The Dhammapada

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This text is the key to all later Buddhist teachings. It has an authority in the Buddhist canon which is equivalent to the New Testament in Christianity. It dates from the life time of the Buddha and consists of teachings he himself gave which were then remembered and later written down, at last by 300 BC. It consists of 26 chapters, each with numerous verses, and corers all aspects of the spiritual path. It is like a complete manual for ethics, the onward evolution of consciousness and how to purify negative karma, both from oneself and others. It emphasizes compassion, love, right intention, the 8 fold path of Buddhist teachings and the need to set one's actions in the cosmic context of infinite wisdom potential. The current commentator, who has studied and taught Buddhist philosophy for some 40 years, sums up a life time of studies in this radical new Commentary which makes the Dhammapada come alive for this and future generations. He reinterprets the phrase "Buddhist" as someone who has awakened their higher intellectual faculties (Buddhi) and thus qualifies as a Cosmic Intellectual. The Dhammapada is thus revealed as a precious teaching which each spiritual seeker on the planet, not matter what your religion or philosophy, can benefit from as we strive to activate our "Cosmic Intellect" and not be burdened by negative thoughts, ideas and fears. The Dhammapada has influenced all schools of Buddhism since first it appeared , and may well have even been known as a text by Christ, who some commentators speculate studied at Taxila University. Many passages have strong echoes to Christ's later teachings. Recorded during the time of planetary lock down due to Coronoavirus this commentary comes at a particularly relevant time for our era. The commentator is coordinator of the World Intellectual Forum for Europe. Many "new age" thinkers are against intellect. But Aristotle said the active intellect is the only part of us that lives immortally (nous). This is precisely what "Buddhi" means, and one who activates it achieves Enlightenment, These profound concepts are given an experiential and theoretic explanation in this pioneering commentary.