Gāthā Sentence Translation Sentence Structure
Vocabulary&Grammar Commentary Pronunciation
                          List of Abbreviations

tatrāyam ādi bhavati idha paññassa bhikkhuno

indriyagutti santuṭṭhi pātimokkhe ca saṃvaro

(DhP 375)




Sentence Translation:

This here are the basic tasks for the wise monk:
watchfulness over his senses, contentment and restraint in the monk's precepts.




Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

tatra   ayam        ādi       bhavati   idha paññassa bhikkhuno
|            |              |               |          |         |               |
Adv. Pron.m.    N.m.     V.act.in.  Adv. Adj.m.       N.m.
|       Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.pres.    |    Gen.Sg.   Gen.Sg.
|______|________|_________|          |         |________|
           |               |        |__________|                 |
           |               |                  |______________|
           |               |_________________|______________________________
           |                               |________|
           |_____________________|

List of Abbreviations

indriya+gutti    santuṭṭhi pātimokkhe ca   saṃvaro
|              |             |              |           |          |
N.n.     N.f.        N.f.        N.n.     conj.    N.m.
|       Nom.Sg.  Nom.Sg.  Loc.Sg.      |    Nom.Sg.
|________|             |              |           |          |
        |                    |              |______|______|
        |                    |                    |___|
        |___________|_____________|
__________|




Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

tatra, Adv.: there.

ayam: idaṃ-, Pron.: this. Nom.Sg.m. = ayam.
Euphonic combination: tatra + ayam = tatrāyam.

ādi: ādi-, N.m.: beginning, starting point. Nom.Sg. = ādi.

bhavati, V. is. The verb root is bhū- (to be). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = bhavati or hoti.

idha, Adv.: here.

paññassa: pañña-, Adj.: wise, endowed with wisdom. It is derived from the word paññā-, N.f.: wisdom. Gen.Sg.m. = paññassa.

bhikkhuno: bhikkhu-, N.m.: a (Buddhist) monk. Gen.Sg. = bhikkhuno.

List of Abbreviations

indriyagutti: indriyagutti-, N.m.: watchfulness over one's senses. It is a compound of:
    indriya-, N.n.: sense, faculty.
    gutti-, N.f.: protection, watchfulness, guard. It is derived from the verb root gup- (to protect).
Nom.Sg. = indriyagutti.

santuṭṭhi: santuṭṭhi-, N.f.: satisfaction, contentment. Nom.Sg. = santuṭṭhi.

pātimokkhe: pātimokkha-, N.n.: the collection of 227 basic precepts of the fully ordained Buddhist monk. Loc.Sg. = pātimokkhe.

ca, conj.: and.

saṃvaro: saṃvara-, N.m.: restraint. It is derived from the verb root var- (to cover) with the prefix saṃ- (together). Nom.Sg. = saṃvaro.

List of Abbreviations

    The subject is the pronoun ayam (this, nominative singular). The verb is bhavati (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It has three attributes, the adverbs tatra (there) and idha (here) and the noun bhikkhuno (for a monk, genitive singular). This word has its own attribute, the adjective paññassa (of wise, genitive singular). The object is the noun ādi (beginning, nominative singular). It has three attributes: the compound indriyagutti (watchfulness over senses, nominative singular), the noun santuṭṭhi (contentment, nominative singular) and the noun saṃvaro (restraint, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the noun pātimokkhe (in the monk's precepts, locative singular). The word saṃvaro is connected to the previous attributes by the compound ca (and).




Commentary:

    The story for this verse is identical with the one for seven previous verses (DhP 368 - DhP 374) and also for the following verse (DhP 376).
    As a tree needs its roots in order to be able to grow higher, so the life of a monk needs some basic roots in order to be able to reach the Nirvana. They are: guarding of one's own senses (mind being the sixth sense), contentment with what one has and observing the 227 precepts of a monk, as given by the Buddha. If we nourish these roots diligently and for a long time, the tree of wisdom will grow higher and higher, fruiting in the attainment of Nirvana.




Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

tatra
ayam
ādi
bhavati
idha
paññassa
bhikkhuno
indriyagutti
indriya
gutti
santuṭṭhi
pātimokkhe
ca
saṃvaro