Stories inspired from the Dhammapada - An Introduction

The most amazing aspect of the verses of the Dhammapada is that they are very simple and easy to read. And yet, each time I read and re-read them, I find that I am unable to understand them in a simple and easy manner. Every day of our lives has different circumstances that change our understanding of the verses. I have therefore begun an attempt to write short stories to help me tryto remember the manner of understanding of the verses of the Dhammapada. I fear that if I would not do so, I would be denied the opportunity of walking ahead on the path of dhamma that has been given to us, for us to hold on to, and learn and understand.

I have also included a list of further reading to help everyone to begin this attempt to understand. One such reference mentions that each verse of the Dhammapada can “release potential mind energy that you never knew existed within you.” This is so amazingly said, and it is in fact, very simplistically, true. These basic tenets of the teachings are indeed a vast ocean of knowledge in the universe, and one has to, some day, make a beginning.

The Buddha frequently made use of easily understood simile-led verses in his discourses during the forty-five years of his teaching. The Dhammapada is the most valuable collection of his teachings later compiled in 423 verses in twenty-six chapters and has its own treasured position in the Pitaka. Each verse has been explained along with a short story by the Buddha, and sometimes it refers to the earlier births of the Most Enlightened One and on other occasions, refers to contemporary human society of those times.

The Pitaka, or the Tipitaka is the collection of the teachings of the Buddha in the Pali language and is divided into the “three baskets”, the Vinaya Pitaka, the Suttanta Pitaka and the Abhidhamma Pitaka. The Dhammapada is the second book of the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Suttanta Pitaka and enshrines the very basic, most easily understandable tenets of Buddha’s teaching about the questions, riddles and parables of humanity, human life and attachments. The characters, well defined, within the stories accompanying the verses are on some occasions, to be found in both the Dhammapada and the Jatakamala. The collection of 540 poems, comprising the Jatakamala, is also found dispersed in the Khuddaka Nikaya and other books of the Tipitaka.

Each verse of the Dhammapada is a gem by itself. They are merely two phrases in four lines, usually witty, and yet a vast horizon of understanding. Each time that a verse is read, one begins to dive deeper and deeper in the magic and marvel of the context of the human condition that is depicted. The Buddha has emphasized the relevance of knowing one’s mind within all responses, action and speech and helps us understand that there are unstoppable consequences to our reactions, deeds and the spoken word. Each verse extends a truth (dhamma) by the Buddha, as a simple understanding of the human mind and the cause and effect of action and reaction.

The earliest translation of the Dhammapada from Pali into English by Max Muller in 1870 is available. Similarly, there are various translations in other languages that are equally proficient and excellent in their attempt at understanding the Dhammapada. I have referred to some of the most respected and authorized versions of the Dhammapada and the translations of the verses in helping me with this work.

I have merely attempted to present the stories that I have been inspired to write, after an attempt to try to understand the teachings from the verses of the Dhammapada. It is entirely possible that I am totally wrong in my understanding. I would be most happy to know that I am wrong, for it would only require of me to read the verses again and again and again. Nothing would be more fulfilling. These are merely stories, and there is no attempt here to convey any actual quotation or parable from the Most Enlightened One, except for the Dhammapada verses.

I have retained the presence of the Most Enlightened One in the stories that I have adapted from the versions thus written by more learned and studied authors of the Tipitaka and the Dhammapada. This has been attempted with the best of efforts to be faithful to the manner in which the earlier story has been presented by these expert authors. Except for such stories, most other stories in this series are totally original. The mention and linkage to the Buddha within these newly written tales are enabled through the references that I have found. There could of course, be more references. There is so much more to learn. There is so little time. Start. And, start again.