Here are some tips:

1. Samma ditthi is the entry to the path (Fourth Noble Truth)

2. A complete description is given in MN 9. It is a good starting point.

3. It is right view or opinion in English.

4. The word di.t.thi in Pali has to do with actual seeing (or at least the experience of seeing.

5. Thus there are two levels of seeing-mundane and supr-mundane (for example, dibba-cakkhu)

6. A correct understanding of this term will require a deep understanding Dhamma as give in the Pali Nikayas.

7. If you read MN 9 you will appreciate the complexity of this concept.

8. There is a good translation by Bhikkhu Bodhi-I think at Access-to-Insight.

9. It may be a good idea to read the above for a start.

With mettaa

D. G. D. C. Wijeratna



----- Original Message ----
From: mahasangha2000 <mahasangha@...>
To: Pali@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 12:28:46 PM
Subject: [Pali] sammaditthi

Greetings, I am new to this e-group. I am researching the concept
of "sammaditthi" which I understand often to be translated into "Right
Understanding" or "Right View." From the Buddha's teachings, Right
View is often associated with the Four Noble Truths. I do not know
Pali, and am not an etymologist or linguist. But since Pali is no
longer a living language, I am assuming that the English meanings that
we put onto Pali terms might have an accuracy that can be quite fluid.
Is anyone expert enough to have comments on the range and breadth of
possible meanings that "sammaditthi" might connote. For example, the
translation of "samma" into "right" feels like a dualistic term that
connotes good/evil, right/wrong, etc. that feels more like a Judeo-
Christian interpretation� a modern mapping onto an ancient word; is
this an appropriate interpretation? The translation of "ditthi"
into "understanding" or "view" seems to indicate a meaning of a
cognitive or intellectual knowledge�I am wondering if the Pali is
indicating this, or does it mean an experiential knowledge that is
beyond verbal concepts? Or does the Pali term indicate something else?

Many thanks for any info that is available.
Larry






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