what does 'ariya' mean in MN 4?

Explore the ancient language of the Tipitaka and Theravāda commentaries
User avatar
Sam Vara
Site Admin
Posts: 13482
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2011 5:42 pm
Location: Portsmouth, U.K.

Re: what does 'ariya' mean in MN 4?

Post by Sam Vara »

rajitha7 wrote: Sat May 20, 2023 8:29 am
Sam Vara wrote: Thu May 18, 2023 10:41 pm I might have misread rajitha7's point here, but is he making a connection between ariya and iriyā (movement, deportment) rather than titthati?
iriyā is posture. titthati probably belong to another topic.

when one does;

vi-riya > one becomes > a-riya

vi-riya has been translated as "effort". It matches shallow POV but not the deep meaning.

viriya means remove and discard causes for forward movement in order to become ariya.
Iriyā also means movement (iriyapatha are the 4 postures) so I thought you were contrasting this with titthati. But I don't think there is a demonstrable link between viriya and ariya, as the former has a clear etymology:
Viriya (neuter) [from vīra; cf. Vedic vīrya and vīria] literally "state of a strong man," i.e. vigour, energy, effort, exertion.
Whereas ariya does not.
Post Reply