>I have a Pali puzzle for the group. A friend of mine
>who just came back from a 2-month retreat in Burma
>sent me the following snippet in her email:
>
>"I picked up a bunch of devotional cards at
>the Shwedagon Pagoda, and they all have the following
>passage on them. A nun friend of mine who's
>studying Pali in Burma transliterated the Burmese
>characters to Roman script but didn't have time
>to translate it. If you're interested, I'd be curious
>to know what it means:
>
> ahtaanemetan bhikkhave anavakaasoo,
> yam parukkamena tathaagatam jiivitaa voropeyya.
> anupakkamena bhikkhave tathaagataa parinibbayanti.
> etena saccavajjena antaraayaapi vinassatu!"

A.t.thaanameta.m bhikkhave anavakaaso
ya.m paruupakkamena Tathaagata.m jiivitaa voropeyya.
Anupakkamena, bhikkhave, Tathaagataa parinibbaayanti.
Etena saccavajjena antaraayaapi vinassantu!

"It is impossible bhikkhus, it cannot happen,
that anyone could take a Tathaagata's life by violence.
It is not through being assaulted that Tathaagatas attain Parinibbaana.
By this utterance of truth may obstacles/dangers be destroyed!"

The first three lines are the Buddha's words to his disciples after
Devadatta's attempt on his life (Vinaya Pi.taka -- Cullavagga 194). The
disciples had taken it upon themselves to set a guard around the Buddha's
residence. When this came to his attention, he summoned them and informed
them that such protection was uncalled for.

The fourth line is an 'asseveration of truth' (saccaadhikiriyaagaathaa)
typical of paritta formulas. Sorry I don't have time to go over the grammar
in detail.

Best wishes,

Robert