Hi, everyone. I would like to learn something about Pali as I have just finished reading
David Brazier's book "The Feeling Buddha" in which he makes certain unorthodox claims about the meaning of certain key words in Buddhism - dukkha, nirvana and nirodha - which I would like to check out. For example, he explains nirvana (nibbana) as deriving from NIR-VANA, meaning, so he says, "without-wind." He explains nirodha as deriving from NI meaning down and RODHA
meaning an earth bank or shelter, to mean "to confine."

This is a very interesting and novel interpretation, but does it stand up to criticism? Does it make sense in terms of what we know about Pali and Sanskrit?

I am interested to know whether there are any works written in Pali outside the Buddhist Pali Canon? Especially non-religious works. And the relations of Pali with Sanskrit have got to be important. Were the words Nirvana and Nirodha found in Sanskrit literature before the time of the Buddha? And how were they understood then?

best wishes



Ken Cohen


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