Actually there is nothing demeaning in the word hinayana which means "small
vehicle" (like a motorbike) considering it stresses achieving nibbana
through one's own efforts as a opposed to mahayana (big vehicle) which has
bodhisattvas to count on for liberation.
R.O.Jadhao
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sukhdev Singh" <sukh2val@...>
To: <Pali@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2005 9:46 PM
Subject: [Pali] Re: digital version of the tipitaka (hinayana)
Hi Kare A. Lie and all,
Firstly, a belated Happy New Year to all.
Secondly, a little bit about myself on account of my being one of the "more
passive" members of this forum. For the benfit of the "non-
Malaysian" international members, and I guess, especially for you, Kare, I
would would like to inform you that the national language of my country of
residence (as well as citizebship) is know as "Bahasa Melayu", or just
"Malay". "Bahasa" means "Language". It is a language which I know and
speak fairly well.
When I first started reading Buddhist literature I was quite surprised at
the number of "Malay sounding words" I came across in Pali. (Just a little
reminder, ethnically, I am a Punjabi [a type of north Indian], and I have
also found many Punjabi sounding words in Pali).
However, the Malay sounding word that really gave me a terrible jolt was the
word "Hinayana", and especially so, when it was brought together with the
word "Mahayana".
In the Malay language, the commonly used word "hina" simply means
"disrespect" or "to look down upon" and so many words that you have
described in your webpage http://www.lienet.no/hinayan1.htm .
Some excerpts:
<<<They called their opponents Hinayana, and this word worked excellently as
an insult - with a simplicity and a parallellity to Mahayana that any fool
could grasp. Hinayana, or, more correctly, hiinayaana, is a highly
derogatory term. It does not simply mean "Lesser vehicle" as one often can
see stated.>>>
<<<Every Buddhist knows the first recorded sermon of the Buddha, the
Dhammacakkappavattanasutta spoken to the five ascets who became the first
five bhikkhus. There the Buddha says: "These two extremes, monks, are not to
be practised by one who has gone forth from the world. What are the two?
That conjoined with the passions and luxury, low (hiina), coarse, vulgar,
ignoble and harmful ..." >>>
<<<Knowing that the sutta style often use strings of synonyms this way, so
that they strengthen and define each other, one can regard "coarse, vulgar,
ignoble and harmful" as auxiliary definitions of "hiina" in this case.>>>
<<<Here the Buddha clearly denotes tIn Mahayanasutralankara by Asanga, which
is a very representativ Mahayana text, we find something of interest for our
quest. Asanga says: "There are three groups of people:
hiina-madhyama-vishishta ...(bad - medium - excellent)." This expression is
parallell to the Pali: hiina-majjhima-
pa.niita, and goes to show that the Mahayanists who coined the therm
"hiinayaana", regarded "hiina" as a derogatory term, with the same meaning
as in the Pali texts the path not to be practised, as hiina.>>>
So I just want to thank you for that article you have posted on your
website. I found it quite informative, indeed.
regards
Sukhdev Singh
--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, "Kåre A. Lie" <alberlie@...> wrote:
> At 06:32 16.01.2005 +0000, you wrote:
> > > >Hi!
> >
> >Happy new year 2005!! Wishing you the best of everything this new year
> >and always! May all your dreams come true!!!
> >
> >Which is your favorite digital version of the Tipitaka (both online and
not
> >online)?
> >
> >Thanks!
> >June
> > My favorite version is the Chattha Sangayana CD from the Vipassana
Research > Institute. I have copied the entire CD onto my harddisk, and find
it very > useful.
> > Yours,
> > Kåre A. Lie
> http://www.lienet.no/
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