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Which pali/sanskrit words have made it into English dictionary?


Which pali/sanskrit words have made it into English dictionary?

Post by frank k » Thu May 23, 2019 3:17 pm
Two questions:
1. From a translation point of view, shouldn't we use some of the more commonly understood words, like Buddha, Dharma, Nirvana?
One of the things I've realized is that the pali term Dhamma needs to be left untranslated, because in many important contexts, it straddles multiple meanings among the 4 or 5 possible ones, so mapping it to one english word depending on context loses that multiple mapping. For example, in the satipatthana, Dhamma in dhamma-anupassana is Buddha's teaching first and foremost, not 'mental object' or 'mental qualities' as most people translate. You could argue it also means mental objects as a secondary meaning where context fits, but by translating Dhamma with an english term in a one to one mapping, it loses the multiple meaning that's necessary for Dhamma-anupassana to work correctly.

2. Where is there a comprehensive list of sanskrit buddhist terms that have made it into oxford or some other standard dictionary? I noticed Piya Tan[ really goes to town on this, using sanskrit terms Bhikksus, Avuso, many other words not no non-buddhist english speaker would be expected to know.
http://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmaf ... tta-nikaya

List of Pali words that must be left untranslated

Dhamma: (or one could use the sanskrit Dharma). In the four satipatthana, Dhamma-anu-passana and Dhamma-vicaya-sambojjhanga are of such vital importance that span multiple meanings, they lose coherence when translated into a single English word that only maps one of the possible meanings.

List of Pali/sanskrit words that can be left untranslated

(because most English speakers are familiar with the generally correct meaning of the term)
Buddha: awakened/enlightened being, the historical Buddha
Dharma: 1. Buddha's teaching, 2. natural laws of the universe
Nirvana: An exalted, heavenly,  special state, or a famous rock band in the rock and roll hall of fame

Potential pali/sanskrit untranslated words

Yoga: problem with this word is English speakers think it means doing stretching and holding the pose counting breaths.
Zen (comes from chinese Chaan, sanskrit Dhyana, pali jhana): is an interesting translation choice to use instead of 'Jhāna'. For example, four jhanas would be first zen, second zen, third zen, fourth zen.


References

List of English words of Sanskrit origin (Wikipedia):
such as: Avatar, karma, mandala, mantra, etc.

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