Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation

List of Abbreviations

# natthi jhanaj apabbassa pabba natthi ajhayato

# yamhi jhanaj ca pabba ca sa ve nibbanasantike

# (DhP 372)

Sentence Translation:

There is no meditation for the ignorant one. There is no wisdom for someone, who does not meditate.
Who has both wisdom and meditation, he is indeed close to the Nirvana.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

na atthi jhanaj apabbassa pabba na atthi ajhayato
| | | | | | | |
neg. V.act.in. N.n. Adj.m. N.f. neg. V.act.in. Adj.m.
| 3.Sg.pres. Nom.Sg. Gen.Sg. Nom.Sg. | 3.Sg.pres. Gen.Sg.
|_______| | | | |______| |
|____________|_______| | |__________|
|_____| |______________|

List of Abbreviations

yamhi jhanaj ca pabba ca sa ve nibbana+santike
| | | | | | | | |
Rel.Pron.m. N.n. conj. N.f. conj. Pron.m. part. N.n. N.n.
Loc.Sg. Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. | Nom.Sg. | | Loc.Sg.
| |______| |______| |_____| |_______|
| |___________| |__________|
|______________________| |
|____________________________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

na, neg.: not.

atthi, V.: is. The verb root is as- (to be). 3.Sg.act.in.pres. = atthi.
Euphonic combination: na + atthi = natthi.

jhanaj: jhana-, N.n.: meditation, concentration. It is derived from the verb root jhe- (to meditate, to concentrate). Nom.Sg. = jhanaj.

apabbassa: apabba-, Adj.: ignorant, without wisdom. It is derived from the word pabba-, N.f. (see below) and the negative prefix a-. Gen.Sg.m. = apabbassa.

pabba: pabba-, N.f.: wisdom. Nom.Sg. = pabba.

na: see above.

atthi: see above.

ajhayato: ajhayant-, Adj.: not meditating. It is derived from the verb root jhe- (to meditate) and the prefix a-. Gen.Sg.m. = ajhayato.

yamhi: yat-, Rel.Pron.: that, which. Loc.Sg.m. = yamhi.

List of Abbreviations

jhanaj: see above.

ca, conj.: and.

pabba: see above.

ca, conj.: and.

sa: tad-, Pron.n.: it. Nom.Sg.m. = sa (the more usual form is so).

ve, part.: indeed.

nibbanasantike: nibbanasantika-, N.n.: close to the Nirvana, the presence of the Nirvana. It is a compound of:
nibbana-, N.n.: Nirvana, the goal of Buddhism.
santika-, N.n.: presence, vicinity.
Loc.Sg. = nibbanasantike.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of three syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) natthi jhanaj apabbassa (there is no meditation for the ignorant one). The subject is the noun jhanaj (meditation, nominative singular). The verb is atthi (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The verb has an attribute, the adjective apabbassa (for the one who is not wise, genitive singular).
2) pabba natthi ajhayato (there is no wisdom for someone, who does not meditate). The subject is the noun pabba (wisdom, nominative singular). The verb is atthi (is, 3rd person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The verb has an attribute, the adjective ajhayato (for the one who does not meditate, genitive singular).
3) yamhi jhanaj ca pabba ca sa ve nibbanasantike (who has both wisdom and meditation, he is indeed close to the Nirvana). This can be further analysed into two sentences:
a) yamhi jhanaj ca pabba ca (who has both wisdom and meditation). There are two subjects, the nouns jhanaj (meditation, nominative singular) and pabba (wisdom, nominative singular). They are connected by two conjunctions ca (and). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". It has an attribute, the relative pronoun yamhi (in whom, locative singular). It also connects this sentence to the following one.
b) sa ve nibbanasantike (he is indeed close to the Nirvana). The subject is the pronoun sa (he, nominative singular). It is stressed by the particle ve (indeed). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". It has an attribute, the compound nibbanasantike (in the presence of the Nirvana, locative singular).

Commentary:

The story for this verse is identical with the one for the four previous verses (DhP 368 - DhP 371) and for the following four verses (DhP 373 - DhP376).
Wisdom comes as a product of long and diligent meditation. There is no other way to obtain wisdom. On the other hand, one must possess an initial small portion of wisdom in order to understand the necessity of meditation. As a result, most people never start to meditate or if they do, they tire quickly and give up.
Only one, who is wise and uses the wisdom in meditation in order to achieve even more wisdom, is able to reach the goal of Nirvana.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

na
atthi
jhanaj
apabbassa
pabba
ajhayato
yamhi
ca
sa
ve
nibbanasantike
nibbana
santike