Dhammapada: The Sayings of the Buddha

Dhammapada is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures. The original version of the Dhammapada is in the Khuddaka Nikaya, a division of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. Each saying recorded in the collection was made on a different occasion in response to a unique situation that had arisen in the life of the Buddha and his monastic community. The book presents the details of these events and is a rich source of legend for the life and times of the Buddha. The title, «Dhammapada,» is a compound term composed of dhamma and pada, each word having a number of denotations and connotations. Generally, dhamma can refer to the Buddha's «doctrine» or an «eternal truth» or «righteousness» or all «phenomena»; and, at its root, pada means «foot» and thus by extension, especially in this context, means either «path» or «verse»