The Dhammapada is a great treasure of the Buddhadharma and beloved by Buddhists of all traditions as well as many non-Buddhists.

Gil Fronsdal
There are many wonderful translations of the Dhammapada from its original Pali, but one of my favorites is the fairly recent translation by Gil Fronsdal:
The Dhammapada: A New Translation of the Buddhist Classic with Annotations
Gil has trained in both the Soto Zen and Insight Meditation schools of Buddhism since 1975 and has a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Stanford University. He was trained as a vipassana teacher by Jack Kornfield and is one of the teachers at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin County, California, as well as teacher in residence at the Redwood City Insight Meditation Center.
I would like to offer here at Metta Refuge the complete Dhammapada as translated and read by Gil Fronsdal. These audio talks are available at many sources on the internet, such Audio Dharma.org and the Insight Meditation Center. It is also available as at the Zencast podcast at Apple’s iTunes store.
If you are unfamiliar with the Dhammapada, I recommend listening to the opening readings, because Gil gives an introduction to it as well as some historical background.
May these beautiful readings and their wisdom be a help and inspiration to your life and practice!
All experience is preceded by mind
Led by mind
Made by mind.
Speak or act with a corrupted mind,
And suffering follows
As the wagon wheel follows the hoof of the ox.All experience is preceded by mind,
Led by mind,
Made by mind.
Speak or act with a peaceful mind,
And happiness follows
Like a never departing shadow.The Buddha
♥♥♥
The Dhammapada Chapters 1-4
(The Dhammapada Reading Chapters 1 – 4 – Translated and Read by Gil Fronsdal ; Music Courtesy of Kevin Macleod: Air Prelude, Water Prelude , Earth Prelude, Fire Prelude; Walk the Line – Chris Daughtry. Audio Dharma; Insight Meditation Center)
1 Dichotomies
2 Vigilance
3 The Mind
4 The Flowers
The Dhammapada Chapters 5-8
(The Dhammapada Reading Chapters 5-8 – Translated and Read by Gil Fronsdal ; Music Courtesy of Kevin Macleod: Summer Fields, Midsummer Sky, Continue Life, March of the Mind, Luminous Rain; Audio Dharma – Insight Meditation Center)
5 The Fool
6 The Sage
7 The Arahant
8 Thousands
The Dhammapada Chapters 9-12
(The Dhammapada Reading Chapters 9-12 – Translated and Read by Gil Fronsdal ; Music Courtesy of Loten Namling; Audio Dharma- Insight Meditation Center)
9 Evil
10 Violence
11 Old Age
12 Oneself
The Dhammapada Chapters 13-16
(The Dhammapada Reading Chapters 13-16 – Translated and Read by Gil Fronsdal ; Music Courtesy of Jim Fidler; Audio Dharma – Insight Meditation Center)
13 The World
14 The Buddha
15 Happiness
16 The Dear
The Dhammapada Chapters 17-20
(The Dhammapada Reading Chapters 17-20 – Translated and Read by Gil Fronsdal ; Music Courtesy of Tariq Harb; Audio Dharma – Insight Meditation Center)
17 Anger
18 Corruption
19 The Just
20 The Path
The Dhammapada Chapters 21-24
(The Dhammapada Reading Chapters 21-24 – Translated and Read by Gil Fronsdal ; Music Courtesy of Andrei Krylov; Audio Dharma – Insight Meditation Center)
21 Miscellaneous
22 Hell
23 The Elephant
24 Craving
The Dhammapada Chapters 25-26
(The Dhammapada Reading Chapters 25-26 – Translated and Read by Gil Fronsdal ; Music Courtesy of John Worsley; Audio Dharma – Insight Meditation Center)
25 The Bhikkhu
26 The Brahmin
Note! If you would like to download these readings by Gil, you can do so at the terrific Zencast website:
http://www.zencast.org/category/The%20Dhammapada
May these readings inspire and help you, as they have me!
♥♥♥
Aloha Steve,
The work you’re doing is such a Nobel One with great merit you have accumulated. You are very blessed to live this life.
Thank you much,
MaiCheya
Mahasattva Society
Why, thank you so much, MaiCheya! I am deeply touched by your words, and it’s such an honor and privilege to share the dharma and what I have learned from it with others. I do indeed feel very, very blessed to live this life. Bows and greeting to you and the Mahasttva Society.
With warm metta,
Steve
How do I download the Dhammapada audio??????
Hey Maicheya! WordPress won’t allow you to download these readings from my blog, *but* you can download them all from here:
http://www.zencast.org/category/The%20Dhammapada
Isn’t that awesome? Zencast.org is a incredible dharma resource. I will add this link to the blog, too, so folks can download the files if they want to.
Thanks for stopping by,
Steve