Why blog “On Buddha’s Terms”?

Buddhism uses a number of precisely defined terms to explain philosophy and practice in a systematic way. If these terms are misunderstood, much confusion about the meaning arises and it is difficult to connect the dots. Unfortunately, students can quickly become frustrated that even the most basic Buddhist terms are translated differently by different translators in different resources. For instance, are the three poisons “passion, aggression, and ignorance” or “greed, hate, and delusion”? Certainly, people trying to rid themselves of these in order to become free from the suffering they cause would want to know which translation is correct. Although this translation question and others will be dealt with in later blogs, it may help to point out here that the broader translation problem is threefold. Firstly, the original Sanskrit, Pali, or Tibetan words do not have the same range of meaning as the English words, so it is often difficult to find one word that works for all contexts in which the word is used. Secondly, translators may have different approaches to translation that differ based on context. Thirdly, teachers are often trying to appeal to different audiences, and are themselves not always fully aware of the linguistic, cultural, and religious context of the terms they are using. This problem gets further complicated by some people insisting that a certain “standard” English term is 100% accurate, while others insist that their own creative terminology, based on their intuitive experience, is more correct. Most experienced translators know there is no way to find a perfectly accurate translation of any Sanskrit, Pali, or Tibetan term. But they differ in their solutions and approaches. My personal approach is to translate traditions (rather than just words) and to mind the gaps. This means I try to explain Buddhism, whenever possible, by defining the Buddhist usage of terms precisely and explaining the context in which they occur, so that students can develop a deeper understanding of Buddhist terminology and more easily connect the dots about Buddhist philosophy and practice. The goal of the blog here is not to provide a dictionary, but a reflection on the meaning of various key terms, and some clues about the possible misunderstandings arising from certain commonly used translations. In this way, the point of the blog is not just to refine student’s understanding of specific terms, but to help them be more sophisticated when approaching English translations of Buddhist teachings and terms. The blog postings may not be very often, but each one will aim to tackle central terms. So please stay tuned !!