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A taste of Pali | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Font(1) You will need to have already downloaded and installed the Pali font “VRI RomanPali DD” before you can view this page correctly. For instructions on how to do this, see http://www.tipitaka.org/general/pali.html. All copyrights of this font are reserved by the Vipassana Research Institute. You are free to use this font for your personal use, but any commercial use must be sanctioned in writing by VRI. (2) If you are using Internet Explorer version 5.0 you may also need to adjust your browser settings to View, Encoding, User Defined. IE version 5.5 seems to correct this problem. BibliographyA Pali Grammar by Wilhelm Geiger, translated into English by Batakrishna Ghosh, revised and edited by K. R. Norman. Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1994. Pali-English Dictionary edited by T. W. Rhys Davids and William Stede. Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1999. A Chanting Guide: Pali Passages with English Translations. Ontario, Calif.: The Dhammayut Order in the United States of America, 1994. Inquiries concerning this book may be addressed to: The Secretary, The Dhammayut Order in the United States of America, c/o The Buddhist Temple of America, 5615 Howard Avenue, Ontario, CA 91762 USA. For free distribution only. You may print copies of this work for free distribution. You may re-format and redistribute this work for use on computers and computer networks, provided that you charge no fees for its distribution or use. Otherwise, all rights reserved. What is Pali?Pali means “text.” Pali is the language in which the oldest texts of Buddhism are written. In some senses it is an “artificial” language, in that these texts contain traces of dialects from various geographic regions and various points in time. Nevertheless, we can say that Pali is very close to the language actually spoken by the Buddha. CasesPali is an inflected language. The grammatical function of nouns is indicated by case endings rather than (as in English) by prepositions or word order. Pali distinguishes between eight cases. Case endings vary according to the stem of the noun in question. Using the noun bhikkhu (“monk”) as an example:
Transliteration system
Evening chantingAraha½ samm±-sambuddho bhagav±. araha½ is the nominative singular of arahant. The usual nominative singular of adjectives and nouns in -ant would be -± or -anto. But this was originally a present participle (of arahati, meaning deserving or worthy). As such it retains the nominative singular ending -a½. samm± means rightly, properly, thoroughly, etc. This is the same word as appears in the elements of the Noble Eightfold Path (right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration). sambuddho is the nominative singular of sambuddha, meaning the fully or completely awakened or enlightened one. bhagav± is the nominative singular of bhagavant. It is a common title for the Buddha and means the fortunate one, illustrious one, or Blessed One. It is derived from bhaga meaning luck, lot or fortune. Buddha½ bhagavanta½ abhiv±demi. buddha½ is the accusative singular of buddha which means the awakened or enlightened one. Strictly speaking it is a title or description rather than a name. It is derived from a verbal root that simply means to awaken. bhagavanta½ is the accusative singular of bhagavant. abhiv±demi is the first person singular of abhiv±deti which is the causative of abhivadati. It means I salute, greet, welcome or honor. Sv±kkh±to bhagavat± dhammo. sv±kkh±to is the nominative singular of sv±kkh±ta, meaning well-preached, well-proclaimed, well-expounded bhagavat± is the instrumental singular of bhagavant dhammo is the nominative singular of dhamma. This word has many meanings. Here it means teaching, instruction or doctrine. Dhamma½ namass±mi. dhamma½ is the accusative singular of dhamma. namass±mi is the first person singular of namassati. It means I honor, venerate, or pay homage to. The noun nama means homage or veneration. Supaµipanno bhagavato s±vaka-saªgho. su- is a prefix meaning good or well paµipanno is the first person singular of paµipanna which is the past participle of paµipajjati meaning to follow a path or method, i.e. to practice bhagavato is the genitive singular of bhagavant s±vaka means a hearer or disciple saªgho is the nominative singular of saªgha meaning an assembly
Saªgha½ nam±mi. saªgha½ is the accusative singular of saªgha nam±mi is the first person singular of namati which means to bend or bend down Invocation (by leader)Yam amha kho maya½ bhagavanta½ saraºa½ gat±, ya½ ... ta½ is a relative clause construction. Notice the syntax. In Pali, instead of saying “I picked up the book which I bought yesterday,” we might say “Which book I bought yesterday, that book I picked up.” ya½ is the accusative singular of the relative pronoun, yo, i.e. “which.” Because of the following vowel, ya½ becomes yam. This phenomenon is called sandhi. amha is the first person plural of the verb “to be.” Together with the past participle at the end of the line, we are forming here a periphrastic perfect, in other words, a past tense using an auxiliary verb instead of inflection. kho is an emphatic, translated here as “indeed.” maya½ is the nominative plural of the first person pronoun, i.e. “we.” bhagavanta½ is the accusative singular of bhagavant. saraºa½ is the accusative singular of saraºa (neuter) meaning shelter, house, protection or refuge. gat± is the nominative plural of the past participle gata, “gone,” derived from the verb gacchati, “ go.” uddissa pabbajit±, yo no bhagav± satth±, uddissa is a preposition meaning pointing to, toward, on account of, or concerning pabbajit± is the nominative plural of the past participle of pabbajati, meaning to go forth, i.e to leave the household and become a monk yo is the nominative singular of the relative pronoun, i.e. “which.” no is one form of the genitive plural of the first person pronoun, in other words “our.” bhagav± is the nominative singular of bhagavant. satth± is the nominative singular of satthar, meaning a teacher or master. yassa ca maya½ bhagavato dhamma½ rocema, yassa is the genitive singular of the relative pronoun ca means “and.” maya½ is the nominative plural of the first person pronoun, i.e. “we.” bhagavato is the genitive singular of bhagavant. dhamma½ is the accusative singular of dhamma. rocema is the first person plural of the causative of rocati. It means to be pleased with. imehi sakk±rehi ta½ bhagavanta½ sasaddhamma½
sas±vaka-saªgha½ abhip³jay±ma imehi is the instrumental plural of the demonstrative pronoun, aya½, i.e. “with these.” sakk±rehi is the instrumental plural of sakk±ra, meaning hospitality or worship ta½ is the accusative singular of the third person pronoun, which we can translate here as “that.” bhagavanta½ is the accusative singular of bhagavant. sa is a prefix meaning “with.” saddhamma½ is an accusative singular meaning true or good teaching, religion, etc. sa is again a prefix meaning “with.” s±vaka means a hearer or disciple saªgha½ is the accusative singular of saªgha meaning an assembly abhip³jay±ma is a first person plural meaning “we worship” (if read as indicative) or “let us worship” (if read as imperative). Discussion groups for PaliThere is a Yahoo! Group for Pali at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PaliThere is a SmartGroups mailing list for amateur Pali translators at http://www.smartgroups.com/group/group.cfm?GID=269858 or http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/palitrans Further resourcesEncyclopedia entries for PaliEncyclopedia Britannica Pali book distributorsThe Pali Text Society in Oxford, England, publishes many Pali
literary and reference texts and distributes
them to countries outside of North America Pali on the internetA Guide to Learning the Pali Language by John Bullitt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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