Whoops. Just noticed that unicode didn't show up,
so I converted it to Velthius using converter:
http://pali.sirimangalo.org/convertpad.htm
[Isn't there an html tag that can be put around a posting to get the
browser to use unicode UTF-8 to display?]
Dave wrote: "I guess I'm wondering how much the Pali language was
influenced by Prince Siddhartha's caste. What would it have looked
like if he had been a Brahmin or a Vaishya?"
I don't know about language per se but the advice given sometimes
seems to be very Kshatriyan. There is the famous passage in the
Mahaparinibbana sutta when the Buddha lays out how a state can survive
in the face of warfare, the Seven Ways to Avoid Decline or Aparihaniya
(see below), and then hints how the parricide Ajaatasattu can defeat
and put an end to the tribal republic of the Vajjians, and then goes
further and applies the same rules of survival to the long term
survival of the Sangha (Steven Collins, 1998, Nirvana and other
Buddhist Felicities, "The Vajjis Exemplary Community," pages 437-448).
Here is the key passage:
ra~n~naa maagadhena ajaatasattunaa vedehiputtena yadida.m yuddhassa,
a~n~natra upalaapanaaya a~n~natra mithubhedaa.
King Ajaatasattu will not be able to conquer the vajjis, at least not
(simply) in warfare without deceit and (fomenting) internal
dissension. [upalaapanaa = deceit]
The whole passage:
eva.m vutte,
At these words,
vassakaaro braahma.no the Brahman Vassakaara
magadhamahaamatto
Chief minister of the Maaghadans
bhagavanta.m etadavoca
spoke to the blessed one
– ‘‘ekamekenapi, bho gotama, aparihaaniyena dhammena samannaagataana.m
vajjiina.m vuddhiyeva paa.tika"nkhaa, no parihaani .
If the Vajjis possess even one of these things, they can be expected
to prosper and not decline
ko pana vaado sattahi aparihaaniyehi dhammehi.
What can we say if they possess all seven?
akara.niiyaava akara.niiyaa ca (syaa. ka.), bho gotama, vajjii
vajjiina.m (ka.)
ra~n~naa maagadhena ajaatasattunaa vedehiputtena yadida.m yuddhassa,
a~n~natra upalaapanaaya a~n~natra mithubhedaa.
King Ajaatasattu will not be able to conquer the vajjis, at least not
(simply) in warfare without deceit and (fomenting) internal
dissension. [upalaapanaa = deceit]
handa ca daani maya.m, bho gotama, gacchaama , bahukiccaa maya.m
bahukara.niiyaa’’ti.
Well, I must be going now, Gotama sir, I have a lot to do.
‘‘yassadaani tva.m, braahma.na, kaala.m
ma~n~nasii’’ti.
(Go and do) whatever you now think appropriate, Brahmin.
atha kho vassakaaro braahma.no magadhamahaamatto bhagavato bhaasita.m
abhinanditvaa anumoditvaa u.t.thaayaasanaa pakkaami.
The Brahmin Vassakaara, Chief Minister of the Maghadans, happily what
the Blessed One had said, got up from his seat and left.
The Seven Ways to Avoid Decline are laid out first:
Mahaparinibbana Sutta
Part One
In Magadha
1. Thus have I heard. Once the Blessed One [1] dwelt at Rajagaha, on
the hill called Vultures' Peak. At that time the king of Magadha,
Ajatasattu, son of the Videhi queen, [2] desired to wage war against
the Vajjis. He spoke in this fashion: "These Vajjis, powerful and
glorious as they are, I shall annihilate them, I shall make them
perish, I shall utterly destroy them."
2. And Ajatasattu, the king of Magadha, addressed his chief minister,
the brahmin Vassakara, saying: "Come, brahmin, go to the Blessed One,
pay homage in my name at his feet, wish him good health, strength,
ease, vigour, and comfort, and speak thus: 'O Lord, Ajatasattu, the
king of Magadha, desires to wage war against the Vajjis. He has spoken
in this fashion: "These Vajjis, powerful and glorious as they are, I
shall annihilate them, I shall make them perish, I shall utterly
destroy them."' And whatever the Blessed One should answer you, keep
it well in mind and inform me; for Tathagatas [3] do not speak falsely."
3. "Very well, sire," said the brahmin Vassakara in assent to
Ajatasattu, king of Magadha. And he ordered a large number of
magnificent carriages to be made ready, mounted one himself, and
accompanied by the rest, drove out to Rajagaha towards Vultures' Peak.
He went by carriage as far as the carriage could go, then dismounting,
he approached the Blessed One on foot. After exchanging courteous
greetings with the Blessed One, together with many pleasant words, he
sat down at one side and addressed the Blessed One thus: "Venerable
Gotama, Ajatasattu, the king of Magadha, pays homage at the feet of
the Venerable Gotama and wishes him good health, strength, ease,
vigour, and comfort. He desires to wage war against the Vajjis, and he
has spoken in this fashion: 'These Vajjis, powerful and glorious as
they are, I shall annihilate them, I shall make them perish, I shall
utterly destroy them.'"
Conditions of a Nation's Welfare
4. At that time the Venerable Ananda [4] was standing behind the
Blessed One, fanning him, and the Blessed One addressed the Venerable
Ananda thus: "What have you heard, Ananda: do the Vajjis have frequent
gatherings, and are their meetings well attended?"
"I have heard, Lord, that this is so."
"So long, Ananda, as this is the case, the growth of the Vajjis is to
be expected, not their decline.
"What have you heard, Ananda: do the Vajjis assemble and disperse
peacefully and attend to their affairs in concord?"
"I have heard, Lord, that they do."
"So long, Ananda, as this is the case, the growth of the Vajjis is to
be expected, not their decline.
"What have you heard, Ananda: do the Vajjis neither enact new decrees
nor abolish existing ones, but proceed in accordance with their
ancient constitutions?"
"I have heard, Lord, that they do."
"So long, Ananda, as this is the case, the growth of the Vajjis is to
be expected, not their decline.
"What have you heard, Ananda: do the Vajjis show respect, honour,
esteem, and veneration towards their elders and think it worthwhile to
listen to them?"
"I have heard, Lord, that they do."
"So long, Ananda, as this is the case, the growth of the Vajjis is to
be expected, not their decline.
"What have you heard, Ananda: do the Vajjis refrain from abducting
women and maidens of good families and from detaining them?"
"I have heard, Lord, that they refrain from doing so."
"So long, Ananda, as this is the case, the growth of the Vajjis is to
be expected, not their decline.
"What have you heard, Ananda: do the Vajjis show respect, honour,
esteem, and veneration towards their shrines, both those within the
city and those outside it, and do not deprive them of the due
offerings as given and made to them formerly?"
"I have heard, Lord, that they do venerate their shrines, and that
they do not deprive them of their offerings."
"So long, Ananda, as this is the case, the growth of the Vajjis is to
be expected, not their decline.
"What have you heard, Ananda: do the Vajjis duly protect and guard the
arahats, so that those who have not come to the realm yet might do so,
and those who have already come might live there in peace?"
"I have heard, Lord, that they do."
"So long, Ananda, as this is the case, the growth of the Vajjis is to
be expected, not their decline."
5. And the Blessed One addressed the brahmin Vassakara in these words:
"Once, brahmin, I dwelt at Vesali, at the Sarandada shrine, and there
it was that I taught the Vajjis these seven conditions leading to (a
nation's) welfare. [5] So long, brahmin, as these endure among the
Vajjis, and the Vajjis are known for it, their growth is to be
expected, not their decline."
Thereupon the brahmin Vassakara spoke thus to the Blessed One: "If the
Vajjis, Venerable Gotama, were endowed with only one or another of
these conditions leading to welfare, their growth would have to be
expected, not their decline. What then of all the seven? No harm,
indeed, can be done to the Vajjis in battle by Magadha's king,
Ajatasattu, except through treachery or discord. Well, then, Venerable
Gotama, we will take our leave, for we have much to perform, much work
to do."
"Do as now seems fit to you, brahmin." And the brahmin Vassakara, the
chief minister of Magadha, approving of the Blessed One's words and
delighted by them, rose from his seat and departed.
http://www.vipassana.com/canon/digha/dn16.php
With Metta,
Jon Fernquest