Dear Charles,

Welcome to our website!

I too was with Maha Chula for a couple of years (as a monk), and finished
all 3 levels of Nak Tham in Thai, before going back for missionary in
Malaysia). This was in the 1970s.

In the early 1990s I was visiting scholar at Berkeley on the invitation of
Prof. Lewis Lancaster. Those were exciting years learning more academic
discipline which is helping me with my current translation of Pali Nikayas
into English. It's great to know that a lot of people are translating suttas
for themselves too. This is a very good living aspect of Buddhism as a world
religion.

I'm more of a Sutta person, though not exactly Sautrantika. The Commentaries
have their place, but secondary to the Pali (meaning texts).

Sukhi.

Piya

----- Original Message -----
From: "Pyle Charles R" <Charles_R_Pyle@...>
To: <Pali@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 27, 2003 10:53 PM
Subject: [Pali] New Member Introduction


> I just joined the Pali Discussion Group, so allow me to introduce myself.
>
> My name is Charles Pyle. I have Ph. D. in linguistics and was professor of
linguistics at U of Michigan. I also studied and taught at varous
universities in other countries, of notable releveance for this group, in
Thailand. Now I am Database and Internet Systems Coordinator at Jackson
Community College.
>
> I have been studying and practicing Buddhism for many years. I first came
to Buddhism through the influence of Chogyam Trungpa, whose insights into
language deeply impresssed me. He was a Tantric Buddhist, but he always
emphasized the importance of the Tipitaka texts, and Samatha and Vipassana
meditation. Over the past ten years or so I spent a lot of time in Thailand
working, studying, and teaching. I was profoundly influenced by my
experience teaching at Mahachula Buddhist University in Bangkok, and also
came to appreciate the teachings of Buddhadasa there.
>
> I only know a little Sanskrit, and a little Pali. Many questions about
Pali texts have arisen in my mind over the years. My purpose for joining
this group is that I hope to harvest insights into the Buddha's teaching
here in spite of my meager knowledge of Pali.
>
> Given my background, it will not come as a surprise that I have a special
interest in the Buddhist theory of language, the theory that is implicit in
the Buddha's teachings, with special focus on the function of language in
captivating and enslaving human beings in the realm of ignorance, and the
corresponding implications for the ways of liberation.
>
>
>
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