The Dhammapada
423 short verses in 26 chapters, on intention, the mind, anger, happiness and the path. Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato and dedicated to the public domain.
Intention is the leader of things;intention is first, they’re made by intention.If with corrupt intentyou speak or act,suffering follows you,like a wheel, the ox’s foot.Verse 1, the opening of the collection
Chapters
- 01Pairs1–20
- 02Diligence21–32
- 03The Mind33–43
- 04Flowers44–59
- 05The Fool60–75
- 06The Astute76–89
- 07The Perfected Ones90–99
- 08The Thousands100–115
- 09Wickedness116–128
- 10The Rod129–145
- 11Old Age146–156
- 12The Self157–166
- 13The World167–178
- 14The Buddhas179–196
- 15Happiness197–208
- 16The Beloved209–220
- 17Anger221–234
- 18Stains235–255
- 19The Just256–272
- 20The Path273–289
- 21Miscellaneous290–305
- 22Hell306–319
- 23Elephants320–333
- 24Craving334–359
- 25Mendicants360–382
- 26Brahmins383–423
About the Dhammapada
The Dhammapada, “sayings of the Dhamma”, is a collection of verses in the Minor Collection (Khuddaka Nikāya) of the Pali canon. Its 423 verses are grouped by theme into 26 short chapters: pairs, diligence, the mind, flowers, the fool, anger, happiness, the path and more. Many verses are only four lines long, which is why the collection is so often memorised and quoted.
This site uses Bhikkhu Sujato’s English translation, published by SuttaCentral and dedicated to the public domain (CC0). It is a modern, plain-spoken translation; where older translations say “hatred ceases by love”, Sujato writes “it’s laid to rest by love”. Every verse here is shown exactly as published, numbered so it can be cited and linked.
Each chapter opens with a short original introduction saying what the verses say, with a note where a verse needs context, for example verses that speak of rebirth or of Māra, the figure of temptation.
Questions
How many verses and chapters does the Dhammapada have?
423 verses in 26 chapters (vaggas). The chapters range from 10 verses (The Perfected Ones, 90–99) to 41 verses (Brahmins, 383–423).
Which translation is this?
Bhikkhu Sujato’s English translation, published by SuttaCentral and dedicated to the public domain under CC0. The text is reproduced unchanged from SuttaCentral’s repository at a pinned version, with a link to the original for every chapter.
What is the most famous verse of the Dhammapada?
Verses 1–2 (intention leads, and suffering or happiness follows) and verse 5 (hatred is never laid to rest by hate, only by love) are among the most quoted, along with verse 183: not to do any evil, to embrace the good, to purify one’s mind: this is the instruction of the Buddhas.
Is “the mind is everything, what you think you become” from the Dhammapada?
No. That line does not appear in the Dhammapada or the early discourses. The verses closest in theme are 1 and 2, which say that intention leads, and that suffering or happiness follows what we say and do with a corrupt or pure intention.