Nina van Gorkom wrote thus at 15:05 09/01/2012:

>Venerable Bhikkhu Kumara,
>Op 4-jan-2012, om 10:03 heeft Kumara Bhikkhu het volgende geschreven:
>
>> I'm writing an article on samadhi, proposing some new English
>> translations for some key Pali terms related to samadhi. I wanted
>> to add something that I remember Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi said. It's about
>> his mentor, Ven Nyanaponika advising that in translating the Pali
>> they should go by the views of Theravadin commentaries. I can't
>> find where I've read that now. Anyone has any idea?
>-------
>N: It is a very sound advice, otherwise we get lost in speculations.
>Sometimes the suttas are brief and when reading the ancient
>commentary I find that it clarifies the meaning. And when wondering
>about a term used in the commentary I find that the subcommentary,
>the Tiika, by Dhammapala is very helpful. The Tiika has many
>reminders too about vipassanaa. Just by reading I appreciated the
>commentaries more and more. I find Buddhaghosa's emphasis on
>vipassanaa pa~n~naa and on the cycle, vatta, and freedom from the
>cycle, vivatta, very beneficial.

I forgot that I could ask him directly when I sent this. Anyway he replied:

I don't recall writing anything like that about
Ven. Nyanaponika, and I think it unlikely that
Ven. Nyanaponika would have given such advice.
Perhaps you are thinking of the following, which I
just took off the internet. It refers, however,
not to Ven. Nyanaponika but to my first teacher,
Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya:

For two and a half years (1972-75) I lived
with Ven. Ananda Maitreya at Sri Nandaramaya.
During this happy period I received regular
instruction from him in Pali, Suttanta, and
Abhidhamma, fields in which his erudition was
impeccable.... During this period the
Mahanayaka Thera always reminded me of the
importance of relying on the Theravada
commentarial tradition in order to understand
the Pali Dhamma correctly. He implanted in my
mind a profound respect for the Atthakathas
and Tikas, the Commentaries and
Subcommentaries, an attitude which inspired
and guided my study of the Suttas and the
Abhidhamma. Although I subsequently came to
see the need to distinguish among the various
strata in the evolution of Theravada Buddhist
thought, this early advice from my teacher
helped to steer me away from fruitless
interpretations often rooted in little more
than the pride and cleverness of the
expositor.


Keen followers of Bhikkhu Bodhi�s translation works would notice that he, in his later works, has become clearly willing to deviate from commentarial interpretations. This change includes the choice of words, such as having 'vitakka' and 'vicaara' in the Suttas as 'thought' and 'examination', instead of the commentary-based 'applied thought' and 'sustained thought' (which are more popularly known in the Theravaadin world as 'initial application' and 'sustained application'. These clearly reflects "Visuddhimagga jhaana".) The newer translations restore the meanings of the words as used in the Suttas. This reflects his later view of �the need to distinguish among the various strata in the evolution of Theravada Buddhist thought�.

kb