A NOTE ON PALI WORKSHOP

PALI LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE WITH BUDDHIST STUDIES

(DRAFT)

Prof. Yojana Bhagat

Introduction: Pali is one of the ancient languages of India and is the MOTHER of most of the languages spoken in India today.

The importance of the Pali language lies in the fact that ‘Pali has protected the buddhavacana- that is the words of the Buddha’- and hence it is called Pali. The name Pali is given to the language in the 5^th CE by acariya Buddhaghosa thera, prior to that Pali was known by the name of Magadhi.

As we all know that Buddha used the lingua franca the local language of the people to give the dhamma- the teachings, so that it reaches all.

We have references in the Pali literature where Buddha admonished his disciples who wanted to translate the teachings in the Chandas language, Chandas being the name of Sanskrit prior to its modification by Panini. We thus understand that learning Pali or the original words of the Buddha is more relevant to know the dhamma than the gist of the dhamma through translation.

The traditional learning of Pali is with Pariyatti, Patipatti and Pativedhana, where Pariyatti is listening to the dhamma, reading the books, discussions on the subject and so on, the Patipatti means genuine efforts to walk on the path of the dhamma, that is following the precepts, being aware of oneself through meditational practices and so on and the last is the Pativedhana- which means the experiential knowledge of the teachings of the Buddha, which develops your insight- the Panna.

Each and every word of the Buddha can be experienced and that is the beauty of the teachings of the Buddha.

We donot learn Pali through translation, because no language of the world has the richness or the strength of the words to hold or carry the meanings or experience which the Pali words carry. That is the reason the most of the buddhavacana cannot be translated in any other language and remains the same in Pali as the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha- the Vipassana and so on.

Learning Pali is very important today because- Pali has the teachings of the Buddha and whatever written on the teachings of the Buddha for 2500 years. Pali has the Dhamma- and the characteristic of the dhamma is it is akaliko- that is not bound by time.

The teachings of the Buddha were true 2500 years ago, are true today and will be true 2500 years henceforth. That is the reason; the scholars all over the world are learning Pali to find answers to the contemporary issues faced by the society today. The problem could be personal or social; the answer is in the teachings of the Buddha.

Buddha is called the Management guru, who gave the principles of Management which still governs the Sangha after 2500 years, Buddha is called the Mahabhessajja guru- the greatest doctor, who not only cured the illness, but showed the path to eradicate completely the suffering, Buddha is called the greatest psychotherapist who explained that Mind is the sixth sense, Buddha is the greatest leader who showed the right path to the millions and gave the principles of democracy and equality. Buddha is the greatest teacher the world has ever seen.

Thus when one learns Pali, it is not just the language- it is the way of life.

THINGS WE CAN DO AT

THE 15 DAYS WORKSHOP ON PALI LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE WITH BUDDHIST STUDIES.

• Introduction to the Pali Language and Literature
• Recitation of the Pali suttas
• Workshop on Brahmi Script and Pali Language
• Relation of Pali language and Buddhist Art and Architecture
• Places of Buddhist interest and Buddhist Pilgrimage
• Contemporary Issues and the Teachings of the Buddha
• Decline and Revival of Buddhism in India
• Flower Arrangement and the Teachings of the Buddha.
• Buddhist Education and Culture
• Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and Buddhism

PALI WORKSHOP: SIGNIFICANCE

Significance: (draft)

P. K. sasidharan:

It may be for the first time that a training programme in Pali language is being conducted in Kerala (perhaps in south India itself). Pali and Prakrit were some of the ancient languages spoken widely by the people of Indian subcontinent. Kosala and Magadha (present-day Nepal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar regions) are considered to be the heartland of Pali. However, it has been observed that larger presence of Pali words still remain to exist in the south Indian languages, especially in Tamil and Malayalam. That means it is in south India that Pali continues to remain, at least, as a partial living language. At the same time, grammatically the Pali and Prakrit are more akin to the Sanskrit. Such a unique linguistic phenomenon seems to open up wider scope for research in different areas. The historical and cultural conditions in which Pali is found to be a constitutive factor of the south Indian languages are yet to be explored.

For the study of Buddhism and Jainism, Pali texts are considered as more ancient and authentic sources. Ancient inscriptions, which are found to be in Brahmi scripts bear the legacy of Pali. Many Sanskrit literatures are also found carrying portions conveyed the Pali within the devanagari script.

As far as the derivation or meaning of the word ‘Pali’ is concerned, scholars hold different opinions. Preaching of Buddha (Buddhavachana), Tripitaka canons, the language of Buddhist canons, doctrine of dharma, etc. are some of the meanings attribute to it. There are different views regarding its derivation. For some, it is derived from the word ‘palli’ (village), which signifies that Pali was the language of village people. For some others, it is derivation of the Sanskrit ‘padd’ (text). It is also related to the word ‘padaliputra’.

The above matters would suggest that a study programme of the Pali language could not be confined simply to its grammatical aspects. It has to be accomplished a through familiarization of different aspects enshrined in the language. Therefore, the present workshop proposes to include, besides the training in grammatical and scriptural aspects, some scholarly lectures on subject matters that are enshrined in the Pali language.

BRAHMI WORKSHOP

WORKSHOP ON

BRAHMI SCRIPT AND BUDDHIST CULTURE

By Prof. T. Pavaithran,

JULY 11-12, 2015.

at

SRADDHA HALL,

Oushaddhi Road, Thrissur.

For Details:

co-ordinators: Cultural Buddhism Collective.

K. G. Krishnakumar: 9645750216

Prof. M. Dasan-9447157268.

Programmes Under Planning:

*)  15-Day workshop on

Pali language and Buddhist Culture.

(During 3rd- 4th week, December, 2015)

*) International Conference on Buddhist Cultures.

January, 2017.

www.bouddhayaanam.blogspot.com

PROPOSED WORKSHOP ON PALI AND BUDDHIST CULTURES - concept note

WORKSHOP ON PALI LANGUAGE AND BUDDHIST CULTURES

(A TWO-WEEK COURSE PROGRAMME FOR LANGUAGE TRAINING AND CULTURAL ANALYSIS)

During the period of DECEMBER vacation, 2015

Department of Philosophy, Sree Sankaracharya University, Kalady.

(Draft)

The idea of this course programme stems from the deliberations on Buddhist cultures, which took place in the workshop on cultural Buddhism conducted recently by the department of philosophy. There had many presentations attempting to trace the vestiges and continued presence of Buddhist elements in the south Indian cultures. Exploration in tune to the specific topic of the workshop; ‘Buddhist-Matters of Kerala and Elsewhere: Learning(s) From Cultural Legacies’, it seems to have succeeded to impress upon the participants about the nature of future course of academics in this connection. Many presentations were found employing a kind of linguistic archaeological analysis for suggesting to the plausible Buddhist connections of different social institutions and cultural practices in south India. Buddhist connections are often attempted to establish by tracing the Pali etymological roots of many words that are seemingly integral to the prevailing cultures. This has sounded wider scope for linguistic explorations in order to have a better understanding of those cultural expressions that are otherwise accounted as belonging to cultural traditions other than Buddhist. As it has been surfaced in the deliberations, there is an urgent need of getting a familiarity with the phenomenon of Pali language as such. The factor of pervasiveness or admixture of Pali words, especially in Malayalam (the language of present Kerala) and Tamil languages seems to widen the scope of critical academics on cultural history of the region. It might provide substantial resource for challenging the received history of the region in general as well as the history of Buddhism of the region. Since the idea of cultural Buddhism has been considered by underlining the plurality of Buddhist cultures as against its perceptions as monolithic slab, visitations to the Pali sources of Buddhism also assume profound significance. To be able to equip for all these, a wider access to the Pali language needs to be created.

(To be concluded)

P.  K. sasidharan, co-ordinator.

CULTURAL BUDDHISM COLLECTIVE

MEETING OF CULTURAL BUDDHISM COLLECTIVE.

 ON 21, JUNE, 2015,

10 AM

AT

THRISSUR.


TOPIC OF DISCUSSION:

TOWARDS A COLLECTIVE ACADEMIC STUDY OF BUDDHIST CULTURES IN SOUTH INDIA

 

 (INCLUDING THE PROPOSED TWO-WEEK WORKSHOP ON PALI LANGUAGE AND BUDDHIST CULTURES)

Fro details, kindly contact:
Prof. M. Dasan-9447157268
Sri. K. G. Krishnakumar: 9645750216