I would like to know if the following is a possible valid translation of the pali word “anidassanam”? Note: I used the Online Pali English Dictionary to get the candidates for the components of the word. That said, I do not know Pali or its grammar.
a+ni+dassa = no + hindmost + seeing
PS. Another interpretation could be “no depth seeing”.
Raftafarian:
anidassanam
From Digital pāḷi dictionary:
anidassana:
na: prefix. not
ni: prefix. down
many meanings for dassana
nt. (+gen) sight (of); vision (of); appearance (of); lit. seeing [√dis + a + ana]
nt. seeing; watching [√dis + a + ana]
nt. insight; realization; spiritual vision; lit. seeing [√dis + a + ana]
nt. eye; lit. seeing [√dis + a + ana]
nt. showing; teaching [√dis + a + ana]
adj. having vision; with insight; lit. seeing [√dis + a + ana]
nidassana
nt. comparison; example; evidence; lit. looking down [ni + √dis + a + ana]
nt. appearing; manifesting [ni + √dis + a + ana]
nt. specific example [ni + √dis]
From classical Theravada:
This thread can clarify this term. It gained some prominence in recent times due to the ideas of an American monk, Thanissaro and a few other scholars. accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.049.than.html His notes to this sutta say > ...
Reading time: 3 mins 🕑
Likes: 3 ❤
“Tattha viññatabbanti “Viññanam” nibbanassetam namam,…”
“There, to be known specially, so (it is) “Viññanam”. This is the name of nibbana.”
And Kevatta Sutta Tika further explains the phrase “viññatabbanti” as follows:
"Viññatabbanti visitthena ñatabbam, ñanuttamena ariyamaggañanena paccakkhato janitabbanti attho, tenaha “nibbanassetam namam"ti.”
“(To be known specially) means to be extraordinarily known. The meaning is ‘to be known in the sense of realization by ultimate wisdom, by noble path wisdom’”. Therefore, (the commentator) stated that ‘This is the name of nibbana’" Therefore, the term ‘Viññanam’ in the line of the original Pali verse “Viññanam anidassanam, anantam sabbatopabham …” does not refer to consciousness, the usual meaning of viññanam.
Nibbana does not become a sort of consciousness just because one of its Pali names happens to be Viññanam. In English language, the term ‘object’ can have different meanings. For example, the term ‘object’ in visual object has no relation to
1 Like
Thank you for your well considered answer. Just an FYI, this is the entry from the Pali English Online Dictionary were it does list hindmost
ni˚ (p. 351 )
Ni˚ Ni˚ [Sk. ni- & nih-, insep. prefixes: (a) ni down=Av. ni, cp. Gr. νειός lowland, νείατος the lowest, hindmost niḥ out, prob. fr. *seni & to Lat. sine without]. Nearly all (ultimately prob. all) words under this heading are cpds. with the pref. ni. — A. Forms. 1. Pāli ni˚ combines the two prefixes ni & nis (nir). They are outwardly to be distinguished inasmuch as ni is usually followed by a single consonant (except in forms where double cons. is usually restored in composition, like ni-kkhipati=ni+kṣip ; nissita= ni+sri . Sometimes the double cons. is merely graphic or due to analogy, esp. in words where ni- is contrasted with ud- (“up”), as nikkujja>ukkujja, niggilati> uggilati, ninnamati>unnamati). On the other hand a compn with nis is subject to the rules of assimilation, viz. either doubling of cons. (nibbhoga=nir-bhoga) where vv is represented by bb (nibbiṇṇa fr. nir-vindati), or lengthening of ni to nī (nīyādeti as well as niyy˚; nīharati=nir+har ), or single cons. in the special cases of r & v (niroga besides nīroga for nirroga, cp. duratta >dūrakkha; niveṭheti=nibbeṭheti, nivāreti=*nivvāreti=nīvāreti). Before a vowel the sandhi-cons. r is restored: nir-aya, nir-upadhi etc. — 2. Both ni & nis are base-prefixes only, & of stable, well-defined character, i. e. never enter combns with other prefixes as first (modifying) components in verb-function (like saŋ, vi etc.), although nis occurs in such combn in noun-cpds. negating the whole term: nir-upadhi, nis-saŋsaya etc. — 3. ni is freq. emphasised by saŋ as saŋni˚ (tud, dhā, pat, sad); nis most freq. by abhi as abhinis˚ (nam, pad, vatt, har).Meanings. 1. ni (with secondary derivations like nīca “low”) is a verb-pref. only, i. e. it characterises action with respect to its direction, which is that of (a) a downward motion (opp. abhi & ud); (b) often implying the aim (=down into, on to, cp. Lat. sub in subire, or pref. ad˚); or (c) the reverting of an upward motion=back (identical with b); e. g. (a) ni-dhā (put down), ˚kkhip (throw d.), ˚guh (hide d.), ˚ci (heap up), ˚pad (fall d.), ˚sad (sit d.); (b) ni-ratta (at -tached to), ˚mant (speak to); ˚yuj (ap-point), ˚ved (ad-dress), ˚sev (be devoted to) etc.; (c) ni-vatt (turn back). — 2. nis (a) as verb-pref. it denotes the directional “out” with further development to “away from, opposite, without,” pointing out the finishing, completion or vanishing of an action & through the latter idea often assuming the meaning of the reverse, disappearance or contrary of an action=“un” (Lat. dis-), e. g. nikkhamati (to go out from) opp. pavisati (to enter into), ˚ccharati (nis to car to go forth), ˚ddhamati (throw out), ˚pajjati (result from), ˚bbattati (vatt spring out from), nīharati (take out), nirodhati (break up, destroy). — (b) as nounpref. it denotes “being without” or “not having”= E. -less, e. g. niccola without clothes, ˚ttaṇha (without thirst), ˚ppurisa (without a man), ˚pphala (without fruit); niccala motion-less, ˚kkaruṇa (heartless), ˚ddosa (fault˚), ˚maŋsa (flesh˚), ˚saŋsaya (doubt˚) nirattha (useless), ˚bbhaya (fear˚). — Bdhgh evidently takes ni- in meaning of nis only, when defining: ni-saddo abhāvaŋ dīpeti Vism 495.
Notez
March 11, 2024, 4:04pm
4
Namo Buddhaya!
I think the word is not really a mystery.
Sinhala still has the word nidarshana as in ‘demonstration’ so anidarshana would be close to not-demonstrable and not-evident.
I assume it’s true analog of pali anidassana and it fits in well illuminating the meaning of the texts.
1 Like
SuttaCentral