noble Truths.
Piyavagga – Skillful Desire – Dhammapada 16
The wise Dhamma practitioner, intent on release (from wrong views) dwells in profound wisdom, free of all sense desires. This Dhamma practitioner is in the stream of my Dhamma…
Profound Contentment – Sukhavagga – Dhammapada 15
The fifteenth chapter of the Dhammapada is the Sukhavagga. Sukkha is a state of profound contentment. The Buddha taught that Dukkha, the state of ongoing confusion, deluded thinking, and ongoing disappointing and unsatisfying experiences is rooted in ignorance of Four Noble Truths…
The Restraint Of A Buddha – Buddhavagga Dhammapada 14
Here the Buddha emphasizes a common theme throughout the Sutta’s of wise associations and of developing wise restraint informed by the Eightfold Path…
Free Of Worldly Entanglements – Lokavagga – Dhammapada 13
The Lokavagga chapter teaches the singular importance of recognizing and abandoning worldly entanglements…
Attavagga: Self-Care Dhammapada 12
The twelfth chapter of the Dhammapada is the Attavagga. When the sole purpose of the Buddha’s Dhamma is clearly understood, the remarkable compassion Siddartha Gotama held for others becomes apparent and no more so than in this Chapter.
Jaravagga: Impermanence, Not-Self, Suffering Dhammapada 11
The tenth chapter of the Dhammapada is the Jaravagga. This chapter is a profound and concise teaching on the Three Marks Of Existence…
Dandavagga – Abandon Violence Dhammapada 10
The tenth chapter of the Dhammapada describes the pitfalls of hurtful and aggressive behavior and the liberation found in developing restraint of thought, word, and deed…
Papavagga Remaining Harmless Dhammapada 9
The ninth chapter of the Dhammapada is known as the Papavagga. In this chapter, the Buddha provides simple and direct teaching on the importance of recognizing and abandoning wrongdoing in all ways and to integrate the Eightfold Path as the framework for developing a life free of conflict within oneself and words others.
Sahassavagga Simple Dhamma Is Best Dhammapada 8
The eighth chapter of the Dhammapada teaches the immediate benefits of an authentic Dhamma practice and the foolishness and constant distraction of following unskillful “dharma’s.”
The Qualities Of An Arahant Dhammapada 7
This chapter concludes with a description of the benefits that an arahant has in the world…
Heartwood For The Wise – Panditavagga Dhammapada 6
In the Panditavagga the Buddha emphasizes the importance of developing true wisdom of how is ignorance established from misunderstanding Three Marks Of Existence. ..
Balavagga – Of Fools And Foolishness – Dhammapada 5
In the Balavagga, the fifth chapter in the Dhammapada, the Buddha strongly emphasizes the singular importance of knowing and practicing his Dhamma…
Heartwood And Flowers – Pupphavagga – Dhammapada 4
The fourth chapter of the Dhammapada is the Pupphavagga. This chapter uses the metaphors of Mara and death to describe the ongoing suffering…
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Sources
My Dhamma articles and talks are based on the Buddha's teachings (suttas) as preserved in the Sutta Pitaka, the second book of the Pali Canon. I have relied primarily on Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s excellent and insightful translation of the Pali generously made freely available at his website Dhammatalks.org, as well as the works of Acharya Buddharakkhita, Nyanaponika Thera, John Ireland, Maurice Walsh, Hellmuth Hecker, and Sister Khema, among others, as preserved at Access To Insight.
Also, I have found Bhikkhu Bodhi's translations from Wisdom Publications Pali Canon Anthologies to be most informative and an excellent resource.
I have made edits to the suttas from these sources for further clarity, to modernize language, to minimize repetition, and maintain contextual relevance to Dependent Origination and Four Noble Truths.
Becoming-Buddha.com and Dhamma articles and recordings by John Haspel are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Peace
