Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
Don't practice inferior teachings; don't connect with
negligence.
Don't embrace wrong beliefs; don't be attached to the
world.
hinaj
dhammaj na seveyya pamadena
na sajvase
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Adj.m. N.m. neg.
V.act. N.m. neg.
V.act.
Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. |
3.Sg.opt. Ins.Sg. | 3.Sg.opt.
|_________|
|_____|
| |______|
|______________|
|__________|
List of Abbreviations
miccha+ditthij
na seveyya na siya
loka+vaddhano
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Adv.
N.f. neg. V.act. neg. V.act.
N.m. Adj.m.
|
Acc.Sg. | 3.Sg.opt. | 3.Sg.opt.
| Nom.Sg.
|__________| |_____|
|______| |______|
|_____________|
|____________|
hinaj: hina-, Adj.: poor, inferior. It is p.p. of the verb ha- (to reject). Acc.Sg.m. = hinaj.
dhammaj: dhamma-, N.m.: here not as the Dharma (Buddha's Teaching), but rather in a more general meaning: teaching, way. Acc.Sg. = dhammaj.
na, neg.: not.
seveyya, V.: associate with, practice, embrace. The verb root is sev-. 3.Sg.act.opt. = seveyya.
pamadena: pamada-, N.m.: negligence. Ins.Sg. = pamadena.
List of Abbreviations
na: see above.
sajvase, V.: associate or connect with. The verb root is vas- (to live) with the prefix saj- (together). 3.Sg.act.opt. = sajvase.
micchaditthij:
micchaditthi-,
N.f.: wrong belief. It is a compound of:
miccha,
Adv.: wrongly, badly.
ditthi-,
N.f.: view, belief, theory, idea. It is derived from the verb root dis-
(to see).
Acc.Sg. = micchaditthij.
List of Abbreviations
na: see above.
seveyya: see above.
na: see above.
siya, V.: would be. The verb root is as-. 3.Sg.act.opt. = siya.
lokavaddhano:
lokavaddhana-, Adj.: indulgence in
the world, attachment to the world. It is a compound of:
loka-, N.m.: world.
vaddhana-,
N.n.: indulgence, attachment. The verb root is vaddh-
(to grow).
Nom.Sg.m. = lokavaddhano.
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of four syntactically
separate sentences. They are:
1) hinaj
dhammaj na seveyya (don't practice inferior
teachings, lit.: one should not practice inferior teachings). The subject
is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb
is seveyya (one should practice, 3rd person, singular,
active, optative). It is negated by the negative particle na (not).
The object is the noun dhammaj (teaching,
accusative singular). It has an attribute, the adjective hinaj
(inferior, accusative singular).
2) pamadena
na sajvase (don't connect with negligence,
lit.: one should not connect with negligence). The subject is omitted;
the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is sajvase
(one should associate, 3rd person, singular, active, optative).
It is negated by the negative particle na (not). It also has an
attribute, the noun pamadena (with
negligence, instrumental singular).
3) micchaditthij
na seveyya (don't embrace wrong beliefs, lit.: one should not embrace
wrong beliefs). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person
singular pronoun. The verb is seveyya (one should practice, 3rd
person, singular, active, optative). It is negated by the negative particle
na (not). The object is the compound micchaditthij
(wrong belief, accusative singular).
4) na siya
lokavaddhano (don't be attached to the
world, lit.: one should not be attached to the world). The subject is omitted;
the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is siya
(one should be, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). It
is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the
compound lokavaddhano (attached to
the world, nominative singular).
Visakha
was a very famous benefactress of the Buddhist Community from Savatthi.
Once an older monks with his young pupil came to her house for almsfood.
Visakha's granddaughter
was filtering water for the young monk and when she saw her reflection
on the surface of the water, she laughed. The young monk also laughed.
The girl got angry and said, "You shaven head, why do you laugh at me?!"
The monk did not like it and replied, "You and your family are shaven heads
yourself!" The girl went weeping to Visakha.
Visakha tried
to appease both the girl and the monk but the monk was angry and did not
accept her explanations and apologies. The older monk also tried his best
but did not succeed either.
The matter was brought to the Buddha,
who saw that the monk was ready to reach the first stage of Awakenment.
So he asked Visakha,
"Why did your granddaughter had to address my monk as a shaven head? All
the monks had to shave their heads when they became members of the Community!"
The young monk felt very happy and praised the Buddha that he was the only
one who could understand him. The Buddha then replied with this verse,
saying that the monk was also to blame; he should not quarrel because of
such a small and unimportant thing. Hearing that, the young monk reached
the first stage of Awakenment.
Word pronunciation:
hinaj
dhammaj
na
seveyya
pamadena
sajvase
micchaditthij
miccha
ditthij
siya
lokavaddhano
loka
vaddhano