The Way to Purity

Of ways The Eight Fold is the best;

and of true things the stages four;

freedom from strong feelings is the best of things;

of humans best is he who sees.

This is the very Way;

there is none else for seeing purity;

herein do you a-faring go,

the way to baffle Māra this.

Herein when you have faring gone

as end you'll come to make of ill;

shown surely was the Way by me,

who ease from darts had come to know.

Tis you the dedicated must work;

the men-so-gone but show the way;

who in their reflection, as they fare,

from Māra’s bonds find liberty.

Transient is all men think and do:

when this by wisdom is discerned,

then does one turn away from ill:

this is the way to purity.

Painful is all men think and do:

when this by wisdom is discerned,

then does one turn away from ill:

this is the way to purity.

Without the self men think and do:

when this by wisdom is discerned,

then does one turn away from ill:

this is the way to purity.

(Reference: DHP 273-279)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares a way to purify the mind.

This is from the Dhammapada so the content is organized based on scholar’s interpretation who have attempted to summarize his Teachings.

I typically do not dive into the Dhammapada but I do share The Teachings of The Buddha from other parts of The Pāli Canon. This book series does contain a limited number of Chapters from the Dhammapada.

The Dhammapada is a scholarly work that attempts to summarize Gotama Buddha’s Teachings in verse form. So, the Dhammapada is an interpretation from many years after the lifetime of Gotama Buddha based on what scholars thought were The Teachings of Gotama Buddha but not his actual words or Teachings.

One thing that you may know about the scholarly community is, they are typically not Practitioners but instead more interested in the historical aspects of The Teachings and what happened throughout history rather than learning and practicing The Teachings to acquire wisdom and attain Enlightenment.

They are less interested in Enlightenment itself and more interested in the historical aspects around Gotama Buddha’s lifetime and what has transpired since that time in relation to his Teachings.

So, if one is reading the Dhammapada, they are reading a scholarly interpretation (i.e. a non-practitioner) of Gotama Buddha’s Teachings which then need to be interpreted by you to determine, what is it that Gotama Buddha was actually teaching?

In my opinion, it is much better to go to the source of his Teachings that can be independently verified to learn and practice those with guidance from a Teacher to independently determine the truth for yourself to acquire wisdom, even though some consider the Dhammapada a source of The Buddha’s Teachings, not everyone does.

The words in the Dhammapada cannot be practiced to independently verify the truth to acquire wisdom which would lead to attaining Enlightenment. But, if you understand The Teachings of The Buddha, you can then understand the Dhammapada in a more detailed way.

The words in the Dhammapada do not lead to Enlightenment since they are not the actual Teachings of Gotama Buddha but interpretations by scholars. The words in the Dhammapada cannot be learned, reflected on, and practiced, in such a way that would produce Enlightenment.

It is the discourses in The Pāli Canon that are “The Words of The Buddha” and represent his Teachings. Learning, reflecting, and practicing these, a Practitioner can independently verify the truth to acquire wisdom improving the condition of the mind to attain Enlightenment.

By going directly to the source (i.e. the discourses) to learn and apply The Teachings in practice to determine the truth through experience, you are not trying to interpret a scholar’s interpretation to figure out what Gotama Buddha taught. You are instead, learning what Gotama Buddha taught and then, applying that in practice with guidance from a Teacher to independently determine the truth for yourself to acquire wisdom.

The mind is liberated and attains Enlightenment through wisdom.

With that said, there are a select number of Chapters in this book series that are from the Dhammapada denoted as “DHP” in the reference.

You will notice these Chapters are almost like poetry in the way they are composed.

While The Buddha did speak, at times, in a way that can be consider a bit like poetry, his true Teachings are delivered in discourses that can be learned, reflected on, and practiced to determine the truth.

With an understanding of The Buddha’s Teachings, you can find Chapters such as this one, interesting to explore and uncover what is being shared from scholars. Just always keep in mind that the Dhammapada is not the actual “Words of The Buddha” but instead, a scholarly interpretation of what people 1,000-1,200 years after the death of The Buddha thought he was teaching based on the discourses they had reviewed.

I will help you to understand this Chapter just as I have done in other parts of this book series. And while I may reference in the explanation what The Buddha was teaching, now you understand that, while these are based on what The Buddha taught, they are not an actual account of what he said during his lifetime.

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Of ways The Eight Fold is the best: The best way to Enlightenment is The Eight Fold Path.

and of true things the stages four: There are four Stages of Enlightenment.

freedom from strong feelings is the best of things: Liberation of the mind results in freedom from strong feelings which is the best thing you could ever experience.

of humans best is he who sees: He who has eliminated ignorance (unknowing of true reality) can see clearly no longer confused about The Natural Laws of Existence is the best of all humans. They have completely purified the mind no longer experiencing any unwholesome mental qualities, only experiencing wholesomeness.

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This is the very Way: The Eight Fold Path is the way to Enlightenment.

there is none else for seeing purity: There is no other way to purify the mind other than The Eight Fold Path where the mind will eliminate all ignorance (unknowing of true reality) being able to see true reality, seeing clearly.

herein do you a-faring go: This is the way to go forward on The Path to Enlightenment.

the way to baffle Māra this: The way to eliminate the unwholesome influence of Māra The Evil One.

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Herein when you have faring gone: When you have gone forward on The Path to Enlightenment.

as end you'll come to make of ill: You can eliminate all desire to cause harm.

shown surely was the Way by me: I have shown you The Path to Enlightenment through these Teachings.

who ease from darts had come to know: Where you will come to understand the ending of painful feelings.

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Tis you the dedicated must work: You must have dedication to do the work.

the men-so-gone but show the way: Those who have eliminated discontentedness having attained Enlightenment, will show the way to Enlightenment.

who in their reflection, as they fare: Through reflecting on The Teachings to acquire wisdom as they walk forward.

from Māra’s bonds find liberty: They will experience liberation of mind, freedom from strong feelings, and escape the bonds of Māra The Evil One.

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Transient is all men think and do: All that human beings think and do is impermanent.

when this by wisdom is discerned: Understanding the wisdom of The Universal Truth of Impermanence.

then does one turn away from ill: That is when one can turn away from harming others to practice harmlessness.

this is the way to purity: This is the way to purify the mind, through understanding The Universal Truth of Impermanence.

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Painful is all men think and do: All unEnlightened human beings experience painful feelings.

when this by wisdom is discerned: Understanding the wisdom of The Universal Truth of Discontentedness.

then does one turn away from ill: That is when one can turn away from harming others to practice harmlessness.

this is the way to purity: This is the way to purify the mind, through understanding The Universal Truth of Discontentedness.

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Without the self men think and do: All that human beings think and do is not the self as there is no permanent self.

when this by wisdom is discerned: Understanding the wisdom of The Universal Truth of Non-self.

then does one turn away from ill: That is when one can turn away from harming others to practice harmlessness.

this is the way to purity: This is the way to purify the mind, through understanding The Universal Truth of Non-self.