Dear Piya,
I also like Bodhi's choice of "misguided man" for
this. "Stupid" or "deluded" would be better than
"vain" too, in my opinion, especially given the
context of the sutta.
Note also that "mogha" is related to "moha -
delusion".

John
--- Piya Tan <libris@...> wrote:

> Dear Pali friends,
>
> I'm in the midst of translating the Alaggaddupama
> Sutta, and pondering over
> what is the best English idiom for "mogha,purisa".
>
> "Empty person" is too literal.
> "Hollow man" (after Joyce) is beautifully poetic but
> inapplicable in the
> English context here.
> I'm provisionally using "Vain person" while waiting
> for any better suggestions.
>
> Sukhi.
>
> Piya.
>
>

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