Dear Jim;

> > Very interested in looking at these grammars and your
> > usage of chronicles to get a handle on grammatical interpretation

Whoops. I meant "commentaries" not "chronicles." Sorry.

I was reading Mrs. Rhys Davids translation of the Sa.myutta Nikaaya
yesterday (Kindred Sayings vol 1, 1917) and noticed amplification of
almost every passage in the footnotes by the commentary. I guess there
is only one standard commentary for each part of the Tipitaka since
only one identifier "Comy" is used in the footnotes. Some of the
Commentaries are narrative stories and some are not, it seems.

Jim or Mahinda,

1. Do most commentaries remain untranslated into English?
2. Are there many commentaries (atha-katha) and sub-commentaries
(tika?) that use stories like the Dhammapada Commentary?
3. Do you know a good description and explanation of Athakathas and
Tikas? This seems to be a huge domain of Pali literature, that I saw
figures importantly in monastic examinations, Bhikkhu Bodhi certainly
stimulated my interest in an interview that I read:

"I would say there are two extreme attitudes one could take to the
commentaries. One, often adopted by orthodox Theravadins, is to regard
them as being absolutely authoritative almost on a par with the
suttas. The other is to disregard them completely and claim they
represent "a different take on the Dhamma.' I find that a prudent
middle ground is to consult the commentaries and use them, but without
clinging to them."
http://www.inquiringmind.com/Articles/Translator.html

They seem to maybe play a linguistic role too by clearing up any
ambiguity in the meaning of the text. Thanks again for your answers
and comments.

With metta, Jon