--- Sumana Ratnayaka <sumanar@...> skrev:

> Dear Gunnar,
>
> Thanks a lot for forwarding Bhante Nyanatusita's
> letter to me.
>
> It is a misunderstanding of some Sri Lankan speakers
> on the presentation day
> of the tipitaka from Thai Dhamma Society that the
> venerable Nyanatusita
> guessed that the set of tipitaka was given to a
> temple in Colombo. In fact
> it was only given to Sri Lanka. Representing Sri
> Lankan Community the
> President accepted the set of the tipitaka and it is
> well kept in the
> President's house. We know that it is there for
> sure.
>
> Of course Peradeniya University will get a set
> eventually from the Dhamma
> Society. We have already aggreed with the Dhamma
> Society to organize a
> Tipitaka conference at the aniversary of the
> innaugeral presentation of the
> Tipitaka, ie. 6th of March. Then we will hopefully
> get a set for the
> university.
>
> Actually the devotees' involvement with getting all
> these books of Dhamma
> published in a way that it will last long needs some
> respect and devotion
> without which those who are involved in different
> projects in ordinary
> society will not be encouraged. Essence of a tree
> will not last without its
> barks. Similarly celebrations, processions etc with
> traditional customs
> function somewhat like the barks that protect the
> essence. Definitely the
> scholars play roles here now as well as in the
> future.
>
> The Dhamma Society has good reasons to travel to
> countries with the
> presentaions of the tipitaka following the footsteps
> of King Chulalongkorn
> who gave the sets of tipitaka to 260 institutes
> world over when the
> countries in the East except Thailand were under
> colonization.

Sorry to have to correct you: there was no Thailand at
the time; that ethnically discriminating name was
introduced only in the 1930:s. There was only a Siam,
and it was the only country in the region *not* under
colonization. Chulalongkorn's contacts with
Scandinavia were made in order to conserve that
situation. (Our contries were strong enough to support
Siam, but not strong enough to conquer it. And it's
rather ironic that Oskar II were so ready to support
the independence of Siam, while sternly opposing that
of Norway - the Norwegians finally threw him out in
1905, and they are just celebrating *that*
anniversary.)

> Their
> travelling to different countries, as I have
> experienced myself has lot to
> do with dhamma studies, sharing the knowledge of the
> scholars and
> practitioners of Dhamma. It is great that the
> participants in these tours
> are financially capable persons and that they
> observe the five presepts and
> practise the Dhamma making impacts on even others
> who may or may not stay in
> hotels.

Good and well; but you still haven't told why this
edition is not made available to Pali scholarship by
being put on line. Such a step is in no way impossible
to combine with the ceremonies you are mentioning, and
it doesn't have to wait until the ceremonies are
completed.

In the meantime we have to live with the fact that you
care for the bark of the tree, while we have to turn
to VRI to get at its essence. If your edition is so
much better than VRI's as you claim, this is very
regrettable.

Gunnar




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