Eknath Easwaran, translator of the bestselling
edition of the Dhammapada, offers his interpretation of a wellknown,
powerful Buddhist scripture.
For Easwaran, the Dhammapada is a perfect map for the spiritual journey. Said to be the scripture closest to the
Buddhas actual words, it is a collection of short teachings memorized during his lifetime by his close disciples.
This ancient text reveals a world that is remarkably like ours less populated and polluted, but facing the same
violence, greed, and suffering that we read in our media headlines. The Buddhas own life was fraught with
challenges, and his timeless appeal lies not just in his deep warmth and wisdom but also in his realism and
emphasis on selfreliance.
