Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 13.djvu/49

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PÂRÂGIKÂ DHAMMÂ.

3

PÂRÂGIKÂ DHAMMÂ.

The Pârâgika Rules^[1].

Here these four Rules, concerning those acts which bring about Defeat^[2], come into recitation.

1. Whatsoever Bhikkhu who has taken upon

↑ The whole of the following portion of the Pâtimokkha, together with the ancient commentary upon it, is contained in the first book of the Vibhaṅga, also called the Pârâgikam.Dickson translates throughout Dhamma* by ' offences.' He is no doubt right in taking the word, not in its ordinary sense of condition or quality, but in a more strictly technical, legal, sense. ' Offences ' is however not the right direction in which to limit the general sense. Dhammd must here be 'Rules/ in accordance with the passages quoted in our Introduction, pp. xxviii-xxx.
↑ Childers (sub voce) follows Burnouf (Introduction, &c, p. 301) in deriving the word P&ra^ika from KG with par£ pre- fixed, taking that compound in the sense of * to expel.' Dickson's translation ' deadly sin ' rests upon the same basis. The Buddhist commentators refer the word to the passive of Gl with para* pre- fixed, in the sense of ' to suffer defeat/ So the Samanta-P^sSdikd : Pdra^iko hotlti para^ito para^aya/a ipanno. Now the root AG belongs to the Vedic dialect only, and is not met with in any Buddhist expressions, and even in the Vedas it does not occur with pard prefixed. The Buddhist forms of speech have quite different and settled terms with which to convey the idea of ex- pulsion. On the other hand, there was a considerable group of words in use in the Buddhist community with which p£ra^ika stands in close connection: para^i, 'to suffer defeat;' partita, 'defeated;' para^aya, 'defeat' We cannot therefore but think that the native commentators are right in associating p&ra^ika also with this group, and that the word really means ' involving defeat/ This may mean specifically defeat in the struggle with M&ra the Evil One; but more probably defeat in the struggle against evil generally, defeat in the effort to accomplish the object for which the Bhikkhu entered the Order, in the effort to reach the ' supreme goal ' of Arahatship.

B 2

[1] The whole of the following portion of the Pâtimokkha, together with the ancient commentary upon it, is contained in the first book of the Vibhaṅga, also called the Pârâgikam.Dickson translates throughout Dhamma* by ' offences.' He is no doubt right in taking the word, not in its ordinary sense of condition or quality, but in a more strictly technical, legal, sense. ' Offences ' is however not the right direction in which to limit the general sense. Dhammd must here be 'Rules/ in accordance with the passages quoted in our Introduction, pp. xxviii-xxx.

[2] Childers (sub voce) follows Burnouf (Introduction, &c, p. 301) in deriving the word P&ra^ika from KG with par£ pre- fixed, taking that compound in the sense of * to expel.' Dickson's translation ' deadly sin ' rests upon the same basis. The Buddhist commentators refer the word to the passive of Gl with para* pre- fixed, in the sense of ' to suffer defeat/ So the Samanta-P^sSdikd : Pdra^iko hotlti para^ito para^aya/a ipanno. Now the root AG belongs to the Vedic dialect only, and is not met with in any Buddhist expressions, and even in the Vedas it does not occur with pard prefixed. The Buddhist forms of speech have quite different and settled terms with which to convey the idea of ex- pulsion. On the other hand, there was a considerable group of words in use in the Buddhist community with which p£ra^ika stands in close connection: para^i, 'to suffer defeat;' partita, 'defeated;' para^aya, 'defeat' We cannot therefore but think that the native commentators are right in associating p&ra^ika also with this group, and that the word really means ' involving defeat/ This may mean specifically defeat in the struggle with M&ra the Evil One; but more probably defeat in the struggle against evil generally, defeat in the effort to accomplish the object for which the Bhikkhu entered the Order, in the effort to reach the ' supreme goal ' of Arahatship.

[1]

[2]