Everyday Buddha

A Contemporary rendering of the Buddhist Classic, the Dhammapada

By Karma Yonten Senge (Lawrence R. Ellyard)

With the Foreword by His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama.

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• Extent: 144 pages
• Size: 216 x 140mm (81/2 x 51/2in)
• Paperback
• Price: $AUS 29.95

These quintessential sayings of the Buddha offer a rich tapestry of spiritual teachings and reflections on the spiritual path. More than just a collection of Buddhist sayings, The Dhammapada’s message is timeless and crosses all cultural boundaries. It offers the reader a constant source of inspiration, reflection and companionship. It is a treasure trove of pure wisdom that has something to offer to everyone.

Everyday Buddha brings the original teaching and traditional text of The Dhammapada into our 21st century lifestyle, with a contemporary context. Without straying far from the Pali text it renders it in a fresh and modern idiom, with a universal appeal. An introduction provides a background to the life and times of the historical Buddha, and his teachings on the four noble truths and eight fold noble path.

FOREWORD by H.H. THE 14th DALAI LAMA

At my time of life, I have accumulated enough experience to be completely confident that the teachings of the Buddha are both relevant and useful to humanity. If you put them into practice, it is certain that not only you but others’, too, will benefit. This is surely true of other faiths too, but I have also come to the conclusion that whether or not people are religious believers does not matter much. Far more important is that they be good human beings. That is something that can be achieved through constant familiarity and training with positive states of mind.

Through training, we can change; we can transform ourselves. Within Buddhist practice there are various methods of trying to sustain a calm mind when some disturbing event takes place. Through repeated practice of these methods we can reach a point where a disturbance may occur, but the negative effects on our mind remain on the surface, like the waves that may ripple on the surface of an ocean but don't have much effect deep down. But this is achieved through steady practice; it does not happen overnight.

The Dhammapada is a handbook of practical ethics, that may be of interest and benefit, whether you are Buddhist or not. But more than that, as a collection of verses that consist of statements and advice directly attributed to the Buddha, it represents a succinct summary of the Buddhist path. Derived from the ancient Pali canon, the Dhammapada was not translated into Tibetan until relatively recently. However, another work, the Udanavarga, translated from the Sanskrit, contains many corresponding verses and was one of the six primary scriptures of the Kadampa tradition founded in eleventh century Tibet. The early Kadampa masters adopted an approach to the spiritual life based on an open-minded practice of hearing, contemplation and meditation. This meant that whatever they learned through study, hearing and contemplation was integrated into their mind-streams and, as far as possible, was applied in actual practice.

It is said that bringing about discipline within your mind is the essence of the Buddha's teaching. This is because a disciplined mind leads to happiness and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering. The Dhammapada, like the Udanavarga, describes a path of ethical behaviour that is a feature of this kind of inner discipline that leads to a happier existence. It includes advice suitable for everyone, whether they are beginners or advanced practitioners of Buddhism or people who simply seek a path to happiness.

I am pleased that Karma Yonten Senge has made this modern rendering of the Dhammapada in English. I offer my prayers that readers who will study this will be successful in putting the advice it contains into practice. - The Dalai Lama - July 19, 2003

From the Introduction

Any person who has ever reflected upon what it means to be human can profit from this source of wisdom. This book is one of the thirty-one books which comprise the Tipitaka, the original Pali texts which contain the quintessence of the Buddha’s Teachings. These sayings of the Buddha (563-483 B.C.), offer a rich tapestry of spiritual teachings and reflections of the spiritual path. More than just a collection of Buddhist sayings, the Dhammapada’s message is timeless and crosses all cultural boundaries. It offers the reader a constant source of inspiration, reflection and companionship upon the path. For the Dhammapada is a lamp. It is a treasure trove of pure wisdom that has something to offer to everyone. The goal was to bring the essential teachings of the Buddha, into the 21st century. This book consists of 423 verses and arranged by topic into 26 chapters, these sayings were said to have been uttered by the Buddha on approximately 300 occasions to suit the temperaments of his listeners during his extensive teaching career which lasted forty five years.

The Dhammapada is perhaps one of the most widely translated Buddhist texts. Standing the test of time, it is without a doubt one of the best known and earliest Buddhist scriptures and will remain a constant source of inspiration for generations to come.

Reviews for Everyday Buddha

Living Now Magazine - by Margot Maurice

This book is a contemporary rendering of the Buddhist classic, The Dhammapada and the foreword by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. These quintessential sayings of the Buddha offer a rich tapestry of spiritual teachings and reflections on the spiritual path. However, more than just a collection of Buddhist sayings, The Dhammapada's message is timeless and crosses all cultural boundaries.

The introduction is erudite and not only explains this classic book but also explains all about The Dhammapada which is one of the thirty one books which comprise the Tipitaka, the original Pali texts which contain the quintessence of the Buddhist teachings.

It explains that the original Pali version was not spoken by the Buddha in its present form. Three months after the Buddha's passing his most devout disciples assembled at the First Convocation to rehearse and record the poetic utterances of the Buddha. These teachings were subsequently arranged and recorded and later became the treatise, named The Dhammapada.

The profundity of each verse is evident and one can experience calmness simply by reading the verses quietly and then meditating. The author, Karma Yonten Senge aka Lawrence R. Ellyard is a Dharma practitioner of the Karma Kagyu Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He is an avid follower of Buddha Dharma and currently lives in Australia. This is his fourth book.

In the foreword the Dalai Lama says, "At my time of life, I have accumulated enough experience to be completely confident that the teachings of the Buddha are both relevant and useful to humanity. If you put them into practice, it is certain that not only you but others’, too will benefit..." A delightful reading experience.

Nova Magazine - by Jeremy Ball

"Everyday Buddha is a modern rendition of the Budda's classic, the Dhammapada. Attempting to interpret the 423 short verses in a more meaningful way for the English speaking world. It is a rather bold project to seek to tweak the words of the great Wise One so that they infiltrate our Western minds. This task lawrence Ellyard pulls off extremely well. Being a Buddhaphile with more time than this review permits, I would like to compare verses with more literal translations to seek even subtler meanings and come ever closer to the essential truth. However, on first glances this book is excellent.

Whether you already have a copy of the Dhammapada or not, I recommend you get this. If you are new to Buddhism this is a great place to start. The whole feel of the book is lovely, the layout of the verses is clear and the simple illustrations are very beautiful, catching a feel for the original work of the Buddha, Tibetan Buddhism and their expression in the West. His Holiness the Dalai Lama's foreword is very beautiful and is accompanied by a sweet picture of this great teacher, which is worth the purchase price alone. Lawrence's introduction is clear and simple and sets the context for what follows without getting bogged down in information... I congratulate all involved in this project and have put the book on my recommended list. " 

The Art of Healing Magazine 

"I think this is a very important and special book as it's attempt to translate the infamous Buddhist text The Dhammapada enables this age-old wisdom to be easily accessed by 'ordinary' people. The Dhammapada is one of the thirty-one books which comprise the Tipitaka, the original Pali texts which contain sayings of the Buddha (563-483 BC) and which offer a rich tapestry of spiritual teachings and reflections of the spiritual path. Everyday Buddha provides the reader with a constant source of inspiration, reflection and companionship."

Scoop Magazine

"Local writer Lawrence Ellyard has also released his fourth book. Everyday Buddha includes a foreword by the Dalai Lama, and is a modern translation of the classic Buddhist text The Dhammapada. Full of words of wisdom to shake off the stresses of the toughest of days, it's definitely worth a look."

Amazon Review

"This is one of the most lucid, easy-to-read translations of the Dhammapada I've yet encountered. The author draws upon several translations and brings the essentials of the Buddha's teaching into modern language. It's an excellent basis for understanding the essence of the Dharma." - Joel J. Drouet (Cambridge)

Published by O-Books Publishing. Available now- UK, USA, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

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