The Language. . .

The Language. . . The word Pàli simply means `a line of text’ but has come to be used as the name for the language that The Buddha used by was written in. Traditional Buddhists believe that the Buddha spoke Pàli although this is certainly not correct. Some modern philologists think Pàli was actually a language of western or central India, while others maintain that it was a literary language based on a form of Màgadhã. In later centuries the Theravada tradition came to look upon Pàli as a sacred language, claiming that the Dhamma could only be understood by learning it in Pàli. It was believed to be the original language  and the Sammohavinadinã went as far as to claim that if a child was bought up never hearing a language it would naturally speak  Pàli. None of this accords with the Buddhas understanding of language. The Buddha knew that no one language is better than any other in transmitting truth and thus his exhortation: `I allow you to learn the Buddha’s words each in your own language and your own way. Until recently, most books on Theravàda histories, poems, commentaries, stories, etc. were written in Pàli. Any well-educated monk in Sri Lanka, Burma or Thailand will to this day still be proficient in Pàli. Peace and Love, Jim #buddhawords #thedailybuddha Buy Me A Coffee – A Easy Way To support The Daily Buddha! The Daily Buddha – Support The Server The Daily Buddha  – Web The Daily Buddha – YouTube The Daily Buddha – Facebook