Hello Jayarava,

Many thanks for your response.

I generally agree with your rendering, except for the word "confesses". My reasons are as follows:

(1) OED also gives "...a formal admission of one's sins with repentance and desire of absolution, especially privately to a priest as a religious duty: " as one of the meanings of confession. So in an English-speakers mind confession would be associated with concepts such as repentance, absolution, religious duty. All these concepts are foreign to Dhamma. In a piece of communication--written or oral--the writer/speaker may have one particular meaning in mind. But he has no control over the meaning once it leaves the writer/speaker. So the reader/listner will understand the meaning of a word on the basis of his context.

(2) In the proposed translation, the King's statement to the Buddha has two verbs: 'confesses' and 'adds'. Now 'adds', I presume, would be and addition to the confession. The words that follow 'adds' does not appear to me in the nature of a confession.

(3) Actually, what the King told the Buddha starts from "Abhikkanta.m..." and ends at "sa.mvaraayaa'ti." Taking out part of this statement and calling a particular part a confession would give undue emphasis to that part as a confession.

(4) It appears to me that if we translate the passage as given the Pali text "eva.m vutte...etadvoca," [this was said] there would have never been any need for a word like 'confession'. This introduction of a word which did not appear in the early text, I think is not warranted. It is a manifestation of bias.

Now, I think I have said all that I have to say with regard to this subject. So many thanks for a stimulating discussion. If you have any similar issues, I certainly would be happy to give my 'two cents worth'.

D. G. D. C. Wijeratna





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