> > George D Bell wrote: "I remain skeptical that Pali
> > is any different
> > from Latin, Sanskrit or Classical Chinese in matters
> > of (language)
> > life or death."
>
> One difference, perhaps not a matter of life or death,
> is the fact that Pali literature is much more
> specialized, so much that I am not quite sure if Pali
> can really be regarded as a complete language. I think
> it is difficult to find a Pali text not connected in
> one way or another to Theravada Buddhism (even if
> only, as in the case of the Pali Bible, to convert
> Theravadins to another doctrine).
>
> Latin has been used for all themes imaginable,
> religious and secular alike; and I think it is the
> same with Sanskrit and Classical Chinese. I think all
> three, plus Classical Greek, have been used for
> theatre (which Theravada Bhikkhus are not supposed to
> deal with); I have never heard about a Pali
> playwright.

That's a good point, but I think you have to take Pali and Sanskrit
together as the classical languages of Buddhist courts which borrowed
from various Indian applied sciences (shastras). The Sanskrit shows up
in all forms, even translated into Pali. This paper is a fascinating
analysis:

Indian Wisdom and Its Spread beyond India, Ludwik Sternbach, Journal
of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 101, No. 1, Oriental Wisdom.
(Jan. - Mar., 1981), pp. 97-131.

Medieval Latin wasn't used for drama either, I would guess, since
drama would be classed as entertainment, and monks who don't usually
engage in entertainment were the ones who understood the language.
Were there works of drama at the time of the Buddha?

Virtually every Burmese dramatical work (zat) is based on a Jataka,
Vessantara and the last ten being common choices. Stewart's Burmese
dictionary has a good list of published editions of these dramas which
are in verse mostly.

Pali was used for secular purposes such as historical chronicles and
poetry in Sri Lanka and Chiang Mai, and aphoristic works on political
science such as the Kamandaki Niti-kyan which spread everywhere (see
above paper), which is best described as a summary of Kautilya's
Arthasastra, also now available for free online:
http://www.archive.org/details/kamandakiyanitis00kamauoft

The online translation of a late 19th century Burmese political
treatise actually includes the Pali verses from one translation of
theis work which was translated into many languages:
http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/THE_RAJADHAMMASANGAHA.pdf
http://www.burmalibrary.org/show.php?cat=964

Sincerely,
Jon Fernquest

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Gunnar Gällmo <gunnargallmo@...> wrote:
>
> --- Jon Fernquest <bayinnaung@...> skrev:
>
> > George D Bell wrote: "I remain skeptical that Pali
> > is any different
> > from Latin, Sanskrit or Classical Chinese in matters
> > of (language)
> > life or death."
>
> One difference, perhaps not a matter of life or death,
> is the fact that Pali literature is much more
> specialized, so much that I am not quite sure if Pali
> can really be regarded as a complete language. I think
> it is difficult to find a Pali text not connected in
> one way or another to Theravada Buddhism (even if
> only, as in the case of the Pali Bible, to convert
> Theravadins to another doctrine).
>
> Latin has been used for all themes imaginable,
> religious and secular alike; and I think it is the
> same with Sanskrit and Classical Chinese. I think all
> three, plus Classical Greek, have been used for
> theatre (which Theravada Bhikkhus are not supposed to
> deal with); I have never heard about a Pali
> playwright.
>
> Gunnar
>
> http://metrobloggen.se/esperanto
>
>
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