A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s3.t2.17

v2.c19.s3.t2.17

literature, which has been repeatedly translated into European languages, is much quoted in all works on Buddhism, and has always been held in high esteem owing to its profound moral value. In Ceylon the book has been used for centuries down to our own times by the novices as a text-book which they must have studied before they can receive the higher orders (upasampadā). For this reason there is not a monk in Ceylon who cannot recite his Dhammapada from beginning to end from memory. Buddhist preachers often take verses from the Dhammapada as the text of their sermons.¹ It is an anthology of sayings which chiefly refer to the ethical doctrines of Buddhism. Of the 423 verses, every 10-20 are formed into a section (Vagga), as they deal with the same subject, or as a simile (*e.g.*, of the flower in Vagga 4, the "flower-section"), or sometimes a refrain runs through the verses of such a section. The formation and arrangement into Vaggas is probably the work of the compiler. In many cases, however, several verses together actually form a little poem, as, for instance the verses of the "Elephant-section," a few of which I quote from the translation by F. L. *Woodward*.²