Dear Dominik,

The alchemical use of vidh sometimes occurs in Buddhist texts; see e.g. Bodhicaryāvatāra 1.10 and its comm. : rasajātam atīva vedhanîyam. However, in the context I was concerned with, it is part of the technical vocabulary of Prajñāpāramitā and refers to intuitive penetration of the ultimate truth. This is much discussed in the Abhisamayālamkara and its comms. Perhaps there is a meta-level on which these uses are related as applying to « transformative «  events. 

best,
Matthew 

Matthew T. Kapstein
Professor emeritus
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL Research University, Paris

Associate
The University of Chicago Divinity School

Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

https://ephe.academia.edu/MatthewKapstein

https://vajrabookshop.com/product/the-life-and-work-of-auleshi/

https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501716218/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-i/#bookTabs=1

https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501771255/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-ii/#bookTabs=1

https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/60949


Sent from Proton Mail for iOS.


-------- Original Message --------
On Thursday, 10/16/25 at 15:44 Dominik Wujastyk <wujastyk@gmail.com> wrote:
Not on the privative prefix, but on the meaning of vidh, see 

abhinandatitara,

Dominik


--
Dominik Wujastyk, Professor Emeritus, Classical Indian History
University of Alberta

"The University of Alberta is committed to the pursuit of truth, 
the advancement of learning, and the dissemination of knowledge 
through teaching, research and other scholarly and creative activities and service."