Section-24: Dhammapada of the Buddha (Siddartha Gautam)

Once a devotee said to great Indian Sage Ramana Maharshi:
"Buddha is said to have ignored questions about God."

Ramana Maharshi said,

Yes, and because of this he has been called an agnostic or nihilist. In fact Buddha was concerned with guiding the seeker to realize Bliss here and now, rather than with academic discussions about God and so forth.

Along these lines the Zen master Suzuki Roshi (author of Zen Mind, Beginners Mind) was asked if he believed in God and he asked a counter question and I paraphrase. "If you believe that God is separate from you, I don't believe in God; but if you believe that God is one with you, I do."
If we all had only one teaching of the New Testament, the Sermon on the Mount would be enough: the same is true in regard to the vast scriptures of Buddhism--if we had only one teaching, the Dhammapada would be enough.

The Dhammapada, a collection of sermons from the Buddha in 423 short verses from Pali, the most ancient language. It is sometimes called the Buddhist Book of Proverbs. It is a treasury of gems that illuminate and inspire and contains the wisdom of the Buddha, containing the Cosmic Law or Path of the Eternal. In essence it is the same as the Sanatana Dharma of Hinduism and the Essential teachings of Christ. Dhammapada means "the path of dhamma or dharma" which is the path of harmony and righteousness that anyone can follow to reach the highest good.

The dhammapada was most likely gathered by direct disciples of the Siddhartha (he in whom life's purpose has been attained) Guatama -most famously known as the Buddha-which means He who is awake. It was compiled in order to preserve his words and teachings.

The text flows much like those of a Hindu Gita or Upanishad, with fluid metaphors that point to deep Truth.
This translation was done by Acharya Buddharakkita (1922-2013) an Indian Buddhist meditation master who founded the Buddhayoga Meditation Society in the United States and became a monk in 1948 and later taught in India, Burma and Sri Lanka. It was originally written in the late 1950s, in an attempt to avoid too free and inaccurate translations done in the past and also those that were too scholarly and cumbersome.
The Dhammapada is the best known and most widely esteemed sacred scripture of Theravada Buddhism.
According to the Theravada Buddhist tradition, each verse in the Dhammapada was originally spoken by the Buddha in response to a particular episode. For the simple and unsophisticated the Dhammapada is a sympathetic counselor; for the intellectually overburdened its clear and direct teachings inspire humility and reflection; for the earnest seeker it is a perennial source of inspiration and practical instruction. Insights 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 teachings found in the Dhammapada will taste the bliss of emancipation.

Buddha’s essential teaching (along with the Dhammapada) is to be found in the Four Noble Truths:
1. Suffering
2. The Cause of Suffering
3. The Cessation of Suffering

4. The Middle Way: The Noble Eightfold Path to the cessation of suffering

1. Right Understanding
2. Right Thought } Wisdom

3. Right Speech
4. Right Action } Purity
5. Right Livelihood

6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness } Mindfulness

8. Right Concentration

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