Dear Ven. Kumara and Nina,

thanks for your inputs.

Nina, thanks for looking up the commentary and provide the English translation. I agree to have ka.nhaa as dark, and sukka as bright for the three suttas we are currently working on.

Bhante, for ahirika and anottappa, I had in Cariyasutta translated them as,

hirika - sense of shame
ottappa - remorse for wrong-doing

Maybe Nina and other members like to comment on this too. I have got this understanding from a Chinese term which I believe is related to both words (simplified Chinese: 惭愧).

see: http://baike.baidu.com/view/817590.html

metta,
Yong Peng.

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Nina van Gorkom wrote:

What about it if we translate ka.nhaa literally as dark? Then it is in contrast to sukka in the next sutta I would translate as bright. The Co says that the citta accompanied by akusala cetasikas, such as shamelessness and recklessness is not luminous, pabhassara, whereas the citta that is accompanied by kusala cetasikas is luminous, pabhassara. Each akusala citta is accompanied by ahirika and anottappa. These do not see the danger of akusala and its consequences. Each kusala citta is accompanied by hiri and ottappa.

> "Dveme, bhikkhave, dhammaa ka.nhaa.
> these two / monks / things / evil
> "O monks, these two things (are) evil.