What is the Pali language? Why is Pali the sacred or sacred language of Buddhism?

This Prakrit language was spoken in the 6th century BC in Magadha, near present-day Bihar province, which was one of the most important centers of Indian civilization at the time of the Buddha. Magadhi has been a dead language for over 2000 years. Are from 'Pali' in Sanskrit means 'line, row, sequence' and Theravada Buddhism uses this word to denote the rows, rows or systems of scriptures that make up the treasure trove of Buddhist scriptures. So from the Pali Canon (English: Pali Text), is synonymous with "Theravada Buddhist scriptures". And Palibhasa means “the language of that scripture, the language of the scriptures”, and of course it is synonymous with the word: “magadhi language"(Ma-Ket-Da) is the only language name used in the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism, which is considered the sacred or sacred language of Buddhism.

As a language, Pali is consistent in a sense that is: Completely preserved (to use) for a topicwhich is just for recording a subject is 'The Dhamma of the Buddha', rather than a language preserved for other purposes of communication or recording. This may have led many scholars to have speculated that it was a lingua francaa form of common language invented by monks in the Theravada tradition, because otherwise, there would be no other way to explain this paradox.

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(Definition: “lingua franca” is the language of people in an area who speak different languages to communicate with each other; common language -ND).

On the contrary, it tells us very clearly that the Elders (Theras) have really memorized all the Dhamma (Dhamma) and Vinaya (Vinaya) scriptures by original language of the Buddha which later became a dead language, as noted above. The Presbyterian monks of the Presbyterian School are known as the most orthodox, so something totally unbelievable is that they can dare to convert the original language used by the Buddha into another language, in the same way that other sects convert the language used by the Buddha into Sanskrit, which was forbidden by the Buddha since he was alive. ! Such an explanation seems to make more sense, because thanks into religious fervor, devoted devotion, and legendary skill in memory of the monks of antiquity in preserving and transmitting the Buddha's teachings through oral transmission.

Pali is a 'spoken' language, without a written language and in countries it is used as the sacred language of its inhabitants, such as: Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Burma (Myanmar) and In Thailand, it is written according to each country's own script.

Stepping through the modern era, the Roman alphabets have been widely used (to note many languages in the world, such as Vietnamese, Malay...), so this usefulness is also was clearly visible and the Pali spelling was changed to the Latin alphabet: easy to read, clear, easy to type. Since then, the study and dissemination of the Pali Canon has developed in this direction to the present day.

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(a) The Origin & Homeland of Pali

Many scholars have embraced various theories about the homeland of Pali. Early Pali scholars believed that literary Pali was the language of native magadhi (Ma-Ket-Da) used by the Buddha to preach the Dharma. Later scholars have an opinion based on philosophical grounds, they argue that Pali has many similarities with Paisaci, which was formerly a dialect of the West, while Magadhi ( Ma-Ket-Da) is the dialect of the East. Therefore, Pali is certainly not the Magadhi language that the Buddha used to teach. But the language magadhi (Ma-Ket-Da) that scholars know today is the language used to record the Asoka's Edict (King Ashoka) carved on stone and stone pillars, King Asoka asked his ministers to draft and engrave, at that time the majority of the people could not write or read the script, just like as the study of Salonmon19 shows that in the Buddha's time there was no writing. On the other hand, the dialect used by the Buddha is the vernacular magadhi (Ma-Kiet-Da) (Note 1) was understood and used by the majority of the population, which later the monks taught the Dharma and which later became the Pali language of the Buddhist scriptures.

A laborious paper by an Indian researcher, scholar Law5 concluded that it is difficult to come to an exact conclusion about the origin of Pali. Meanwhile, Dai Duc Bhikkhu Bodhi – (Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, authored by Venerable Nyanaponika Thera & Bhikkhu Bodhi; The Sacred Literature Series of the International Sacred Literature Trust, Publishing House. Vistaar Publications, New Delhi, 2000.) still offers a very erudite opinion that Pali is a form of language. lingua franca was made to be used by Buddhist monks in northern India some 200 years after the Buddha's Parinirvana and it may not be the same language used by the Buddha!. It is clear that there have been many conjectures and theories put forward by many scholars that are very academicbut many of those hypotheses carry arguments that do not match, do not match traditions & work of the Sangha.

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(b) The Role of the Council of Buddhist Canons in the Preservation and Preservation of the Pali Language

When discussing the issue of language used in the Pali Tripitaka, most Western scholars are skeptical, not affirming the role of Buddhist Councils in the Council of Canons in asserting language as a means of propagating Buddhism. Because the recognition and collection of sutras are based on approval of the Council, so the language used by the council played a major role in the transmission of the Sutras. All schools of Buddhism agree that the three periods or three Councils of Councils are historical events, so a frank question is asked: "What language did the Arahants from the Did the West or the East use to recite the teachings of the Buddha in the First, Second, and Third Collections?

In the First Episode, there's no doubt that it's magadhi (Ma-kita), because all the members of the assembly were people who had just learned the teachings from the Buddha himself.

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During the Second Collection, bhikkhus from the West and the East gathered to listen and recite the Sutra and Vinaya in Vesali. All 8 elders have been selected to solve the problem.”ten The point” were both direct disciples of the famous Ananda and Anuraddha. The oldest elder, Dai Duc Sabbakami person in charge of the arbitrator. Since they had learned the Dharma from those two famous Great Disciples of the Buddha, they must have used the same language. magadhi to recite the Dhamma and Discipline in the Second Concluding session.

All the theories that try to connect Pali with Ujjaini or Paisaci or even for Pali as a new language created by the Buddhist monks after the Second Collection of Canons as a middle language. (lingua franca, lingua franca) proved to be flawed, forgetting many historical events.

First, the Theravadin and also the Sthavarivada bhikkhus who preside over the Sutta Councils are known for being extremely orthodox (also known as 'unchangeable' people. ', the most 'conservative') of all schools in the implementation of the Vinaya rituals in the sangha and monastic community and always adhere to the Vinaya (Vinaya) in accordance with the ritual and original language continuously for a period of time. two weeks of training.

Second, Mr moggaliputta Tissa (Chinese pronunciation: Muc Kien Lien Tu De Tu), the organizer of the Third Sutra Collection Council in Pataliputta, has also preserved the original language according to the tradition of lineage as a teacher of the Vinaya (Lawyers, teachers. teaching Vinaya: Acaryaparampara) his. Therefore, when taste Arahant mahinda and other members of the Sangha were sent to spread the Buddha's teachings in Ceylon, surely this missionary congregation will also spread the Dharma in the language of the Third Council of Sutras to maintain similarity and continuity and avoid erroneous interpretations.

In light of these historical events, very surreal and absurd when it is hypothesized or conjectured that the Elders of old wanted to change the language of the Buddha's teachings and wanted to invent a new language with much risk of misinterpreting the consistent teachings of the Buddha .

Author: Chan Khoon San – translated by Le Kim Kha Buddhist Textbook

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