To add my 2-cent worth: in Chinese the word samma is zheng4 (which can mean
right, correct or upright), as oppose to xie2 (which means evil). There is
no one single character in chinese for perfect. The closest is shi2 quan2
shi2 mei2, which is not suitable for a oral/religious/philosophical use. The
next closest will be zhen2 shang4 mei3 as given in confucius teaching, but
will not fit into the buddhist context.

According to my buddhist studies in chinese, the word zheng4 (right) should
not be understood as the opposite extreme of xie2 (evil, or wrong). It has
to be understood in the context of the Middle Way, or zhong1.

Therefore, I think context is important to the understanding of buddhist
terms, especially the background the Buddha taught (in this case) the Noble
Eightfold Path. Additional information such as what samma means in Pali will
be helpful, but right understanding and explanation of dhamma is more
important than the word itself.

-----Original Message-----
From: evelyn chew
Date: Thursday, July 26, 2001 5:50 PM

>heard a talk by Ven S Dhammika who told us that samma in the 8-fold path is
>used to mean 'right' but he prefers it to mean 'perfect'.
>when i look at the homage - namo tassa.... - i guess samma sambuddha would
>mean the highest (more perfect than perfect - if there's such a thing)
>'my 2-cent'
>Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is genius. - GB Shaw
>
>>From: Thiele Everett <Thiele.Everett@...>
>>Reply-To: Pali@yahoogroups.com
>>To: Pali@yahoogroups.com
>>Subject: [Pali] (pali) 'samma'
>>Date: Wed, 25 Jul 101 19:09:28 +0200 (MET DST)
>>
>> >
>> > how about discussing the Pali word SAMMA?
>>
>>I'm interested in discussing this word. Care to
>>start?
>>
>>--Rett