Re: Saddatthabhedacintaadiipanii, verse 1

Dear Jim & members,

> I'm still unfamiliar with all the ways in which 'api' or
> 'pi' can be used. It is really a difficult word for me and
> to complicate matters further are its combinations with
> other particles. I see that the usages of 'api' is divided
> into seven: sambhaavana, garahaa, apekkhaa, samuccaya,
> pa~nha, sa.mvara.na, and aasiisaa according to Abh 1183 and
> 'even though' seems to belong to 'sambhaavana' (supposition,
> possibility) and according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary,
> the 2nd meaning of 'though' is given as: (even) on the
> supposition that...

Sambhaavane in the Abh. passage is from sambhaavanaa rather
than sambhaavana. The meaning then is praising or
honouring, rather than supposition. The Padaruupasiddhi
gives the example "api dibbesu kaamesu" in the passage, "api
dibbesu kaamesu, merumpi vinivijjhitvaa gaccheyya." The
Abh.tiikaa gives the same words in verse 187 of the
Dhammapada:

api dibbesu kaamesu, rati.m so naadhigacchati,
ta.nhakkhayarato hoti, sammaasambuddhasaavako

"Even in heavenly sensual pleasures he [the pa.n.dita]
obtains no delight.
The disciple of the Sammaasambuddha delights in the
destruction of craving."

But this is not entirely clear to me. Where exactly did the
grammarians perceive the praise that api is meant to convey?
Are dibbaa kaamaa being praised (i.e. for their superiority
to maanusaa kaamaa)? Or is api merely highlighting dibbaa
kaamaa as a means of praising the pa.n.dita who is
indifferent to them? Obviously the latter is the point of
the line as a whole, but I am curious about the function of
api in particular.

Best wishes,

Dhammanando