Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
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List of Abbreviations

# hinaj dhammaj na seveyya pamadena na sajvase

# micchaditthij na seveyya na siya lokavaddhano

# (DhP 167)

Sentence Translation:

Don't practice inferior teachings; don't connect with negligence.
Don't embrace wrong beliefs; don't be attached to the world.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

hinaj dhammaj na seveyya pamadena na sajvase
| | | | | | |
Adj.m. N.m. neg. V.act. N.m. neg. V.act.
Acc.Sg. Acc.Sg. | 3.Sg.opt. Ins.Sg. | 3.Sg.opt.
|_________| |_____| | |______|
|______________| |__________|

List of Abbreviations

miccha+ditthij na seveyya na siya loka+vaddhano
| | | | | | | |
Adv. N.f. neg. V.act. neg. V.act. N.m. Adj.m.
| Acc.Sg. | 3.Sg.opt. | 3.Sg.opt. | Nom.Sg.
|__________| |_____| |______| |______|
|_____________| |____________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

hinaj: hina-, Adj.: poor, inferior. It is p.p. of the verb ha- (to reject). Acc.Sg.m. = hinaj.

dhammaj: dhamma-, N.m.: here not as the Dharma (Buddha's Teaching), but rather in a more general meaning: teaching, way. Acc.Sg. = dhammaj.

na, neg.: not.

seveyya, V.: associate with, practice, embrace. The verb root is sev-. 3.Sg.act.opt. = seveyya.

pamadena: pamada-, N.m.: negligence. Ins.Sg. = pamadena.

List of Abbreviations

na: see above.

sajvase, V.: associate or connect with. The verb root is vas- (to live) with the prefix saj- (together). 3.Sg.act.opt. = sajvase.

micchaditthij: micchaditthi-, N.f.: wrong belief. It is a compound of:
miccha, Adv.: wrongly, badly.
ditthi-, N.f.: view, belief, theory, idea. It is derived from the verb root dis- (to see).
Acc.Sg. = micchaditthij.

List of Abbreviations

na: see above.

seveyya: see above.

na: see above.

siya, V.: would be. The verb root is as-. 3.Sg.act.opt. = siya.

lokavaddhano: lokavaddhana-, Adj.: indulgence in the world, attachment to the world. It is a compound of:
loka-, N.m.: world.
vaddhana-, N.n.: indulgence, attachment. The verb root is vaddh- (to grow).
Nom.Sg.m. = lokavaddhano.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of four syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) hinaj dhammaj na seveyya (don't practice inferior teachings, lit.: one should not practice inferior teachings). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is seveyya (one should practice, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the noun dhammaj (teaching, accusative singular). It has an attribute, the adjective hinaj (inferior, accusative singular).
2) pamadena na sajvase (don't connect with negligence, lit.: one should not connect with negligence). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is sajvase (one should associate, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). It also has an attribute, the noun pamadena (with negligence, instrumental singular).
3) micchaditthij na seveyya (don't embrace wrong beliefs, lit.: one should not embrace wrong beliefs). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is seveyya (one should practice, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the compound micchaditthij (wrong belief, accusative singular).
4) na siya lokavaddhano (don't be attached to the world, lit.: one should not be attached to the world). The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is siya (one should be, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the compound lokavaddhano (attached to the world, nominative singular).

Commentary:

Visakha was a very famous benefactress of the Buddhist Community from Savatthi. Once an older monks with his young pupil came to her house for almsfood. Visakha's granddaughter was filtering water for the young monk and when she saw her reflection on the surface of the water, she laughed. The young monk also laughed. The girl got angry and said, "You shaven head, why do you laugh at me?!" The monk did not like it and replied, "You and your family are shaven heads yourself!" The girl went weeping to Visakha. Visakha tried to appease both the girl and the monk but the monk was angry and did not accept her explanations and apologies. The older monk also tried his best but did not succeed either.
The matter was brought to the Buddha, who saw that the monk was ready to reach the first stage of Awakenment. So he asked Visakha, "Why did your granddaughter had to address my monk as a shaven head? All the monks had to shave their heads when they became members of the Community!" The young monk felt very happy and praised the Buddha that he was the only one who could understand him. The Buddha then replied with this verse, saying that the monk was also to blame; he should not quarrel because of such a small and unimportant thing. Hearing that, the young monk reached the first stage of Awakenment.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

hinaj
dhammaj
na
seveyya
pamadena
sajvase
micchaditthij
miccha
ditthij
siya
lokavaddhano
loka
vaddhano