The Dhammapada, the Pali version of one of the most popular texts of the Buddhist canon, ranks among the classics of the world's great religious literature. Like all religious texts in Pali, the Dhammapada belongs to the Therevada school of the Buddhist tradition, adherents of which are now found primarily in Kampuchea, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Dhammapada, or 'sayings of the dhamma', is taken to be a collection of the utterances of the Buddha himself.

Taken together, the verses form a key body of teaching within Buddhism, a guiding voice along the struggle-laden path towards true enlightenment, or Nirvana. However, the appeal ofthese epithets of wisdom extends beyond its religious heritage to a general and universal spirituality. This edition provides an introduction and notes which examine the impact that the text has had within the Buddhist heritage through the centuries.