LL-L "Translation" 2008.06.08 (06) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L  - 08 June 2008 - Volume 06
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From: Mike Morgan <mwmosaka at gmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2008.06.04 (02) [E]

Just an aside (as I have been brushing up my Pali)
Mel Vassey has as closing quote the following verse from *Yammakavagga verse
5 *ta the beginning of the *Dhammapada:*
**

> "For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love -
> this is the eternal law."  - Buddha
>

Which I believe is Max Mueller's classic translation. The Pali "original"
(who knows WHAT the Budha actually said, but anyway) is:

*na hi verena verâni, sammantîdha kudâcanaɱ |
averena ca sammanti, esa dhammo sanantano ||*

Although I BASICALLY have no argument with the SENTIMENT of the translation,
it is a litle too ... Christian? with a little too little Buddhist
dialectic?

*na hi verena verâni* is clearly "not indeed by hatred are hatreds
(plural!)...". However, *averena* in the next half-verse is NOT "by love",
it is "by the lack (*a-*) of *verena*" ... a lack of hatred / enmity /
quarrel. This is more in keeping with the Buddhist goal of non-attachment
(non-attachment to EITHER "bad" OR "good" emotions). "Love" would be okay,
IF you could come up with a good "English" (Latin/Greek) word that is less
"active". The closest *I* can come up with a positive/negative pair in the
same semantic ballpark is pathos/apathy ... but my attempts to work THOSe
into a translation, i am afraid, skated the thin ice of heresy! (Okay, as a
Buddhist, I KNOW we do not generally believe in burning heretics at the
stake, but ... well I will just play it safe and leave it at that!)

PS My Greek is pitifully poor for an ex-Indo-europeanist, but is there a
"gape" to go with "agape"? Maybe THAT might do the trick... or not.

MWM || マイク || Мика || माईक || માઈક || ਮਾਈਕ
================
Dr Michael W Morgan
Managing Director
Ishara Foundation
Mumbai (Bombay), India
++++++++++++++++
माईकल मोर्गन (पी.एच.डी.)
मेनेजिंग डॉयरेक्टर
ईशारा फॉउंडेशन (मुंबई )
++++++++++++++++
茂流岸マイク(言語学博士)
イシャラ基金の専務理事・事務局長
ムンバイ(ボンベイ)、インド

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
 Subject: Translation

Mike,

You wrote:

*verena*" ... a lack of hatred / enmity / quarrel. This is more in keeping
with the Buddhist goal of non-attachment (non-attachment to EITHER "bad" OR
"good" emotions). "Love" would be okay, IF you could come up with a good
"English" (Latin/Greek) word that is less "active". The closest *I* can come
up with a positive/negative pair in the same semantic ballpark is
pathos/apathy ...

How about "(kind-hearted) acceptance" or "(compassionate) tolerance"?

Translating "Eastern" philosophical texts into European languages comes with
many such hurdles, including the case of English, which is relatively
flexible and offers a wealth of lexical possibilities.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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