Dear DC,
Op 24-jan-2010, om 11:29 heeft DC Wijeratna het volgende geschreven:

> Dhamma is not to be understood with the techniques of comparative
> philology or linguistics.
>
> What was first, paali or 'grammar'?
> The intended meaning of a word is context-dependent.

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N: Interesting that you say this, because just this morning I have
been thinking of language and context. When we just analyse words
into particles, it seems that language is something not alive. A word
has different meanings in different contexts. And also, the way we
translate depends on how we see the practice.
I do not know much of your background, are you living in Sri Lanka? I
visited twice many years ago, with Acharn Sujin and I have a weak
spot for this country. I was so impressed by the Pali knowledge of
many people there. And there is such a tradition of the Abhidhamma,
with the late Ven. Nyanaponika, and the Buddhist Publication Society
in Kandy.

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Nina.



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