An apology
It is with a humble apology that we begin to explain at the outset why we use uncommon terminology in our writings to translate the orthodox Pali terms. The reason is that we have made a careful effort to understand and express the meaning conveyed in a Pali sentence, rather than to merely translate the words in the sentence. Our aim has been to lay before the reader in a precise manner the message conveyed by the Buddha in his well-chosen words.
We are greatly indebted, however, to the well-known English translators such as: Rhys Davids, F. L. Woodward, I. B. Horner, and many others for getting the English reading public interested in the teachings of the Awakened One, the Buddha. Yet these translations made by the early translators contained many errors. This does not mean that we are attempting to pick holes in the tremendous work done by these great men and women. We are very thankful to these early translators, and we cannot blame them for their errors because they had to learn Pali from Sinhalese monks who had no knowledge of English. Obviously the English translators had to make use of Sinhalese translators who knew English, though their knowledge of Pali could still be questionable. This explains the difficulty these English translators would have had in learning the Pali language and even translating the words of the Buddha. This is why we must appreciate the work done by these translators despite their short comings. They have produced much important literature that we still keep using.
While recognizing these facts with gratitude, we should also be aware of the possibility for error in these English translations. Present day readers in English who use these translations seriously want to know the genuine teachings of the Buddha as clearly as possible. Therefore there is a great need to rectify the mistakes for their benefit.
We must remember that the success of a translation depends on the translator’s ability to comprehend the meaning expressed in a sentence, more than on his understanding of the words in it. In other words, we believe that a translation should be more than a translation of words. It should translate the meaning expressed by the words in a sentence. The way an idea expressed in one language differs from the way it is expressed in another language. Very often the idea is lost if one translates word for word. If a translator is unable to comprehend the meaning conveyed by a sentence, the translation is unsuccessful and possibly misleading. The way an idea expressed in a European language differs very much from the way the same idea is expressed in an Indian language. In other words, it is important to know the idiom of the language. This is why it is very difficult for a Westerner to extract the meaning of a Pali statement even if they had studied the grammar and the vocabulary of the language.
Sanskrit, Pali and Sinhalese are very closely related languages. Often the same word is used to express an idea in these languages, though in a slightly different form. The grammar as well as idiom in these three languages is very similar. This is why a translation made by a person whose mother tongue is the Sinhalese language, and whose command of the English language is quite adequate, could be more successful than that of a Westerner who is proficient in the Pali language, but insufficiently familiar with its idiom.
There is, moreover, another problem commonly encountered by translators of the teachings of the Buddha. This problem is based on the fact that these teachings are not mere stories, although some stories are found in the teachings. The teachings of the Buddha are profoundly logical, scientific, philosophical, psychological, and even contain concepts used in modern scientific thinking. Therefore a person who is unfamiliar with at least the basics of these modern subjects, cannot comprehended these ideas of the Buddha, even though he/ she may be familiar with the Pali language or even linguistics. Without fully comprehending the meaning of a Pali statement, it would not be easy to translate it effectively. We do not claim to be experts in these high-flown subjects, but our translator has spent almost his entire life studying some of these high level subjects, with the hope of comprehending the profound teachings of the Buddha. In addition, the translator has also tested these ideas, by putting them into practice, in order to verify the validity of the genuine teachings. An intelligent reader will be able to recognize this fact as he/she reads through the pages of this booklet. So it is advisable that the reader takes careful note of these facts and not jump into hasty conclusions and be over critical.
It would also be profitable to keep an open mind while reading, and carefully note the new meanings conveyed by the new translations, which may be quite different from the meaning conveyed by the common translations the reader is familiar with. The reader would also have an opportunity to judge for oneself whether or not the new translations give a meaning that is more enlightening than the former, and so bear witness to the validity of the translation of the words of an Enlightened One.
For the benefit of those who are puzzled by our use of new terminology, we plan to provide in the near future, a glossary containing the new words we use. We will also explain why we use the new terms instead of the commonly used ones.