Dear Dhivan and Tharpachozang,
Op 8 mrt 2014, om 12:54 heeft Dhivan Thomas Jones het volgende geschreven:
Neither the Mahāniddesa nor the Cūlaniddesa have, to my knowledge, been translated into English. The reason is probably two-fold. First, much of the Niddesa consists of glossaries, lists of alternative Pali words. It is not easy to know how to translate such glossaries into another language. Second, the structure of the Niddesa is unattractive. It is not really a commentary, but more of a mechanical glossary on every word, but rarely with any illumination of the meaning of the word in its narrative context.
As an experiment, I recently started a translation of the Cūlaniddesa on the Khaggavisāṇasutta.
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N: As I said, I have the Mahaaniddesa in Thai, but not the Cuulaniddesa. Did you read the A.t.tada.ndasutta? Excellent passages on conceit, maana. Because of gain but also becaus of lack of gain. And so on by the other loka dhammas: honour and dishonour, praise and blame, wellbeing and misery. They change so inexpectedly, and then one thinks: why me? Conceit already. And then it is explained as object of insight knowledge.
It is meant for daily life, considering maana arising at this moment. Where do we find a teacher teaching this? Only the Buddha.
We may be slighted or insulted by someone. For example when reading an unwelcome post. But we better investigate our own citta: we cling to our important personality, maana again. The problem is not the other person, it is our maana and dosa that is the problem. Even when feeling a little uneasy there is akusala citta with dosa. Maana conditions dosa. I read in the same sutta: The wise are not angry.
Whatever I read it is to be applied at this very moment.
Take the sutta that was translated and I use the quote by the Visuddhimagga:
quoted by the Visuddhimagga (VII, 39):
“Life, person, pleasure, pain- just these alone
Join in one conscious moment that flicks by.
Ceased aggregates of those dead or alive
Are all alike, gone never to return
No [world is] born if [consciouness is] not
Produced; when that is present, then it lives;
When consciousness dissolves, the world is dead:
The highest sense this concept will allow.
It is worth considering. What is the world? Only one moment of citta experiencing an object. We can consider khanika marana, momentary death. At each moment citta is born and dies.
Take the Kaamasutta and the Jarasutta, many precious reminders.
As to the Khaggavisāṇasutta Rhinoceros horn, you find this also in the sutta Nipata, Uragavagga, as you probably know. The disadvantages of all kinds of clinging. Looking forward to your translation. Will you post it here?
Nina.