formal debate technique

[Dipak Bhattacharya]

Dear Dr.Wujastyk,
Will you kindly mention the names of the sthaana and adhyaaya?
Best 
DB 


--- On Wed, 1/7/09, Dominik Wujastyk <d.wujastyk at UCL.AC.UK> wrote:


From: Dominik Wujastyk <d.wujastyk at UCL.AC.UK>
Subject: formal debate technique
To: INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk
Date: Wednesday, 1 July, 2009, 11:24 PM



Tibetan formal debating is quite physical, with the hands being clapped etc.  This will be familiar to many readers of this list and is described, for example, in Georges Dreyfus, The Sound of Two Hands Clapping (2003), pp.217 ff.

See, e.g., http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Crvh74HtYJA


In the Carakasaṃhitā, vi.8.15, there is a description of some reasons why one might want to debate.  The text says that in the heat of a debate, a teacher may accidentally blurt out some information about advanced topics that the students have not yet covered.  So its advantageous to them.

ācāryaḥ ... paraspareṇa saha jalpan piṇḍena vijigīṣur āha saṃharṣāt /

arguing with each other, the teacher, out of excitement (saṃharṣa) says that [i.e., secret], with a piṇḍa.

I'm writing to ask about this piṇḍa.  The 11th century commentator Cakrapāṇi glosses it as "sāroddhāreṇa", i.e., "with a pithy text".  So a piṇḍa is a "gobbet," in 20th century parlance.  That works quite well, but I'm not convinced.

The 20th century editor, Trikamji, notes in a footnote that there is another reading "paṇḍena", that the commentator Gaṅgādhara explains as being "by the light of his learnedness".  Hmm.

It crossed my mind that this piṇḍena - if that's what the MSS really say - might possibly refer to some physical gesture.  Does anyone have any suggestions about this?

Thanks,
Dominik


-- Dr Dominik Wujastyk
International Institute of Asian Studies
http://iias.nl

long term email address: wujastyk at gmail.com





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