Khuddaka Nikaya - Nettippakarana ( The Guide ) - Author's Introduction IV
ACCORDING TO
KACCANA THERA
TRANSLATED FROM THE PALI BY
BHIKKHU NANAMOLI
Pali Text Society
11. QUOTATIONS IN THE GUIDE
The Guide contains more than 200 traced and 65 untraced quota-
tions. All those traced are from the Sutta-Pitaka except one from
the Dhammasanganl (apparently), and all those untraced (37 verse
and 28 prose) are of Sutta-Pitaka type. As to these latter, some of
them (e.g., §§794 and 796-804) suggest that certain books (in these
instances, of the Vimanavatthu type) or parts of books were available
to the Guide's compiler which are so no longer, (N.B. none of the
books mentioned by Acariya Buddhaghosa in his lists of Tipitaka
works is missing now; nor is there any ground for supposing that
any part of them has been lost since his time since his commentaries
and those of his successors would at once reveal any such deficiency.)
The Pe too has a large number of untraced quotations (17 verse and
27 prose) but of these only one verse and five prose are shared with
the Guide. Possibly books were quoted from which were later
rejected as uncanonical.
Some of those traced appear in more than one Pitaka book. In
making up the List of Quotations, the number of books cited has
been reduced to a minimum, giving only one reference for each,
and—to give one instance—the Anguttara Nikaya appearing often
and the Digha Nikaya rarely, the former has been given preference
where a quotation is found in both, with the result that the latter
does not figure at all in the List, though it could be included on the
basis of passages appearing also in other works. Allotment of
references common to more than one book, all of which appear in the
List anyway, has not been consistent (Samyutta and Dhammapada,
for example). The List appended to this translation will therefore
not necessarily correspond to that in the PTS Netti. As to Sanskrit
references, there are quite definitely none at all. While there may
be sporadic parallels and even (conscious or unconscious) unacknow-
ledged borrowings traceable by comparison (not undertaken in this
translation, though most desirable) of the Guide with such non-
Theravada Buddhist Sanskrit works as the Mahdvastu, and such
non-Buddhist Sanskrit works as the Mahdbhdrata, and also any Jain
Prakrit works that might be relevant, there are certainly neither
quotations nor allusions overt or covert. This is normal. Thus the
inclusion of the Mahdvastu and the Mahdbhdrata without comment
in PTS Netti's List of Quotations (p. 289) gives an impression that
is not justifiable.
The Guide makes use of (takes over) a large proportion of the
quotations employed by the Pe but rejects some and adds many
more. The choice of books quoted from (difficult to show properly
in a list of quotations) shows a marked preference for the Suttanipdta,
Dhammapada, Uddna, Anguttara Nikdya, and Samyutta Nikdya,
owing to its extensive use of verses (the Pe's range is much the same,
but shows some passages belonging only to the Digha Nikdya).
There are many instances where the Guide's version differs some-
what from the texts of the books quoted from, sometimes by a
substituted word but often enough by the addition of a word (§§508
and 939 are fair examples). The Pe too, when its corruptions are
discounted, shows the same tendency. It seems odd that all
Dhammapada quotations are identical with the text, those from,
say the Itivuttaka mostly differ in some degree (the Pe's Dh. quota-
tions are also notably faithful); the reason is probably that Dhamma-
pada texts, being the most popular and familiar of all showed least
variance. Though not exactly a quotation, there is the enlarged
and altered form of the Perfect One's 10 Powers, out of its Sutta
order (§§542-94). Some quotations too seem to be patchwork; for
example, the Recollection of the Community (§299) and some others
(§§885, 896-7 and 906), which are partially rewritten rather than
quoted.
Quotations are used here in four ways. (1) In some but not all
Modes in ch. i, a quotation is used to establish the particular charac-
teristic of the Mode (e.g., §32 for Mode 1, §§63, 65, etc., for Mode 2,
§121 for Mode 3). These are printed in spaced type in the trans-
lation. (2) Quotations are used in chs. i, ii and iv to illustrate
headings and sub-headings (e.g., §§33ff., 172, 206, 247, 251, 552 and
ch. iv). Printed in italics. (3) Quotations are not infrequently
incorporated in sentences (e.g., §§87, 518, 644). Also printed in
italics. (4) The quotation chosen for combined treatment by the
16 Modes in ch. ii (in 2 parts, §§491 and 595). Lastly allusions more
or less direct are very numerous.
12. SOME PECULIAR MINOR FEATURES
Some special features are worth noting, though no conclusions are
readily drawn from them.
Formalism: The luxury of the three progressively detailed sum-
maries is quite unusual; the Pe is bare of summaries.
Rare words, terms and uses: Some terms seem found only in the
Guide (and the Pe), such as Mra and the names of the 5 Guide-Lines;
opapaccayika, samavadhdna, etc. Some terms have special uses
such as those for some of the 16 Modes of Conveying, and also the
4 (or 5) basic types of Sutta, namely sankilesabhdgiya, vdsand-bh.,
nibbedha-bh., and asekha-bh., with dassana-bh., and bhdvand-bh. (see
Index for refs.). Some terms are found only in one or two other
works, among which may be noted patisankhd-nirodha and appati-
sankhd-nirodha (§429 and note), sabhdva (§453 and note) parabhdva
(§455), bhavupdddna (§228 and note), sakkdyavltivatta and dandha-
marana (§553), bhavanga (§165 and note). Also use of cattdro
satipatthdnd for the 4 'undistorted perceptions' (§4), and use of
annamafina (§133 and note). And arammanapaccayatd and adhipa-
teyyapaccayatd (§461); paramparahetu and samanantarahetu (§455,
cf. Pe. 104-9). Note also the grammatical terms in §186 (cf. Pe
parallel list, p. 91), and list of technical terms in §117. Words not
in the PED are marked with an asterisk in the Pali-English Glossary
(see Indexes). See also sect. 10 above.
Definitions: There are numerous definitions of terms, noted in
the Index where they occur. A particular feature is that of implied
multiple definition employed in this work (which is in conformity
with its contextual rather than normative nature), and many terms
are defined twice or even more times in varying complementary ways
in what are more properly descriptions (panfiatti) than definitions
(vavatthdna). See for instance, the definitions of Ignorance'
(avijjd) in §§159, 164, and 439, the double definition of 'faith'
(saddhd) in §162 (reflected at Vis, 464) and again at §295, those of
'science' (vijjd) in §§160 and 440. There is no question that they
are not made different in full awareness and ad hoc.
5
*
Discussions and theories: Discussions are very few. All are quite
incidental and doubtless taken from elsewhere. There is an
argumentum ad absurdum in §§130-3, and a discussion of difference
between 'cause' and 'condition' in §§453-6 (cf. Pe. 104ff.). The
theory of causality and conditionality sketched in that discussion,
and the implications of this formulation of Depetident Arising with
54 This fact rather invalidates any argument (as sometimes advanced)
against single authorship of the main works attributed to, say, Acariya
Buddhaghosa, based solely on the appearance of differing (though not
contradictory) definitions of the same word in different books (say, between
the Vis, the DA and the DhsA). They have to be shown to be inescapably
contradictory and definitely not varied according to context, as in the Guide,
or the argument must fail. The ad-hoc-ness of these definitions is provided
for by the Pali word tattha ('herein').
the use of sabhdva are rather different from what is found in the
Tipitaka (cf. Vbh. 135ff.; Ps. i, 50f.). The apparent discussion in
§§280ff. is simply a rewritten version of the end of M. Sutta 117.
Lines of apparent argument such as those in §§53-7 may give a
mechanical and even somewhat procrustean impression if taken as
trying to prove something; but they have to be taken in the light of
the work's basic assumption, namely that the ideas in the Buddha's
teaching are already intellectually known, and that what is offered
here is sample outlines for re-wording to follow known trains of
thought. The contents of §§42-4 contain perhaps the skeleton of a
sort of argumentum ad hominem; but how far this is traceable to
anything in the Suttas is hard to say; perhaps not at all. The germ
of a kind of 'compensatory principle' in the round of existences is
hinted at in §225.
Similes: The few used are listed in the List of Similes (see Indexes).
I t is notable, though, that none of the 18 similes found in the Pe is
made use of here.
Disagreements: In §192 in a quotation from the Sn., a statement is
attributed to Dhaniya, whereas in the Sn. text it is made by Mara.
Also in an exposition a small and unimportant disagreement with
the Patisambhidamagga emerges (§532 and note). There may be
others of even less significance but they have not been found. As
observed under sect. 11 above, many quotations differ in small
details of words from the Pitaka texts, and the order of the 4
vipalldsa (§494) and of the 10 tathdgata-baldni (§§542ff.) differs from
that in the Suttas. These matters, however, are perhaps notable
for their fewness and their smallness in such a work. Then there is
the unexplained matter of the untraced quotations (see sect. 11
above).
Variant readings: In the printed editions these are a very minor
matter. The Burmese edition of 1956 gives one or two extra, but
only those have been noted which affect the sense. However, the
situation before Acariya Dhammapala took the work in hand and
made his commentary may have been rather less tidy to judge from
a remark or two of his. He notes that a verse was missing from
some texts (§2, note 2; compare also §760/3) and he notes from time
to time variant readings of minor importance. One differing rather
remarkably is noted by him (§168, note). An instance where the
modern printed editions disagree is in §889 (note 2), but this is quite
exceptional.
13. THE GUIDE AND INDIAN METHODS OF
EXEGESIS
This heading is included simply in order to point out a gap, not to
supply information, which was not available to the translator. I t
much needs investigating whether there is any early non-Buddhist
work or works which show a method similar to that presented by the
Pe and the Netti—which is similarly contextual in its approach and
puts forward a pattern of the same or similar nature. If there is
such a work, say, by an early Vedic commentator, a comparison
could be very illuminating and might shed information on when and
how the Method originated. Such an inquiry, though, should
extend to Jain works.
14 . RENDERINGS OF TECHNICAL SUTTA AND
OTHER TERMS
In the rendering of technical Pali terms consistency is essential; but
in the present state of development of Pali translation no more can
be expected than consistency within one volume. Renderings of
various prominent technical terms have already been discussed at
length in the translation of the Khuddakapdtha and Commentary
(Appx. I.) and so need not be repeated here. The same renderings
for Pitaka and post-Pitaka terms have been used here as there
throughout with only a few changes including those which follow,
thought to be improvements:
(Where other words have different renderings in the two transla-
tions—e.g., sama = 'even' (KhpA) and 'quieting' (Netti), or
sdmanna — 'generality' (KhpA) and 'love of divines' (Netti), or
santhdna = 'steadying' (KhpA) and 'shape' (Netti), etc.; the
reason is that different ideas are referred to (even if metaphorically
of the same origin), and if combined, they should be sama = (1)
'even', (2) 'quieting'. . . .)
The rendering of upddana here by 'assuming' instead of the
usually accepted 'clinging' needs perhaps justifying. A verbal
substantive from the verb upddiyati, it is made up of the prefix
upa- -\-dddna (= 'taking', itself made up of prefix d--j-^dd 'to
give'). Literally upddana = 'uptake' and upddiyati = 'to take
up' (cf. Latin ad-\-sumere = assumere, English to assume, as-
suming = 'to take upon oneself and assumptive = 'to take for
granted' COD). By first metaphor, upddana is a normal Pali word
for a fire's fuel (cf. 'consumption'). By second metaphor it is
placed in conscious-behaviour contexts, principally in the formula
of Dependent Arising, where it occupies the position intermediate
between Craving (tanhd) and Being (bhava): Craving (governed by
Ignorance) conditions the Assuming ('clinging') that is necessary
in order to Be. Four kinds are distinguished, namely sensual-
desires (both objective and subjective), views, misapprehended
virtue and duty, and self-theories. Two otherwise identical Sutta
presentations of an aspect of Dependent Arising, which specially
underlines Being by attaching the word pabhava ('given being by')
to each term, appear with only one difference: the one starts with
the 4 kinds of upddana (M. i, 67) and the other with the four kinds
of ahara ('nutriment'), namely physical food, contact, choice, and
consciousness (M. i, 261). This indicates some interchangeability
of the two ideas upaddna and ahara. ('Nutriment', lit. 'a bringing
towards one': English has already metaphorized the word 'food' in
one way by the expression 'food for thought,' see also note 570/1.)
I t is a fundamental tenet, too, in the Buddha's teaching that 'all
creatures subsist by nutriment' (sabbe sattd aharatthitikd: D. iii,
211; A. v, 50-1; Khp. 2) thus the two ideas of nutriment and
existence signify, as it were, or are inseparable from, assimilation
and becoming—Assuming and Being—and are bound together
with the conditionality of sine qua non (D. ii, 57), just as both are
to the idea Craving, and so on. The word 'clinging' does not
represent this at all well and its own familiar contexts prevent its
acquiring this new sense: 'assuming', though by no means perfect,
is certainly better. But again, there is another aspect: wpadana is
in Pali utraquistic, that is, it can refer both to the fire's fuel con-
sumed or to its act of consuming the fuel, and likewise in the mental
metaphor of 'assuming being', 'assuming to be' (as the word 'percept'
can refer either to the act of perceiving or to the thing perceived).
The English words 'fuelling', 'consumption' and 'assuming' are
utraquistic, but 'clinging' is not, being always the act of clinging,
never what is clung to. Consequently it is impossible, except by
some roundabout device, to translate with 'clinging' the Pali
e
n9
eva
kamupaddnam upadiyati
9
(M. i, 67); for one does not 'cling a
clinging', though one can quite well 'assume an assuming'. Besides,
a non-utraquistic word must have a quite differently organized set
of contexts from that of a utraquistic one, and so to render the one
by the other, unless it plainly make no odds, is clearly unsatisfactory.
The word vinaya and its cognate forms are here rendered by 'out-
guiding', etc. They are made up of the ambiguous prefix vi-
(augmentative or privative, cf. vibhava, vibhuta) and the \/ni (to
guide). 'Discipline' is a convenient paraphrase, and 'removal' a
one-sided limitation. A purely etymological rendering could be
'education' (Latin prefix e- = Pali vi- = English preposition 'out'
and Lat. ducat = Pali neti = Eng. 'guides'; hence 'to guide out').
Owing to the prefix's ambiguity the word vinaya's important
metaphors make certain puns possible in the sense of 'guiding out'
(to destruction) and 'guiding out' (to liberation), which are exploited
in the Pitakas (e.g., venayika at M. i, 140; Vin. iii, 2f.). The
English preposition 'out' has a similar clear ambiguity: e.g., 'put
out the flags' and 'put out the lights'. (This is no accident but a
symptom of language.) Contexts particularize which metaphor is
intended; but punning becomes possible as the metaphors diverge
and are forgotten. I t is hoped that these considerations may
justify 'out-guiding' as a rendering of vinaya, and that it can convey
some of the transparency of the original without being too inelegant.
15. GENERAL
The translator avails himself of this opportunity to pay a tribute to
the Guide's editor, Professor Hardy, whose very efficient redaction
of the Pali text made the rendering of it much easier than it might
have been. His valuable Introduction, too, really gives in critical
perspective all there is to be said about the book's history from
external sources, and contains besides much matter of relevant
interest and importance evaluated with sound historical judgment.
If the translator had to disagree (as in note 50 above) with his
assessment and appraisal of the Guide's methods and aims, this was
done in no spirit of contention but simply in order to try and
straighten out a puzzle by no means easy to unravel. Neither the
Guide nor its Commentary states specifically what its aims are; and,
in fact, while commentaries are familiar enough as a type of literature,
guides for commentators are not. I t is only too natural and easy,
then, to mistake it for a novel sort of commentary. (The translator
started this translation on that assumption without suspecting
other possibilities. I t was only when the difficulties that arose
with the detailed comparison of the PetaJcopadesa became so great
and so much could not be explained that a complete reappraisal
became imperative. When the function of the two books did at
length become clear, all these difficulties vanished.) But Professor
Hardy wrote his Introduction in 1900 when much of the Tipitaka
and the whole of the Pali Commentaries were still unpublished and
unstudied in Europe. I t is indeed a matter for admiration that 60
years later, nothing in his Introduction to a very unusual book
needs revision apart from this appraisal of its aims and of its relation
to the Petakopadesa.
NANAMOLI
Island Hermitage,
Dodanduwa, Ceylon, 1959.
At this point in his typescript the Rev. Sfanamoli had proposed
to add a short concluding paragraph. A few extra notes he had
made relating to the Guide were kindly forwarded to me from the
Island Hermitage, but no material for this paragraph has come to
light. We therefore do not know what he had in his mind or wished
to say. Apart from this, the complete typescript was in my hands
some months before this unusually brilliant scholar died very
suddenly of a coronary thrombosis on March 8th, 1960, at the age of
fifty-five. I had promised him that I would read the typescript, as
in his great modesty he had wished me to do, during the summer of
1960. This I did, feeling ever more acutely the tragedy of his early
death; and though I had no alterations to suggest, various points
emerged I should have much liked to discuss with him for my own
interest. His translation therefore goes to press exactly as he had
prepared it. But the responsibility of reading the proofs now rests
with me.
Kanamoli Bhikkhu's Guide is a work of scientific precision. His
remarkable consistency in translation allows his English version to
speak as strongly as does the original Pali of the Nettipakarana.
Moreover, his recognition of the essential nature of the Netti and his
realization of the practical purpose it was designed to serve and for
which it was compiled (described in §9 of the Introduction) mean
that, from now on, both the unique position of this work in Pali
literature and the contribution made by it can be appreciated at
their true value: the Netti is a guide for commentators and is not
itself a commentary as hitherto has been generally thought.
In Section 5 of his Introduction, Rev. Kanamoli compares the
Netti with the Petakopadesa, the 'dryness' of both of which genuinely
appealed to him, and throughout the Guide he gives numerous
references to this other work. I am glad to say that he had also
completed a translation of Pe before he died; and though he had not
been able to finalize the Introduction or write all the notes, it will
be a work well worth publishing even though it must now lack the
full critical apparatus with which he would have endowed it.
Indeed it must remain always a matter for deep regret that such a
distinguished and mature Pali-ist passed away when there was still
much important work lying ahead of him which he was eminently
fitted to undertake. His two main published works: 'The Path of
Purification' (a translation of the Visuddhimagga, published in
Ceylon in 1956) and 'Minor Readings and The Illustrator' (a
translation of the Khuddakapatha and its Commentary, P.T.S.
1960), together with the present book, testify to a healthy vitality
infomiing Pali studies. Nor is it too much to say that these three
translations have it in them to inaugurate a new and valuable phase
in the study and understanding of the contents of Buddhist litera-
ture. The P.T.S. is glad and proud to include the Rev. Kanamoli's
name in its list of translators.
I. B. HORNER.
LONDON,
December, 1960.
TEXTS USED
1. Printed Latin-script edition, published by the Pali Text
Society, London, 1902 (referred to as PTS Netti).
2. Printed Sinhalese-script edition, published by W.M.N.E.
Perera, Vidana Arachchi, Talarambe, Ceylon, 1923
(referred to as C) .
3. Printed Burmese-script edition, published by the Zabu Meit
Swe Press, Rangoon, 1917 (referred to as Ba).
4. Printed Burmese-script Chatthasangiti Pitaka edition,
Rangoon, 1956 (referred to as B6).
NETTIPPAKARANATTHAKATHA (Commentary to the Netti)
by Dhammapala Thera
1. Printed Sinhalese-script edition, published by Simon
Hewavitarne Bequest, Colombo, 1921 (referred to as
NettiA).
2. Printed Latin-script extracts appended to the P.T.S. ed. of
the Nettippakarana (page 194 onwards).
NETTIVIBHAVANA or NETTI-TIKA (Old Sub-commentary to
the Netti) by Sambandhapala Thera Mahadhammarajaguru
Printed Burmese-script edition, published by the P.C.
Mundyne Pitaka Press, Rangoon, 1909 (referred to as
NettiAA).
OTHER WORKS
1. Nettipradipaya: a summary in Sinhalese by Acariya
Dharmananda Sthavira, Colombo, 1900.
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