A lucid translation of the seminal work of Buddhism. One of the oldest and most revered texts in Buddhism, "The Dhammapada" was compiled in the third century BC, and is newly translated here. It forms part of the oldest surviving body of Buddhist writings, the canonical texts, regarded as part of the authentic teachings of the Buddha himself-spoken by him and memorized and compiled for oral transmission shortly after his death. The verses in "The Dhammapada" encompass the struggle toward Nirvana-the supreme goal for the Buddhist-and point out the narrow Path of Perfection that leads to it.