Re: sutta 7: the vaggas

Dear Robert,

> The corresponding Skt. is varga (root v.rj). In some
>> ways, Pali is a
>> harder language to learn than Sanskrit on account of the
>> abundance of
>> confusing Pali homonyms which is not so in Sanskrit eg. Pali:
>> vagga & vagga,
>> citta & citta; Sanskrit: valga & varga, citta & citra.

>Dear Jim,
>please don't respond to this unless you feel it is essential. I
>was just curious about citta &citta. Are there two different
>words here? (only reply if it is easy and not time consuming.

This is just the kind of question that gets top priority as I have been
studying the etymology of citta ever since Amara posted her translation of
the Atthaasalini passage on the masterpiece for me to check with the Pali
original. I'm still studying 'citta' and there is still a long way to go and
I know I won't be able to solve all the mysteries for a very long time. What
I know so far is that there are not just two cittas to distinguish but
three. Here are the three that derive from 3 different roots:

1. from the root 'cint' -- with citta in the meaning of 'it knows
distinctively' (vijaanaati). The prefix 'vi' has several meanings and I
notice that in the Expositor it is translated as 'variously' (vividha) which
I question as I have not found any explanation so far that states that this
is the associated meaning. However, I did find a 'visi.t.tha' in the SN com
which seems to support the interpretation of citta knowing the object
distinctively which suggests a further notion of citta distinguishing
different objects. So here I raise the red (danger) flag for 'is aware
variously'.

2. from the root 'ci' + affix 'tta' (= Skt. ci+tra > citra). ci means to
collect, gather, accumulate. I don't see anything in the dictionaries
showing citta/citra in this sense. The As uses abhidhamma language to
explain it so somewhat being uncertain I think the meaning is: it
accumulates/gathers a series (santaana) by way of the javana-process(es).

3. from the root 'citt' (Skt. citr) -- (a) to create a picture (b) ?show a
wonder/miracle. It is this citta/citra that pertains to the passage about
painting in the As.

All three roots are documented in the Saddaniti as well as in Panini's
Dhatupatha which could go back as far as the 4th cent. BCE with perhaps
even earlier versions (no longer extant) coming before the Buddha.
Jonothan posted a passage from B. Bodhi's new translation of SN (22.100)
and I was shocked by his 'Faring on' for cara.na which strikes me as a
painting's title (like in an art gallery or book of famous paintings). Last
night I studied the sutta's SN com. and tika after which it seems clear
that this a class name for a type of painting. Cara.na = wandering,
travelling relates to a travelling art show. If I have interpreted Bodhi's
translation the way he intended it then it seems to me that we're witnessing
the disappearance of the saasana right before our very eyes!

Best wishes,
Jim