The translation of the steps of the practice in MN 70 & 95

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pulga
Posts: 1501
Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2010 3:02 pm

Re: The translation of the steps of the practice in MN 70 &

Post by pulga »

Hi Sylvester,
Sylvester wrote: The trick now is to ask - is the participle pahitatta functioning adnominally (ie as a adjective) or adverbally (as a verb)? I don't think it could be adnominal, since the as verb always describes substantive nouns, not adjectives. However, if it is functioning adverbally, then it is possible to read it as either periphrastic with samāna, or as a nominative absolute, where both participles are related as such to a silent/suppressed substantive noun in the nominative.
Given that in the nominative absolute the subject is explicit -- hence as you mentioned Wijesekara might treat the clause in question as a semi-absolute construction -- I'm inclined to consider it simply as a periphrastic. But I was wondering, do you see any significant impact on the meaning of the sentence between the two alternatives? Thanks.
"Dhammā=Ideas. This is the clue to much of the Buddha's teaching." ~ Ven. Ñanavira, Commonplace Book
Sylvester
Posts: 2204
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 9:57 am

Re: The translation of the steps of the practice in MN 70 &

Post by Sylvester »

Hi pulga,

The more I look at it, the more convinced I am that it is periphrastic.
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