A Pali English Glossary Of Buddhist Technical Terms

Here is a reprint of the English-Pali Dictionary by A.P. Buddhadatta Mahathera published long ago by the Pali Text Society in Roman script. This publication was then considered a notable event in the life of the Society for it was a great improvement on a similar earlier work by Venerable W. Piyatissa whose usefulness was reduced for the English-speaking readers by the Pali words being given in Sinhalese script. This is a consider ably enlarged form of a concise English-Pali Dictionary compiled by the present author during the second World War. The author has coined many new words and has given more than one Pali word for some English verbs which do not exist in the ancient languages like Pali. This dictionary, though not an exhaustive one, has proved much useful to the scholars of the Pali language as it presents well chosen material in a single volume of a manageable size. (by the same author) CONCISE PALI-ENGLISH DICTIONARY - This Concise Pali-English Dictionary has been prepared mainly for use by students in schools and colleges. The author is not only an eminent Elder of the Buddhist Order but one of the leading Pali scholars recognized both in the East and West as an authority on the subject. It is to be observed that the author has kept more or less to the traditional sense of words while not altogether ignoring the meanings given by western scholars in their translations and lexicons. Many errors in the latter sources have also been rectified. But the basic sense adopted is in nearly every instance the traditionally accepted meaning in accord with the commentaries and the glossaries. This perhaps is of special value to beginners as thereby they get introduced to the indigenous tradition, thus providing a useful basis on which to build up a more scientific knowledge as the study advances.

The merits and demerits of the work will be sufficiently plain even from the first fascicles. But one or two remarks are necessary to make the position of my colleague and myself clear. We have given throughout the Sanskrit roots corresponding to the Pali roots, and have omitted the latter. It may be objected that this is a strange method to use in a Pali dictionary, especially as the vernacular on which Pali is based had never passed through the stage of Sanskrit. That may be so; and it may not be possible, historically, that any Pali word in the canon could have been actually derived from the corresponding Sanskrit word. Nevertheless the Sanskrit form, though arisen quite independently, may throw light upon the Pali form; and as Pali roots have not yet been adequately studied in Europe, the plan adopted will probably, at least for the present, be more useful. Still, the work is essentially preliminary. There is a large number of words of which we do not know the derivation. There is a still larger number of which the derivation does not give the meaning, but rather the reverse. It is so in every living language. Who could guess, from the derivation, the complicated meaning of such words as ñconscienceî, ñemotionî, ñdispositionî? The derivation would be as likely to mislead as to guide. We have made much progress since then. As the Pali Text Society began issuing editions and translations of the Pali Canon and Commentaries in quick succession, Rhys Davids conceived the idea of the compilation of an exhaustive dictionary of Pali, based on the voluminous basic material that was being brought to light. the work took more than twenty years of devoted labor but before his death in 1922, Rhys Davids had the satisfaction of seeing its first volume published. In four volumes issued over 1921-25 the Dictionary contains every Pali word with its Sanskrit root identified and meanings given in English. Carrying over 1,50,000 textual references, the work holds the field, even today, as the best Pali-English Dictionary.

Here is an outstanding work for which two eminent scholars of Chinese Buddhism separated by 2000 miles of ocean collaborated for complete ten years during which the manuscript crossed the Atlantic four times. The authors aim has been to provide a key for the student with which to unlock a closed door and which does serve to reveal the riches of the great Buddhist thesaurus in China. In the absence of a dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms it was small wonder that the translation of Chinese texts has made little progress important thought these are to the understanding of Mahayana buddhism especially in its Far Eastern development.

This highly important book translates and clearly explains foundational Pali terms that are vital to a complete understanding of Buddhist philosophy and religion. It is an accurate, detailed, and authentic Buddhist dictionary of doctrinal terms from the Pali Canon and its Commentaries. It is of value for understanding the early Buddhist tradition and the Theravada tradition which grew out of it, but does not cover the later Buddhist traditions. The author, Nyanatiloka, was a German monk who compiled the book while interned in India by the British during World War II. Since then, it has been enlarged and revised-this being the third revised and enlarged edition. The main entries are listed under the Pali terms, and the English expressions commonly used are explained and included. Original Pali words are often used in Buddhist texts and remain untranslated, since writers often did not know their accurate meanings. Therefore, this book is widely known as an essential work for all serious students of Buddhism.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1875.