Dear Nina and Mahinda,

Mahinda, thanks for confirming my doubts.

Nina, I will first be continuing with the rest of the sutta. Upon completion, I will then have a look at other passages in AN. I do not want to sidetrack too much now, since Mahinda has already provided the details. I believe it is still useful if we can identify and bookmark relevant passages in the AN, as part of this exercise. And, that may just be sufficient for now.

I like to add that this example tells us that we should not take any English translation and attempt to rationalise it with the Pali. The process should always start with a good mastery of Pali, and a good knowledge of at least the basic tenets of the Buddha's teachings. From time to time, I am glad to have received support and assistance from members in solving these difficult words together. Thank you.

metta,
Yong Peng.

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Mahinda Palihawadana wrote:

You are right in having doubts about the translation of 'pa.tipanna' as 'proficient'. Derived from the root pad- with the prefix pa.ti- it should mean 'stepped on to' or "entered upon". So the meaning here should be "he is on the way to the pacification of sensualities .. etc."

See PTS Dict. under 'pa.tipajjati', the verb whose PP is 'pa.tipanna'.


> I felt similarly strange about PTS's use of 'proficient', I quote: "He is proficient in his revulsion, his dispassion for, the ending of sensuality."