Learning the Original Language of Buddhism

sova

Hello, I am an aspiring linguist and I have been wanting to learn more about the original words of Buddhism.

>Based on my knowledge so far, it seems that writing did not exist in the Buddha's time, but instead the tradition was passed down orally until it was able to be recorded.


If I wanted to focus on Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, should I focus my efforts on learning Tibetan? Do any of you know it well, and how long did it take you?

SherabDorje

The original Buddhist scriptures were recorded in Pali, which, if I remember right, was specially created for that purpose. A working knowledge of Sanskrit might help too.

Buddhism did not arrive in Tibet until the 800's CE. You would not get back to the original words of the Buddha that way, as "Buddhism" evolved a great deal during that time. Buddhism began in north central India in the first century BCE. You should concentrate your efforts there if you want to know the truly original words of Buddhism.

compassionate_warrior

You can contact Vincenzi, who found a Pali language course online that was to his liking, I think (there are several listings if you Google "Pali language course"). There's a DVD + textbook course in spoken Tibetan available from Snow Lion, that covers 2 university years of Tibetan. Depending on how strong a language whiz you are, and how much time you have available, you might be able to cover it in 1 year. But literary Tibetan is a completely different kettle of fish. It's much more archaic, highly idiomatic, and requires a lot of dictionary work. The only way to learn that is to find a university that offers a course in literary Tibetan. If your goal is to study the Buddhist scriptures in their original language, Pali and/or Sanskrit are the ticket.

Vincenzi

I haven't yet decided on the online course, because I'm currently studying Sanskrit.

this are the 2 links that may be more useful:
http://www.tipitaka.org/romn/
http://spokensanskrit.de/

just take into consideration that Pali is a scriptural language. Sanskrit still has some native speakers, but very few.

Simonthepilgrim

This quote may interest you:
"Extracted from the book "Buddhist Sutras: Origin Development" by Kogen Mizuno.

"The original language of the sutras seems to have been Magadhi, which Shakyamuni used in preaching. Of all the Indic language versions of sutras used as Buddhist texts today, those written in Pali are the most numerous and are widely used in the Southern Buddhist countries Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand. According to Southern Buddhist tradition, Pali is regarded as the language that Shakyamuni spoke, and therefore is called Magadhi or the fundamental language. However, recent studies show that although a little of the Magadhi influence is still evident in the Pali language, the basic characteristics of the two languages are different."

from: http://www.greatwesternvehicle.org/pali/Buddhalanguage.htm

thickpaper

The original Buddhist scriptures were recorded in Pali....

The Buddha spoke a now very dead language called Magadi. I dont think there is an App for that:p

Vincenzi

@thickpaper

that's basically a Pali variant...

thickpaper

@thickpaper

that's basically a Pali variant...

Not from what I understand, though I am no expert:)

The Buddha did not speak the same language as the first Therevadans.

Two different languages separated by hundreds of years and fifteen hundred miles....

SherabDorje

Here's an article from Tricycle about some early Buddhist texts written in Gandhari which also sheds light on the development of Buddhism. It's a really good read and adds yet another language to the mix.

http://www.tricycle.com/feature/whose-buddhism-truest

compassionate_warrior

What I understood from the recent discovery of some pre-Pali Mahayana texts is that several north Indian languages were the "first language" of Buddhism. It wasn't Pali or Sanskrit. Some of the earliest texts were recorded in regional languages of the north, where the Buddha was from, and where he taught.