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(02)

Lời tâm sự riêng: Nếu sắp theo phổ hệ của học đường thì lứa của tôi phải gọi thế hệ của Miss I. B. Horner là Bà Cố. Tuy không được nghe giảng trực tiếp, nhưng tôi đã học hỏi được rất nhiều từ các bản dịch từ Pali sang tiếng Anh của vị này, và còn ghi nhận luôn cả những điểm mà bản thân không đồng quan điểm. Nhân đây tôi xin hỏi quý độc giả rằng: ''Nếu bạn được may mắn đứng trên vai một người khổng lồ thì bạn sẽ nhìn xa trông rộng, hay nhắm mắt lại và bám chặt người ấy để tìm sự che chở?''

Nghĩ rằng tài liệu này chỉ có lợi ích cho một số ít người, hơn nữa thời gian không cho phép, vì thế tôi không có ý định ghi lại bằng tiếng Việt. Mục đích của bài này nhằm lưu ý quý độc giả về việc kế thừa nhưng không mù quáng, nghĩa là chúng ta cần phải học tập những vị tiền bối, nhưng không nên nhắm mắt rơi vào vết sai lầm của họ. - Tk. Indacanda.

Dưới đây là trích đoạn một phần nghiên cứu của tôi về bản dịch Tạng Luật của Miss I. B. Horner:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to pay my utmost gratitude to the late Professor I. B. Horner whose works has inspired in me the courage to devote all of my times and energy in learning the Pāli language and approaching its literature. I am greatly indebted to her for the Pāli knowledge that I have acquired from her translation following a literal style, if I may say so, that helps me to strengthen my knowledge in recognizing simple patterns of Pāli sentences, and to gain my comprehensive skill towards complicated ones. My dissertation here is, in its simplest way, the questions of a student to his instructor in case of having doubt or ignorance about the ancient texts; so that my work presented here in no way or by any means should be seen as a gesture of disrespect towards her knowledge or her works.

◄  ►

The Book of the Discipline Volume One is the English translation of the volume III of The Vinaya Pitakam edited by Hermann Oldenberg, consisting of 4 pārājika(s), 13 saṅghādisesa(s), and 2 aniyata(s). The Pāli excerpts are quoted from the PTS. edition.

Each item will be presented in the order of:

- English translation by I. B. Horner

- Pāli quotation

- Translation proposed

- Discussion.

01.        Syntactic - sentence structure, sacchikatvā, sayaṃ abhiññā (BD. I, 2):

(Verañjakaṇḍaṃ)

Having brought to fulfillment his own powers of realization, he makes known this world, together with devas including the Māras, and the Brahmās; creatures, together with recluses and Brahmins, together with devas and men. He teaches dhamma, lovely at the beginning, lovely at the middle and lovely at the ending. He explains with the spirit and the letter the Brahma-life completely fulfilled and wholly pure. Good indeed it were to see perfected men like that.

PĀLI TEXT:

so imaṃ lokaṃ sadevakaṃ samārakaṃ sabrahmakaṃ sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiṃ pajaṃ sadevamanussaṃ sayaṃ abhiññā sacchikatvā pavedeti, so dhammaṃ deseti ādikalyāṇaṃ majjhe kalyāṇaṃ pariyosānakalyāṇaṃ sātthaṃ savyañjanaṃ kevalaparipuṇṇaṃ parisuddhaṃ brahmacariyaṃ pakāseti. sādhu kho pana tathārūpānaṃ arahataṃ dassanaṃ hotīti. (Vin. III, 1)

TRANSLATION PROPOSED:

Having realized by means of his own higher knowledge, he makes known this world, together with devas including the Māras, and the Brahmās; creatures, together with recluses and Brahmins, together with devas and men. He teaches dhamma, lovely at the beginning, lovely at the middle, and lovely at the ending. He explains with the spirit and the letter the Brahma-life completely fulfilled and wholly pure. Good indeed it were to see perfected men like that.

DISCUSSION:

a/ Syntactic - sentence structure: We should simplify the first sentence by taking out all attributes in accusative cases of the noun “lokaṃ,” i.e. sadevakaṃ samārakaṃ ... sadevamanussaṃ, so that it would be easier to see the structure of the sentence “so imaṃ lokaṃ ... sayaṃ abhiññā sacchikatvā pavedeti.” There are two verbals in this sentence, the gerund sacchikatvā from sacchikaroti and the finite verb pavedeti. They share the same direct object, which is “imaṃ lokaṃ” and its attributes sadevakaṃ ... sadevamanussaṃ.” The basic meaning of the sentence is “He realizes this world ... then makes known this world ...”

b/ sacchikatvā: Taking the clause “Having brought to fulfillment his own powers of realization” into consideration, it is clear that I. B. Horner translates the gerund sacchikatvā as “having brought to fulfillment” having its direct object abhiññā translated as “powers of realization.” I. B. Horner must take the meaning of the verb sacchikaroti from somewhere not from the PED. “(Cf. Sk. sākṣāt kṛ) ... to see with one’s eyes, to realize, to experience for oneself;”[1] for the context here I choose the meaning of sacchikatvā as “having realized.”

c/ sayaṃ abhiññā: It seems to me that I. B. Horner takes abhiññā (power of realization) as accusative plural. In fact, it is the truncated form of “abhiññāya,” which is in instrumental case as explained by Ven. Commentator Buddhaghosa:

sayaṃ abhiññā sacchikatvā pavedetī ti ettha pana sayan ti sāmaṃ aparaneyyo hutvā, abhiññā ti abhiññāya adhikena ñāṇena ñatvā ti attho, sacchikatvā ti paccakkhaṃ katvā etena anumānādipaṭikkhepo kato hoti, pavedetī ti bodheti ñāpeti pakāseti.[2]

This case is also noticed by Geiger in his grammar book.[3] Later, I found that in her translation for Mahāvagga I. B. Horner already made corrections conforming to the explanation of the Commentary, e.g. “by your own super-knowledge,”[4] “by his own super-knowledge,”[5] etc. The Commentary also explains that sayaṃ means sāmaṃ, which is contracted from sayamaṃ and has the meaning as “self, of one self.”[6] It suggests that sayaṃ modifies the noun abhiññā, so that the English equivalence for “sayaṃ abhiññā sacchikatvā” should be “having realized by means of higher knowledge of his own.”

--ooOoo--

02.        anekapariyāyena, saṃgaṇikāya, apacayassa (BD. I, 37):

(Pārājika 01)

Then the Lord, having rebuked these monks, having in many a figure spoken in dispraise of difficulty in supporting and maintaining oneself, of great desires, of lack of contentment, of clinging (to the obstructions), of indolence; having in many a figure spoken in praise of ease in supporting and maintaining oneself, of desiring little, of contentment, of expunging (evil), of punctiliousness, of graciousness, of decreasing (the obstructions), of putting forth energy, having given reasoned talk on what is becoming, on what is fitting for them, addressed the monks, saying:

PĀLI TEXT:

atha kho bhagavā te bhikkhū anekapariyāyena vigarahitvā dubbharatāya dupposatāya mahicchatāya asantuṭṭhitāya saṃgaṇikāya kosajjassa avaṇṇaṃ bhāsitvā anekapariyāyena subharatāya suposatāya appicchassa santuṭṭhassa sallekhassa dhutassa pāsādikassa apacayassa viriyārambhassa vaṇṇaṃ bhāsitvā bhikkhūnaṃ tadanucchavikaṃ tadanulomikaṃ dhammiṃ kathaṃ katvā bhikkhū āmantesi. (Vin. III, 21)

TRANSLATION PROPOSED:

Then the Lord, in many ways having rebuked these monks, having spoken in dispraise of difficulty in supporting and maintaining oneself, of great desires, of lack of contentment, of sociability, of indolence; in many ways having spoken in praise of ease in supporting and maintaining oneself, of desiring little, of contentment, of expunging (evil), of punctiliousness, of graciousness, of the absence of piling (up rebirth), of putting forth energy, having given reasoned talk on what is becoming, on what is fitting for them, addressed the monks, saying:

DISCUSSION:

a/ anekapariyāyena: We should take a closer look at the sentence structure. In this sentence, there are five clauses governed by four gerunds: vigarahitvā, (avaṇṇaṃ) bhāsitvā, (vaṇṇaṃ) bhāsitvā, kathaṃ katvā, and the finite verb āmantesi; so we should translate it accordingly. The point to be noticed here is the adverbial anekapariyāyena; it appears twice in this sentence. I. B. Horner interprets it as “in many a figure,” but I prefer a simpler form, “in many ways.” For the verbs it modifies, I. B. Horner lets it modify the two gerunds (avaṇṇaṃ) bhāsitvā and (vaṇṇaṃ) bhāsitvā, perhaps she prefers a parallel structure. On the other hand, I analyze the sentence according to the word orders: the first adverbial anekapariyāyena standing in front of the two gerunds should modify not only (avaṇṇaṃ) bhāsitvā but also vigarahitvā; the second one standing at the beginning of the clause and modifies the one and only gerund (vaṇṇaṃ) bhāsitvā.

b/ saṃgaṇikāya: The next two issues will be related to the awkward in word choice of I. B. Horner that two distant words have close interpretation: saṃgaṇikāya = of clinging (to the obstructions); apacayassa = of decreasing (the obstructions). Perhaps, I. B. Horner missed the first part “gaṇasaṅgaṇikāya ceva” in her quotation from the Commentary Samantapāsādikā that mentions two kinds of saṅgaṇikā:

gaṇasaṅgaṇikāya ceva kilesasaṅgaṇikāya ca saṃvattati.[7]

Considering the context of the Vinaya, we should take the interpretation that relates to the outward discipline, i.e. bodily and verbally, so I prefer the explanation gaṇasaṅgaṇikāya that is more concrete instead of the other kilesasaṅgaṇikāya as I. B. Horner did.

In fact, the meaning of saṅgaṇikāya can be drawn from the Buddha’s words when He taught the nun Mahāpajāpati Gotamī:

saṃgaṇikāya saṃvattanti no pavivekāya = they lead to sociability, not to solitude.[8]

Furthermore, the PED. approves my choice: “sanganikā (f.) [saŋ + gaṇa + ikā ...] communication, association, society ... -vihāra (saṅganika^o) living in society A III. 104; IV. 342.”[9] So, I translates saṃgaṇikāya as “of sociability.”

c/ apacayassa: is translated by I. B. Horner as “of decreasing (the obstructions),” For this, she gives a quotation from the Commentary, “sabbakilesāpacayabhūtāya.”[10]

However, I. B. Horner translates the word differently in another case found in the teachings of the Buddha to the nun Mahāpajāpati Gotamī in the same occasion that is just mentioned above:

apacayāya saṃvattanti no ācayāya = they lead to the absence of piling (up rebirth), not to the piling up.[11]

Dictionaries also approve her latter choice.[12] Moreover, the Sub-Commentary of Dīghanikāya states clearly that apacaya refers to nibbāna: “apacayāyāti sabbassāpi vaṭṭassa apacayanāya, nibbānāyāti attho.”[13] So, I restore I. B. Horner’s transtion for apacayassa as “to the absence of piling (up rebirth)” in my proposed translation.

--ooOoo--

03.        ārāmika (BD. I, 43):

(Pārājika 01)

... longing to be a householder, longing to be a lay-follower, longing to be a park-attendant, longing to be a novice ...

PĀLI TEXT:

... gihibhāvaṃ patthayamāno upāsakabhāvaṃ patthayamāno ārāmikabhāvaṃ patthayamāno sāmaṇerabhāvaṃ patthayamāno ... (Vin. III, 24)

TRANSLATION PROPOSED:

... longing to be a householder, longing to be a lay-follower, longing to be a monastery-attendant, longing to be a novice ...

DISCUSSION:

ārāmika: is an adjective originated from the noun ārāma (ā + √ram). The PED. gives the meaning of ārāma as:

1. pleasure, fondness of (—^o), delight, always as adj. (—^o) delighting in, enjoying, finding pleasure in (usually combined with rata, e.g. dhammārāma dhammārata finding delight in the dhamma.) ... – 2. a pleasure-ground, park, garden (literally sport sporting); classified at Vin III. 49 as pupphārāma and phalārāma a park with flowers or with fruit (i. e. orchard), defined at DhA III. 246 as Veḷuvana-Jīvak’ ambavan’ ādayo, i. e. the park of Veḷuvana, or the park belonging to Jīvaka or mango-groves in general. Therefore: (a) (in general) a park, resort for pastime etc. ... – (b) (in special) a private park, given to the Budddha or the Sangha for the benefit of the bhikkhus, where they meet & hold discussions about sacred & secular matters; a place of recreation and meditation, a meeting place for religious gatherings. Amongst the many ārāmas given to the bhikkhus the most renowned is that of Anāthapiṇḍika (Jetavana; see ...); others more frequently mentioned are e.g. the park of Ambapāli (Vin I.233), of Mallikā (D I.178), etc. ...[14]

For the entry (b), the revolutionary usage of the word ārāma could be originated from the Buddha’s permission in case of lodging for monks. When the King Bimbisāra offered the Bamboo Grove (Veḷuvana) to the Order having the Buddha as the leader, the Buddha accepted the gift and later said to the monks:

anujānāmi bhikkhave ārāman ti = Monks, I allow a park.[15]                    

However, once an ārāma has offered to the Order and became the lodging for the monks, the interpretation for such context should not be “a park” but “a monastery.” One model of ārāma mentioning in the Vinayapiṭaka is the monastery of Anāthapiṇḍika (anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāma) with more constructions such as storehouses, toilets, walking paths, wells, bathrooms, pools, etc.[16]

So, in the context relating to the residency of monks, ārāmika has the meaning as: “belonging to an Ārāma, one who shares the congregation, an attendant of the Ārāma ... – f. ārāmakiṇī a female attendant or visitor of an Ārāma Vin I.208.”[17]

I choose the English translation for ārāmika as “monastery-attendant.” Such meaning is to apply to other cases as well. Here is an example:

I. B. HORNER’S TRANSLATION:

... he speaks, he declares: ‘What now if I were a householder ... he says, he declares: ‘What now if I were a lay-follower ... what now if I were a park-attendant ... what now if I were a novice ...[18]

PĀLI TEXT:

―pa― yaṃ nūnāhaṃ gihī assan ti vadati viññāpeti ―pa― yaṃ nūnāhaṃ upāsako assan ti ―pa― yaṃ nūnāhaṃ ārāmiko assan ti ―pa― yaṃ nūnāhaṃ sāmaṇero assan ti ―pa―. (Vin. III, 25)

TRANSLATION PROPOSED:

... he speaks, he declares: ‘What now if I were a householder ... he says, he declares: ‘What now if I were a lay-follower ... what now if I were a monastery-attendant ... what now if I were a novice ...

--ooOoo--

04.        ariyaka & milakkhuka (BD. I, 47):

(Pārājika 01)

If an ariyan disavows the training in the presence of a non-ariyan and he does not recognise it, the training is not disavowed. If a non-ariyan in the presence of an ariyan ... if an ariyan in the presence of an ariyan ... if a non-ariyan disavows the training in the presence of a non-ariyan and he does not recognise it, the training is not disavowed.

PĀLI TEXT:

ariyakena milakkhukassa santike sikkhaṃ paccakkhāti so ca na paṭivijānāti: apaccakkhātā hoti sikkhā. milakkhukena ariyakassa santike ... ariyakena ariyassa santike ... milakkhukena milakkhukassa santike sikkhaṃ paccakkhāti so ca na paṭivijānāti: apaccakkhātā hoti sikkhā. (Vin. III, 27-28)

TRANSLATION PROPOSED:

If he disavows the training by an ariyan language in the presence of a non-ariyan and that person does not recognise it, the training is not disavowed. If he disavows the training by a non-ariyan language in the presence of an ariyan ... by an ariyan language in the presence of an ariyan ... by a non-ariyan language in the presence of a non-ariyan and that person does not recognise it, the training is not disavowed.

And a translation in freestyle:

If he disavows the training by a native language in the presence of a foreigner and that person does not recognise it, the training is not disavowed. ... by a foreign language in the presence of a native ... by a native language in the presence of a native ... if he disavows the training by a foreign language in the presence of a foreigner and that person does not recognize it, the training is not disavowed.

DISCUSSION:

ariyaka & milakkhuka: First of all, we need to take a look at the structure of the two clauses “ariyakena milakkhukassa santike sikkhaṃ paccakkhāti so ca na paṭivijānāti.” There are two finite verbs: paccakkhāti and paṭivijānāti, and I don’t agree with I. B. Horner as she takes ariyakena in instrumental case as the agent of the former verb due to the reason that paccakkhāti is not a causative verb. In fact, this verb has an understood subject that is the monk who is disavowing the training, and ariyakena should be as an adjectival modifying an understood noun, I assume “a language” in this case.

What is the meaning of ariyaka? We are going to discuss ariyaka and milakkhuka at the same time. These two terms must have opposite meanings. I. B. Horner reminds us in her footnotes quoting from the Commentary: “tattha ariyakaṃ nāma ariyavohāro, māgadhabhāsā. Milakkhukaṃ nāma yo koci anariyako andhadamiḷādi,”[19] and her explanation as followed: “ariyaka means the proper mode of speech, the language of Magadha,” and milakkhuka implies “the people of Andha (i.e. the Telugus) and the Tamils.”[20]

In addition to that, the Sub-Commentary Sāratthadīpanī clarifies that milakkhuka is a language other than the Magadha language (anariyakoti māgadhavohārato añño).[21] So this is a case of language barrier, in which the latter is not able to understand what the former says, then he fails to be a witness for the disavowal. As a consequence, the former happens to still be a bhikkhu for whatever status he might think he is. 

A minor point about English usage is that the pronoun “he” in I. B. Horner’s translation may cause confusion: Which one the word “he” stands for, the one who is disavowing or the witness? As I understand from the context, the subject of the former verb is the disavowing monk and the latter is the witness. In this case, I prefer to translate “so” as “that one” or more clearly “that person.”

--ooOoo--

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