[Buddha-l] bodhi

[Richard Hayes]

Richard Hayes
Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhism
International Institute for Asian Studies
P.O. Box 9500
2300 RA Leiden
the Netherlands
Office tel: +31 71 527 4146
Fax: +31 71 527 4162
Mobile: ++31 6 81439358

On Nov 25, 2009, at 7:09 AM, Dan Lusthaus wrote:

> Hi Artur,
>
> Light dispels darkness (tamas) = ignorance, and that image, e.g., of a
> luminous, pure mind untainted by the dark filth, appears frequently in
> Buddhist literature (and Jain, etc.), starting with the Pali Nikayas.

There is no doubt that light imagery abounds in Buddhist texts, but  
the question is what the root "budh" and its derivatives means and how  
such words as bodhi and buddha should be translated. Here is what  
Monier-Williams offers for "budh": to wake, wake up, be awake; to  
recover consciousness (after a swoon);
to observe, heed, attend to; to perceive, notice, learn, understand,  
become or be aware of or acquainted with; to think of; to know to be,  
recognize as; to deem, consider or regard as. The passive form  
"budhyate": to be awakened or restored to consciousness. The causative  
form "bodhayati": to wake up, arouse, restore to life or  
consciousness; to revive the scent (of a perfume); to cause (a flower)  
to expand; to cause to observe or attend, admonish, advise; to make a  
person acquainted with, remind or inform of; impart or communicate  
anything to.

For "buddha" MW offers: awakened, awake; expanded, blown; conscious,  
intelligent, clever, wise (opp. to mūḍha); learnt, known,  
understood. He also notes some sūtras in Pāṇini in which "buddha"  
means a wise or learned man, sage.

Then, MW says that among Buddhists the word "buddha" means "a fully  
enlightened man who has achieved perfect knowledge of the truth and  
thereby is liberated from all existence and before his own attainment  
of Nirvāṇa reveals the method of obtaining it

MW offers this for "bodhi": mf. (with Buddhists or Jainas) perfect  
knowledge or wisdom (by which a man becomes a Buddha or Jina), the  
illuminated or enlightened intellect (of a Buddha or Jina); m. the  
tree of wisdom under which perfect wisdom is attained or under which a  
man becomes a Buddha, the sacred fig-tree, (Ficus Religiosa); mfn.  
learned, wise.

Years ago I read a 100-page article by Nobohiku Kobayashi on how  
Pāṇini-inspired Indian Buddhist commentators explained the word  
"buddha" and the glosses they gave for it and for the root "budh" from  
which it is derived. There was not a light metaphor to be found. The  
explanations all had to do with knowing, seeing clearly, understanding  
well and so forth.

Now that I'm thoroughly awake, I think I'll go eat a light breakfast.

Richard