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MEDIA FREE ONLINE TRAINING ON PRECEPTS AND TRADE-34
ON MORALITY
THE WAY OF CULTIVATION
For Buddhism, the five precepts and ten wholesome conducts represent the standard for human morality. They encourage us to “commit no wrongdoings and only practice good deeds” and not infringe on the body, wealth, reputation, or dignity of others. They can completely transform the human mind and provide order to network of human relations for the improvement of society. For Buddhism, practicing the six perfections is the criterion for a moral life. Of the six perfections, upholding the precepts, meditation and prajna - wisdom are considered the “three studies”. They can cure the three poisons - greed, anger, and ignorance - and restrain human selfishness. If a person upholds the precepts, he or she will not be selfish; and without selfishness, greed will not arise.By meditating, a person will not harm others; and without harm, anger will not arise. If a person cultivates prajna - wisdom, he or she will not be ignorant; and without ignorance, stupidity cannot exist. Once greed, anger, and ignorance are eleminated and a person practices giving charity, then a benevlent and compassionate mindwill manifest itself naturally. By practicing patience, it will be possible for a person to perfect a resolute spirit. By practicing diligence, a person will be filled with a fearless strength.
Comprehensive Plāi Course
LESSON 1
The Pāḷi language consists of 41 letters of
byanjana (consonants).
Vowels: a, ā, i, ī, u, ū, e, o
Of these
a, i, u are short and ā, i, ū are long;
e, o may be
either
short or long, according to the context.
Consonants
: Gutterals (Ka-vagga) : k, kh, g, gh, ṅ,
Palatals (ca-vagga) : c,
ch, j, jh, ñ,
Cerebrals (ta-vagga) : ṭ, ṭh, ḍ, ḍh, ṇ,
Dantals (ta-vagga) : t,
th, d, dh, n,
Labials (pa-vagga) :
p, ph, b, bh, m,
Aspirate : y, r, l, v,
Niggahīta: : s, h, ḷ, a, ṁ
Parts of
speech:
There
are four parts of speech in Pāḷi :
1. Nāma = Noun.
2. Akkāta = Verb.
3. Upasagga = Prefix.
4. Nipāta = indeclinable particles,
such as, Conjunctions,
prepositions, adverbs etc.
Adjectives
are treated as nons because they are
Similarly declined.
Genders:
There are 3 genders (linga) in Pāḷi language, viz.,
1. Pullingga = Masculine gender.
2. Itthilinga = Feminine
gender.
3. Napumsakalinga = Neuter
gender.
Nouns
which denote males are masculine and
Those which denote females are
feminine. But qualities
and inanimate things are not
necessarily neuter.
Therefore, gender in Pāḷi is only a
grammatical distinction
existing in words.
Numbers:
In Pāḷi there are two numbers (vacana):
1. Ekavacana = Singular
number.
2. Bahuvacana = plural numbers.
Pāḷi does not have dual,
as found in Sanskrit.
This makes Pāḷi simpler.
Cases:
There are 8 cases in Pāḷi:
1. Paṭhamā vibhatti = Nominative case = subject
2. Dutiyā vibhatti =
Accusative case = Object
3.Tatiyā vibhatti =
Instrumental case (prepositions)
=
by, with,through
4. Catuthṭ vibhatti = Dative case = to, far
5. Pancami vibhatti = Ablative
case = from
6. Chaṭṭhī vibhatti = Genitive/possessive case = of
7. Sattamī vibhatti = Locative
case =on, in, at,
Among,
amidst
8. Alapana vibhatti = Vocative case = Oh, etc.
Nouns
are declined according th the genders,
Numbers and cases.
LESSON 1
Exercise 1
Translate into English:
Dārakā ganassa magge
Boys on the path of
Village
Buddho Lokassa ācariyo.
The Awakened One, the
Teacher of the world.
Saṅgahassa Samaṇa panditā.
The monks of the Holy
Order, wise ones.
ācayiyanaṁ vihāresu Sāvakā
Disciples in the
monastries of the teachers.
Bālassa dārakā panditā.
The boys of the
ignorant wise ones.
Gāme Sāvakānaṁ vihārā.
The monasteries of the
disciples in the village.
Lobbhassa, Dosassa,
Mohassa maggo bālānaṁ.
For the ignorant the
path of greed, hatred, delusion.
Buddhassa sāvakā pādena gāmesu.
Disciples of the
Buddha in the villages by foot.
Manussānaṁ ācariyo samano.
The monk, the teacher
of the men.
Buddhassa maggo panditānaṁ.
Exercise - 2
Translate into Pāli:
The Teachings of the
Awakened One.
Buddhassa Dhammo
The monks of the Holy
Order of the Awakened One.
Buddhassa Sanghassa
samaṇā.
The Awakened One’s
disciple’ monastery in the village.
Buddhassa sāvākānam vihāro gāmasmiṁ.
Ignorant among men.
Manusessesu Bālā.
Wise ones with
teachers.
āchariyehi panditā.
Boys from the village.
Gāmato dārakā.
Ignorants on the path
of greed, hatred and delusion.
Bālā lobassa, dosassa, mohassa maggamhi.
Path through monastery
to the village of men.
Manussānaṁ gāmassa maggo vihārena.
Monks by foot on the
path of the village of men.
Gāmassa maggasmim pādena.
The disciples of the
Awakened One among men in the village.
Buddhasssa sāvakā manussesu gāmasmiṁ.
LESSON 2
Declension of nouns (Nāma vibhatti)
Masculine gender (Noun ending in a)
Vibhatti Singular Plural
1. Paṭhamā : 0 ā
2.
Dutiyā : aṁ e
3. Tatiyā : ena ebhi,
ehi
4. Catuthṭ : assa, āya ānaṁ
5. Pancami : ā, asmā, amhā, to ebhi, ehi
6. Chaṭṭhī ; assa ānaṁ
7. Sattamī : e, asmiṁ, amhi esu
8. Alapana : a ā
For
example: Buddha = The awakened One.
Vibhatti Singular Plural
1. Paṭhamā : Buddho Buddhā
2.
Dutiyā : Buddhaṁ Buddhe
3. Tatiyā : Buddhena(by) Buddhebhi, Buddheni
4. Catutthī : Buddhaassa (to)
Buddhāya (for)
5. Pancami : Buddhā, Buddhebhi,Buddheni
Buddhasmā
(from)
Buddhamhā
Buddhato
6. Chaṭṭhī ; Buddhassa
(of) Buddhānaṁ
7. Sattamī : Buddhe (on) Buddhesu
Buddhasmiṁ (in)
Buddhamhi
(at)
8. Alapana : Buddha!
(oh) Buddhā
Vocabulary
: The following words are similarly declined:
Buddha =
The Awakened One Paṇḍita = wise One
Dhamma =
The teachings of the Sāvaka =
Disciple
Buddha, Truth Lobha = Greed
Sañgha =
Order of the Buddha’s Vihāra =
Monastery
Monastic disciples Dosa = Hatred
Samaṇa = Monk Pāda = foot
Bāla =
Fool Moha
= Delusion
Dāraka =
Boy Acariya
= Teacher
Gāma =
Village Manussa
= Man
Magga =
Path Loka
= World
LESSON 3
Conjugation of Verbs (Kriya
vibhatti)
Verbs are conjugated according to
persons, tenses
and voices.
Persons: There are 3 persons
(Purisa)
Pathama Purisa = Third
person
Majjhima Purisa = Second
person
Uttama Purisa = First
person
Pronouns (Sabbanama):
So = He
Te = They
Tvam = You
(singular)
Tumhe = You (plural)
Aham = I
Mayam = WE
Tense: There are 3 tenses (Kāla)
Vattamana Kāla = Present Tense
Atita Kāla = Past Tense
Anagata Kāla = Future Tense
Voices: There are 2 voices:
Kattukāraka = Active voice
Kammakāraka = Passive voice
Conjugation: Active voice: Present Tense:
Person Singular Plural
Pathama Purisa ti anti
Majjhima Purisa si tha
Uttama Purisa mi ma
For examble: VKar = to do
Person Singular Plural
Pathama Kar + ti = Karoti Kar
+ anti = Karoniti
Majjhima Kar + si = Karosi Kar
+ tha = Karotha
Uttama Kar = mi = Karomi Kar
+ ma = Karoma
I do = Aham karomi
We do = Mayam
karoma
You do = Tvam karosi
You do = Tumhe karotha
He does = So karoti
They do = Te karonti
Vocabulary: Similarly conjugated
are:
Vgam =
to go so gacchati = he goes
etc.
Vvas =
to stay so vasati = he lives, dwells, resides
Vsi =
to sleep so sayati = he sleeps
Vdis =
to see so passati = he sees, understands
Vbhas = to speak so bhasati = he speaks
Vtha = to stand so
titthati = he stands
ni+Vsid= to sit so nisidati
= he sits
a+Vgam= to come so agacchati = he comes, returns
Vdes =
to teach, instruct so deseti = he
teaches,
instructs
Vcar =
to travel, move so carati = he
travels, moves
Vyac =
to beg so yacati = he begs
Vbhuj = to eat so
bhunjati = he eats
Vda =
to give so dadati or deti = gives, offers
A+Vda= to take so adati =he takes,
appropriates
Carati = to behave, to
conduct
Ganhati = to take, to hold
Panatipata = killing
Natthi = is not, be not, has not
Ama or evam = yes
Saranam = refuge, protection
Ca =
and
Chart Comparing and
contrasting hindrances and fetters under the five heads
Sl. Akussala
Fetters Hindrances Hihdrances
& Hindrances fetters
No. Cetasikas fetters not fetters not hindrances 1.
1.Moho, (delusion), Derived from Ö muh, to be stupefied, to be deluded.
Moha is one of the three roots of evil and is common to all immoral
types of consciousness. It is opposed to paññā - wisdom.
The chief characteristic of moha
is confusion with regard to the nature of an object. Moha clouds one’s
knowledge with regard to Kamma and its consequences and the four Noble Truths.
2. Ahirikam,
(shamelessness), An abstract noun formed of “a”
+ hirika.
He who is not ashamed of doing evil
is ahiriko. The state of such a person is ahirikkam = ahirikam.
One who has hiri recoils from
evil just as a cock’s feather shrinks in front of fire. One who has no hiri,
would commit any evil without the least compunction.
3. Anottappam
(fearlessness), Na + ava + Ö tapp,
to be tormented.
Ottappa is fear to do evil,
i.e., fear of the Consequences.
Anottappa is its opposite and
is compared to a moth that is singed by fire. A person who is afraid of fire
would not touch it, but a moth, unaware of the consequences, attracted by fire,
would get burnt. In the same way a person without ottappa would commit
evil and suffer in states of woe.
4. Uddhaccam,
(restlessness) U = up, above,
+ Ö
Dhu, to waver, to shake off.
Uddhutassa bhāvo Uddhuccam =
Uddhaccam - state of throwing up. It is compared to the disturbed state of
a heap of ashes when hit with a stone. It is the unsettled state of mind, and
is opposed to collectedness (vupasama). As one of the five Hindrances it
is the antithesis of sukha, happiness.
In some rare instances uddhacca
is used in the sense of puffed-up state of mind, corresponding to conceit. Here
it is not used in that sense. As a rule uddhacca is differentiated from māna
because both of them are treated as samyojanas (Fetters).
These four, viz., moha, ahirika,
anottappa, uddhacca - that head the list of Immoral cetasikas - are
common to all Immoral types of consciousness.
5. Lobho,
attachment must arise. See Ch. 1,
note 9. Lobha, dosa, and moha are the three roots of
evil. Their opposites are the roots of good.
Lobha, from Ö lubh,
to cling, or attach itself, may be rendered by ‘attachment’ or ‘clinging’. Some
scholars prefer ‘greed’. Craving is also used as an equivalent of lobha.
In the case of a desirable object of
sense, there arises, as a rule, clinging or attachment. In the case of an
undesirable object, ordinarily there is aversion.
In Pāli such aversion is termed dosa
or patigha. Dosa is derived from Ö dus, to be displeased.
Patigha is derived from ‘pati’, against, and Ö ‘gha’
(han), to strike, to contact. Ill-will, hatred are also suggested as
equivalents of ‘patigha’.
Moha is derived from Ö muh,
to delude. It is delusion, stupidity, bewilderment. It is ‘moha’ that
clouds an object and blinds the mind. Sometimes ‘moha’ is rendered by
ignorance.
According to Abhidhamma, moha
is common to all evil. Lobha and dosa do not arise alone, but
always in combination with moha. Moha, on the other hand, does arise singly-hence
the designation ‘momūha’, intense delusion.
Diametrically opposed to the above
three roots are the roots of kusala. They not only indicate the absence
of certain evil conditions, but also signify the presence of certain positive
good conditions. Alobha does not merely mean non-attachment, but also
generosity. Adosa does not merely mean non-anger or non-hatred, but also
goodwill, or benevolence, or loving-kindness (mettā). Amoha does not
merely mean non-delusion, but also wisdom or knowledge (ñāna or paññā).
6. Ditthi,
misbelief must arise. This term is derived
from Ö
‘dis’, to see, to perceive. It is usually translated as view, belief,
opinion, etc. When qualified by ’samma’, it means right view or right
belief; when qualified by ‘micchā’, it means wrong view or wrong belief.
Here the term is used without any qualification in the sense of wrong view.
7. Māno,
conceit cannot arise.
Derived from Ö man, to think.
8. Doso,
(hatred)
9. Issā,
(envy) Derived
from i + Ö su, to be envious, to be jealous.
10. Macchariyam,
(avarice) Maccharassa bhāvo - the
state of an avaricious person.
Commentary gives another
explanation:-
‘Let not this wonder be to others,
but to myself’.
(Mā idam acchariyam aññesam hotu,
mayham’ev hotu).
The chief characteristic of macchariya
is the concealment of one’s prosperity. Contrary to issā, this is
subjective.
Both issā and macchariya
are regarded as the friends of dosa because each of them arises with
it
11. Kukkuccam,
(brooding) Kukatassa bhāvo = kukkuccam
= the state of having done amiss.
According to the commentary evil that
is done is ku + kata, and so is good that is not done. Remorse over the
evil that is done is kukkucca, and so is remorse over the good that is
not done.
It has the characteristic of grieving
over the evil that is done and the good that is not done.
Dhammasangani explains:-
“What is worry?”
“Consciousness of what is lawful
in something that is unlawful, consciousness of what is unlawful in something
that is lawful; consciousness of what is immoral in something that is moral;
consciousness of what is moral in something that is immoral - all this sort of
worry, fidgeting, over-scrupulousness, remorse of conscience, mental
sacrificing - this is what is called worry”.
Kukkucca is one of the five
Hindrances and is used together with uddhacca. It pertains to past
things only.
According to Vinaya, kukkucca
is healthy doubt with regard to rules, and is commended. According to
Abhidhamma, on the contrary, it is repentance which is not commended.
12. Thīnam, Derived from Ö the,
to shrink, + na. Thena =
= thīna.
It is the shrinking state of the mind
like a cock’s feather before fire. It is opposed to viriya. Thīna is explained
as citta - gelaññam, sickness of the mind.
As such it is the antithesis of citta-kammaññatā,
adaptability of the mind, one of the sobhana
cetasikas.
13. Middham, Derived from Ö middh, to be inactive,
to be inert, to be incapable.
This is the morbid state of the
mental factors.
Both thīna and middha
are always used in conjunction, and are one of the five Hindrances. They are
inhibited by vitakka, initial application, one of the Jhāna factors. Middha,
too, is opposed to viriya. Where there are thīna and middha
there is no viriya.
Middha is explained as the kāya-gelañña,
sickness of the mental body. Here body is not used in the sense of material
form, but is applied to the body of mental factors, viz., vedanā, saññā and
sankhāra (feeling, perception, and the remaining fifty mental factors).
Hence middha is the antithesis of kāya-kammaññatā, adaptability
of mental factors.
Both thīna and middha
are explained in the Dhammasangani as follows:-
“What is stolidity (thīna)?”
“That which is indisposition,
unwieldiness of intellect, adhering and cohering; clinging, cleaving to,
stickiness; stolidity, that is, a stiffening, a rigidity of the intellect -
this is called stolidity.
“What is torpor (middha)?”
“That which is indisposition,
unwieldiness of sense, a shrouding, enveloping, barricading within; torpor that
which is sleep, drowsiness; sleep, slumbering, somnolence this is called
torpor”.
14. Vicikicchā . This is an ethic-religious
term. Commentary gives two interpretations.
(1.) Vici = vicinanto,
seeking, inquiring; - kicch, to tire, to strain, to be vexed. It is
vexation due to perplexed thinking.
(2.) Vi, devoid + cikicchā,
remedy (of knowledge). It means that which is devoid of the remedy of
knowledge.
Both these interpretations indicate a
perplexed or undecided frame of mind. Doubt, perplexity, skepticism, indecision
are used as the closest English equivalents.
Reasoning or investigation for the
sake of understanding the truth is not discouraged in Buddhism. Nor is blind
faith advocated in Buddhism.
[Vicihicchā is the inability to
decide anything definitely that it is as such. Buddhaghosa-Majjhima Nikāya
Commentary.]
Vicikicchā, as a Hindrance,
does not mean doubts with regard to the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha, etc.,
Majjhima Nikāya commentary states -
“it is so called because it is incapable of deciding that it is as
such.”
(Idam’ev’idanti nicchetum
asamatthabhāvato’ti vicikicchā).
PIL to include neo-Buddhists in SC/ST category filed in HC
Mayura Janwalkar / DNAMonday, July 13, 2009 2:31 IST
Mumbai: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed before the Bombay
High Court has sought the inclusion of neo-Buddhists among Scheduled
Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) and accordingly increase the
number of Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly seats reserved for
backward classes.
Pointing out that by counting out 6.03% Buddhists in the state, the
registrar general and census commissioner of India (RGCC) and the
director of census operation (DCO), Maharashtra, have acted in a
“blind-folded” manner and have erroneously counted the SC and ST
population of the state to be 10.20%.
The PIL has been filed by Swwapnil Bhingardevay, 39, an industrialist
who belongs to the SC community. Bhingardevay has stated that by
leaving out the 6.03% of the neo-Buddhists, the Centre, state, the
Delimitation Commission, GRCC and the DCO have all denied three Member
of Parliament (MP) seats and 18 Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA)
seats to the SC and ST community.
Bhingardevay’ s advocate Pradeep Havnur said that the petition is
likely to be heard by a division bench in the coming week.
Bhingardevay has contended that the current number of reserved MP
seats should be raised from 5 to 8 and MLA seats should be raised from
29 to 47. Calling it a “systematic denial of rights”, he has urged the
court to restrain the government from announcing the date of the
forthcoming assembly elections until neo-Buddhists are also given
recognition as SCs and STs.
He added that if the government continues to hold that the population
of SCs and STs in the state is 10.20% against the actual 16.23%, it
would mean that the government and its agencies “deliberately” do not
want to adhere to the rights provided to SCs and STs in Article 330 of
the Constitution.
The PIL also states that if the neo-Buddhists would have been counted
among the SC, ST population in 2001 census, it would add to 58,38,710
to the existing 98,81,656 population of SCs and STs.
The PIL has also urged the court to direct the concerned authorities
of reserve a seat for backward classes in the Karad constituency which
has SC and ST population of 43,224 instead of Phaltan which has a
greater population of 53,071.