There is no interesting reason to call saṅkhārā "choices".
There might be a tiddly bit of "choice" in manosañcetanā; but I think the latter is much much more than that - an not what I would call, an "option".
Pali saṅkhārā
Sanskrit saṅkhara/saṃkara (act. saṃkṝ).
Pre-Buddhist Sanskrit meanings:
- Saṃ—kara: What does, what makes, what causes, what produces, what promotes — with, together.
(The post-Buddhist meaning didn't deviate much:
- mixing together , commingling - as far as what makes together - but is not all encompassing with the pre-Buddhist meanings).
- Saṃkṝ (sam-kṝ) : to pour out (together).
(The post-Buddhist meaning remains the same: mix or pour together , commingle).
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What can we simply conclude from that - sticking to the pre-Buddhist definitions?
Maybe that these are just "co-actions" that produce something - at whatever level it happens.
In the saṅkhārā nidāna we have the body, verbal and mental co-actions (assāsa + passāsā, etc.). And they co-act (pour out) together to produce consciousness.
These body, verbal and mental co-actions can happen anywhere in the links of paṭiccasamuppāda. For instance the co-actions of the khandhas.
It can also be manosañcetanā.
Etc.
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mikenz66 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:15 pm
In any case, translation is much more than dictionary lookup. It must take full account of the idioms of the source and target language.
Mainly taking into account the historical meanings of the source language AND of their underlying root meanings. So one can infer the meaning from the phrasal idiom.
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ssasny wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 9:05 pm
.....
Goes well with one of the pre-Buddhist definition of puṇya in the MW:
Puṇya = auspicious , propitious , fair , pleasant , good , right , virtuous ,
meritorious , pure , holy , sacred.
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The pre-Buddhist roots' meanings are either:
√ pū
- to make clean or clear or pure or bright , cleanse , purify , purge , clarify , " to enlighten the understanding ".
- to cleanse from chaff.
- to pass so as to purify ; to purify in passing.
- to sift , discriminate , discern.
or
√ puṇ
- to act piously or virtuously.
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"Meritorious" as one who has cleansed oneself by discernment - one that has enlightened his understanding through discrimination.
That would be the underlying meaning of "meritorious", I suppose.
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See saṅkhārā above.
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