John Kelly Pali course 2024: Warder lesson 22a

That is indeed the number 18, 8 + 10.
Taken with vatthu (an abstract meaning of the literal ‘field’ or ‘plot’) and in the instrumental (‘by means of’), it’s hard to think the Venerables are wrong.

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If a translation of deva-like were intended, then one of these suffixes ( -ka, -ika, -iya, and -in) would’ve been added directly to deva. But, as Stephen correctly points out (thanks again, Stephen!) the -iya suffix in this example is added to yāna. And this brings me the happy memory of a wonderful Sri Lankan man I know who’s given name is Devaka - and he certainly is god-like in his behaviour and service to the monastery we both attend! So, thanks for the memory.

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Absolutely :smiley: as I said,

I believe Perinola’s Grammar has a good section on numbers.

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Sorry to have missed you all this evening. I was travelling and things didn’t work out. I look forward to catching up with the recording.

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Regarding Lesson 22, para. 1 in the reading passage (Brahmajālasutta DN 1):

atthi bhikkhave aññ’eva dhammā gambhīrā duddasā duranubodhā santā paṇītā atakkāvacarā nipuṇā paṇḍitavedanīyā, ye tathāgato sayaṃ abhiññā sacchikatvā pavedeti, yehi tathāgatassa yathābhuccaṃ vaṇṇaṃ sammā vadamānā vadeyyuṃ.

Who is the subject of they would speak

vadeyyuṃ

Is Ajahn Brahmāli suggesting the wise in the earlier clause?

Indeed, monks there are other things, profound … subtle, to be known by the wise,
which the Tathagata … proclaims, (and) by which, rightly speaking, they would speak
the Tathagata’s real praise.

Ajahn Sujato solves it by breaking this up into two sentences, where the second one reads:

Those who genuinely praise the Realized One would rightly speak of these things.

Bhikkhu Bodhi solves it this way:

There are, bhikkhus, other dhammas, deep … subtle, comprehensible only to the wise, which the Tathāgata … propounds to others; and it is concerning these that those who would rightly praise the Tathāgata in accordance with reality would speak.

I see that the context in the preceding paragraph is:

… [these are the things] an ordinary person speaks of when they speak praise of the Realized One.

Perhaps I’m making a mountain out of a molehill :thinking:and it’s all dependent on knowing the context of the previous paragraph.

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Not entirely sure what you mean?

Would it not be aññ’eva dhammā…ye…yehi…?

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I mean that I couldn’t truly understand the paragraph because I couldn’t figure out the subject of vadeyyuṃ, which doesn’t seem to be aññ’eva dhammā. I was trying to locate the main who is saying what.

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Hi Beth. This indeed is a complex paragraph as it contains three main clauses with three different subjects and main verbs.

  1. atthi bhikkhave aññ’eva dhammā gambhīrā duddasā duranubodhā santā paṇītā atakkāvacarā nipuṇā paṇḍitavedanīyā,

atthi is the verb and it’s a straightforward equational sentence saying that the aññā dhammā have certain qualities.

  1. ye tathāgato sayaṃ abhiññā sacchikatvā pavedeti,

In this clause, tathāgato is the subject and pavedeti is the verb. No problem here.

  1. yehi tathāgatassa yathābhuccaṃ vaṇṇaṃ sammā vadamānā vadeyyuṃ.

This, as you point out, is the tricky clause. What we have here is an implied ‘they’ or ‘those people’ incorporated in the present participle vadamānā which is the subject of vadeyyuṃ.

My translation of this clause is: “and because of which those giving rightful praise to the Tathagata would properly speak.”

Hope this helps clarify things.

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John, how are you incorporating the ‘ yathābhuccaṃ’ in the last clause?

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Stephen, I translated yathābuccaṃ as the adverb ‘properly’ going with vadeyyuṃ ‘would speak’.

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Dear John,

I recall you mentioning that Lesson 22 passage 1, paras 1,2 and 3 is from DN1. Is it possible to know the name of the Suthra.

I found the name of the Suthra, it is Brahmajālasutta in DN1. Thank you John

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Hello Nihal. It’s always easy to find the name of a sutta (and the text, and translations, etc) by just tagging the acronym to suttacentral.net/ as in SuttaCentral

And by the way, Since you are a Pāli student I encourage you to use the Pāli term sutta, as opposed to the Sri Lankan suthra (or Sanskrit sutra).

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I was sorry not to be able to participate live in last week’s class, but grateful to John and Sumanā for the recording, about which I have two questions:

One
In

bhūtapubbaṃ imasmiṃ yeva bhikkhu-saṅghe aññatarassa bhikkhuno evaṃ cetaso parivitakko udapādi:

If aññatarassa bhikkhuno … cetaso means “in the mind of a certain monk”, how come the cases are GEN-GEN-GEN, rather than GEN-GEN-LOC?

Two
In

… yehi tathāgatassa yathābhuccaṃ vaṇṇaṃ sammā vadamāmā vadeyyuṃ.

is the subject of vadeyyuṃ (OPTATIVE 3plural) “monks,” “the wise” or an unspecified “they”?

Three
In

ye tathāgato sayaṃ abhiññā sacchikatvā vadeyyuṃ pavedeti,

@johnk said that abhiññā is a GERUND. Forgive me, but I forget what a gerund is in Pali?

Thank you, and looking forward to joining you all for the final class. :smiley:

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One
I believe it is something like “a thought of the mind arose” cetaso parivitakko udapādi "for a certain monk "aññatarassa bhikkhuno “in that bhikkhu sangha” imasmiṃ … bhikkhu-saṅghe etc.

Two
An unspecified ‘they’. See my answer to Beth about six posts above this.

Three
What Warder calls a gerund, most grammars would call an absolutive.

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That’s three questions Gillian :smiley:

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John, is this suitable for discussion?

Dukkhappatta ca niddukkha
Bhayappatta ca niibbhaya
Sokappatta ca nissoka
Hontu sabbe pi panino

Sorry I can’t do the accent on the a to make it a long a

The translation I’ve heard is

May suffering ones be suffering-free
And the fear-struck fearless be
May the grieving shed all grief
May all beings find relief

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Well spotted, Suroo!

Just remember, @Gillian, there are three types of people in the world - those who can count and those who can’t!! :rofl:

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