<\/p>\n
Now we\u2019re on to a couple more suttas<\/span>, the first of which is one that is traditionally taught to novice monks and nuns as a tool for them to begin to memorize the basic structures of Buddhist<\/a> wisdom. Here it is in the P\u0101li<\/a>:<\/p>\n \n<\/p> Kum\u0101rapa\u00f1h\u0101 (aka Samanera Pa\u00f1ha \u2014 The Novice\u2019s Questions<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a>1<\/span>. \u2018\u2018Eka\u1e43 <\/a> n\u0101ma ki\u1e43\u2019\u2019? \u2018\u2018Sabbe satt\u0101 \u0101h\u0101ra\u1e6d\u1e6dhitik\u0101\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/a>2<\/span>. \u2018\u2018Dve n\u0101ma ki\u1e43\u2019\u2019? \u2018\u2018N\u0101ma\u00f1ca r\u016bpa\u00f1ca\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/a>3<\/span>. \u2018\u2018T\u012b\u1e47i n\u0101ma ki\u1e43\u2019\u2019? \u2018\u2018Tisso vedan\u0101\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/a>4<\/span>. \u2018\u2018Catt\u0101ri <\/a> n\u0101ma ki\u1e43\u2019\u2019? \u2018\u2018Catt\u0101ri ariyasacc\u0101ni\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/a>5<\/span>. \u2018\u2018Pa\u00f1ca n\u0101ma ki\u1e43\u2019\u2019? \u2018\u2018Pa\u00f1cup\u0101d\u0101nakkhandh\u0101\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/a>6<\/span>. \u2018\u2018Cha n\u0101ma ki\u1e43\u2019\u2019? \u2018\u2018Cha ajjhattik\u0101ni \u0101yatan\u0101ni\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/a>7<\/span>. \u2018\u2018Satta n\u0101ma ki\u1e43\u2019\u2019? \u2018\u2018Satta bojjha\u1e45g\u0101\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/a>8<\/span>. \u2018\u2018A\u1e6d\u1e6dha n\u0101ma ki\u1e43\u2019\u2019? \u2018\u2018Ariyo a\u1e6d\u1e6dha\u1e45giko maggo\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/a>9<\/span>. \u2018\u2018Nava n\u0101ma ki\u1e43\u2019\u2019? \u2018\u2018Nava satt\u0101v\u0101s\u0101\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/a>10<\/span>. \u2018\u2018Dasa n\u0101ma ki\u1e43\u2019\u2019? \u2018\u2018Dasaha\u1e45gehi samann\u0101gato \u2018arah\u0101\u2019ti vuccat\u012b\u2019\u2019ti.<\/p>\n Kum\u0101rapa\u00f1h\u0101 ni\u1e6d\u1e6dhit\u0101.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \n<\/p> I HIGHLY recommend it for those wishing to learn some P\u0101li and\/or about the structure of early Buddhist thought. First, it teaches you how to count to ten (sort of). That goes: eka, dve, ti, cato, pa\u00f1ca, cha, satta, a\u1e6d\u1e6dha, nava, dasa. Right away a student of languages will note the similarity between the English seven, eight, nine\/or the Spanish \u2018nuevo\u2019 (and the Latin \u2018deca-,\u2019 from which we get the common word \u2018decimal\u2019) and the P\u0101li satta, a\u1e6d\u1e6dha, nava, dasa.<\/p>\n We needn\u2019t be reminded that these are both Indo-European languages and thus spring from common roots and as we study them we\u2019ll find plenty of cognates.<\/p>\n N\u0101ma<\/a> is another word students will find sounding familiar. It can literally mean \u2018name\u2019. And students of Buddhism<\/a> should call to mind the term \u2018n\u0101ma-r\u016bpa\u2019 which is generally translated as \u2018name and form\u2019 or \u2018mind and body\u2019 which gets us into the more technical, metaphysical use of the word. But in the above it simply means \u2018name\u2019 in the same sense of when I point at the tall spikey headed metal woman on an island outside of NYC and ask \u201cwhat is that?\u201d or \u201cwhat is that called\/what is the name of that?\u201d<\/p>\n ki\u1e43 is just an interrogative pronoun meaning \u201cwhat, why?\u201d<\/p>\n So the whole first sentence can be rendered, \u201cwhat is (the name of) one<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n Sounds a bit hokey with the \u2018name\u2019 part in, so translators understandably drop it. Again, think about how in English the questions \u201cwhat is that?\u201d and \u201cwhat is the name of that?\u201d basically mean the same thing.<\/p>\n The answer, \u2018\u2018Sabbe satt\u0101 \u0101h\u0101ra\u1e6d\u1e6dhitik\u0101\u2019\u2019 is pretty boring and I, even after many years studying Buddhism and a year or so in P\u0101li, have no idea what exactly to make of it. It simply reads, word for word: all beings (on\/by) food stand [subsist\/rely]<\/span>. Whoopedy-do. I\u2019d guess there is some deep meaning that novices learn later about this, but I don\u2019t know what that is. Any help\/ideas?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What about \u201cwhat is two?\u201d There we get n\u0101ma again in the term I mentioned above: n\u0101ma-r\u016bpa. Here it gets an extra letter \u2018\u00f1\u2019 for what reason I don\u2019t know and \u2018ca\u2019 (meaning and<\/span>) is attached \u2013 in ancient texts there were much fewer spaces than we\u2019re used to; often transliterators do separate words for us, sometimes not. So the answer to \u201cwhat is two?\u201d is simply name and form<\/span>. Again we could go down the road into metaphysics \u2013 mind\/body dualism \u2013 but that\u2019s off the topic for now.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3. \u2018\u2018Tisso vedan\u0101\u2019\u2019.<\/span> Tisso is a way the number three, ti, is conjugated in use (you be forced to learn a lot about grammar in studying P\u0101li; I\u2019m skipping all of that here for time\/space sake). Vedan\u0101<\/span> is another semi-common term in early Buddhism, meaning \u201cfeelings\/sensations.\u201d So the answer is, \u201cthe three feelings,\u201d which are elsewhere elaborated as good, bad, and neither-good-nor-bad. Sounds hokey again, but this is important in meditation and understanding the arising of suffering.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4. \u2018\u2018Catt\u0101ri ariyasacc\u0101ni\u2019\u2019. This is the four noble (ariya) truths (sacc\u0101ni). <\/span>You should know these. <\/p>\n <\/a>5<\/span>. \u2018\u2018Pa\u00f1cup\u0101d\u0101nakkhandh\u0101\u2019\u2019. A big Sandhi<\/a>. Broken up it is five<\/span>, Pa\u00f1ca+, clinging<\/span>, up\u0101d\u0101na+, aggregates<\/span>, kkhandh\u0101. The five aggregates of clinging.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Moving along a bit more quickly (I\u2019m due to actually go study the P\u0101li in a few minutes):<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a>6<\/span>. \u2018\u2018Cha ajjhattik\u0101ni \u0101yatan\u0101ni\u2019\u2019. The six internal sense-faculties.<\/span><\/p>\n 7. \u2018\u2018Satta bojjha\u1e45g\u0101\u2019\u2019. The seven awakening-factors (or parts or constituents).<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/a>8<\/span>. \u2018\u2018Ariyo a\u1e6d\u1e6dha\u1e45giko maggo\u2019\u2019. The Noble 8-fold (or part\u2026) path.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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