I would like to say a word of thanks to John, who was so kind to give
me a call in Brisbane this morning. Thank you, John. After the talk,
you may have realised that I am very much an amateur, or rather a
beginning amateur in Pali. :-)
Our conversion covers mainly two points, on Pali and practice. My
first encounter with Buddhism was the Pure Land/Chan (chinese
predecessor of Zen) stream at a very young age. My actual interest in
Buddhism actually started when I got interested in religion in
general as a social phenomenon. That was at the age of 15/16, I was
in an Anglican secondary school (public but yet run under the
Singapore Anglican Church, the education system in Singapore is
unique), and took Confucius Ethics as an 'O' Level's subject
(Cambridge system, UK). So, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism come
together, and that made me started to look into the spiritual aspects
of life. I started reading books on religion, but for Buddhism it was
still Mahayana teachings.
I was introduced to the world of Buddhism when I joined the Buddhist
Society in Singapore Polytechnic. I was a student member from 1991 to
1995. It was there that I came to know of the different Buddhist
schools, Theravada, Mahayana and Tibetan, and the different Buddhist
cultures, Japanese, Korean, Burmese, Thai, etc. It was also at SPBS
(Singapore Polytechnic Buddhist Society) where I first done Pali
chanting and Samatha meditation.
Although there were lots of short courses and talks organised by
SPBS, my private study on Buddhism did not stop at just what SPBS
offered. I read mainly in Chinese then, the books were mainly written
or translated (from Japanese) by Taiwanese sangha and academia. I
like history best out of the many arts (humanity) subjects. So, I
mainly read on Buddhist historical developments. Again, the focus is
mainly on Chinese Buddhism as it is more popular among Taiwanese (as
well as Japanese) writers. Later, I started to read on Indian,
Tibetan, Japanese and South East Asian Buddhism.
In about 1994/5, the term 'Original Buddhism' caught my attention.
This is not new to the academic community, who has classified Indian
Buddhist development in phases for years. 'Original Buddhism' refers
to just the 45 years of ministry under Buddha up to his Maha-
Parinibbana. The most direct way to study this earliest phase is
through Buddhist texts, and according to the scholars, the earliest
Buddhist texts are written in Pali!
My first personal attempt with Pali started in 1998/9 with Warder's
Introduction to Pali. It wasn't a good start. (It was also in 1999
when I started Tipitaka Network.) And due to work and part-time
studies, I put Pali off until 2001, when the idea of starting a
mailing list striked me. Before I started this group, there were
already two other groups (which I was a member but are now gone).
But, the activities in those groups do not really cater to a complete
beginner like myself.
I learnt about Pali Primer here, got a copy of it, and started to
work through it. So, that was how it got started until now.
I think that's quite enough. Last but not least, I wish everyone
success on the Bodhi path. And, to John, thanks again, all the best
in your studies and happy vacations too.