I agree that 'right' is not the best translation for 'samma'. It's rather stuck though. :-)

For 'samma', I prefer perfect, complete, full, etc.
just as in sammaasambuddha: perfectly, completely, or fully self-enlightened one.

kb

mahasangha2000 wrote thus at 02:58 PM 28-08-07:

>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