From: Dc Wijeratna
Message: 4062
Date: 2014-12-04
It is not just better; it is absolutely necessary.
You start an investigation because you cannot answer some question--In other words, you have a problem. In this case the problem started with the meaning of Pali (Pāli). [In my case, the problem started some 15 years ago, when I started to learn Pali]. Obvious thing is to look up the meaning of a word in an English dictionary since our discourse is in English. I use the OD. If a definition given therein is acceptable, then that is the end of the problem. [In this case most people seem to have accepted the OD definition]. If none of the definitions is acceptable then it is a general problem.Then the research begins.
<<An English dictionary gives the meaning(s) in an English context while a
Pali-English dictionary gives the same in a Pali context.>>
I agree, However, I would expand the meaning of the word context.Context must include the cultural context. OD definitions are based on that. That is why they quote example sentences. But what is the context for Pali? Indian, Sri Lankan, Chinese, ,,,
I would use the context as that of Sri Lanka around Buddhaghosa's time; may be after about 1000 years after the Mahaparinibbana. The meaning of a word is specific to the community that uses it, Meanings given by commentators are not necessarily the same as meanings given to the word by Lord Buddha and his immediate disciples.
<<I have a question: where did you see sa + anu as a derivation of sānu? I've
only been able to find san + u in my Pali and Sanskrit texts (Abh-ṭ and
Uṇādikoṣa).>>
I haven't seen it anywhere. I used first principles. I used the context of the Sutta. It deals with the mother's love for her child and child's love for the mother. Now sa is one, he etc. Anu is to follow: They are indeclinables. So both meanings: one who follows or one who is followed are equal. You follow because of love (in this case), But one can follow any other objective, For example, one who follows dhamma. Here the emotion involved be better described as devotion. You can have as many meanings as the context.
The meaning plateau is the Sanskrit meaning. I got it from Sinhala. Saanu is the term for Sinhala in geography. Later I looked up all the meanings in a Sinhala dictionary.
Sukhii hotu ciram jivatu
D.C.
Dear D.C.,
<< There is a very simple principle behind this: Start from the known. Then
research the unknown. This is the principle behind genuine original
scientific research aiming to discover new things. I give below a quote
which has a similar meaning. >>
Isn't becoming better acquainted with what has been said or written about an
obscure term a start with what is thought to be known? (Even if some
statements turn out to be inaccurate or misleading.)
<< “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.”
― Ludwig Wittgenstein
<http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7672.Ludwig_Wittgenstein>, *Tractatus
Logico-Philosophicus <http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3157863>* >>
Good quote, I happen to have the book in German with an English translation.
<< English dictionary gives the defintion in English; Pali-English also
gives the defintion in English.
So no problem. Pali is the anglicized form of Paali.>>
An English dictionary gives the meaning(s) in an English context while a
Pali-English dictionary gives the same in a Pali context.
<<< 3. << My approach..to study.definitions of Pali, Sanskrit, and
English...>>>
<< Yes, no problem what I did was to start with the articles in EB and
Wikipedia. Please read them; they don't agree on anything. >>
I'll add these articles to my reading list.
<<< 4. << The definition or signification...>>>
<< I agree. With regard to grammar there is a problem. Pali grammar and
English grammar are different. If we are writing in English it is necessary
to stick to English grammar. I am just alerting you to this problem. Please
do think about this. >>
I'm well aware that there are differences between Pali and English grammar,
I'm well-furnished with authoritative grammars for both languages.
<<< 5. << A.K. Warder>>>
<< Warder's grammar is the most important pali grammar in English, I have.
Chapter 1 of the book gives a very comprehensive account of the differences
between English grammar and Pali grammar. >>
I began with Warder's Introduction to Pali when I first started to study
Pali seriously in 1976. I very much appreciated his introdution to the
terminology of traditional Pali grammar which soon inspired me to take up
the study of the Saddanīti (Warder's authority) and Panini's grammar. That's
why I approach Pali from both a Western and an Indian perspective.
I have a question: where did you see sa + anu as a derivation of sānu? I've
only been able to find san + u in my Pali and Sanskrit texts (Abh-ṭ and
Uṇādikoṣa).
Best wishes,
Jim
------------------------------------
Posted by: "Jim Anderson" <jimanderson.on@...>
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
Yahoo Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/palistudy/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/palistudy/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
palistudy-digest@yahoogroups.com
palistudy-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
palistudy-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo Groups is subject to:
https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/