Dear Ven. Dhammanando, Piya and friends,

Piya wrote 'Actually I think disenchantment sounds good here. One
could of course use the amplification method with [square method] and
add [revulsion] after "disenchantment" thoughsome might find this
lacks aesthetics.'

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, when it comes to
translation, clarity and accuracy is beauty.

When I look up the word 'displacency', I see three definitions:

1. Want of complacency or gratification;
2. envious displeasure;
3. dislike.

The only meaning close to nibbidaa is the last one -- dislike.

Using a word such as 'displacency' pose great problems.

1. People like myself have to look up the meaning of the word in a
dictionary (or dictionaries).

2. For beginners and non-Buddhists, they would likely assume the
first definition, thereby resulting in inaccurate understanding.

3. Those who teach Pali and sutta classes may face unnecessary
problems explaining the word to their students.

4. The problem may replicate itself and proliferate in an undesirable
manner, and lead to unexpected problems.

I have the same comments for "disrelish".


metta,
Yong Peng.

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, dhammanando_bhikkhu wrote:

To convey the twin notions of nibbidaa being a state of wisdom-
produced revulsion and yet not a hate-rooted affection, I know of no
better word than "displacency". Unfortunately, by the 19th century
the meaning of this word had changed to "incivility", and in the
present degenerate age it has become entirely obsolete.

Another possibility is "disrelish". This has an advantage over
displacency, in that it can also be used as a verb
(with "displacency" it's hard to know what to use for nibbindati).