[INDOLOGY] The Buddhist term sutta

Tue May 11 14:30:16 UTC 2021

*Carakasaṃhitā* 1.30.1 (which can be dated to the first century CE) refers
to the word *sūtra* with the meaning “[corpus of authoritative] knowledge”
in a list of synonyms in a quite general way: *tatrāyurvedaḥ śākhā vidyā
sūtraṃ jñānaṃ śāstraṃ lakṣaṇaṃ tantram ity anarthāntaram* (ed. Jādavji
Trikamjī Ācārya (ed.), *Caraka Saṃhitā by Agniveśa. Revised by Caraka and
Dṛḍhabala. With the Āyurveda-Dīpikā Commentary of Cakrapāṇidatta. *Repr. of
the ed. Bombay 1941, p. 189b). For the author of this passage, brevity of
expression apparently was not an important characteristic of a *sūtra*.
__________________________

PD Dr. Philipp A. Maas
Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter (Research Associate)
Institut für Indologie und Zentralasienwissenschaften
Universität Leipzig
___________________________

https://spp1448.academia.edu/PhilippMaas

Am Di., 11. Mai 2021 um 16:08 Uhr schrieb Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info>:

> If I remember, the term *sutta *is found in a passage describing the
> views of one of the Ājīvikas (*suttagul̥e khitte*), where it clearly
> refers to a thread. Is the term *sutta *as a kind of text found anywhere
> other than in the titles of texts? In other words, does the word *sutta *as
> a kind of text belong to the oldest stratum of Pali, or is it only a sort
> of editorial usage?
>
> Madhav M. Deshpande
> Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
> University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
> Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies
> Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India
>
> [Residence: Campbell, California, USA]
>
>
> On Tue, May 11, 2021 at 6:52 AM Uskokov, Aleksandar via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
>> Interestingly Śaṅkara gives a similar illustration in his BSBh
>> 1.1.2: vedānta-vākya-kusuma-grathanārthatvāt sūtrāṇām; vedānta-vākyāni hi
>> sūtrair udāhṛtya vicāryante; "The sūtras ae for knitting the flowers that
>> are the Upaniṣadic passages; for, the Upaniṣadic passages themselves are
>> examined through the sūtras."
>>
>> One benefit of reading *sutta* as *sūkta* is that it is no longer
>> mysterious why Brahmanical sūtras are so economical and Buddhist having so
>> much repetition. Later Brahmanical definitions all associate *sūtra* with
>> being short and having few worlds and syllables.
>>
>> Best wishes
>> Aleksandar
>>
>> Aleksandar Uskokov
>>
>> Lector in Sanskrit
>>
>> South Asian Studies Council, Yale University
>>
>> 203-432-1972 | aleksandar.uskokov at yale.edu
>> ------------------------------
>> *From:* INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> on behalf of
>> Lubin, Tim <LubinT at wlu.edu>
>> *Sent:* Tuesday, May 11, 2021 9:22 AM
>> *To:* Rupert Gethin <Rupert.Gethin at bristol.ac.uk>;
>> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info <indology at list.indology.info>
>> *Subject:* Re: [INDOLOGY] The Buddhist term sutta
>>
>>
>> But this is not really much to support *sutta* < *sūkta*, since the
>> regular Pāli form parallel to *sūkta* includes the glide -v-, as Skt
>> *ukta* ~ Pāli *vutta* and similarly in other MIA languages, which all
>> seem to preserve the initial v- of the verbal root **vac*- (Pischel
>> §337), despite the vowel change a > u before a labial (§104).
>>
>>
>> And anyway, Buddhaghosa here is offering multiple exegetical
>> “etymologies” (an old technique beginning already in the Vedic
>> *brāhmaṇa-*prose), which are alternative or mutually complementary.  The
>> last of the six offered here relies on the “thread” meaning, explained
>> using *two* distinct analogies which, if anything  about the author’s
>> sense of the basic literal meaning of the term is to be inferred from that
>> fact, would point rather to a stronger awareness of *sutta* as connected
>> with threads:
>>
>>
>>
>> *… suttasabhāgañ c’etaṃ yathā hi tacchakānaṃ suttaṃ pamāṇaṃ hoti evaṃ
>> etam pi viññūnaṃ, yathā ca suttena saṅgahītāni pupphāni na vikirīyanti na
>> viddhaṃsiyanti evam etena saṅgahītā atthā.*
>>
>>
>>
>> The trans. of the whole passage:
>>
>>
>>
>> This Scripture shows, expresses, fructifies,
>>
>> Yields, guards the Good, and is unto the wise
>>
>> A plumb-line; therefore *Sutta* is its name.
>>
>>
>>
>> For it shows what is good for the good of self and others.
>>
>> It is well expressed to suit the wishes of the audience. It has
>>
>> been said that it fructifies the Good, as crops fructify their
>>
>> fruit; that it yields the Good as a cow yields milk; and that
>>
>> it well protects and guards the Good. *It is a measure to the*
>>
>> *wise as the plumb-line is to carpenters*. And *just as flowers*
>>
>> *strung together are not scattered nor destroyed, so the Good*
>>
>> *strung together by it does not peris*h. Hence it has been said,
>>
>> to facilitate the study of the word-definition:
>>
>>
>>
>> This Scripture shows, expresses, fructifies,
>>
>> Yields, guards the Good, and is unto the wise
>>
>> A plumb-line; therefore *Sutta* is its name.
>>
>> (tr. Maung Tin, *The Expositor*, v. 1, PTE (1920), p. 24
>>
>>
>>
>> Best,
>> Tim
>>
>>
>>
>> _________________________________________
>> Timothy Lubin
>> Jessie Ball duPont Professor of Religion and Adjunct Professor of Law
>> 204 Tucker Hall
>> Washington and Lee University
>> Lexington, Virginia 24450
>>
>> American Council of Learned Societies fellow, 2020–21
>> National Endowment for the Humanities fellow, 2020–21
>>
>> https://lubin.academic.wlu.edu/
>> <https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flubin.academic.wlu.edu%2F&data=04%7C01%7Caleksandar.uskokov%40yale.edu%7C988aad0e5b1b4a42373e08d9147ff166%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637563362017277270%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=epOZWooWF7S8qlHvp4MIPA2aZBN4W2hg64BDpQh1d7g%3D&reserved=0>
>>
>> http://wlu.academia.edu/TimothyLubin
>> <https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwlu.academia.edu%2FTimothyLubin&data=04%7C01%7Caleksandar.uskokov%40yale.edu%7C988aad0e5b1b4a42373e08d9147ff166%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637563362017277270%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=djXbkHjRm2d2H4BzMmUruIRYX8dOSf%2BIBVxdOmssg9w%3D&reserved=0>
>>
>> https://ssrn.com/author=930949
>> <https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fssrn.com%2Fauthor%3D930949&data=04%7C01%7Caleksandar.uskokov%40yale.edu%7C988aad0e5b1b4a42373e08d9147ff166%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637563362017287223%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=ZPDGl9Hnui6wehukB%2F3R6TXjuNVJa2Nmwe6yKTPTISs%3D&reserved=0>
>> https://dharma.hypotheses.org/people/lubin-timothy
>> <https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdharma.hypotheses.org%2Fpeople%2Flubin-timothy&data=04%7C01%7Caleksandar.uskokov%40yale.edu%7C988aad0e5b1b4a42373e08d9147ff166%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637563362017297191%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=spmZDm6Y2DcvUQA7hGm%2Bbtycg13690bUiN1a%2FbUVyq8%3D&reserved=0>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From: *INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> on behalf of
>> INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
>> *Reply-To: *Rupert Gethin <Rupert.Gethin at bristol.ac.uk>
>> *Date: *Monday, May 10, 2021 at 7:29 PM
>> *To: *INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
>> *Subject: *Re: [INDOLOGY] The Buddhist term sutta
>>
>>
>>
>> Oskar von Hinüber suggests here that the Theravāda tradition offers no
>> support for a derivation of *sutta* from *sūkta*. (In
>> der Theravāda-Überlieferung findet die Annahme, daß *sutta*- eigentlich
>> *sūkta*- entspräche, nirgends eine Stütze, wie die
>> lange Erörterung  zu sutta-, As 19, 15–26 mit aller Deutlichkeit zeigt.)
>>
>>
>>
>> However, the Atthasālini passage cited here (= Sp I 19 = Sv I 17) quotes
>> and explains a mnemonic verse that offers 6 ways of taking *sutta;* the
>> second of these is precisely *sūkta* (Pali *suvutta*):
>>
>>
>>
>> "As revealing benefits, as well spoken (*suvutta*), as productive,
>> as yielding,
>>
>> as sheltering well, as a universal measuring cord, it is called *sutta*.”
>>
>>
>> "For a *sutta* reveals various benefits for ourselves and others. And in
>> it these benefits are spoken well (*suvutta*) since they are spoken
>> in accordance with the disposition of those who are to be trained …"
>>
>>
>>
>> atthānaṃ sūcanato suvuttato savanato ’tha sūdanato |
>> suttāṇā suttasabhāgato ca suttan ti akkhātaṃ ||
>>
>>
>>
>> taṃ hi attatthaparatthādibhede atthe sūceti. suvuttā c’ ettha
>> atthā veneyyajjhāsayānulomena vuttattā ...
>>
>>
>>
>> Rupert Gethin
>>
>> --
>>
>> *Rupert Gethin*
>>
>> Professor of Buddhist Studies
>> University of Bristol
>>
>> Department of Religion and Theology
>>
>> 3 Woodland Road ● Bristol BS8 1TB ● UK
>>
>>
>>
>> Email: Rupert.Gethin at bristol.ac.uk <Rupert.Gethin at bristol.ac.uk>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 10 May 2021, at 21:13, Lubin, Tim <LubinT at wlu.edu> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> Oskar von Hinüber (1994: “Die Neun Aṅgas,” p. 132) approvingly cites
>> Mayrhofer’s judgment (EWA III/ 492) that the derivation from *sūkta* is
>> “entbehrlich”; he cites a long discussion of the term in Buddhaghosa’s
>> *Atthasālinī* 19.15–26 as evidence against it.
>>
>>
>>
>> Tim Lubin
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From: *INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> on behalf of
>> INDOLOGY <INDOLOGY at list.indology.info>
>> *Reply-To: *Andrew Ollett <andrew.ollett at gmail.com>
>> *Date: *Monday, May 10, 2021 at 3:28 PM
>> *To: *Jim Ryan <jim_ryan at comcast.net>
>> *Cc: *INDOLOGY <INDOLOGY at list.indology.info>
>> *Subject: *Re: [INDOLOGY] The Buddhist term sutta
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear Jim,
>>
>>
>>
>> See Max Walleser's 1914 book, footnote on p. 4:
>>
>>
>>
>> https://archive.org/details/dli.granth.87981/page/4/mode/2up
>> <https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fdli.granth.87981%2Fpage%2F4%2Fmode%2F2up&data=04%7C01%7Caleksandar.uskokov%40yale.edu%7C988aad0e5b1b4a42373e08d9147ff166%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637563362017297191%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=A1pgPgLqB0ZEzM7W0xTHl2FiPSACu1hYQIAwDphCObg%3D&reserved=0>
>>
>>
>>
>> K. R. Norman and Gombrich accepted this suggestion. I suppose Pollock got
>> it from Gombrich.
>>
>>
>>
>> Andrew
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, May 10, 2021 at 2:22 PM Jim Ryan via INDOLOGY <
>> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>>
>> Dear all,
>>
>>
>>
>> Sheldon Pollock in *The Language of the Gods in the World of Men *(p.
>> 52) suggests that the Buddhist term “sutta” does not derive from the
>> Sanskrit *sūtra,* but rather from *sūkta. *Sanskrit double consonant
>> clusters do show regular assimilation, regressively and progressively, in
>> Prakrit, where two different consonants become a double of one of them. I’m
>> interested in hearing learned opinion on Pollock’s suggestion. I had not
>> noticed this interesting detail, when I first read this book some years ago.
>>
>>
>>
>> James Ryan
>>
>> Asian Philosophies and Cultures (Emeritus)
>>
>> California Institute of Integral Studies
>>
>>
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>>
>>
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