Greetings, Friendlies!

Chewing on MN 139 – Araṇavibhaṅga Sutta for this month’s CPP homework.

No surprise, out of the gate I found myself dissatisfied with the translation of the title.

(Side Note: this straw may finally compel the camel to sign up for the Oxford Center For Buddhist Studies’ Online Pāli Course. It would be more fun to engage with friends; want to join me?)

Bhikkhu Sujato translates the title “The Analysis of Non-Conflict“. Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli (1993) uses “The Exposition of Non-Conflict“. Suddhāso Bhikkhu (2016) uses “Analysis of Non-Conflict“.

All three of these seem awkward to me. It may be that “analysis of” is a term used in a particular way in the Theravada tradition, and in the context of the Sutta Central website, it makes perfect sense. But when I read the sutta, the sense I have is more an “explanation” than an “analysis”. Reasonable people can disagree.

In the last bit of the sutta (we’ll cover content in another part) Gotama enjoins his listeners to pay attention to their use of language, to use language that will best communicate given the context (language/culture) of their interlocutors.

I particularly like, “How to Not-Conflict”. Though “On Not-Conflict” or “On Avoiding Conflict” may be less slangy. Edit: Could it be as simple as “Explaining Not-Conflict”?

Your thoughts? (And, more importantly, wanna OCBS Pāli with me?)