Pali

CRO-MAGNON SECOND DELIVERY OLDER READINGS AND REVIEWS A WORK IN PROGRESS

by Jacques Coulardeau

Here are some of the reviews of some of the readings I have been doing over the last 18 months for this project, Cromagnon’s Language. July 2005 to present, www.academia.edu.
Team Members: Jacques Coulardeau, Ivan EVE.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. BRYAN SYKES – THE SEVEN DAUGHTERS OF EVE
2. THEODOR W. ADORNO – LE CARACTERE... more TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. BRYAN SYKES – THE SEVEN DAUGHTERS OF EVE
2. THEODOR W. ADORNO – LE CARACTERE FETICHE DANS LA MUSIQUE – EDITIONS ALLIA – 2007 (1956(1938))
3. ROBERT ZEMECKIS - BEOWULF
4. BEOWULF AND GRENDEL
5. EDITH WEBER – LA RESONANCE DANS LES ECHELLES MUSICALES – CNRS – 1963
6. PROPHECY COLES – THE IMPORTANCE OF SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS IN PSYCHOANALYSIS
7. CHARLES DARWIN – ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES
8. CHARLES DARWIN – THE DESCENT OF MAN
9. DIETZ OTTO EDZARD – SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
10. THE PALI LANGUAGE (LANGUAGES OF ASIA AND AFRICA)
11. LANGUAGE AND STYLE OF THE VEDIC RSIS (SUNY SERIES IN HINDU STUDIES)
12. NIALL FERGUSON – CIVILIZATION, THE WEST AND THE REST – 2011
13. FRANCIS FUKUYAMA – THE END OF HISTORY AND THE LAST MAN
14. WINFRED P. LEHMANN – PROTO-INDO-EUROPEAN SYNTAX
15. LORD OF THE RINGS – THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING – METROPOLITAN EDITION
16. LORD OF THE RINGS – THE TWO TOWERS – METROPOLITAN EDITION
17. LORD OF THE RINGS – THE RETURN OF THE KING – METROPOLITAN EDITION COLLECTOR
18. STEVEN MITHEN – THE SINGING NEANDERTHALS, THE ORIGINES OF MUSIC, LANGUAGE, MIND, AND BODY
19. MUSIQUE ET TEMPS – CITE DE LA MUSIQUE – 978 2 914147 44 6
20. MARYLÈNE PATOU-MATHIS – NEANDERTHAL, UNE AUTRE HUMANITÉ
21. MARTIAL ROBERT – PIERRE SHAEFFER D’ORPHEE A MACLUHAN
22. PIERRE SHAEFFER – DE LA MUSIQUE CONCRETE A LA MUSIQUE MEME
23. BERTIL TIKKANEN – THE SANSKRIT GERUND : A SYNCHRONIC, DIACHRONIC AND TYPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS – HELSINKI 1987
24. J.R.R. TOLKIEN – CHRISTOPHER TOLKIEN – THE LEGEND OF SIHURD AND GUDRUN
25. A.A. MACDONNELL – VEDIC MYTHOLOGY, STRASSBURG, 1897
26. WILLIAM MORRIS – EIRIKR MAGNUSSON – ANONYMOUS – THE VOLSUNG SAGA
27. JESSE L. BYOCK – SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS
28. CALVERT WATKINS – HOW TO KILL A DRAGON : ASPECTS OF INDO-EUROPEAN POETICS
29. WHITNEY, WILLIAM DWIGHT – SANSKRIT GRAMMAR INCLUDING THE CLASSICAL LANGUAGE AND THE OLDER DIALECTS OF …

Teacher or Friend? (MA Thesis)

by Asaf Federman

Sigiriya 2005 Report Second Part

by Jacques Coulardeau

CES Consolidation
In consolidating the work programme, the field research base and interpretation centre at Diyakapilla in Sigiriya established under the project facilitates to promote opportunities in eco-cultural resource documentation, provide experience in Dry Zone lifeways and training in biodiversity monitoring techniques to students, researchers and other stakeholders concerned with the conservation of eco-cultural diversity.

This is the second part of the report, the final few scores of pages.
For more, go there. Get to their site and... more This is the second part of the report, the final few scores of pages.
For more, go there. Get to their site and contact Sujeewa or Sudarshani. and be my guest: I will introduce to my favorite animals: wild elephants and all kinds of mountain cats.

Sigiriya 2005 Report First Part

by Jacques Coulardeau

CES Objectives

To conduct eco-cultural studies
To conduct eco-cultural education, awareness and training programmes
To establish and maintain an interpretation centre
To promote environment-friendly local industries to assist local communities
To promote non-destructive nature-based local enterprises

Here is the first part of my report after my mission to Sigiriya and Pidurangala in 2005 Here is the first part of my report after my mission to Sigiriya and Pidurangala in 2005

Sigiriya 2005 Report Table of Contents

by Jacques Coulardeau

I spent three months in Sigiriya on a mission to evaluate the touristic potential of the area and to teach The English of Biuddhism to the students of the Pidurangala monastery.

That was fun, fun fun, and absolutely mental in the meaning of an extreme activity of the mind.

Enjoy the report in a title page with contents and then two parts

CES was established in January 1998 by a group of interdisciplinary researchers whose aim was to create an institute... more CES was established in January 1998 by a group of interdisciplinary researchers whose aim was to create an institute for participatory eco-cultural development in Sri Lanka through research, education, awareness and community development. CES is registered as a Non-governmental research institute concerned with issues pertaining to the present eco-cultural status of Sri Lanka and advocates sustainable measures to suit the local environment and cultures. Collaborative undertakings with other eco-culture friendly institutes will create an extensive network to promote awareness and foster eco-cultural development in Sri Lanka.

THE BETRAYAL OF BUDDHIST CONCEPTS IN ENGLISH EKNATH EASWARAN’S «TRANSLATION»

by Jacques Coulardeau

The Dhammapada is the basic Buddhist text. The words of Narada Thera’s English translation have strong Christian connotations in any Western mind. Those connotations are in contradiction with the meaning of the text as a whole and the explanations found in other manuals. The word that is most pregnant with this contradiction is dukkha translated by suffering or pain or sorrow. Then the other two basic concepts aniccā and anattā translated by impermanence and no-soul seem to be less unfaithful though cryptic (see below part II for discussion). We have to go into the Pāli language, beyond the translation. Easwaran’s Translation of The Dhammapada (1986-1996), his general introduction and Stephen Ruppenthal’s chapter introductions confirm the fact that the whole text was forcefully warped into a Christian oriented interpretation by the English words retained in the translation of the Buddhist concepts. That phenomenon is cultural colonialism and imperialism. Today Buddhism has to be restored in its purity that is not Christian. Buddha was preaching six centuries before Christ and cut off from the Palestinian Semitic traditions.

The most visible betrayal is at the level of the concepts and the trend in Sri Lanka today to keep the Pāli concepts... more The most visible betrayal is at the level of the concepts and the trend in Sri Lanka today to keep the Pāli concepts and to develop a good glossary to explain the subtlety and the rich semantic meaning of these concepts is the good solution.
Sri Lanka is a special case and they hope the peace that is finally coming to this island will enable them to dedicate more energy and means to deepen their thinking and their approach of the modern world, that is to say articulate Buddhism and sustainable development.

Syncretic Concatenate Syntax Within the Sentence in Pāli

by Jacques Coulardeau

I discovered Pāli in 2005 when I arrived in Sri Lanka and learned that I will be entrusted with the teaching of the English of Buddhism to the monks of the Pidurangala monastery. I dived into the Dhammapada . In two days I understood that the English translation was not exactly correct. So I dived a second time but this time in the original text and the notes, trying to understand the original language, Pāli.
Pāli is the canonical language of Buddhism invented by the Sri Lankan Buddhist monks under the orders of Emperor Asoka (272-231 BCE) to transcribe the oral tradition of Buddha’s and Buddhist preaching. Siddhārtha Gautama, known as the historical Buddha lived in 566-486 BCE (revised to 490-410 BCE by modern research).

And languages all come from the most distant historical (and of course pre-historical) times. It was invented by Homo... more And languages all come from the most distant historical (and of course pre-historical) times. It was invented by Homo Sapiens 150,000 years ago, on the basis of the vocal practices of their ancestors or predecessors (Homo Ergaster , or some apes ), and it has evolved since then in a myriad of forms. But no matter what the level reached by this or that language may be, it has developed a full communicational discourse and it has never forgotten and totally rejected the means of its origins. To illustrate this historical survival of what Lévy-Bruhl called “primitive” in our modern languages I will use a little bit of prose by Walt Whitman again:

“Mild, foolish, dough-colored, simpering face; black cloth suit-shad-bellied, single-breasted coat, with low standing collar all round, vest buttoned close to throat, knees a little bent, toes turned out, and chin down. Episcopalian deacon.” (Walt Whitman, "Street Yarn", in Life Illustrated, August 16, 1856; in New York Dissected, E. Holloway and R. Adimari, eds, Rufus Rockwell Wilson, 1936)

Mephistopheles is totally wrong. In language the past is not what is no more and the future is not what is not yet. In language the past is always present and the future is always being born, I mean breath-borne, to life every minute one person speaks. The concept of primitiveness in that context is just irrelevant.

PĀLI AND RETROSPECTIVE DIACHRONY IN A LANGUAGE FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES (LSP)

by Jacques Coulardeau

It is necessary to open this paper with some linguistic history of Pāli. Great discussions are still going on about this language. One thing is commonly accepted, though debated: it was devised in Sri Lanka around the first century AD by some Buddhist monks under the reign of Vattagāmanī Abhaya for the transcription of what was going to become the canonical texts of Buddhism. Actually Pāli means "texts". The discussion that has been going on for some time is about the origin of Pāli. It is clear that the canonical texts of Buddhism, before their transcription in written form, were used orally for preaching and teaching. They are an oral heritage based orginally, that is to say six centuries earlier, on the actual preaching of the Buddha. The Buddha (Gotama Sinddhartha, c. 563-483 BC) was originally from Lumbini in Nepal and then mainly preached in Magadha, a small northwestern Indian kingdom, hence in Māgadhī which was an Indo-Aryan language. This Indo-Aryan term is debated too.

LSP (Language for Special Purposes) have an important role to play because in a way they associate great productivity... more LSP (Language for Special Purposes) have an important role to play because in a way they associate great productivity and creativity in their active phase and an ossification when something is no longer active. Due to this accelerated process (as compared to a normal language which is a Language for General Purposes or LGP) some morphosyntactic and syntactic phenomena become a lot more visible. Pāli is such a language and we have seen Sanskrit could also be considered as such a language. In fact any LGP has some domain where it becomes an LSP. And it is that or those domains that reveal the deep functioning of the language either by overusing some characteristic into creativity or by ossifying some characteristic into absolute at times distorted stability. Yet these phenomena become most visible when this LSP is confronted to another language via translation or adaptation to another public that does not speak the concerned LSP.

On the Origin of the Middle Indic Future Suffix -hi-

by Paolo Milizia

published in 'Journal of the American Oriental Society' 131 (2011), pp. 25-37.

The Stanzas on the Cārvāka/Lokāyata in the Skhalitapramathanayuktihetusiddhi

by Krishna Del Toso

Journal of Indian Philosophy 38 (2010), pp. 543-552.
(repository version)

In Āryadevapāda’s Skhalitapramathanayuktihetusiddhi we find a problematic passage in which some Cārvāka theories are... more In Āryadevapāda’s Skhalitapramathanayuktihetusiddhi we find a problematic passage in which some Cārvāka theories are expounded. The problem here lies in the fact that, according to Āryadevapāda, the Cārvākas—who did not admit rebirth—would have upheld that happiness in this life can be gained by worshipping gods and defeating demons. As the Cārvākas were materialists, the reference to gods and demons does not fit so much with their philosophical perspective.
In this paper, by taking into account several passages from Pāli and Sanskrit Buddhist sources, I have tried to demonstrate that Āryadevapāda is here probably following the Laṅkāvatārasūtra, where mention is made of some Lokāyatikas who are said to have been able to infatuate gods and demons. In both the Pāli Canon and the Mahāyāna sātras, however, the term lokāyata does not refer to ‘‘materialism’’. It rather conveys the meaning of ‘‘art of disputation’’, and is generally used in the description of brāhmaṇas well versed in the Vedas, in the recitation of mantras and in dialectic methods in general. It is the Laṅkāvatārasūtra that introduces the idea—corroborated also by a passage from the Mahābhārata—that these brāhmaṇas, skilled in lokāyata, would have indulged in some materialistic tenet. When the two terms, Cārvāka and Lokāyata, came both to mean ‘‘materialism’’, around the IV century CE, it is highly probable that non-Cārvāka thinkers and commentators—as could be the case of Āryadevapāda—had in some occasion assimilated and integrated certain points of view, originally belonging to the ancient lokāyata perspective (for instance, the references to gods and demons), into what they believed Cārvāka philosophy had to be.

The Function of saññā in the Perceptive Activity According to the Suttapiṭaka (second version)

by Krishna Del Toso

submitted to PEW

This article aims at pointing out which are the meaning and function of saññā as they can be inferred from a careful... more This article aims at pointing out which are the meaning and function of saññā as they can be inferred from a careful reading of some relevant passages of the Pāli Canon. As far as the meaning of saññā is concerned, the discussion stresses the fact that the renderings “perception” and “apperception” seem to overinterpret the actual function/activity of saññā. Also the translations “idea” or “ideation” appear to refer only to a part or aspect of the activity of saññā. “Cognition”, moreover, should be discarded in favour of a more adequate “recognition”, a term that conceptually conveys both the senses of cognizing and naming. As regards its role within the perceptive act, saññā is said to take place after sensation (vedanā), its task being to collect the information coming from vedanā and to organize it into a datum that can be presented to, and handled by, the consiouness/mind (viññāṇa/citta). For this reason saññā is reputed to play a central role in the process of constitution of the so-called sense of Ego, as opposed to the object perceptually grasped.

A Study on the language of Samādhirājasūtra

by Chandima Gangodawila

Lingual Peculiarities of Samādhirājasūtra, Wimalalekha:Essays in Honour of Venerable Makulwewe Wimalajothi,Maharachchimulla,Sri Lanka pp 230-240 [In English]

A Study on the Existing Constraints of Translation from Sanskrit into other Languages

by Chandima Gangodawila

“A Study on the Existing Constraints of Translation from Sanskrit into other Languages.” First International Conference for Asian Heritage, International Association for Asian Heritage, Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 7-8, 2011. [In English]

Do the witchcraft based rites of Atharvaveda represent either a mythological or scientific society by Ven Gangodawila Chandima

by Chandima Gangodawila

“Do the witchcraft based rites of Atharvaveda represent either a mythological or scientific society?.” 4th Annual International Research Conference of Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka Royal Asiatic Society, Colombo, Sri Lanka, March 25, 2011. [In English]

Towards the reliability of the online learning based on Sanskrit Materials

by Chandima Gangodawila

“Towards the reliability of the online learning based on Sanskrit materials.” 30th Anniversary International Research Conference of Open University of Sri Lanka, Open University of Sri Lanka, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka August 20, 2010. [In English]

Towards the Reliability of the online Learning based on Sanskrit Materials

01 Introduction
The main... more Towards the Reliability of the online Learning based on Sanskrit Materials

01 Introduction
The main purpose of this research paper is to explore the reliability of the online learning based on the existing Sanskrit materials. At first, I should say that this doesn’t anyway mean to undermine the regular online learning system relied on Sanskrit. But, I deem it worthwhile to keep an inherent tradition of all the languages to bear a rich corpus of materials for online learning.
For Sanskrit, there can be seen a dozen of internet materials which have been published not only by some Indian websites, but also by some European and American authorities. Out of all, the Sanskrit Portal which is handled by Gerard Huet is the best, projecting the cruxes of them to a greater detail. The Sanskrit Portal generally provides with us a composite exposition of most of online materials for Sanskrit and related genres. First and foremost, it furnishes us with a list of general sites namely The Indology Site, Sanskrit Studies links, Sanskrit forums, International Sanskrit Association, Sanskrit Page, Omniglot.Then it brings to us the Sanskrit dictionary from Sanskrit heritage to Glossaire des terms Pali on Buddhiques. Digital Sanskrit library is the genre for online learning related to e-texts by which the GRETIL and Gaudiya Grantha Mandira texts have been carefully prepared. Next, the Sanskrit portal gives Devanagari fonts and translators which are aptly suitable for specific Sanskrit fonts. Educational institutes for Sanskrit in India and overseas renders us a really succinct account about the programs of online learning worldwide. The excerpts and abstracts of past Sanskrit conferences are also valuable for both the researches and common public who are keen interested in Sanskrit. Grammatical softwares such as TDIL for windows, Sanskrit Lemmatizer, Sanskrit Morphology Generator, Liberation Philology Software and The Devanagari Animated Calligraphy too drive the lovers of Sanskrit on the portions of Phonetics. The information about Sanskrit courses and workshops incluiding Spoken Programs and sessions would also be considered as some innovations for online learning.
02 Methodology
I would first describe the online learning using the softwares prepared by JNU Special Centre for Sanskrit. Then my attempt would be to cover up the Sanskrit dictionaries compiled for online learning. Moreover, my attention will focus on the German dictionaries for Sanskrit as most of the online materials for Sanskrit are in German. This will follow a copious study of individual sites prepared by Sanskrit scholars so as to have an impression of Sanskrit using the variegated ideologies .I will also not leave a scholarly discussion about how far the top-ranking departments and online Sanskrit journals have contributed to the caption.
04 Findings
One of the explorations from the JNU related softwares in the Special centre for Sanskrit Studies is that any Sanskrit researcher who is willing to study the grammatical materials does not need to grapple with any particular scholar or book related to the field .So it is a kind of immense help that they receive from online learning.
Secondly, the Sanskrit dictionaries for online learning show that they are not so flexible in the search mood. The searchable data system proves inconsistent in this regard. I also found that there are no online dictionaries in German Language for Sanskrit since most of compiled splendid Sanskrit dictionaries are in German. For instance, the Sanskrit Wotorbuch compiled by Heinrich Roth. This has not yet been published into online category by any authority.
Moving onto the individual Sanskrit sites maintained by various scholars it seems more complicated by the context and the views they hold on them due to the vividness of dogmatic views. Nevertheless, I found the website for online learning in Sanskrit made by Ulrich Stiehl as the best performance in this regard. When paying attention to the departmental sites for Sanskrit, I could investigate that they are too not systematic for online learning due to the basis they have been relied on. One of the other findings of my research is to testify the availability of Standard Online Sanskrit Journals appeared in several web pages.
05 Conclusion
In conclusion, I could say that the softwares for Sanskrit have made the traditional education easy for many, removing all the difficulties such as finding books and veteran mentors on the particular divisions of Sanskrit. It is also an indispensable necessity to build up a most proximate database for online Sanskrit dictionaries in German. Online publishing of the Wotorbuch zum Rigveda and other very usable Sanskrit dictionaries will pave the way of many researchers into a better understanding. Another salient factor is to make all the private websites related to Sanskrit consistent on all the portions. Online journals for Sanskrit should also be relied on the relevant Sanskrit of the particular countries.
Key Words: Online, Sanskrit, Learning, Indology, German, Website

Revisiting the Sanskrit Studies in Europe with Special Reference to Its Early Period

by Chandima Gangodawila

Demythologisation in Axial Age India - The Sigalovada Suttanta.

by Michel Clasquin-Johnson

Clasquin, M 1995. Demythologisation in Axial Age India - The Sigalovada Suttanta. Myth and Symbol. vol 2. (1995) pp 19-38.

Although the term "demythologisation" is usually associated with the name of Rudolf Bultmann, it is here... more Although the term "demythologisation" is usually associated with the name of Rudolf Bultmann, it is here argued that very similar processes were occurring in the fifth century BCE in places such as Greece and India. One good example of this process is the Buddhist text known as the Sig∼lov∼da Suttanta. In this text, a physical ritual of worship offered to specific gods believed to reside in the "six quarters" (east, south, west, north, below and above)is radically redefined and given a new, ethical interpretation, in which the acts of worship are reinterpreted as referring to ethical treatment of specific types of person. The process can, however, be seen to be at least partially self‑defeating, because once the story had become part of a sacred literary corpus, it became "mythologised" itself and is now itself in need of demythologisation.

On Translation

by Glenn Wallis

Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly, volume 7, number 4, Summer 2009: 83-85.

Do plants live? Do they feel?

by elisa freschi

draft only, the improved version has been published in "Philosophy East and West", 61.2, pp. 380-5 (2011)

Fausbøll,[Michael] Viggo, The Dhammapada. Being a collection of moral verses in Pali. Edited a second time with a literal Latin translation and notes for the use of Pali …

by Burkhard Scherer

Indo-Iranian Journal 44 (2001), 172-3.