Umm, silly question: who came up with "mind is the forerunner of all things”

I’m looking at Dhammapada translations and, for all the many times this line is quoted, I can’t find this exact phrase in an actual translation.

Ven. Buddhadatta has “Mind is the forerunner of all mental states”, Ven. Nārada has “Mind is the forerunner of (all evil) states”, while Caroline A.F. Rhys Davids has “Things are forerun by mind”.

It’s a classic rendering, and while I have gone a somewhat different road in my own translation, it’s stood the test of time as a rendering that is both reasonably accurate and eminently quotable. But to whom should it be attributed? Perhaps @Bodhipaksa can help!

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I have no reason to suggest that this is the case apart from that’s where my mind leapt, but maybe it’s Jack Austin in the little Dhammapada booklet published by The Buddhist Society in London way back when. If anyone’s got a copy, perhaps they might have a look? I can’t find it online.

Hmmm Ajahn Brahm has used that wording. As has Joseph Goldstein, claiming in 2013 his translation of verse 1 was “[his] own rendition based on different readings over the years”

In 2011, Ajahn Amaro used it without citation

Lily De Silva uses that wording in her 1987 essay on Nature

Supposedly, Venerable Nyananda had a Dhammapada translated into English that has the phrase (According to a dhammawheel post [Edit: here … and here referring to the Nibbāna Sermons which use that line]) but I cannot confirm any details there. @Snowbird - Do you have a copy handy that you can check? :slight_smile:

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Can you link to the post? The translation by Ven Kiribathgoda Gnyanananda has “All actions in this life are preceded by mind”.

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Johnny Cash says it all goes down in your mind … :pray: :metal:

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The first instance I’ve found is from 1941, in the May/June edition of Vol.49 of the Maha Bodhi journal. It’s in an essay by Dr. P. Vajirañāna, called “The importance of thought in Buddhism.” There’s no citation given, so I don’t know if the translation is Vajirañāna’s, or whether he was quoting someone else.

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I’m not sure if it’s directly related but there is a sutta with the Buddha debating with the Niganthas/jains and they tell him that in their tradition, the body comes first, that’s why they stand all day to deplete their old kamma. The Buddha then responds with the mind being the forerunner in his tradition.

edit: I’ll try to find the sutta and post it here

edit2: found it

“Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta describes three kinds of rod for performing bad deeds: the physical rod, the verbal rod, and the mental rod.”

“But are these kinds of rod all distinct from each other?”

“Yes, each is quite distinct.”

“Of the three rods thus analyzed and differentiated, which rod does Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta describe as being the most blameworthy for performing bad deeds: the physical rod, the verbal rod, or the mental rod?”

“Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta describes the physical rod as being the most blameworthy for performing bad deeds, not so much the verbal rod or the mental rod.”

“Tapassī, the Realized One doesn’t usually speak in terms of ‘rods’. He usually speaks in terms of ‘deeds’.”

“Then how many kinds of deed do you describe for performing bad deeds?”

“I describe three kinds of deed for performing bad deeds: physical deeds, verbal deeds, and mental deeds.”

“But are these kinds of deed all distinct from each other?”

“Yes, each is quite distinct.”

“Of the three deeds thus analyzed and differentiated, which deed do you describe as being the most blameworthy for performing bad deeds: physical deeds, verbal deeds, or mental deeds?”

“I describe mental deeds as being the most blameworthy for performing bad deeds, not so much physical deeds or verbal deeds.”

SuttaCentral

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This website lists some translations of the Dhammapada by chronological order of publication. If that website is exhaustive when it comes to early translations and if Ven. Buddhadatta’s translation was indeed originally published in 1920, then it appears that his translation would be the earliest to use “forerun”/“forerunner”.

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Also can’t find it.

So many quotes, so few sources …

Well that was unexpected. He also sang about a boy named Sue. Which just hits different now for me personally.

Hmm. It would certainly fit Vajirañāna’s style. He was famous for giving popular talks based on verses of the Dhammapada, so he may well have developed his own unpublished renderings. here’s the essay:

Yeah I’m looking for this exact rendering, not related passages.

Okay, but still not exact.


It’s been a journey trawling through all the old translations!

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