I apologize for not responding to this comment; I saw it a little while ago while making the new thread. I somehow missed it (probably due to my traveling).
- By the way, the original post is “Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta – Distortion Timeline.”
- Please make sure to provide the link to the post in question.
Question: “It mentions that “the Buddha made it an offense to express Buddha dhamma in Sanskrit”. Does this mean that pretty much any / all languages can be used to express the Buddha dhamma besides Sanskrit?”
Yes. Sanskrit is a unique case that does not apply to any other language.
- Both Pali and Sanskrit evolved from a very ancient language that evolved into Magadhi (and got split into Pali and Sanskrit). The similarities can be easily seen.
- However, while both Magadhi and Pali kept the natural “phonetic words” (the meanings embedded in the words/sounds), Sanskrit words were artificially crafted to provide “musical overtones” and, in some cases, to make them deliberately complex. Only the high-class priests were supposed to speak/write Sanskrit.
- Examples: kamma to karma, dhamma to dharma, Paticca Samuppada to Pratītyasamutpāda, etc. I have explained that “Paticca Samuppada” embeds the meaning: “Paṭicca Samuppāda – “Pati+ichcha” + “Sama+uppāda” It is not so with “Pratītyasamutpāda.”
- Another evident problem is discussed in #7 of the post itself: “Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta – Distortion Timeline. Sanskrit replaced the Pali words anicca and anatta with anitya and anatma, which have VERY different meanings. It will not be easy to explain the concepts of anicca and anatta in Sanskrit.
