RE: A Search for Exemplary Sentences

From: Edward Cherlin (cherlin@2cowherd.com)
Date: Mon Nov 23 1998 - 20:11:37 EST


At 3:22 AM -0800 11/20/98, Michael Everson wrote:
>Ar 22:27 -0800 1998-11-19, scríobh Edward Cherlin:
>
[snip]
>>I would also like to cast a vote for the Middle English sentence
>>
>>"A yere yeres full yerne, and yeldes naver like."
>
>You need to write this with YOGHs, do you not?

I did say I'd have to check my spelling. Donaldson didn't use yoghs in the
version I have, but it isn't a scholarly edition, so I will check.

>>Pali: Buddham saranam gacchami. (I go to the Buddha as refuge.)
>
>You can't do this. It has to be given in full:
>
>Buddham saranam gacchami.
>Dhammam saranam gacchami.
>Sangham saranam gacchami.

I was following the guideline, one sentence. But you're right, except that
then you have to go through all three repetitions:

"Dutiyampi buddham saranam gacchami...

"Tatiyampi buddham saranam gacchami..."

>But better would be the Famous Last Words of the Buddha:
>
>Handa daani bhikkave, aamayantaami vo: Vayadhamma sankhaara. Appamadena
>sampaadethaa.
>
>"Hey, you, monks, I'm talking to you! Things fall apart. Work hard".
>(I should check the vowel length if you want this one, Rick.)

Not bad. Or, "Greater than he who has conquered ten thousand is he who has
conquered himself." (Dhammapada)

>>Buddhist Sanskrit: Om mani padme hum. (Om, the jewel in the lotus, hail.)
>
>Or sleet. :-)

I forgot to mention that this phrase should be rendered in Devanagari,
Tibetan, and Chinese scripts, at least.

>>Hindu Sanskrit: Neti, neti.
>
Then there is the Perfection-of-Wisdom-in-a-Single-Syllable Sutra:

U+0905 "A"

or in Greek,

U+0391 "A"

or, perhaps,

"un-" in English.

>I'd go for "So'ham" in that case.

A great Zen teacher taught, "This mind is Buddha," but later he taught, "No
mind and no Buddha."

>--
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