Buddhist Dictionary, Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines
by Nyanatiloka Mahathera
Terms and Doctrines of the Pali canon compiled by Bhikku Nyanatiloka
Type: e-book
Publisher: Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka | 4th Edition | 1st Edition: 1952
Edition: 4th Revision Edition, online version via www.budsas.org, updated 17 August 2005
Published: 1988
Author: Nyanatiloka Mahathera
Pages: 187
ISBN: 9552400198
Languages : English, Pali
More than a glossary of (Theravada) Buddhism concepts translated from Pali to English (and German), this Manual, revised from its first publication in 1952 until the 1988 edition, presents an exhaustive exploration of the Tipitaka, the Pali canon on which modern Theravada Buddhism is founded.
In his first Presentation, the author, himself of German origin, remarked: “In rendering the terms into English, I often had to differ considerably from the interpretation of Western scholars, and to introduce quite new words. A great number of such earlier translations must be considered partly as totally incorrect, partly as misleading, or at the very least ambiguous. Incorrect are, for instance, the English renderings of náma-rúpa by ‘name and form’; javana (impulsion, i.e. the karmic impulsive moments) by ‘apperception’, etc. The expositions concerning the true nature of the 8‑fold Path, the 4 Noble Truths, the paticca-samuppáda and the 5 groups of existence — doctrines which, with regard to their true nature, have been often misunderstood by Western authors — are sure to come to many as a revelation.”
From abbhokásik’anga (‘living in the open air’, one of the ascetic means to purification) to wrong understanding (or view, thought, speech, etc: micchá-magga), enter a spiritual world where “faith is not in conflict with the spirit of inquiry, and “doubt about dubitable things” is admitted and inquiry into them is encouraged.”
Angkor, 2021 (photo by La Mo)
Tags: religion, Theravada Buddhism, Pali, Pali canon, translations
About the Author
Nyanatiloka Mahathera
The Venerable Nyanatiloka (19 Feb. 1878, Wiesbaden, Germany – 28 May 1957, Colombo, Ceylon [Sri Lanka]), born as Anton Walther Florus Gueth, was one of the earliest Westerners in modern times to become a Bhikkhu, a fully ordained Buddhist monk. Known as Nyanatiloka Mahathera (a Sanskrit and Pali term of reverence to distinguished venerable monks and nuns), he authored several studies on Theravada Buddhism and a Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines (Buddhist Publication Society, 1st edition: Kandy, Sri Lanka, 1952), the Presentation of which he completed and dated “Central Internment Camp, Dehra-Dun, India, 28 – 08-1946”.
His German citizenship forced him into exile and internment during both World War I and II, while he was living in British colonized Ceylon and Burma, and in China, and he took refuge in Japan after the first world conflict. However, he was given a state funeral at his death in Colombo, with the then Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Hon. S.W.R.D Bandaranaike delivering the funeral orationm, and a memorial stone was erected for him.
Nyanatiloka had discovered Buddhism in his youth in Germany, when he was attracted to philosphy and music. Eager to deepen his knowledge of Pali and Pali scriptures, he went to Sri Lanka in 1905. For a year, he studied and meditated on the small island of Galgodiyana with the Siamese prince monk Jinavaravamsa, previously known as Prince Prisdang Jumsai, the first Siamese Ambassador to Europe.
In a report on the state of Cambodian Buddhism after the civil war, in 2009, reporter Rollo Romig recalled: ‘According to monk Yos Hut, “we have enough pagodas, we need to spend money on teachers, not just on expensive buildings.” I asked him if he was worried about the future of Cambodian Buddhism. “Oh, no, no,” he said, giggling at the absurdity of the suggestion. “No worry. We try to see things as they are, and try to do what we can.” [Then,] he handed me a packet of photocopies, lectures by the German monk Nyanatiloka Mahathera, and told me to read.’