Dear friends,
I'm happy to find an active Pali group again. The others seemed to have dies
a quiet death.

to tell the members something about myself:
1. Are you a buddhist? If not, what makes you interested in Theravada
Buddhism?
Yes I am a Buddhist, a student of the monks at the Bhavana Society in West
Virginia, where the Venerable Henepola Gunatarana is abbot.
2. Are you learning/teaching the Pali language? If yes, what do you think
are the common difficulties faced by students?
I am presently learning Pali, having found a very good teacher in
Washington, DC. I've been attempting to learn the language on my own,
starting with Warder and Gair before turning to De Silva's Pali Primer. (I
plan to move to Gair after I've worked through much of de Silva.) I think my
main stumbling block in learning Pali has been the lack of someone to whom
to pose questions, many of which arose when I attempted the exercises in de
Silva on my own. Hence the need of a teacher.
3. Do you read and study the suttas, or other Tipitaka/Pali literature (such
as Abhidhamma, Vinaya)?
I have been working my way through the translations of the nikayas published
by Wisdom Publications and am currently halfway through the Samyutta Nikaya.
I hope to be able to do it all again in Pali.
4. Do you use any tools/guidebooks in your study of the Pali canon, or do
you apply any methods in your study?
I like the Wisdom editions because of the excellent introductions and notes,
most by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Von Hunuber's "A Handbook of Pali Literature" has
also been helpful.
5. Do you meditate regularly? If you do, where do you learn/practice and
what are the methods that you use?
I have a daily meditation practice and go to retreats as often as I can.
Anapanasati is the basis of my meditation practice, with healthy doses of
metta and vipassana meditation.
6. Were/Are you involved in any translation works of the Tipitaka? Are you
interested in such works?
I have never done translation of these works but would hope to do some one
day.

With metta,
Henry (a.k.a. upasaka asoka)


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