Dear Dmytro,

I fail to see how ekaayana could mean anything but "passable by one person
only," i.e., "narrow," and thus difficult to pass. The four satipat,t,haanas
constitute a narrow path, which when passed properly might lead to nibbaana.
The commentators give alternative explanations of the term, one of which is
identical with the above. The English translation of the Majjhima passage
below is somewhat tendentious: the narrow path merely goes in the direction
of the charcoal pit, not into it (sic). The man falls into it because he is
exhausted and therefore careless.

Best,

Ole Pind

-----Oprindelig meddelelse-----
Fra: Pali@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Pali@yahoogroups.com] På vegne af "Dmytro
O. Ivakhnenko (?????? ??????????? ?????????)"
Sendt: 24. august 2005 15:23
Til: Pali@yahoogroups.com
Emne: Re: [Pali] translation problem

Hi June,

> Ekaayano aya"m bhikkhave maggo.
>
> Does "ekaayano" mean "one" or does it mean "only"?

"One" is "eka" in Pali.
"Only" is (adv.) kevala"m; eva. (adj.) kevala; ekaakii; adutiya.

"Ayana" in Pali means "going"; hence "ekaayana" - "going to one
(destination)", "one-destinated".

Compare with "ekagga", "ekaasana", "ekavatthuka", etc.

I'll reiterate from
http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/index.php?showtopic=17914 :

"Ekaayana" means "leading to only one place", i.e. Nibbana. For another
context see Mahasihanada sutta (MN I 74):

37. (1) "By encompassing mind with mind I understand a certain person
thus: 'This person so behaves, so conducts himself, has taken such a
path that on the dissolution of the body, after death, he will reappear
in a state of deprivation, in an unhappy destination, in perdition, in
hell.' And then later on, with the divine eye, which is purified and
surpasses the human, I see that on the dissolution of the body, after
death, he has reappeared in a state of deprivation, in an unhappy
destination, in perdition, in hell, and is experiencing extremely
painful, racking, piercing feelings. Suppose there were a charcoal pit
deeper than a man's height full of glowing coals without flame or smoke;
and then a man scorched and exhausted by hot weather, weary, parched and
thirsty, came by a path going in one way only and directed to that same
charcoal pit. Then a man with good sight on seeing him would say: 'This
person so behaves, so conducts himself, has taken such a path, that he
will come to this same charcoal pit'; and then later on he sees that he
has fallen into that charcoal pit and is experiencing extremely painful,
racking, piercing feelings. So too, by encompassing mind with mind...
piercing feelings.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/majjhima/mn012.html

For a comprehensive analysis of this word please see the excellent book
"The Buddhist Path to Awakening" by the current President of Pali Text
Society Rupert Gethin, pp. 59-66.

Regards,
Dmytro



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