|
W. Rhys Davids Ca. 1870 Anglican Christian version |
Sister Vajira & Francis Story Politically correct |
Nyanamoli 1960 Politically correct |
Bodhangkur 2008 Cold read |
Mahaparinibbana Sutta 2:16 Digha Nikaya |
|
Therefore,
O Ananda, be ye lamps unto your selves (self?). Be ye a
refuge
(?) to your selves (self). Hold fast to the truth as a lamp. Hold fast as
a refuge
(?) to the truth. Look not for refuge (?) to
any one
besides your selves (self). Rhys
Davids christianised version amounts to deliberate disinformation. |
Therefore,
ânanda, be islands unto your
selves, refuges unto your selves, seeking no external refuge; with the dhamma as your island, the dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other
refuge. Sister
Vajira could have done a lot better. Like Nyanamoli, shes stuck in the rut
and afraid to go forth. |
So,
Ananda, each of you should make himself his island, himself
and no
other his refuge; each of you should make the dhamma his
island,
the dhamma and no other refuge. There are no personal pronouns in the original text. Nyanamoli interprets atta to mean a personal self (i.e. yourself or yourselves) thereby seriously contradicting The 3 Characteristics Sutta . Belief in a personal self is a serious error, namely the 1st of the 10 fetters. Nyanamoli should have known better. |
Therefore,
Ananda,
self (Note: no personal pronoun) lamp;
light (island, unlikely
since an island functions as a sankhara) abiding self refuge;
protection, shelter, remembrance no
other refuge (see above) dhamma lamp/light, dhamma
refuge no
other refuge |
Tasmātih ānanda,
atta dipā
viharatha atta saranā
anaņņa
saranā,
dhamma dipā dhamma saranā anaņņa
saranā |