184 LESSON 02 03 2011 Vijaya Sutta Sister Vijaya FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss-POLITICS is SACRED With GOOD GOVERNANCE-Central Budget directionless as well as hopeless — Hon’ble Chief Minister ji-Budget offers nothing to common man -Poor people felt deceived by the budget-The Budget is of the RICH PEOPLE, by the RICH PEOPLE, for the RICH PEOPLE-PALI LANGUAGE-C.M. greets people on the occasion of Mahashivratri
through
Course Programs:
LESSON 184
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn05/sn05.004.than.html
SN 5.4
PTS: S i 130
CDB i 224
Vijaya Sutta: Sister Vijaya
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Alternate translation: Bodhi
At Savatthi. Then, early in the morning, Vijaya the nun put on her robes and, taking her bowl & outer robe, went into Savatthi for alms. When she had gone for alms in Savatthi and had returned from her alms round, after her meal she went to the Grove of the Blind to spend the day. Having gone deep into the Grove of the Blind, she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.
Then Mara the Evil One, wanting to arouse fear, horripilation, & terror in her, wanting to make her fall away from concentration, approached her & addressed her in verse:
You, a beautiful young woman.
I, a young man.
Come, my lady,
let’s enjoy ourselves
to the music of a five-piece band.
Then the thought occurred to Vijaya the nun: “Now who has recited this verse — a human being or a non-human one?” Then it occurred to her: “This is Mara the Evil One, who has recited this verse wanting to arouse fear, horripilation, & terror in me, wanting to make me fall away from concentration.”
Then, having understood that “This is Mara the Evil One,” she replied to him in verses:
Lovely sights, sounds,
smells, tastes,
& tactile sensations
I leave to
you, Mara.
I
have no need
for them.
I’m disgusted, ashamed
of this putrid body —
disintegrating, dissolving.
Sensual craving
is rooted out.
Beings who have come to form,
& those with a share in the formless,
& the peaceful attainments:
their darkness
is completely destroyed.
Then Mara the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing, “Vijaya the nun knows me” — vanished right there.
Sn 4.9
POLITICS is SACRED With GOOD GOVERNANCE
Press Information Bureau
(C.M. Information Campus)
Information & Public Relations Department, U.P.
Central Budget directionless as well as hopeless — Hon’ble Chief Minister ji
Budget offers nothing to common man
No provision to solve serious problems like inflation and unemployment
Poor people felt deceived by the budget
Lucknow : 28 February 2011
The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ms. Mayawati ji has termed
the general budget 2011-12, presented in the Lok Sabha by the Congress led
Central Government today, as hopeless for poor people and common man.
She said that this budget would not help in removing poverty, inflation,
unemployment and regional imbalances. Instead, it would widen the chasm
between poor and the rich. She said that owing to the proposals of the
budget, the life of the common man would become more difficult.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister ji said that the people were already adversely
affected by the wrong economic and export-import policies of the Central
Government led by Congress as the inflation had been rising continuously.
She said that the poor people, labourers, dalits and women had not been
given any relief in the budget. Therefore, they were feeling cheated. She said
that the Central Government may feel good by claiming increase in the growth
rate, but the food articles were getting out of the reach of the common man
because of the rising inflation.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister ji said that the interests of the poor people
had been totally ignored in this budget. There is no exclusive policy for the
development and expansion of infrastructure facilities in the rural areas, she
pointed out. The budget focused on the interests of the capitalists and
corporates only, she emphasised adding that the Union Budget was antipeople
and anti-poor. She said that the interests of the middle class and
salaried people had also been ignored in this budget. She said that increasing
the income tax relaxation limit by Rs. 20,000 only was an ugly joke with the
middle class and salaried people. She said that by withdrawing special facility
being provided to the women in income tax, the Centre had proved that it was
anti-women too.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister ji said that the alround development could be
ensured by effecting changes in the policy. She said that no measure had
been taken in the budget to deal with the challenge of unemployment. She
further stated that the Centre was confused that by merely increasing the
budgetary provisions for education, the poor condition of the same could be
improved.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister ji said that the Congress led Central
Government had been befooling people in the name of “Bharat Nirman”. She
said that the Centre should tell the people as to how much amount was
required for the development of all the villages of the country and what
measures it had taken in that direction. Referring to the steps being taken by
the State Government for the rural development, she said that it had been
making serious efforts in that direction through its own limited resources. She
said that when the State Government requested for the financial support from
the Central Government, it did not do anything.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister ji said that by simplifying the procedure of
foreign capital investment in the infrastructure and other sectors, the Central
Government had offered an opportunity to the foreign investors to plunder the
country. She said that it would affect the domestic savings on one hand and it
would also hamper the dream of self-reliance.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister ji said that no effective step had been taken
to bridge the gap of increasing financial inequality of the society. She said that
few steps taken for the social and agriculture sector were insufficient. She
said that 70 per cent of the country’s population was still dependent on the
farming sector. She said that the farming sector had been ignored totally in
this budget, which indicated that the UPA Government had no interest in
improving the conditions of the villages and making farmers prosperous.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister ji said that there was a large number of
weavers in the country as well as in Uttar Pradesh. She said that a provision
of Rs. 3000 crore only in the budget for the welfare of weavers indicated that
the Central Government was not interested in solving their problems. She said
that the State Government had requested Centre many a times to solve the
problems of the weavers, but to no avail.
Referring to the formulation of new legislation to check the menace of
black money and to sign treaties with various countries, the Hon’ble Chief
Minister ji said that the UPA Government was already embroiled in serious
scams and it lacked will power to fight corruption and control black money.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister ji said that there was no new initiative in the
budget for the balanced development of various areas of the State. She said
that there was a need to make special efforts for the development of
backward areas of Uttar Pradesh in this budget, but the Union Government
did not do anything for the development of eastern U.P. and Bundelkhand
region.
The Budget is of the RICH PEOPLE, by the RICH PEOPLE, for the RICH PEOPLE.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lkawgw/pali.html
PALI LANGUAGE
When the Aryan-speaking peoples moved into north India, about 2000 years BCE., they brought with them many variations of the Aryan language. Some of these dialects developed literary forms (i.e., with grammar) later. The most important dialect of these was Sanskrit. The word means “the refined language” and its formalisation was due to Panini, who lived about 500 years BCE.
Another language to arrive was Magadhi, spoken in the eastern part of north India. This was probably the language preferred and used by the Buddha. It was this language that came to be developed as a written language, which we now call “Pali”.
The word “Pali” means “text” and its vocabulary has a special significance for the study of Buddhism, because its words have been well defined for the needs of the Buddha’s teachings.
For example, in Pali the word “Dhamma”, is reserved exclusively for the Buddha’s ideas. On the other hand, “Dharma” in Sanskrit, has a very wide application - it applies to physical and moral teachings, teachings generally and even to the laws of nature.
Similarly with the Pali word “Kamma”, this is the moral law as defined by the Buddha. In Sanskrit, the word “Karma” contains Hindu theistic ideas. Thus, it can be seen that Pali is the language of Theravada Buddhism.
Pali is not derived from Sanskrit. There are other, parallel dialects, such as Prakrit, and they only meet at their Indo-European origins. Another school of Buddhism, which emerged soon after the Buddha’s death, used the classical language of India for the propagation of the Buddha’s teachings - Sanskrit.
There is even a variety of Sanskrit called “Buddhist Sanskrit”
Pali language is called “the language of mankind’s philosophy”. This is because it has the most voluminous literature on religion and philosophy in the entire world.
It is the language of the Buddhist religion’s record of teachings, the “The Tripitaka” (or The Three Baskets):
- the Vinaya Pitaka (the collection of rules for Monks),
- the Sutta Pitaka (main body of collected teachings),
- the Abidhamma Pitaka (the more advanced teachings).
Pali is a written language, but it has no special script. Although trade-links were developed first, Buddhist monks and King’s emissaries throughout the region developed its use. It was the “Lingua Franca” of the Buddhist countries of south and south-east Asia for well over a thousand years.
Each country subsequently developed its own Pali literature and chronicles.
It is sonorous, rhythmic, mellifluous and pleasing to hear, especially when chanted properly by monks and is kept alive by Buddhist scholars, monks and devotees of Buddhism in the last few remaining Theravada countries.
The personality of the Buddha is seen clearly in the Tripitaka. He “comes across” - speaking to us from down the ages, as a very intelligent, practical man who saw the great harm in anger and revenge. He strongly recommended all peoples to avoid hurting or injuring by word or deed, all other beings.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bullitt/learningpali.html
A Guide to Learning the Pali Language
by
John T. Bullitt
Contents
· Coping with Pali diacritical marks
· Notes
See also “Pali Language Aids“
How to learn Pali
It’s not difficult to learn a little Pali through self-study, using a textbook or two as a guide. Many people find it helpful to study with others, either in a formal classroom setting or in a more relaxed Pali study group. For many of us, the goal is not to become expert scholars and translators of the language, but simply to become acquainted with enough of the basics of the language to enrich our personal understanding of the suttas and the Buddha’s teachings. For self-study, Warder’s Introduction to Pali or de Silva’s Pali Primer are the basic texts. Johansson’s Pali Buddhist Texts: An Introductory Reader and Grammar is also immensely helpful. See the list of Pali language textbooks for more recommended titles.
Formal classroom courses in Pali are offered at many universities with strong Eastern Religions departments as well as at several Buddhist studies centers and institutes (see the University of Minnesota’s list of schools that teach less commonly taught languages, such as Pali). Some university-level Pali courses require previous acquaintance with Sanskrit. If you are looking for a Pali teacher, consider asking around at a university to see if there might be a graduate student willing to tutor you or your study group, perhaps for a small fee. Some professors may be willing to let you audit a course without going through the official university registration process.
For more information of interest to Pali students of all levels, see “Pali Language Aids“
Coping with Pali diacritical marks
Writing without an alphabet
Pali is a phonetic language with no written alphabet of its own. Students of the language have therefore relied on their own native alphabets to read and write Pali, ever since the 1stcentury BCE, when Sri Lankan scribes first recorded the Tipitaka in the Sinhala alphabet. But the Europeans who began to take an interest in South Asian languages in the 19th century quickly discovered that their own roman alphabet was no match for the wide range of phonemes (sounds) present in South Asian languages. European scholars thus began representing the more problematic Pali phonemes by augmenting the roman alphabet with a system of letter-pairs and diacritics, including the macron (horizontal bar), dot-over, dot-under, and tilde:
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Until well into the mid-20th century, Pali typefaces using these characters were used almost exclusively by specialty book publishers; a scholar’s day-to-day duties of transcribing, translating, and editing had to be laboriously carried out with typewriter, pen, and a steady hand with which to apply the diacritics. Unfortunately, the first personal computers failed to address the typographic challenge of diacritics, as they were designed around a very limited character set (ASCII) that was only barely able to accommodate the upper- and lower-case roman letters, ten digits, and a modest sprinkling of punctuation marks. The extended-ASCII set, which soon followed, offered a suite of additional special symbols, including many required for northern- and eastern- European alphabets. But still no macrons or dot-unders. In the absence of a universally accepted computer representation of non-ASCII characters, students of non-European languages were left to invent their own stopgap methods. These range from giving ordinary punctuation marks double-duty as stand-ins for diacritics, to designing special diacritic fonts (all of which are incompatible with each other), and everything in between.
Evaluating the methods
A good written phonetic representation of Pali — indeed, of any language — using one’s native alphabet as a starting point should aspire to each of the following ideals:
1. It should be readable by a wide audience. It should introduce a minimum of special characters that are not already present in the alphabet. It is better to modify an existing letter with a small diacritic than to introduce an entirely new character that may look like an alien squiggle to the uninitiated. A newcomer to Pali, upon seeing a t with a dot-under, should be able to guess immediately that the letter stands for some variant of a tsound.
2. It should be phonetically precise. The written text should precisely and accurately capture the phonetic content. Each phoneme (sound) should be unambiguously represented by a unique letter or combination of letters.
3. It should be easy to type. Writing Pali should not be a cumbersome exercise in keyboard gymnastics. Typing an a-macron should not call for a long series of keystrokes (e.g., Alt-Ctl-Shift-Esc-a).
4. It should be portable. If you hand me a book — or send me a text file by e-mail — it should appear to me exactly as it did to you. I should be able to sound out the text phonetically exactly as you intended.
No single method simultaneously realizes all of these goals; no single method is “best.” (I should note, however, that one system — Unicode — holds exceptional promise — but not until its fonts and keyboard mappings become more seamlessly and universally integrated into the mainstream of word processors, HTML authoring software, and web and e-mail clients.) The choice of which method to use therefore depends both on your particular needs (e.g., Do you demand phonetic precision? Are you printing a book or dashing off a quick e-mail?) and on the typing, printing, and computing resources you have at your disposal (e.g., Do you have a Pali font? Does your PC support Unicode?).
In what follows I’ve singled out some of the more common strategies that Pali students have used in recent decades, running the gamut from ignoring diacritics altogether to using Unicode fonts. I evaluate the success of each strategy in achieving the above-mentioned goals, to help you decide which method best suits your needs.
METHOD 1. IGNORE THE DIACRITICS
This is certainly the simplest method. But the cost of that simplicity is heavy: the irretrievable loss of crucial pronunciation details. This is the method I use at Access to Insight. (I should add that I do make use of the palatal nasal ñ because it is so easy to implement using HTML and because it is contained in the extended-ASCII character set found on practically everyone’s computer nowadays.)
|
Examples: |
panatipata veramani sikkha-padam samadiyami [1] (HTML: panatipata veramani sikkha-padam samadiyami) itihidam ayasmato kondaññassa, añña-kondañño’tveva namam, ahositi [2](HTML: itihidam ayasmato kondaññassa, añña-kondañño’tveva namam, ahositi). |
|
Readability: |
Excellent |
|
Phonetics: |
Poor |
|
Ease of use: |
Excellent |
|
Portability: |
Excellent |
|
Overall: |
Fair. Its phonetic imprecision renders it next to useless in substantive discussions of Pali grammar |
|
Uses: |
Informal correspondence, email. OK for low-budget print projects that don’t require linguistic precision. |
METHOD 2. USE CAPITAL LETTERS
Capitalized letters represent letters with an accompanying diacritic. The method is simple, but it has ambiguities: how, for example, would you distinguish between the palatal and gutturaln (n with a dot-under, and n with a dot-over)?
|
Examples: |
pANAtipAtA veramaNI sikkhA-padaM samAdiyAmi (HTML: pANAtipAtA veramaNI sikkhA-padaM samAdiyAmi) itihidaM Ayasmato koNDaññassa, añña-koNDañño’tveva nAmaM, ahosIti (HTML: itihidaM Ayasmato koNDaññassa, añña-koNDañño’tveva nAmaM, ahosIti) |
|
Readability: |
Poor. The ever-shifting case is disturbing. When caps appear at the end of a word it looks like mirror writing. |
|
Phonetics: |
Fair. The palatal n and guttural n are indistinguishable. |
|
Ease of use: |
Good. It may take time to get used to the shift key’s new significance. |
|
Portability: |
Excellent |
|
Overall: |
Fair. The manic appearance of caps at random points is hard to bear. |
|
Uses: |
Informal correspondence, email. Not suitable for print. |
METHOD 3. THE VELTHUIS SCHEME: DOUBLE THE VOWELS, PUNCTUATE THE CONSONANTS
In the Velthuis scheme two basic rules are observed:
1. Long vowels (those usually typeset with a macron (bar) above them) are doubled: aa ii uu
2. For consonants, the diacritic mark precedes the letter it affects. Thus, the retroflex (cerebral) consonants (usually typeset with a dot underneath) are: .t .th .d .dh .n .l. The pure nasal (niggahiita) m, also typeset with a dot underneath, is .m. The guttural nasal (n with a dot above) is represented as “n . The palatal nasal (n with a tilde) is ~n.
Of the plain-ASCII methods, this one is the most precise, as it carefully preserves the significance of each special character. To the uninitiated, however, the sight of all those doubled vowels and misplaced periods is utterly bewildering, perhaps leaving them to wonder if someone’s keyboard is broken.
|
Examples: |
paa.naatipaataa verama.nii sikkhaa-pada.m samaadiyaami (HTML: paa.naatipaataa verama.nii sikkhaa-pada.m samaadiyaami) itihida.m aayasmato ko.n.daññassa, añña-ko.n.dañño’tveva naama.m, ahosiiti (HTML: itihida.m aayasmato ko.n.daññassa, añña-ko.n.dañño’tveva naama.m, ahosiiti) |
|
Readability: |
Fair. Text looks like it has been sprinkled with typos. |
|
Phonetics: |
Excellent. |
|
Ease of use: |
Good. Requires learning the dual significance of the period and double-quote keys. |
|
Portability: |
Excellent |
|
Overall: |
Good. |
|
Uses: |
Formal scholarly correspondence, email. Not suitable for print (except low-budget short-run projects that require scholarly precision). |
METHOD 4. USE A LITTLE HTML
HTML has access to the extended ASCII character set, which includes many accented non-English European vowels (umlaut, circumflex, etc.), some of which can serve as reasonable stand-ins for the long Pali vowels (ä ï ü; à ì ù; or â î û etc.). The palatal n is straightforward:ñ. Whatever type of accent you adopt, use it consistently.
|
Examples: |
pâ.nâtipâtâ verama.nî sikkhâ-pada.m samâdiyâmi (HTML: pâ.nâtipâtâ verama.nî sikkhâ-pada.m samâdiyâmi) itihidam âyasmato kondaññassa, añña-kondañño’tveva nâmam, ahosîti (HTML: itihidam âyasmato kondaññassa, añña-kondañño’tveva nâmam, ahosîti) |
|
Readability: |
Very good. |
|
Phonetics: |
Fair. The consonantal diacritics are missing. |
|
Ease of use: |
Good. Easy to produce using most HTML authoring tools. |
|
Portability: |
Good. Limited to web browsers and other HTML-savvy software. |
|
Overall: |
Fair-Good. Improves upon the capital letter method, but doesn’t capture the consonantal diacritics. |
|
Uses: |
Informal correspondence, email, print. |
METHOD 5. MIXED VELTHUIS/HTML
This method attempts to clear up the stuttering of Method 3’s doubled vowels, by using a little HTML (Method 4).
|
Examples: |
pâ.nâtipâtâ verama.nî sikkhâ-pada.m samâdiyâmi (HTML: pâ.nâtipâtâ verama.nî sikkhâ-pada.m samâdiyâmi) itihida.m âyasmato ko.n.daññassa, añña-ko.n.dañño’tveva nâma.m, ahosîti (HTML: itihida.m âyasmato ko.n.daññassa, añña-ko.n.dañño’tveva nâma.m, ahosîti) |
|
Readability: |
Fair. It looks like it has typos, although perhaps not quite as many as pure Velthuis. |
|
Phonetics: |
Excellent. |
|
Ease of use: |
Fair. More complex than Velthuis, since it requires a combination of special punctuation and the use of special HTML characters. |
|
Portability: |
Good. Limited to web browsers and other HTML-savvy software. |
|
Overall: |
Fair. Although this hybrid does slightly improve the appearance of Velthuis, it still looks like an error-filled jumble. |
|
Uses: |
Informal correspondence (scholars who demand precision are bound to prefer good old pure Velthuis). Not generally suitable for e-mail or print. |
METHOD 6. SPECIAL PALI FONTS
For high-quality print projects, nothing beats a well-designed Pali font. For an extensive review of available Pali and Sanskrit fonts, see Transliteration and Devanagari Fonts for Sanskrit, by Ulrich Stiehl. The Association for Insight Meditation’s Pali Font Resources pageoffers several ANSI and Unicode fonts suitable for working with Pali.
|
Example (in “Normyn” font): |
|
|
Readability: |
Excellent. |
|
Phonetics: |
Excellent. |
|
Ease of use: |
Variable — it depends on the keyboard mappings used by a particular font. |
|
Portability: |
Poor. These fonts don’t all share the same coding standards; they are not interchangeable. If I send you a text document that I formatted with font X, and you display it with font Y, the Pali characters may not show up properly. |
|
Overall: |
Excellent — but only for documents that are to be shared in print (hard copy) form or as PDF files or GIF images. |
|
Uses: |
Printing. Not suitable for e-mail or the web, except when embedded in PDF files or GIF images. |
METHOD 7. UNICODE AND UNICODE FONTS
Unicode has emerged in recent years as the international standard for representing characters from most of the world’s alphabets. All the special characters we need for Pali transliteration may be found in Unicode’s Latin Extended-A, and Latin Extended Additionalcode charts. They can therefore be easily generated using HTML, provided that your web browser uses a Unicode-savvy font.
There are many Unicode fonts available that contain the characters needed for Pali. Two useful sources are the Association of Insight Meditation’s “ Pali Font Resources” and BuddaSasana’s “ Unicode Fonts for Romanized Viet-Pali-Sanskrit“
The following table lists the HTML Unicode entities required to generate each of the special Pali characters. If your web browser supports Unicode, the characters appearing in the last column of the table should resemble those appearing the shaded column. If they do not match, then you may have to upgrade your web browser, install Unicode fonts on your computer, or both. For details about configuring your computer and browser to use Unicode, see the Unicode website.
|
Pali letter |
Velthuis |
HTML |
Rendered on your browser as[3] |
|
|
A macron |
|
AA |
Ā |
Ā |
|
|
aa |
ā |
ā |
|
|
I macron |
|
II |
Ī |
Ī |
|
|
ii |
ī |
ī |
|
|
U macron |
|
UU |
Ū |
Ū |
|
|
uu |
ū |
ū |
|
|
N dot-over |
|
“N |
Ṅ |
Ṅ |
|
|
“n |
ṅ |
ṅ |
|
|
M dot-under |
|
.M |
Ṃ |
Ṃ |
|
|
.m |
ṃ |
ṃ |
|
|
N tilde |
|
~N |
Ñ |
Ñ |
|
|
~n |
ñ |
ñ |
|
|
T dot-under |
|
.T |
Ṭ |
Ṭ |
|
|
.t |
ṭ |
ṭ |
|
|
D dot-under |
|
.D |
Ḍ |
Ḍ |
|
|
.d |
ḍ |
ḍ |
|
|
N dot-under |
|
.N |
Ṇ |
Ṇ |
|
|
.n |
ṇ |
ṇ |
|
|
L dot-under |
|
.L |
Ḷ |
Ḷ |
|
|
.l |
ḷ |
ḷ |
|
|
Examples: |
pānātipātā veramaṅī sikkhā-padaṁ samādiyāmi itihidaṁ āyasmato Koṇḍaññassa, añña-koṇḍañño’tveva nāmaṁ, ahosīti |
|
Readability: |
Excellent |
|
Phonetics: |
Excellent |
|
Ease of use: |
Poor-Good, depending on the particular software you use (HTML authoring program, word processor, e-mail client, etc.). |
|
Portability: |
Good-Excellent. Requires the installation of at least a basic set of Unicode fonts. |
|
Overall: |
Good. Still a little cumbersome to use in some software apps, a shortcoming that will probably fade in the next few years. |
|
Uses: |
Web, email (if email client permits easy typing of Pali characters), print (with well-crafted Unicode fonts). |
Pali language textbooks
There are quite a few Pali books out there, but so far none surpasses the breadth and depth of A.K. Warder’s superb Introduction to Pali. de Silva’s Pali Primer, a relative newcomer to the Pali textbook scene, offers a light and refreshing complement to the high-density Warder. If you’re trying to learn Pali on your own, it can be helpful to have several books to turn to, as each offers its unique perspective on the language.
· Introduction to Pali, by A.K. Warder
London: Pali Text Society, 1963; rev. 1991
464pp, with exercises.
About $15 from Pariyatti. Companion audio CD also available.
Known popularly as “Warder,” this is the standard Pali textbook widely used today. It is systematic and thorough, ideally suited to those with some prior familiarity with basic linguistic concepts (case, declension, gender, etc.) or to the motivated newcomer. Although beginners may at first find some of Warder’s explanations impenetrable, it’s still the best overall Pali textbook around.
The companion CD is well worth purchasing, as it gives the student a good idea of what “real” spoken Pali should sound like.
Although each chapter contains numerous exercises or passages for reading and translation, the latest edition contains answers to only the first seven exercises. Several independently prepared answer keys are currently available:
o “Answer Key to Warder’s Introduction to Pali” (John Kelly) covers the Pali-to-English, English-to-Pali, and “passages for reading” exercises, in both literal and fluent translations, for chapters 7-21.
o “A Key to the Exercises in A.K. Warder’s Introduction to Pali” (Brahmali Bhikkhu) provides meticulously annotated answers to the Pali-to-English, English-to-Pali, and “passages for reading” exercises for chapters 7-30.
o The Pali Text Society website also offers answers to English-to-Pali Exercises 7-30.
· Pali Primer, by Lily de Silva
Igatpuri, India: Vipassana Research Institute, 1994
154pp.
Vipassana Research Institute
Dhammagiri
Igatpuri 422403
Maharashtra, India
Available by mail order via the Pariyatti Book Service.
This is a nice first book for those who think they’re not ready yet for Warder. Each chapter focuses on a single concept of Pali grammar, and contains numerous exercises. I found, though, that there comes a point in the book (somewhere around Lesson 11) when the brief grammatical introductions in the beginning of the lessons begin to fall short. In particular, there is no explanation of word order in Pali sentences. At this point,Warder can come to the rescue. An Appendix to the book, containing solutions to the exercises, is reportedly forthcoming from the publisher.
· Pali Buddhist Texts: An Introductory Reader and Grammar (formerly titled: Pali Buddhist Texts Explained to the Beginner), by Rune E.A. Johansson
Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies Monograph Series, No. 14. London: Routledge/Curzon, 1998
160pp.
This book consists of 52 short chapters, each consisting of a brief passage from the Pali canon along with a word-for-word grammatical analysis and translation. Useful to the student with some prior grasp of the fundamentals of Pali, or when used in parallel with Warder (above). It also stands well on its own for newcomers who wish to develop a “feel” for the language. An excellent 25-page summary of Pali grammar appears in the back of the book. The book has been difficult to find in the US lately, although it has surfaced in bookshops in Britain and Asia. If you can’t find it, write to the publisher: Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies, Kejsergade 2, DK-1155 Copenhagen K.
· A New Course in Reading Pali: Entering the Word of the Buddha
New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1998
207pp. ISBN 81-208-1440-1 cloth, 81-208-1441-x paper. About $20.
I haven’t seen this one yet, although I’ve heard several favorable reports about it. From the dust jacket (courtesy of Henry Grossi):
This book is intended to serve as an introduction to the reading of Pali texts. For that purpose it uses authentic readings especially compiled for the purpose drawn largely from Theravada canonical works, both prose and poetry. The readings are in Roman script, and carefully graded for difficulty, but they have also been selected so that each of them is a meaningful and complete reading in itself, so as to introduce some basic concepts and ways of thought of Theravada Buddhism. This book thus offers an opportunity to become acquainted with the ways in which the teachings of the Buddha are embodied in the language; a sense that is impossible to determine from English translations. The book contains 12 lessons. Each of them has three parts: (1) a set of basic readings and an accompanying glossary, (2) grammatical notes on the forms of the lesson, and (3) a set of further readings with its own glossary. The further readings introduce no new grammatical points, but reinforce ones already presented and give further practice in them. The work concludes, fittingly, with the Buddha’s first sermon, The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. A cumulative glossary and index to the grammar is also provided.
· An Elementary Pali Course, by Narada Thera
Second edition, 1952.
Several on-line versions are available.
· The New Pali Course — Parts I & II, by A.P. Buddhadatta
1937; 268pp.
Available for about $4 + shipping from the Buddhist Cultural Centre, Sri Lanka.
Topics are arranged systematically in short, digestible chunks (e.g., “The Alphabet,” “Pronunciation,” “Parts of Speech”). Sometimes more explanation would be helpful. Lots of good exercises, but no answers are given. This would work best in a teacher-led course, rather than as a tool for self-study.
· Pali Language by E. Muller
Delhi: Bharatiya Book Corporation, 1986
144pp. Available at bookstores in Asia.
A compact grammar, written in 1884. Sanksrit students may find it useful, as it compares and contrasts Pali and Sanskrit at every turn. Not recommended for the rank beginner.
· A Pali Grammar, by N.C. Vidyabhushan and M.K. Ghose
Calcutta: Kiron Moy Ghose, 1982
90pp. Available at bookstores in Asia.
Another Pali grammar, similar to The New Pali Course, above, but without any exercises. Useful as a compact reference book after you’ve learned the basics.
Pali language reference books
· Buddhist Dictionary, by Nyanatiloka Thera
Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1988
260pp. About $20, from Pariyatti Book Service, and the Buddhist Publication Society.
This one is a classic. It’s a fascinating mixture of Pali and English words, arranged in English word order (e.g., “Killing… Kiñcana… Kiriya… Knowledge…”). Most entries have thorough explanations with references to passages in the Pali canon. Excellent tool for beginner and veteran, alike.
· Concise Pali-English Dictionary, by A.P. Buddhadatta
Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1989
295pp. Available by mail from the publisher: Motilal Banarsidass, Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi 110 007, India.
Very handy for quickly finding the meaning of a word, without the detailed grammatical and contextual analysis offered by the Pali-English Dictionary.
· A Dictionary of Pali (Vol I: A-Kh)
Oxford: Pali Text Society, 2001
778pp. About $50, from Pariyatti Book Service.
This impressive new dictionary has several improvements over the classic PED, including the use of Pali quotations from the Canon to illustrate the meaning of words, instead of simply references to those passages. The publication date for volume II has not yet been set.
· English-Pali Dictionary, by A.P. Buddhadatta
London: Pali Text Society, 1979
588pp. $48 through Wisdom Publications.
What are the various Pali words for “mind”? How do you say “penknife” in Pali? (!) This handy book can be particularly valuable when exploring Pali-English translations — your own or others’.
· Pali-English Dictionary
London: Pali Text Society, 1986
754pp. About $40, from Pariyatti Book Service.
The primary table-top reference tool for the Pali student. Affectionately known as the PED.
Notes
1.
The first of the five precepts: “I undertake the precept to refrain from taking life.”
2.
The last line of the Buddha’s first sermon (SN 56.11): “And that is how Ven. Kondañña acquired the name Añña-Kondañña — Kondañña who knows.”
3.
These characters will display properly only when your browser is set with a default font that contains appropriate Pali Unicode characters.
C.M. greets people on the occasion of Mahashivratri
Lucknow: 01 March 2011
The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ms. Mayawati ji
has greeted people of the State on the occasion of Mahashivratri.
In a greetings message, Ms. Mayawati said that all festivals
of the country were symbol of our cultural unity and rich
heritage. These festivals give us a message of mutual
brotherhood and forbearance.
Awakeness Practices
All 84,000 Khandas As Found in the Pali Suttas
|
Traditionally the are 84,000 Dharma Doors - 84,000 ways to get Awakeness. Maybe so; certainly the Buddha taught a large number of practices that lead to Awakeness. This web page attempts to catalogue those found in the Pali Suttas (DN, MN, SN, AN, Ud & Sn 1). There are 3 sections: |
The discourses of Buddha are divided into 84,000, as to separate addresses. The division includes all that was spoken by Buddha.”I received from Buddha,” said Ananda, “82,000 Khandas, and from the priests 2000; these are 84,000 Khandas maintained by me.” They are divided into 275,250, as to the stanzas of the original text, and into 361,550, as to the stanzas of the commentary. All the discourses including both those of Buddha and those of the commentator, are divided into 2,547 banawaras, containing 737,000 stanzas, and 29,368,000 separate letters.
BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Eternal Bliss
Using such an instrument
The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
IKAMMA,REBIRTH,AWAKEN-NESS,BUDDHA,THUS COME ONE,DHAMMA II.ARHA ,FOUR HOLY TRUTHS,EIGHTFOLD PATH,TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING,BODHISATTVA,PARAMITA,SIX PARAMITAS III.SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS,SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH,TEN DHARMA REALMS,FIVE SKANDHAS,EIGHTEEN REALMS,FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS IV. MEDITATION,MINDFULNESS,FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS,LOTUS POSTURE,SAMADHI,CHAN SCHOOL,FOUR JHANAS,FOUR FORMLESS REALMS V. FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE,MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED,PURE LAND,BUDDHA RECITATION,EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES,ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS,EMPTINESS VI. DEMON,LINEAGE
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism,Level II: Buddhist Studies,
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer,Level IV: Once – Returner,Level V: Non-Returner,Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,astronomy,alchemy,andanatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;Historical Studies;International Relations and Peace Studies;Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;Languages and Literature;and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
Mathematics
Astronomy
Alchemy
And Andanatomy
Buddhist perception of humanity
Buddhism and Information Technology
Buddhist perception of Business Management in Relation to Public Policy and Development and Ecology and Environment
Buddhist perception of Languages and Literature
MAY YOU BE EVER HAPPY, WELL AND SECURE
MAY YOU LIVE LONG
MAY ALL SENTIENT AND NON-SENTIENT BEINGS BE EVER HAPPY
MAY YOU BE ALWAYS HAVE CALM, QUIET, ALERT,ATTENTIVE AND
EQUANIMITY MIND WITH A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING THAT
NOTHING IS PERMANENT
