What are the differences between Pali & Sanskrit
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I know that Pali is used in Theravada and Sanskrit is in Mahayana.
How come each tradition is using different languages?
What was the languaged used during the Buddha's time? anyone care to share light on this, thanks a lot.
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Nobody knows what language the Buddha spoke in his times.
However, I have read that the academics speculate the Buddha used a wide range of language, speaking differently at different locations. He travelled throughout India, so naturally he had to adapt to the location.
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then how come each traditions each come out with their different languages like Pali and Sanskrit?
on what basis did they used this languages?
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didnt Ananda's Thus I have heard appeared at the beginning of the sutras, didnt he mentioned the languages used during the Buddha's time?
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At the beginning they need one to standardize so that they can pass down the teachings consistently. However if I recall, the Buddha did advise the translation of dharma, hence it is translated from Pali/Sanskrit into Chinese, English, Tibetan, etc etc.
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
At the beginning they need one to standardize so that they can pass down the teachings consistently. However if I recall, the Buddha did advise the translation of dharma, hence it is translated from Pali/Sanskrit into Chinese, English, Tibetan, etc etc.
translation? Buddha did mentioned about translation? did he predicted it will spread to far away places from India like Tibet and China?
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Originally posted by Louis dave36:
didnt Ananda's Thus I have heard appeared at the beginning of the sutras, didnt he mentioned the languages used during the Buddha's time?
I can say what I heard in another language but the meaning remains consistent.
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I wanted to create another thread on Theravada and Mahayana, but I will ask in this thread since they are related topics.
Did Buddha forsaw the split into Therava and Mahayana traditions before he passed away?
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I cannot remember what the Buddha said, but I did briefly remember that the Buddha was against the idea of preserving his teachings in a certain language instead of spreading them in whatever the culture/language commonly used may be.
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they are spelt differently...
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Originally posted by Louis dave36:
I wanted to create another thread on Theravada and Mahayana, but I will ask in this thread since they are related topics.
Did Buddha forsaw the split into Therava and Mahayana traditions before he passed away?
Where is your topic on Theravada? Don't think it's that popular in Singapore though.
To answer your question from Theravada POV and literature, yes, the Buddha predicted the split in Buddhism . Schism in Theravada Buddhism is one of the 5 most serious offence (besides wounding of the Buddha, killing of arahants, killing of mother, killing of father) that creates a heavy kamma that guarantees rebirth in Hell in the immediate next life.
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Originally posted by soul2soul:
Where is your topic on Theravada? Don't think it's that popular in Singapore though.
To answer your question from Theravada POV and literature, yes, the Buddha predicted the split in Buddhism . Schism in Theravada Buddhism is one of the 5 most serious offence (besides wounding of the Buddha, killing of arahants, killing of mother, killing of father) that creates a heavy kamma that guarantees rebirth in Hell in the immediate next life.
who says that Theravada is not popular in Singapore? there are quite a few famous theravada temples in Singapore such as Mangala Vihara.
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All Buddhas will preach Dharma in Sanskrit as if you ever come across any very old sutras, Je TsongKhaPa's Lamrim. The Starting statments of Sutras are always in Sanskrit. Such as statement like Namo Guru VajraBhairaya
From what i remembered:
Namo meams to take refuge
Guru means the Spritual Guide
VajraBhaira The Adantinium Terrifer
Ya means to respect
Why??? 1) To respect the Dharma's origin, 2) All Buddhas will spread Dharma in Sanskrit 3) to implant our mindstream with the language so that we will meet Buddhas eventually and understand the lauguage
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but other world systems or Buddha world does not have sanskrit languages in their world system, as sanskrit is an indian ancient dialect. there are some 300 plus languages and dialects in India alone.
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Originally posted by Rooney9:
but other world systems or Buddha world does not have sanskrit languages in their world system, as sanskrit is an indian ancient dialect. there are some 300 plus languages and dialects in India alone.
Languages evolve all the time and rapidly. Look at the English language itself. Within 50 years, it has changed a lot. It's more likely that the Buddha preached in a language understood by his contemporaries.
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Buddhism was centred in India, Sanskrit, I presumed is the dominant written language, not unlike Latin in the middle ages,where those fortunate to be educated are schooled in ! Please correct me if I'm off the mark ! Logic assumes I communicate with you in English as I am comfortable in it as a written language !
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Originally posted by Weychin:
Buddhism was centred in India, Sanskrit, I presumed is the dominant written language, not unlike Latin in the middle ages,where those fortunate to be educated are schooled in ! Please correct me if I’m off the mark ! Logic assumes I communicate with you in English as I am comfortable in it as a written language !
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pali
Nobody knows what exact language Buddha used, but Pali is believed to be the closest to the one used by him and his contempararies. Most likely it's derivative of the one spoken by the Buddha.
Sanskrit is the ancient language in India which gradually supplanted the smaller languages/dialects. Hindus use Sanskrit too (correct me if I am wrong). Yes, Sanskrit was a later dominant language but not necessarily the ones spoken by the earlier people.The Agama sutras (sanskrit) of Mahayana have lots of similarity with the Pali Cannon.
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Yupyup, Pali is a dialect of sanskrit. Thus many of its words are similar to sanskrit. However, it has less vowels and consonants compared to sanskrit. _(|)_
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"There are two crucial factors mitigating against the streamlining of "Buddhism" that many readers presumably desire. First, contrary to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, Buddhism is not a "Religion of the book." There is no single volume that contains the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha, in fact, wrote nothing at all. He wandered around a four-hundred-square-mile area of eastern India for forty-five years, verbally clarifying for others the nature of what he referred to as his "awakening" -- this liberating insight into the nature of human existence. Eventually codified by the community of his followers in India and committed to writing in Sri Lanka, China, and beyond (this process is explained later), this nearly half century of teaching amounts to a virtual library of books. The second factor working against an easy solution to the present-day multiplicity of Buddhisms is the fact that although the Buddha became a renowned teacher with a substantial following during his lifetime, he never centralized his authority. Scholars speculate that the Buddha modeled his practitioner community on the power-sharing republican political structure of his own people, the Sakyas of northeastern India (see "Pronunciation of Sanskrit and Pali Words"). In any case, shortly before he died, the Buddha insisted that no one assume the role of authority when he was gone. Hence, without a popelike figure to lay down the law, two predictable results manifested: the community splitered into numerous divergent sects and schools, and doctrinal disputes and variations in practice proliferated. The result of twenty-five hundred years of such diffusion is precisely the confusing cacophony of Buddhist voices beckoning us today from bookshelves and practice centers."
~ Glen Wallis, "Basic Teachings of the Buddha"
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is it ok to have doubts on some of the teachings, whereby I have doubts it was uttered and taught by the Buddha.
I certainly couldnt agree more with the 4 Noble Truths (The best of all truths), Noble Eightfold Paths (The best of all paths), rebirth, karma and dependent origination, cause and effect.
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If you want to practice Mahayana Buddhism then yes you should have faith in the Mahayana teachings.
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Originally posted by Rooney9:
is it ok to have doubts on some of the teachings, whereby I have doubts it was uttered and taught by the Buddha.
I certainly couldnt agree more with the 4 Noble Truths (The best of all truths), Noble Eightfold Paths (The best of all paths), rebirth, karma and dependent origination, cause and effect.
Then you need to make an earnest effort to address the doubts. Make an adithanna wish also to meet the True Dhamma whenever you perform merits.