The language of the Buddha

by Rohan L. Jayatilleke

It is generally believed that consequent to excavations at Harappa and Mohendo-jaro, the Aryans from Iran reached India through the north-western Bolan and Jhyber Passes of India and settled in these areas and evolved the Indian civilisation, which was later classified as Indus and Genegetic plains civilisations.

But, this concept is not tenable if one studies the Jatakas, the previous lives of the Buddha in the Indian sub-continent many incalculable aeons ago. On that beautiful night of May 2550 years ago, Prince Siddartha sat on the �Vajrasana� at the foot of the Sacred Bodhi Tree at Buddha Gaya and during the first watch of the night he developed the supernormal attainment of remembering in detail all of the hundreds of thousands of past lives he had lived in various planes of existence.

In the second watch he developed the supernormal attainment of divine vision. As one seated upon a high peak clearly observes the people below on all sides, he clairvoyantly saw through the lives of countless beings as he wandered in Samsara. He beheld from life to life, according to their Karmic patterns (Cause and effect), their modes of will, thought, speech and action, they aimlessly and endlessly drifted in various places of existence. In the third watch he developed the supernormal attainment of insight into the destruction of mental cankers, sense desire, desire for continued existence, wrong views and ignorance.

With this intuitive knowledge, he became the Arahant, the Perfect One. Following this supermundane achievement he attained Supreme Enlightenment and became the Buddha, and the Blessed One.

Now he was not only a Liberated one, but One who could liberate countless beings. He became the Swayambhu, the self-become, the Sambuddha, the Discoverer of Truth. This was when He was thirty-five years of age.

The concept of Swayambu has no parallel. Having become the Discoverer of the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, He has no compere. Without any support from any source whatsoever, He has made His discovery and gained his mastery by His own incomparable, unprecedented and unique excellence. In view of the supernormal knowledge Buddha attained, the Jathaka stories give kaleidescopilly the life and times of the people of India (Jambudeepa or Bharatha or Bharathavarsha, through incalculable aeons and thus India and Gangetic civilisations are only later cross fertilisation of the perennial aeons old Indian culture and civilisation.

Among animals, human beings are unique as they could make tools and converse with one another. Thus language is one of the most invaluable acquisitions of mankind. Languages spring from the environment in which man lives contributing to goodwill and peace. Religions in India, Vedic as well as Jainism and Buddhism have vastly contributed to this cultural growth and progress. The langauge of Buddhist scriptures was known as Magadhi, now called Pali (the line).

Pali whose literature is very extensive is a language reserved entirely to one subject, namely, the Buddha�s teaching. With that it is unlike Mahayana Buddhist Sanskrit or Church latin; a fact that lends it a peculiar clarity of its own without a counterpart in Europe or India. It is observed that style in the Suttas (Discourses) has an economic simplicity, coupled with a richness of nuances and idioms of Indian origin, that makes it a very polished vehicle hard to do justice in translation.

There is also another unique feature of repeated verbatim passages, sentences and phrases which occur repeatedly. This peculiarity is due originally to the fact that these �books� were intended for recitation. Thus the unique features testify to the fact that the teachings of the Buddha are thus preserved in their pristine glory without any variations.

In order to gain a correct perspective as regards the language of the Buddha one needs to look into the homeland of the Buddha.

The Pabbajjata-Sutta of the Suttanipata says Prince Siddartha (later the Buddha) was born in the kingdom of Kapilavastu at the foot of the Himalayan mountain range and Prince Siddhartha came southwards having renounced the household life at the age of 29, in his pursuit of Enlightenment to find ways and means of liberation of the very rolling wheel of life and death and thereafter life again to Rajagaha (Rajgir in modern Bihar State).

The King of Rajagaha Kingdom Bimbisara having learnt that a person of pleasing deportment was at Gijjakhuta (a reserve of recluses). The King immediately went to the site and enquired of His lineage. The Prince replied, �flanking Himalayas, in Kosala yonder extends a land both rich and brave. By lineage the kinsmen of the Sun are we and Sakyans by family�. The Prince replied the King in the language of Kosla, but the King and Prince in their animated conversation had no difficulty in understanding the language of Magadha.

During the time of the Buddha in the 6th century BC, even from time immemorial in India there were different ethnic groups in these northern regions, who spoke different dialects. Even today, India has 884 dialects.

These dialects during the time of the Buddha were identical and the difference was in the pronunciation. Buddha preached His first sermon to the five ascetics (The Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta) and the Anatthlakana Sutta and also the first Sutta to the first sixty disciples, who were directed to wander about, �Let not two of you go in the same direction (ma ekena dve agamitha) for the well-being and happiness of the many. Thus it is seen that the language the 60 disciples could be understood by all ethnic groups with different dialects, as there was a similarity between the two languages. In His 45 years, the Buddha preached His doctrine in Savatthi, Vaishali and Rajagaha of extensive land areas. He lived among the Mallas, Sakyas, Bulians of Allakappa, Koliyans of Ramagama, as is observed by them claiming of share of the Sacred Relics of the Buddha after the Mahaparinibbana (great demise) and the cremation at Kusinara. Further Mahasatipattana Sutta was delivered to the Kurus (the most intelligent people of the time in Kurishestra near modern Delhi (the site quiet large and fenced with iron railing with a concrete canopy over the rising medium height rock in the centre of the garden). This was the westernmost point where the Buddha journeyed on foot. As regards the eastern point as per the scriptures is Ukkala, modern Orissa from where the two merchants Tapassu and Bhalluka, the first two lay disciples of Buddha who took the two refuges of Buddha and Dhamma (Sangha not organised then) at the Rajayatana Tree, at Buddha Gaya, where the Buddha was spending His seventh week after Enlightenment.

During this time, India had various political divisions. In one of the older Suttas of the Dighanikaya, ten clans are referred to. In the Anguttara Nikaya there is a reference to 16 clans. Thus it is evident that the dialects though different had very simplistic common terms and there was no communication gap for the people to understand the teachings of the Buddha. As such though, the regions were geographically apart and inhabited by clans or ethnic groups, when the Buddha addressed them he was understood by one and all The Buddha was living in a pluralistic society both ethnic, langauge and faiths wise. The Buddha pronounced His words very clearly, and important statements were repeated three or more times, and the people understood as if He was addressing them in their own language.

The assemblies of monks and laity the Buddha addressed were composed of those speaking a similar Prakrit. Prakrit is a spoken language as against the cultivated literary languages, like Sanskrit. Sanskrit is a post Buddha era language of Indo-European extraction, in its Vedic form and closely related to Iranians group of languages of which the oldest representatives are old Persian and Avestan. As the Buddha pronounced words well and speech low and measured, all were able to comprehend the sum and substances of the sermons.

It mattered inconsequential, whether ending of a noun and a verb differed to a certain extent, the spoken language was understood. Even today for example in the Scandinavian countries Danes (Denmark), and Swedes (Sweden) understand Norwegian (Norway) when spoken at a moderate speed, without having leant the language.

The most interesting phenomenon when reading the Pali Suttas in the Pali originals. It is clearly manifested that the Buddha spoke in the langauge of the common people and His metaphors and similes were drawn from the environment around, and not of unseen worlds and gods as is the case with Hinduism.

The language of the �elite� and the �cultured� had no place in the Buddha�s vocabulary. The Buddha also enjoined His disciples to sermonise in the langauge of the people.

According to Vinaya Culavagga (5:33), there were two Bhikkhus called Yamelu and Tekuls living in Savatthi, and they were brothers. They were of Brahmin stock, and they had fine voice and a fine delivery. They asked the Blessed One; �Lord, now the Bhikkhus are of various names, of various races, variously born, having gone forth from various clans. They spill the word of the Blessed One by using their own language. Let us render the words of the Buddha into classical metre� (What they meant was the Vedic lroe).

The Buddha, the Blessed One, rebuked them: Misguided men (Moghapurisa) how can you say, �Let us render the words of the Buddha into classical metre?� This will not raise faith in the faithless or increase faith in the faithful: �Having rebuked them and given a talk on the Dhamma, The Buddha addressed the Bhikkhus thus; �Bhikkhus, the world of the Buddha is not to be rendered into classical metre. Whoever does so commits and offence of wrong doing.� Allow the words of the Buddha to be learnt in one�s own langauge�. In this context it arises where Buddha�s teachings in �Kavi Bana� (poetical sermons by Monks of Sri Lanka and by laymen in �Virindhu� are not acts of wrong doing, as declared by the Buddha.

When Arhant Mahinda and His encourage reached not by psychic powers through the air, but from Vidisa (in Madhya Pradesh) with His encourage by land to Tamralpti (now Tamluk) port in the Bay of Bengal and then in a vessels from there across the sea to Sambalthurai and from there on foot to Anuradhapura in the 3rd century BC and having met King Tissa (later after a fresh on secretion according to Mauryan rites named Devanampriyatissa, the first name the Maurayan title) at Missakapabbata (later known as Mihintale) conversed with the King and the King and Arhant Mahinda had no communication gap and even when Arhant Mahinda preached the Dhamma He used the then Dipabhasa, language identical to Magadhi or Prakirit. even Sanghamitta Theri and her encourage of highly skilled Bhikkhunis in Vinaya even went as far as Mhagama (Tissamaharama now) and preached the Dhamma to the people with no language constraints.

The minor rock, rock, minor pillar and pilar edicts of the King Asoka of the 3rd century begin with the sentence, �Devanampriya Piyadarsi laga heavm aha,� (�So says King Devanampriya Piyadarsi�) in Brahmi script from which the present Devanagari script as well as the Sinhala script evolved by Arhant Mahinda, even today could be read and understood with no difficulty not knowing the Prakrit in Brahmi script.

The donation of caves to recluses was initiated by King Asoka. He donated caves to the Ajivakas, a breakaway group of Niganthanataputta (Jain Mahavira) order. The cave inscription of Asoka read thus in Brahmi IX script. �Cave Inscription, Sudama Cave in Barabar Hills in Gaya, �Lagina Piyadassina duvadasa - vasabhit sitena iyam nigoha kubha dina ajivakehi� (by King Piyadassi who was consecrated for twelve years this Nigrodha Cave is donated to Ajivakas).

Cave Inscription II, Visva Jhopi Cave in Barbar Hills, �Lagina Piyadassina vasabhitsitena iyam kubha Khalatika pavatsi dina adjivakehi� (by King Piyadassi who was consecrated for twelve years this cave in vKhalatika Hills is donated to Ajivakas�.)

The practise of donating caves for the Sangha commenced with the natural caves of Missakapabbata (Mihintale) being refurbished and given to Arhant Mahinda to spend His first rains� retreat (Vas of four months - caturmasa from July to October) in the 34d century BC.

Further 500 of the Vaishya Settis, the bankers who were brought by Mahinda Thera from Vidisa and the relatives of His mother who were a Vasiya Setti to finance the construction of Stupas and Viharas in Sri Lanka along with their craft guild members, having completed their task got themselves ordained and had their own abode at Vessagiri (giri means not hills or peak but gruha, home - so called as the abode of the Vaisyas, and the 24 cave inscriptions indicate these caves were donated to them by their own relations who too had come to Sri Lanka. In later times all cave donative inscriptions of Sri Lanka conclude with the phrase, �agata anagatha catudisa sagasa dina� the word �dina� in Asoka Cave inscription remaing dame and the same meaning of donated. The Sinhala translation of this phrase is given to present and future members of the Maha Sangha of the four directions�.

The seekers of the Truth, who sought the Buddha, were more interested in the substance, the meaning and essence (attha) rather than the letters and words (Vyanjana).

The Truth seeking wandered ascetic who was to become one of the Chief Disciples of the Buddha, Sariputta Maha Thera says to Assaji Maha Thera, �Appam va bhahum va bhasassu; attan c�eva me bruhi: Atthen�eva me attho, kim kahasu vyanjanam bhahum� (Tell me a little or much but tell me the Truth alone. I want only the essence (Attha) what use is there of many words (Vyanjanam bhahum). Herein the words opposed to one another is �attha� and �vyanjana�.

Sutta in Pali means a �string�, stringing together of the discourses to be passed from one generation to the another without any variations.

Sometimes phrases and sentences are repeated in the same Sutta, in order that the listener will grasp the essence of it and there would be no misinterpretations in the future. Suttas are not mantras chanted for protection except for Ratana Sutta which was taught by the Buddha to His Chief Guardian Ananda Thera to be chanted and paraded through the street of Viashali with the members of the Licchvi Royalty with the Buddha�s alms bowl sprinkling the sacred water on the streets.

Chanting of Pirith is, the exclusive right of the Bhikkhus. If any Bhikkhu disagrees then He should quote the Buddha�s prohibition for such a practice, rather than make unfounded allegations against the Chanting of Pirith by laymen.