...Buddhism for Urban America
Urban Dharma Newsletter...
June 30, 2003
The Pali Cannon ...www.BuddhaMind.info
A Summary of the Major Text Divisions ...www.BuddhaMind.info
The Pali Language: ‘Did the Buddha speak Pali?’
A Guide to Learning the Pali Language ...by John Bullitt
6. Temple/Center/Website- of the Week:
The Pali Text Society
Book Review: A New Course in Reading Pali: Entering the
Word of the Buddha ...by James W. Gair, W. S. Karunatillake
The Pali Cannon ...www.BuddhaMind.info
thousand five hundred years ago the Buddha wandered the Ganges
plains of Northern India. For over 45 years he taught a means
of spiritual liberation to all who sought guidance. The power
of his teaching was such that a great many of his discourses
have survived to this day. Collectively they are known as the
Canon and are often referred to as the Tipitaka or 'three baskets'.
three baskets, or groups, are:
Vinaya Pitaka, Which is concerned with the rules of discipline
governing the order of monks and nuns.
Sutta Pitaka, A vast collection divided into five major
sections called 'nikaya'. These mainly deal with aspects of
doctrine, the Buddha's teaching.
Abhidhamma-pitaka - Comprised of seven works which are
a systematic exposition of the whole of the works found in the
Sutta-pitaka. A philosophical, psychological treatment of the
Buddhism evolved over the centuries many quite distinct schools
arose, each having a version of the scriptures. For Theravadin
Buddhists the standard reference point is the Pali version and
I will confine my discussion to this. One of the main teachings
of the Buddha was on impermanence and scriptural records are
no less exempt from change than any other thing. Working as
much as possible from the Tipitaka and from the research of
others I will offer some reflection on the possible evolution
of the Buddha's teaching as we currently encounter them.
investigation fell under two headings: the general historical
development, and, also historical, but much more specific, the
relation of the Pali language to the teachings. My aim is not
to provide any scholarly proof but more an exploration of these
two topics in the hope of stimulating further interest. Brevity
in a such a broad topic as this can not hope to avoid some distortion
but ideally all reference to Dhamma is "ehipassiko"
- encouraging of (further) investigation.
common area of doubt is the 500 or so years between the death
of the Buddha and the writing down of the scriptures. I will
first reflect how the situation may have been during the Buddha's
life, and second, consider the three great councils which endeavoured
to stabilise the teaching at various periods after the Buddha's
Text was preserved in oral form until about 80 BC and then recorded
in writing at Aluvihara, Sri Lanka. Some portions may have been
written earlier, as writing was not unknown before this time,
but suffered from a lack of 'permanent' writing materials.
The oldest reference to writing is in a tract called the 'Silas',
dated approximately 450 BC. In this Text we see writing praised
as a "distinguished art" and there is reference to
a monk "scratching a writing". Literature would have
been limited to official notices and small, private communications.
So the teaching of the Buddha was an oral one and over the years
as it developed and expanded it became necessary not only to
listen but to learn.
the Text we see that: "here a monk has mastered the Teaching,
thus heard he teaches others in detail, he makes others recite
in detail, he makes them repeat in detail". One question
that arises is the feat of memory involved in preserving such
an extensive body of teaching orally for so long. This seems
extraordinary but was apparently quite usual in ancient India.
Here are some modern statistics regarding memory: In 1949 oral
examinations on the texts were offered in Burma. During the
first 30 years, 67 monks separately recited the five volumes
of the Vinaya; 265 monks the 16 volumes of the Suttas and well
over 300 had perfect recall of an entire nikaya. One consideration
regarding memory is that an illiterate community, such as largely
existed at the time of the Buddha, would have greatly strengthened
other means of recording and transmitting information. (Sitting
here with a mega Mb computer I don't need to remember anything!)
A parallel to this suggestion is found in the highly developed
sense of hearing which blind people develop.
his 45 years of teaching the Buddha must have standardised certain
methods of offering the teaching. Those monks and nuns close
to him would have had little trouble remembering such forms,
especially allowing that many of them were enlightened and the
subject matter would have been completely understood. The repetition
in the Suttas would indicate the Buddha used the principle all
teachers use: "tell them what you are going to say, then
say it, then tell them what you have said." The second
source of repetition is the oral tradition itself, seen observed
in oral literature all over the world. Each discourse that the
Buddha gave would also have been the subject of later discussion
by those present and to decide what form the discourse should
later be taught in, the Sangha would have chosen how to condense
what had been said, which superfluous matters to remove if any,
and how to crystallise those aspects of the teaching repeatedly
found - the four noble truths, restraint of the faculties, mindfulness,
and so on. They would have been trying to couch the whole of
the discourse into a set pattern conducive to memorisation,
introducing as much repetition and reiteration as possible.
would seem to suggest an organised structure of systematisation,
but the teachings were not offered as a mechanistic, impersonal
explanation. They were directed to a person, in a real situation,
as advice on how to live. The whole purpose of the Buddha's
teaching was not to establish a metaphysical position or evolve
some complex philosophy, but to lead individuals to see something
about themselves. For example, in the Text he energetically
refutes the accusation by Sunakkhata (a recently disrobed monk)
that "the recluse Gotama teaches Dhamma on a system of
his own devising, beaten out by reason, based on empirical knowledge."
However, even during the life of the Buddha, Sutta organisation
must have been in an embryonic form and we see in the Text reference
to "dhammadhara, vinayadhara, matikadhara", (those
who learn the teaching, the discipline and the summaries).
Suttas never refer to themselves as nikayas, although we find
reference to nine divisions of text; "Suttas, mixed prose
and verse, expositions, verses, solemn utterances, sayings,
birth stories, marvels and catechisms". This system was
probably more a reflection of the tradition of the times and
'adopted' rather than 'invented' by the Buddha's disciples.
It is quite probable that the senior disciples, and not the
Buddha, were most concerned and instrumental in preserving various
discourses. However, not long before his death, the Buddha exhorts
Cunda: "those of you to whom I have taught the truths that
I have realised, must come together and recite the teaching
together - without quarrelling; comparing meaning with meaning
and sentence with sentence, in order that this pure doctrine
may exist and continue for a long time". One must assume
that by this time quite specific things to 'recite and compare'
had been formulated.
time passed the Sangha would have dispersed and each group of
monks would have had its stock of favourite Suttas, both by
way of subject and style. Most communities would have had within
their ranks those who could recite one version or another of
standard topics. Each group would have had an area of interest:
for example, the monks at Kosambi would relate to the discourses
given there, those having problems with anger would have had
special interest in Suttas on this topic, nuns would have had
a special interest in teachings about nuns, and so forth. So
with probably no major planning or discussion, collections of
discourses came to be grouped quite naturally.
3. A Summary of the Major Text Divisions
Vinaya Pitaka: is concerned with the rules of discipline
governing the order of monks and nuns.
is divided into three sections:
1) Suttavibhanga: detailing the 227 rules for monks and the
equivalent rules for nuns.
2) Khandhaka: rules of community adjudication.
3)Parivara: a summary of rules as a catechism (added later).
Sutta-pitaka: A vast collection, containing many of the
Buddha’s discourses, and teachings in general.
is divided into five major sections called ‘nikaya'.
1) Digha-nikaya - divided into three sub-sections called
1. silakkhandha vagga (13 suttas)- deals extensively with various
types of morality.
2. mahavagga (10 suttas) - deals largely with historical and
biographical aspects. Contains the Mahaparinibbana-sutta and
3. Pathika vagga ( 11 suttas) - a miscellaneous collection.
2) Majjhima-nikaya - fifteen vagga, 152 suttas. This section
is felt to contain the core teachings. Shows the social, economic
& political life of those days.
3) Samyutta-nikaya - five vaggas, sub-divided into 56
samyuttas. About 3000 suttas in total.
1. sagatha vagga - grouped according to the characters appearing
in them, e.g. the king of the devas, Brahma, Mara, King of Kosala.
2. nidana vagga - deals with fundamental aspects of the doctrine,
notably 'paticcasamuppada', (dependant origination).
3. khandha vagga - on the 5 aggregates. There is also important
discussion on 'atta' and 'anatta', the teaching on the impersonality
of all existance.
4. salayatana vagga - ayatana = 'base' or 'source' on which
the mental processes depend. 12 in all (i.e. five physical senses
and mind with their respective objects).
5. maha vagga - The titles of the12 samyuttas clearly indicate
the subject. E.g. the eightfold path, 7 factors of enlightenment,
4 foundations of mindfulness, 5 spiritual faculties, 4 roads
to power, 5 powers, 4 noble truths, etc.
4) Anguttara-nikaya - Eleven major groupings called 'nipatas',
sub-divided into vagga, and again sub-divided into suttas. A
total of 2,308 suttas in all. A progressive numerical collection,
one's up to eleven's.
5) Khuddaka-nikaya - this nikaya appears to have grown
up gradually after the older nikayas were closed, and was probably
incorporated into the canon later.
Abhidhamma-pitaka: A philosophical, psychological treatment
of the dhamma consisting of seven works which are a systematic
exposition of the whole of the works found in the Sutta-pitaka.
During the third council at Pataliputta (Patna) in 253 BC under
the patronage of Emperor Asoka much scholastic work was added
and in the course of the next two centuries this led to what
we now call the Abhidhamma.
is one of ancient Indic languages, spoken in the Middle period.
The Buddhist Canon in Sri Lanka is written in Pali, so the language
is still used as a sacred one in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand,
Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. But its homeland is India, and Pali
originally was one of western dialects which later acquired
certain eastern characteristics. Later together with Buddhism
it spread within the South Eastern Asia, and many scientific,
religious and literature works were written in it already when
in India it was forgotten.
are in fact four kinds of Pali: the Canon Pali, the literature
Pali, the commentary Pali and the modern Pali; the last one
has got a significant number of local borrowings and peculiarities
and is no longer classical. Pali phonetics is rather simple:
5 simple vowels, no diphthongs and sonant vowels, aspirated
and non-aspirated consonants. Pali phonetic laws prohibit the
usage of a great number of fricative consonants together, all
words end in a vowel.
morphology the number of vowel interchanges decreased in comparison
with Sanskrit; there is a trend of unification of types of noun
declension and verb conjugation, and the number of cases is
six at maximum. The verb has only three tenses and two aspects:
ancient Indic languages Vedic and Sanskrit used much more of
them. The system of syntax is well developed and uses many auxiliary
parts of speech in analytical constructions.
is interesting for its vocabulary which is totally unnatural
and is created only in order to reflect the ideas of the religion.
4. The Pali Language: "Did the Buddha
question often asked is: "Did the Buddha speak Pali?"
so, how much of the original language has been retained? If
not, how much has translation affected the accurate transmission
of the teachings? There seems to be no one answer to these questions
but I offer the following as the results of my investigation.
paramount power in India for two centuries, spanning both before
and after the Buddha, was the Kingdom of Kosala, of which the
Buddha's birth kingdom, Magadha, was a fiefdom. Magadhi seems
to be a dialect of Kosalan, and there is some evidence that
this was the language that the Buddha spoke. The Pali of the
Canon seems to be based on the standard Kosalan as spoken in
the 6th and 7th centuries BC. The script used on the rock edicts
of Asoka is a younger form of this standard. On one of the Asoka
pillars (about 300 BC) there is a list of named Suttas which
can be linguistically placed within the Singhalese Canon.
was also widely spoken and warrants discussion. It seems to
have been the language of the Brahmin's, the 'spiritual' class.
It is etymologically older than Pali but, as regards texts and
inscriptions, the native tongue (Kosalan) was the more common
or popular medium. In the Text we see the Buddha encouraging
his disciples to teach in the popular language of any area.
However after the Buddha's death, what were considered more
'learned' forms were gradually made use of, despite the fact
that these gave a less faithful picture of the living speech.
Slowly the efforts to represent the real facts of the spoken
language gave way to another effort, the expression of learned
phraseology, until roughly 300 AD, classical Sanskrit became
used exclusively in relation to Buddhism. This trend is reflected
in the scripture of later Buddhist traditions.
use of Pali is practically confined to Buddhist subjects, and
then only in the Theravada school. It's exact origin is the
subject of much learned debate and from the point of view of
the non-specialist, we can think of it as a kind of simplified,
common man's Sanskrit. The source of the Pali Text we have lies
in the North of India. It is definitely not Singhalese in origin
as it contains no mention of any place in Sri Lanka, or even
South India. The similes abounding in the Singhalese literature
are those of a sub-tropical climate and of a great river valley
rather than those of a tropical island.
an essentially oral language, lacking a strong literary base
of its own, it adopted the written script of each country it
settled in. It is clear that by the time the Text arrived in
Sri Lanka, with Asoka's son Mahinda, about 240 BC, it was considered
historical study is much like a jigsaw puzzle. Piecing together
information from a scrap of parchment here, a clay tablet there;
comparing various bits of antiquity, the opinions and insights
of others; analysing and evaluating - and then - coming to a
conclusion. The more Buddhist history books I studied, to try
and determine precise information, the more opinions I ended
up collecting. History, it seems, can be very much a matter
few undisputed facts exist by which to prove the authenticity
of the Pali Canon. Even the dates of the Buddha are questionable.
The earliest reliable dates in Indian history that we have are
those for Emperor Asoka's rule; 274 - 236 BC. We can also be
relatively certain that the Text remained unchanged from the
time it was written down, about 80 BC.
regards the reliability of the Text I felt two items to be of
Firstly: The reason that anything survives the rigours of more
than 2000 years of history is that it is considered to be of
great value. Presumably the reason for this evaluation was that
the teaching was seen to work, i.e. to lead to the transcendence
of suffering. Such a known treasure would have been well guarded
and part of this protection would have been a tremendous concern
for retaining the 'jewel' in its entirety, i.e. accurately.
Secondly: After several centuries of travelling to many different
lands and being translated into different languages, the disparity
between the various renderings of the main Text existing today
in Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan is typically greatest
in matters of least importance. Only very rarely are differences
founded on doctrinal matters. It can be seen that these works
are clearly not independent compositions, being very similar
in their substantive content. This ‘authenticity by comparison'
is an important item in support of scriptural accuracy. More
specifically, the Vinaya is almost without exception, identical
in every Buddhist tradition.
a more general note:
feel that the majority of us who have come to give the Text
some consideration, originally set out in search of a guide
by which to find a way to resolve the root-problem of our personal
existence. The process of production warrants investigation
but surely the true test of any guide book is its ability to
lead one to the desired destination. The whole energy behind
the Buddha's teaching was the ending of suffering. If what you
glean from the Text eases or ends your suffering then the teaching
has been accurately transmitted. What is of greatest importance
is to take the teachings that seem relevant, that feel applicable
to your life, and to make them a personal reality, to turn the
theory into practice.
5. A Guide to Learning the Pali Language
...by John Bullitt
to learn Pali
not difficult to learn a little Pali through self-study, using
a textbook or two or three as a guide. Many people find it helpful
(not to mention just plain more fun) to study with others, either
in a formal classroom setting or in an informal Pali study group.
For many of us, the goal is not to become expert scholars and
translators of the language, but simply to become acquainted
with the basics of the language so as to enrich our personal
understanding of the suttas and the Buddha's teachings.
For self-study, Warder's Introduction to Pali or de Silva's
Pali Primer are the basic texts. Johansson's Pali
Buddhist Texts Explained to the Beginner is also useful.
classroom courses in Pali are offered at many universities with
strong Eastern Religions departments, as well as several Buddhist
studies centers and institutes. Some university-level Pali courses
require previous acquaintance with Sanskrit. If you are looking
for a Pali teacher, consider asking around at a university to
see if there might be a graduate student willing to tutor you
or your study group, perhaps for a small fee. Also, some professors
may be willing to let you audit a course without going through
the official university registration process.
are a number of good websites offering Pali resources that may
be of help in your search for Pali teachers and study aids.
with Pali diacritical marks and fonts
there is no standardized method for displaying Pali's accented
characters on computer screens. Over the years, many different
methods have been adopted in an attempt to express Pali diacritics
using the limited character sets available to personal computers.
Some of these strategies are:
Ignore them altogether. This is the method generally
used here at Access to Insight (although I have used the palatal
nasal ñ because it is easily implemented using HTML).
For example, the first precept would be written thus:
veramani sikkha-padam samadiyami.
The Velthuis scheme: double the vowels, punctuate the consonants.
This scheme was originally developed in 1991 by Frans Velthuis
for use with his "devnag" Devanagari font, designed
for the TEX typesetting system (see » http://www.ctan.org/).
Pali and Sanskrit scholars have since adopted it as a standard
technique in Internet correspondence (see, for example, the
» BUDDHA-L discussion group and the » Journal
of Buddhist Ethics). In the Velthuis scheme two basic rules
Long vowels (those usually typeset with a macron (bar) above
them) are doubled: aa ii uu
For consonants, the diacritic mark precedes the letter it affects.
Thus, the retroflex (cerebral) consonants (usually typeset with
a dot underneath) are: .r .t .th .d .dh .n .m .s .l.
The guttural nasals (m or n with a dot above)
are represented by "m and "n . The palatal
nasal (n with a tilde) is ~n.
scheme is precise, although it does take some getting used to:
verama.nii sikkhaa-pada.m samaadiyaami.
Fake it using HTML. HTML has a few characters that take
care of some of the letters OK. For the long vowels you can
use some sort of accent: ä ï ü, à
ì ù, â î û etc. The palatal
n is straightforward: ñ. Whatever method
you adopt, be consistent. Example:
verama.nî sikkhâ-pada.m samâdiyâmi.
Use capital letters. Capitalized letters represent letters
with an accompanying diacritic. This method is simple, but it
has ambiguities (e.g., how to distinguish between palatal and
guttural n?). Example:
veramaNI sikkhA-padaM samAdiyAmi.
are several Pali fonts available for both Macintosh and Windows
computers. K.R. Norman's Pali fonts (TrueType and PostScript
versions, for Mac and Windows) are good -- and free:
Macintosh users: download the self-extracting archive
Stuffit Expander or some other utility to un-Binhex this file
(if necessary), then double click on the file NORM.SEA. This
will create a folder on your hard disk containing the fonts
you need. To intsall the fonts, simply drag the font suitcases
and the PostScript printer files into your system folder.
PC users: download the zipped archive NORMAN.ZIP.
this file, yielding the Truetype fonts "Normyn.ttf"
and its italic equivalent "Mytymes.ttf". Install these
fonts according to the instructions in your Windows manual.
McAllister's popular "LeedsBit PaliTranslit" font
is in widespread use on the Internet. McAllister told me that
he regards this font as obsolete, and instead prefers its newer
incarnation, "LeedsTranslit2," which is available
free of charge (for non-commercial purposes only) from the » University
of Leeds website. (This is a Windows-compatible TrueType font.
I haven't figured out how to get it to work on a Macintosh.)
Robillard's "DPalatino" and "DTimes" fonts
(for Macintosh computers) are excellent, and have been used
for many years by Wisdom Publications. Many of their books,
including The Long Discourses of The Buddha, The Middle
Length Discourses of the Buddha, and The Connected Discourses
of the Buddha, were set in "DPalatino". Several
years ago these fonts were available as part of Robillard's
"Tibetan on the Macintosh" font package, at a cost
of about US$70 from Snow Lion Publications (PO Box 6483, Ithaca,
NY 14851-6483; Tel: 800-950-0313 or 607-273-8519).
are quite a few Pali books out there, but so far none surpasses
the breadth and depth of A.K. Warder's superb Introduction
to Pali. de Silva's Pali Primer, a relative newcomer
to the Pali textbook scene, offers a light and refreshing complement
to the high-density Warder. If you're trying to learn Pali on
your own, it can be helpful to have several books to turn to,
as each offers its unique perspective on the language.
Introduction to Pali, by A.K. Warder
Pali Text Society, 1963; rev. 1991
$13 from Pariyatti Book Service, Seattle. Companion cassette
tape also available.
popularly as "Warder," this is the standard Pali textbook
widely used today. It is systematic and thorough, ideally suited
to those with some prior familiarity with basic linguistic concepts
(case, declension, gender, etc.) or to the motivated newcomer.
Although beginners may at first find some of Warder's explanations
impenetrable, it's still the best overall Pali textbook around.
companion cassette tape is well worth purchasing, as it gives
the student a good idea of what "real" spoken Pali
should sound like.
newest edition of the book contains answers to many of the exercises.
If you own a copy of one of the earlier editions, you might
want to have a look at some of the answers to the exercises.
Pali Primer, by Lily de Silva
India: Vipassana Research Institute, 1994
by mail order via the Pariyatti Book Service.
is a nice first book for those who think they're not ready yet
for Warder. Each chapter focuses on a single concept of Pali
grammar, and contains numerous exercises. I found, though, that
there comes a point in the book (somewhere around Lesson 11)
when the brief grammatical introductions in the beginning of
the lessons begin to fall short. In particular, there is no
explanation of word order in Pali sentences. At this point,
Warder -- or a teacher -- can come to the rescue. An Appendix
to the book, containing solutions to the exercises, is forthcoming
from the publisher.
Pali Buddhist Texts Explained to the Beginner, by Rune
Institute of Asian Studies Monograph Series, No. 14. London:
Curzon Press, 1981
book consists of 52 short chapters, each consisting of a brief
passage from the Pali Canon along with a word-for-word grammatical
analysis and translation. Useful to the student with some prior
grasp of the fundamentals of Pali, or when used in parallel
with Warder (above). It also stands well on its own for newcomers
who wish to develop a "feel" for the language. An
excellent 25-page summary of Pali grammar appears in the back
of the book. The book has been difficult to find in the US lately,
although it has surfaced in bookshops in Britain and Asia. If
you can't find it, write to the publisher: Scandinavian Institute
of Asian Studies, Kejsergade 2, DK-1155 Copenhagen K.
A New Course in Reading Pali: Entering the Word of the Buddha
Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1998
ISBN 81-208-1440-1 cloth, 81-208-1441-x paper. About $20.
haven't seen this one yet, although I've heard several favorable
reports about it. From the dust jacket (courtesy of Henry Grossi):
book is intended to serve as an introduction to the reading
of Pali texts. For that purpose it uses authentic readings especially
compiled for the purpose drawn largely from Theravada canonical
works, both prose and poetry. The readings are in Roman script,
and carefully graded for difficulty, but they have also been
selected so that each of them is a meaningful and complete reading
in itself, so as to introduce some basic concepts and ways of
thought of Theravada Buddhism. This book thus offers an opportunity
to become acquainted with the ways in which the teachings of
the Buddha are embodied in the language; a sense that is impossible
to determine from English translations. The book contains 12
lessons. Each of them has three parts: (1) a set of basic readings
and an accompanying glossary, (2) grammatical notes on the forms
of the lesson, and (3) a set of further readings with its own
glossary. The further readings introduce no new grammatical
points, but reinforce ones already presented and give further
practice in them. The work concludes, fittingly, with the Buddha's
first sermon, The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. A cumulative
glossary and index to the grammar is also provided.
An Elementary Pali Course, by Narada Thera
version available from the Pali Language Sources and Resources
The New Pali Course -- Parts I & II, by A.P. Buddhadatta
for about $4 + shipping from the Buddhist Cultural Centre, Sri
are arranged systematically in short, digestible chunks (e.g.,
"The Alphabet," "Pronunciation," "Parts
more explanation would be helpful. Lots of good exercises, but
no answers are given. This would work best in a teacher-led
course, rather than as a tool for self-study.
Pali Language by E. Muller
Bharatiya Book Corporation, 1986
Available at bookstores in Asia.
compact grammar, written in 1884. Sanksrit students may find
it useful, as it compares and contrasts Pali and Sanskrit at
every turn. Not recommended for the rank beginner.
A Pali Grammar, by N.C. Vidyabhushan and M.K. Ghose
Kiron Moy Ghose, 1982
Available at bookstores in Asia.
Pali grammar, similar to The New Pali Course, above,
but without any exercises. Useful as a compact reference book
after you've learned the basics.
language reference books
Buddhist Dictionary, by Nyanatiloka Thera
Buddhist Publication Society, 1988
About $20, from Pariyatti Book Service, and the Buddhist Publication
one is a classic. It's a fascinating mixture of Pali and English
words, arranged in English word order (e.g., "Killing...
Kiñcana... Kiriya... Knowledge..."). Most entries
have thorough explanations with references to passages in the
Pali Canon. Excellent tool for beginner and veteran, alike.
Concise Pali-English Dictionary, by A.P. Buddhadatta
Motilal Banarsidass, 1989
Available by mail from the publisher: Motilal Banarsidass, Bungalow
Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi 110 007, India.
handy for quickly finding the meaning of a word, without the
detailed grammatical and contextual analysis offered by the
English-Pali Dictionary, by A.P. Buddhadatta
Pali Text Society, 1979
$48 through Wisdom Publications.
are the various Pali words for "mind"? How do you
say "penknife" in Pali? (!) This handy book can be
particularly valuable when exploring Pali-English translations
-- your own or others'.
Pali Text Society, 1986
About $40, from Pariyatti Book Service.
primary table-top reference tool for the Pali student. Affectionately
known as the PED.
6. The Pali Text Society
Society was founded in 1881 by T.W. Rhys Davids "to foster
and promote the study of Pali texts ". It publishes Pali
texts in roman characters, translations in English and ancillary
works including dictionaries, concordance, books for students
of Pali and a journal. As this List of Issues shows, most of
the classical texts and commentaries have now been edited and
many works translated into English. The Society aims to keep
almost all its publications in print and to produce at least
two new books and a volume of its Journal each year.
Society is non-profit making and depends on the sale of its
publications, on members' subscriptions and on the generosity
of donors. Alongside its publishing activities, it provides
Research Studentships for a number of people in a variety of
countries who are working in the field of Pali studies. It also
supports the Fragile Palm Leaves Project, which is involved
in the conservation and identification of Southeast Asian manuscripts.
Pali Text Society
Oxford OX3 7AD
Tel: (01865) 742125
Fax: +44 1865 750 079
(mark: For Pali Text Society
Pali Text Society Projects
Paali Text Society wishes to put a list of current projects
connected with Paali studies on its Web site. The purpose of
this Web page is to enable scholars and other people interested
in Paali to know what is being prepared. This should help avoid
duplication in research. Areas of interest include editions
of Paali texts, translations of Paali texts, and linguistic
studies of Paali.
are invited to send a short statement of their work to the Pali
Text Society. They may indicate if they are interested in hearing
from people working on similar projects (in which case an address
should be included in the statement). Addresses will not be
given out unless we are authorized to do so.
following books are currently projects of the Pali Text Society:
Pa.thamasambodhi, edition of the Paali text prepared by Coedes
Mahaasuttas, the final volume is being prepared by Mr Peter
Abhidhammatthavibhaavinii-.tiikaa, Dr Rupert Gethin is preparing.
Atthasaalinii, German translation by Ven. Nyanaponika. Sven
Bretfeld is preparing the text for the printers.
Meditation book, Sarah Shaw is preparing a compilation of texts
touching on meditation extracted from books published by the
Sa"ngiitiyava.msa, edition and translation by Dr Charles
Dr Y.-G. An: translation of the Suma"ngalavilaasinii commentary
on the Mahaaparinibbaana Sutta.
Masahiro Kitsudo's Paali Printed Texts Printed in Sinhalese,
Dr Oskar von Hinueber is handling the translation from Japanese
Kaccaayana-vyaakara.na, Dr Ole Pind is working on an edition
of the Paali text.
Ka"nkhaavitara.nii, Paali text and translation is being
prepared by Dr William Pruitt and Mr K.R. Norman.
Kalyaa.nii inscription, the Paali text and translation to be
prepared by Jason Carbine.
Itivuttaka Commentary translation (2 vols.) by Dr Peter Masefield.
Pi.takat Samuin: (a Burmese text on Paali texts, authors, and
translators), Peter Nyunt is translating.
Diigha-nikaaya translation into French by Dr Mohan Wijayaratna.
Therii-Apadaana, edition and translation by Dr Sally Cutler.
The next index to be prepared in Japan will be of the Jaataka.
After that will come the Visuddhimagga. The PTS hopes to prepare
in conjunction with this a new edition for the PTS, using the
PTS edition and the Warren edition.
Dr Justin McDaniel is translating the Lao and Northern Thai
Manuscripts of the Kammavaca Nissaya, the Dhammapada Nissaya,
as well as several other smaller nissayas from Laos and Northern
The Pali-English Dictionary has been put on the Web as part
of a program being run in Chicago by Dr James Nye.
Fragile Palm Leaves Project
teachings of the Buddha were first written down 2000 years ago.
for centuries and across continents they were carefully transmitted,
recorded on palm-leaf manuscripts, until they began to be printed
in book form in the late 19th century. The ancient manuscripts
are now under threat. Rapid modernization and the spread of
consumerism have brought sweeping social changes. Manuscripts-along
with other sacred objects- have become commodities, up for sale
as "antiques". Sets are broken up; single leaves are
framed for wall decoration. The rich literary heritage of Buddhism
Fragile Palm Leaves project seeks to rescue these ancient books
from the market-place. The manuscripts are kept together as
a single collection, to be catalogued and reproduced. The materials
will then be made available internationally for research and
Palm Leaves is a non-profit project based in Bangkok, Thailand.
It operates under the auspices of the Pali Text Society (Oxford,
U.K.), and has the support of leading international scholars
and members of the Buddhist Sa.ngha.
gathered so far include palm-leaf and paper manuscripts in Paali,
Burmese, Shan, Tai Khun, Tai Lue, and other Southeast Asian
languages. They include canonical texts, commentaries, local
legends, and historical and medical texts. These manuscripts
are a precious treasury for the study of the religious and literary
heritage of the Buddhism of Southeast Asia and should be preserved
for future generations.
collect endangered manuscripts
catalogue and replicate the manuscript collection
publish Paali texts that have not yet been published
translate Buddhist texts that have not yet been translated
study and describe the history of Buddhist literature of the
Skilling, Curator, is a Canadian scholar, resident in Thailand
since 1971. He spent three years as a Buddhist monk, and at
present is working on a three-volume comparative study of canonical
texts in Tibetan, Sanskrit, and Pali.
7. A New Course in Reading Pali: Entering
the Word of the Buddha ...by
James W. Gair, W. S. Karunatillake
book is intended to serve as an introduction to the reading
of Pali texts. For that purpose, it uses authentic readings
especially compiled for the purpose drawn largely from Theravada
canonical works, both prose and poetry. The readings are in
Roman script, and carefully graded for difficulty, but they
have also been selected so that each of them is a meaningful
and complete reading in itself.
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