Twenty-five centuries ago, beneath a tree in northern India, a prince who had abandoned his throne attained enlightenment. For the remaining forty-five years of his life, Siddhartha Gautama — the Buddha, the Awakened One — taught the path to liberation. The Dhammapada gathers the essence of those teachings in 423 verses.
The opening lines establish the fundamental principle: mind is the forerunner of all actions. As you think, so you become.
"Mind is the forerunner of all deeds.
Mind is chief; mind-made are they.
If with a pure mind one speaks or acts,
Happiness follows like a shadow that never departs.
If with an impure mind one speaks or acts,
Suffering follows as the wheel follows the hoof."
The Buddha taught the Middle Way — between extreme indulgence and extreme asceticism. Neither pleasure-seeking nor self-torture leads to awakening. The path is mindfulness, virtue, and wisdom practiced in daily life.
On hatred: "Hatred does not cease by hatred at any time. Hatred ceases by love. This is an old rule." On anger: "Guard your mind. Hold your tongue. Let not your body do harm. Empty your mind of vicious thoughts. Thus you shall enter the way."
"All things are impermanent.
When you see this with wisdom,
You become weary of suffering.
This is the path to purity.
All things are without self.
When you see this with wisdom,
You become weary of suffering.
This is the path to purity."
Impermanence, suffering, non-self — these are the three marks of existence. Everything changes. Clinging causes suffering. What you call "self" is a temporary coalition of processes, not a fixed entity. See this clearly, and liberation follows.
But the Buddha did not teach pessimism. He taught a path that leads to the end of suffering: the Eightfold Path of right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. This is not a set of rules but a way of training the mind.
"You yourself must make the effort," the Buddha taught. "The Buddhas only point the way."
Teaching 46
Mind is forerunner of all deeds. As you think, so you become. All things are impermanent, all things are without fixed self. Seeing this clearly leads to liberation. Hatred never ceases by hatred. You must make the effort — the awakened ones only point the way.