Translation
Cultural context / Language / Translation
Part of tag cluster Language in key topic Context of the Teachings
67 excerpts, 4:24:31 total duration

All excerpts (67) Most relevant (41) Questions about (26) Answers involving (30) Stories (9) Quotes (3) Readings (1)

Metta Retreat, Session 5 – Sep. 13, 2008

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10. “What does Pasanno mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Translation] // [Faith]

Story: Why Ajahn Pasanno’s name is mispronounced. [Wat Pah Nanachat]


The Whole of the Path, Session 1 – Jun. 22, 2013

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3. “Why is discernment a better word for wisdom?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment ] [Translation] // [Pāli] [Etymology]


Abhayagiri 2014 Winter Retreat, Session 5 – Jan. 12, 2014

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1. “Does anyone know the Thai word that Ajahn Ṭhānissaro translates as “preoccupations?”” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Thai] [Translation] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro]


Abhayagiri 2014 Winter Retreat, Session 13 – Jan. 22, 2014

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1. “Why is sañña often translated as perception?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Perception] [Translation] // [Thai] [Recollection] [Aggregates]

Sutta: MN 43.5 Mahāvedalla Sutta: Conjoined not disjoined.


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2. “Have you heard of sañña and saṅkhara being translated as short-term and long-term memory?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Perception] [Volitional formations] [Translation]


Abhayagiri 2014 Winter Retreat, Session 19 – Feb. 1, 2014

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4. “What Pāli word do you think Ajahn Geoff is translating as thought formations?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pāli] [Translation] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] // [Volitional formations] [Thai]


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5. “In another Ajahn Geoff translation, I have seen him use “supposings” or “fashionings.’ Is that the same word?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Translation] [Thai] // [Conventions] [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation]


Abhayagiri 2014 Winter Retreat, Session 49 – Mar. 13, 2014

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5. “Do you know Venerable Nirodha who translated this book?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Teean] [Dhamma books] [Translation] [Ajahn Pasanno]


Abhayagiri 2014 Winter Retreat, Session 50 – Mar. 14, 2014

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9. “Has the Ajahn Utane biography been translated into English?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Tongrat] [Translation] [Ajahn Utane] [Dhamma books]

Note: Ajahn Mudito translated Ajahn Utane’s biography of Ajahn Tongrat into Portuguese in 2019. A machine translation from Portuguese to English is available on the internet.


Mindfulness of Breathing, Session 2 – Oct. 26, 2014

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1. “Could you translate sati as recognizing?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Translation] [Pāli] [Mindfulness of breathing]


2014 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 4 – Nov. 25, 2014

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3. “Would you say more about the meaning of merit (puñña)? Are there other words or definitions in English? Thanks again for your teachings.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Merit ] [Translation] // [Skillful qualities] [Happiness] [Anumodanā]


2014 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 5 – Nov. 26, 2014

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19. “Was Pali ever a conversational language? Do you know of a translation of suttas that use more common, everyday words? For example, saying…letting go or releasing instead of relinquishing. I like to use simple words in the day to remind myself.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pāli] [History/Early Buddhism] [Sutta] [Translation] [Language]

Note: Bhante Sujato’s translations (available on suttacentral.net) use less technical terms.


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 6 – Jan. 11, 2015

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4. “What do the Pāḷi terms translated as impurity and foulness mean?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Pāli] [Translation] [Aversion] [Unattractiveness] // [Etymology] [Sensual desire]

Simile: MN 119.7: Sack of grains.

Comment: Words themselves like “impure” are culturally loaded. [Language] [Cultural context] [Culture/India]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 17 – Jan. 26, 2015

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3. “What word does the translator (Saddhatissa) render as “immortality?”” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Translation] [Deathless]

Reference: Sn 1.4: The Farmer Bhāradvāja


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 21 – Feb. 1, 2015

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2. “What is the Pāli word translated as disjoined or detached [in SN 47.4]?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Translation]

Comment: SuttaCentral would have the translation.

Note: The Pāli word is visaṁyuttā (SuttaCentral).


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 22 – Feb. 2, 2015

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1. “Which Pāli word is translated as “fading away?”” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pāli] [Translation] [Dispassion] // [Cessation]


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2. “How does nirodha differ from arising and ceasing?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Cessation] [Impermanence] [Pāli] [Translation] // [P. A. Payutto] [Dependent origination]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 27 – Feb. 10, 2015

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1. “What is the Thai that is translated as “mind” and “mind objects?”” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai] [Translation] [Heart/mind] [Moods of the mind] // [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Chah]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 32 – Feb. 21, 2015

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3. “Are the Four Frames of Reference the same as the Four Foundations of Mindfulness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Mindfulness] [Translation] // [Bhikkhu Bodhi] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro]


Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 7 – Nov. 25, 2016

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14. “The term “sati”. What does it mean? Does it mean mindfulness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness ] [Translation] // [Christianity] [Etymology] [Perception] [Memory]


Two Kinds of Thought and the Removal of Distracting Thoughts, Session 2 – Jun. 4, 2017

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9. “When the word evil comes up in a Buddhist context, it always takes me by surprise. What is the word being translated as evil thoughts [in MN 20]?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unskillful qualities] [Pāli] [Translation] // [Thai] [Language]


Chanting, Session 3 – Jun. 2, 2018

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1. “Are the paritta chants not as effective in English?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Translation] [Language] [Pāli] [Chanting] [Protective chants] // [Devotional practice]


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3. “I notice that most of the paritta chants don’t have English translations. Is there a place we can find these?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Translation] [Chanting] [Protective chants] // [Sutta]

Suttas: DN 32: Āṭānāṭiya Sutta; SN 46.14-16: Sick [Sickness] [Factors of Awakening]


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5. Comment: There are a couple books that have some parittas in English. [Translation] [Dhamma books] [Chanting] [Protective chants]

Reference: The Book of Protection by Piyadasi Thera

Response by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: Suggestion to read the Suttanipāta commentaries available in Bhikkhu Bodhi’s translation of this text. [Sutta] [Commentaries] [Bhikkhu Bodhi]


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8. “The Verses of Sharing and Aspiration translates paccekabuddha as ‘The Solitary Buddha is my noble guide.’ What’s going on here?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko and Ajahn Pasanno. [Chanting] [Translation] [Paccekabuddha] // [Merit] [Teaching Dhamma]

Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 33


Interreligious Retreat-Seminar on Dhamma and Non-duality, Session 4 – Nov. 26, 2023

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1. “What is the translation of sabbaṃ dukkhaṃ? The way you translate it seems psychological. In Sanskrit, dukkhaṃ means out of the cosmic flow of Dhamma. But perhaps dukkhaṃ is best left untranslated. If untranslated, does dukkhaṃ mean the same thing in Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering] [Pāli] [Equanimity] [Dhamma] [Translation] [Advaita Vedanta] // [Thai] [Human] [Aggregates] [Clinging ] [Knowing itself] [Relinquishment]

Ancient etymology of dukkha: du = bad, unwanted, unpleasant, uncomfotable, not easy; kha = where the axle fits into the wheel. [Language] [Translation] [History/Indian Buddhism]

Sutta: SN 22.22: Dhammacakkappavattanasutta (Chanting Book translation)

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Teaching: The four forms of clinging. [Clinging ] [Sensual desire] [Impermanence] [Naturalness] [Happiness] [Neutral feeling] [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Views] [Doctrine-of-self clinging] [Not-self]

Quote: “Nibbāna is the reality of non-grasping.” — Ajahn Chah. [Nibbāna] [Cessation of Suffering]