Re: Brahmavihārī

From: Petra Kieffer-Pülz
Message: 4588
Date: 2016-04-06

Dear Sayalay Cala,

there is a little work done on these terms,

see Wilhelm Geiger and Magdalene Geiger, Pāli Dhamma, vornehmlich in der kanonischen Literatur, München 1920, pp. 77f. The Geigers have a passage regarding the synonymy of the usage ofthe terms  dhamma and brahma, but they do not explicitly list the term brahmavihāra.

Mudagamuwe Maithrimurthi,  Wohlwollen, Mitleid, Freude und Gleichmut. Eine ideengeschichtliche Untersuchung der vier apramāṇas in der buddhistischen Ethink und Spiritualität von den Anfängen bis hin zum frühen Yogācāra, Stuttgart, 1999. Especially pp. 13-19 „Zum Begriff brahmavihāra“, where Maithrimurthi discusses the term at length.

Chiara Neri and Tiziana Pontillo, „Words involving the stem brahman“, Indologica Taurinensia, 40 (2014), 151-194, especially 169: brahmavihara, „brahma’s abode“ or „divine abode“.


Best wishes,
Petra Kieffer-Pülz


Am 06.04.2016 um 12:26 schrieb 'Jim Anderson' jimanderson.on@... [palistudy] <palistudy@yahoogroups.com>:

Dear Sayalay Cala,

Welcome to the group! Before I can comment on your question, I'll have to
first do a bit of research on the etymology of the term accoring to the
commentarial and grammatical authorities.

Note to members: having just joined our group yesterday, Sayalay Cala is a
nun from Malaysia who is doing her Master's at the International Theravada
Buddhist Missionary University (ITBMU) in Yangon, Myanmar. "Sayalay" is a
Burmese title like "Sayadaw".

Best wishes,

Jim

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "sicala2010@... [palistudy]" <palistudy@yahoogroups.com>
To: <palistudy@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: April 6, 2016 12:17 AM
Subject: [palistudy] Brahmavihārī

Dear all,

I was asked about this word 'Brahmavihārī'.

In the Pali text.
Brahmānaṃ uttamānaṃ vihāro, brahmabhūto vā vihāroti brahmavihāro,
so upekkhābhāvanāvasena catutthajjhāniko

Brahmānaṃ uttamānaṃ vihāro = living of best/noble
Brahmabhūto vā vihāro =living as the state of brahma.

Then from Brahmavihāra, we figure out what is brahmavihārī.
Brahmavihāra+ feminine suffix ī= brahmavihārī
Or
Brahmavihāra + ī (a habit) = brahmavihārī.

Habit means refers to a frequent action, we can translate as “One who uses
to dwell in noble dwelling.”

So, if brahmavihārī refers to a meditation centre, it should be translated
as 'Abode of the Noble”, or “Noble Dwelling”. Or “Dwelling of Supreme Good”.

Any comment on my explanation? thanks.


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