The Dhammapada (Müller Translation)

The Dhammapada is a 423-verse Pāli anthology of the Buddha's sayings, organised into 26 thematic chapters covering the mind, vigilance, the fool, the wise, impurity, the path, and the Brahmin. The Friedrich Max Müller translation, first published in 1881 as volume X of Oxford's Sacred Books of the East series, was the first complete English rendering and the text through which generations of Western readers — including followers of Schopenhauer and early Theosophists — first encountered Buddhist verse in English.

The text itself is traditionally dated to the 3rd century BCE. Müller's translation is now read as the work of a Victorian comparative philologist rather than a Buddhist practitioner: widely respected for its scholarly apparatus but criticised by later translators (Eknath Easwaran, Gil Fronsdal, Bhikkhu Bodhi) for a Protestant-inflected register that softens the Pāli's directness. It remains in print as a public-domain classic and the canonical historical reference for the Sacred Books of the East version.

All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts.

Chapter I: The Twin-Verses, verse 1

First lines

All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.

Contents

Reception

Müller's translation is now read as the work of a Victorian comparative philologist rather than a Buddhist practitioner: it is widely respected for its scholarly apparatus but criticised by later translators (Eknath Easwaran, Gil Fronsdal, Bhikkhu Bodhi) for a Protestant-inflected register that softens the Pāli's directness. It remains in print as a public-domain classic, frequently chosen by Theosophical and early-modern reprint houses precisely because it predates the modern dharma-teaching style; contemporary readers seeking a more colloquial English version are usually pointed to Fronsdal or Easwaran, but Müller's Sacred Books edition is still the canonical historical reference.

Frequently asked

What is the Dhammapada?

The Dhammapada is a 423-verse Pāli anthology traditionally ascribed to the Buddha, organised into 26 thematic chapters covering the mind, the fool, the wise, impurity, the path, and the Brahmin. It is one of the most widely read texts in Theravāda Buddhism. Max Müller's 1881 translation was the first complete English rendering.

Why is the Müller translation significant?

Friedrich Max Müller's 1881 translation, published as volume X of Oxford's Sacred Books of the East, was the first complete English version of the Dhammapada and introduced it to Western readers during the Victorian era. It established the standard for Buddhist philology in English for decades and remains the canonical historical reference for the Sacred Books version.

How does Müller's translation differ from modern ones?

Later translators including Eknath Easwaran, Gil Fronsdal, and Bhikkhu Bodhi have criticised Müller's version for a Protestant-inflected register that softens the directness of the Pāli. His translation reads as a scholarly Victorian rendering rather than a living dharma text; contemporary practitioners are usually directed to Fronsdal or Easwaran for everyday reading.