regarding the Nyaasa etext and its .tiikaa

Dear members,

I received a response from Ven. U Nandisena regarding the use of the Nyaasa
etext and his Kaccaayana translation within our group. I'm allowed to share
these materials with the group but members who make use of them should know
that they are not finished works and in need of revision and correction. I
have started working with the Nyaasa etext and I've been encountering the
occasional typo and even missing words. A velthuis version of Ven.
Nandisena's translation of the Naamakappa (Kacc 51-270) with notes can be
downloaded from the Files section of the group's home page. Please contact
me for a copy of the Nyaasa etext.

I have started to prepare a version of the Nyaasa to match the 1929 edition
I already have in my possession. The Nyaasa etext I received will save a lot
of typing (about 475 pages) and provide a different version with which to
compare and check my work for errors. The version I am preparing will match
the 1929 edition quite closely, line by line, page by page. I will also
continue to transcribe the Thanbyin.tiikaa. I think all this work will take
a couple of years to complete.

The .tiika comments on the two introductory verses in the Nyaasa. Back in
late August, 2004, I submitted a translation of these verses (see message
no. 875) and received some help from Lance and Rett with some of the
difficulties I encountered in translating. It'll be interesting to see how
the .tiikaa interprets the verses and how much it differs from what I
thought the verses meant.

Here's a quote from Ven. U Nandisena's message that you might find
interesting:

<< The late Ven. U Silananda used to tell me that nowadays very few people
study Nyaasa; that it was a difficult book he had studied when he was young
in Sagaing with his teacher, but that it was important because it shows the
mechanics of Kaccaayana. >>

Best wishes,
Jim