> -----Original Message-----
> From: rett [mailto:rett@...]
> Sent: Thursday, 22 January, 2004 7:20 PM
> To: Pali@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [Pali] Buddhaghosa

Hi Rett and all

I agree with what you say Rett, but think that they are both extremes
:-} and the middle way of the Buddha would integrate the two.

I agree that we should try to use scienctific study of language and
texts [make a thorough investigation] to see what the Buddha meant by
what is recorded that he said so that we can develop Right View and
practice Dhamma in accordance with Dhamma. I think the study method he
seems to have given is in fact such a scientific method of study of the
texts and to trance semantic shift and change is such a scienctific
study of language.

I have suggested in my book that sati has changed in meaning from:

Memory -> memory and awareness -> awareness [called mindfulness], texts
still can be found with the old meaning, but the living tradition would
only seem to use the new one.

Aligned with this was the change in the meaning of jhaana from:

Awareness -> awarenss and trance -> trance, the qualities of the
aruupa-jhaana would seem to have been transferred to the ruupa-jhaana
such that the latter are not seen as relevant to everyday life

This all would seem to explain why the Buddha spoke so much about jhaana
[especially the first four ruupa-jhaana, defined as Right Concentration
in the traditional Noble Eightfold Path] and so little about sati, where
it is the opposite in the living tradition.

> >I think when people do not immediately understand a Co phrase, they
> >may think that the Co is wrong, but why is the fault with the Co?
>
> Perhaps it's important for us to always try to be aware of the
> reading strategies we are using at a given time. Two (of many
> possible ones) are practice-oriented reading and language-oriented
> reading. I think you post is a very good and useful explanation of
> practice-oriented reading, where the goal is to support and develop
> mindfulness and insight training through the canon and commentaries.
> To a certain degree then, the canon is interpreted through the lense
> of a scholastically-developed system (theravaada orthodoxy).
> Peculiarities in the canon tend to be evened out in favor of
> doctrinal regularity.
>
> Language-oriented reading treats Pali as a middle indic language
> which can be approached through many avenues, including the
> commentaries, but also through comparison with other middle indic
> languages and through other research tools. The goal is to understand
> what texts meant to the people that originally spoke and heard them.
> Sometimes this research discovers that later commentators have a
> wrong understanding of a word or sentence. The commentator's
> udnerstanding might be fine for orthodox practice, but it's probably
> not linguistically what was originally meant. Similarly scientists
> can claim that dinasours lived millions of years ago, though they may
> face opposition from people who believe the Bible's account that the
> world is only 5000 years old.
>
> I don't think these two methods of study and practice need to oppose
> each other. But if a statement coming from one of these approaches is
> interpreted as though it were coming from the other, it will sound
> wrong. Practice-oriented statements, interpreted as though they were
> scholarly, will seem uncritical and dogmatically rigid.
> Language-oriented statements interpreted as though they were
> practice-oriented will seem prideful, overly critical and faithless.
> But if we are clear about the sort of statements we are making, and
> read each other in that light, then I don't believe there need be any
> conflict between the two.
>
> best regards,
>
> /Rett

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