{"id":1581,"date":"2017-04-30T23:59:23","date_gmt":"2017-04-30T23:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/?p=1581"},"modified":"2018-06-26T22:16:37","modified_gmt":"2018-06-26T22:16:37","slug":"some-mahatma-letters-sources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/some-mahatma-letters-sources\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Mahatma Letters Sources"},"content":{"rendered":"

The previous post, \u201cA Mahatma Letters Puzzle,\u201d ended with the statement: \u201cThe Buddhist terms and quotations found in the Mahatma letters almost always come from then existing books, and therefore cannot be relied upon for accuracy.\u201d This statement should be substantiated by more than just the one example given in that post (nirira namastaka = nirvva namastaka = nirvv\u0101namastaka = nirv\u0101\u1e47a-mastaka, a ghost word). For this purpose we may look at the long and doctrinally important Mahatma letter #16, chronological #68, called the \u201cdevachan letter\u201d because it is the primary source for the Theosophical teachings on the after-death states including devachan (Tibetan, bde ba can<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Before the days of digital books and electronic searches, Doss McDavid noticed many parallels between the devachan letter and passages in an 1871 book by Samuel Beal, A Catena of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese<\/em>. He found that the quotations of Buddhist scriptures given in this letter come from this book. There would be no reason for the Mahatma to translate these passages himself. These letters were personal correspondence, not scholastic treatises, and were often written in haste. The Mahatma simply drew upon what was already available in order to help make his point.<\/p>\n

From Mahatma letter #16, chronological #68, 2nd ed. pp. 99-100, 3rd ed. pp. 97-98, chronological ed. pp. 189-190:<\/p>\n

(1) The Deva-Chan, or land of “Sukhavati,” is allegorically<\/em> described by our Lord Buddha himself. What he said may be found in the Shan-Mun-yi-Tung<\/em>. Says Tath\u00e2gata:\u2014
\n“Many thousand myriads of systems of worlds beyond this (ours) there is a region of Bliss called Sukhavati<\/em>. . . . This region is encircled with seven<\/em> rows of railings, seven<\/em> rows of vast curtains, seven<\/em> rows of waving trees; this holy abode of Arahats is governed by the Tath\u00e2gatas (Dhyan Chohans) and is possessed by the Bodhisatwas. It hath seven<\/em> precious lakes, in the midst of which flow crystaline waters having ‘seven and one’<\/em> properties, or distinctive qualities (the 7 principles emanating from the ONE). This, O, Sariputra is the ‘Deva Chan.’ Its divine Udambara flower casts a root in the shadow of every earth<\/em>, and blossoms for all those who reach it. Those born in the blessed region are truly felicitous, there are no more griefs or sorrows in that cycle<\/em> for them. . . . Myriads of Spirits (Lha) resort there for rest and then return to their own regions<\/em>.1<\/sup> Again, O, Sariputra, in that land of joy many who are born in it are Avaivartyas<\/em> . . .\u201d2<\/sup> etc., etc.<\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/p>\n

1. Those who have not ended their earth rings.
\n2. Literally\u2014those who will never return\u2014the seventh round men, etc.<\/p>\n

From Beal\u2019s Catena<\/em>, pp. 378-379:<\/p>\n

[Translated from the Chinese version of Kum\u00e2raj\u00eeva, as it is found in the Shan-mun-yih-tung<\/em>.] At this time Buddha addressed the venerable Sariputra as follows:\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the western regions more than one hundred thousand myriads of systems of worlds beyond this, there is a Sakwala named Sukhavat\u00ee. Why is this region so named? Because all those born in it have no griefs or sorrows: they experience only unmixed joys; therefore it is named the infinitely happy land. Again, Sariputra, this happy region is surrounded by seven rows of ornamental railings, seven rows of exquisite curtains, seven rows of waving trees\u2014hence, again, it is called the infinitely happy region. Again, Sariputra, this happy land possesses seven gemmous lakes, in the midst of which flow waters possessed of the eight distinctive qualities . . . .<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, S\u00e2riputra, the land of that Buddha ever shares in heavenly delights (or music), the ground is resplendent gold, at morning and evening showers of the Divine Udambara flower descend upon all those born there, at early dawn the most exquisite blossoms burst out at their side: thousand myriads of Buddhas instantly resort here for refreshment, and then return to their own regions, and for this reason, S\u00e2riputra, that land is called most happy. . . .<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, S\u00e2riputra, in that land of perfect joy all who are born, are born as Avaivartyas (never to return), . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

We notice that, or order to make his point, the Mahatma emphasized certain parts of this quotation by underlining (italics in the printed version), such as the word seven<\/em>. But he also changed the quotation in order to make his point, changing Beal\u2019s \u201ceight distinctive qualities\u201d to \u201c‘seven and one’<\/em> properties, or distinctive qualities (the 7 principles emanating from the ONE).\u201d Beal\u2019s \u201cat morning and evening showers of the Divine Udambara flower descend upon all those born there\u201d became \u201cIts divine Udambara flower casts a root in the shadow of every earth<\/em>, and blossoms for all those who reach it.\u201d Beal\u2019s \u201call those born in it have no griefs or sorrows\u201d was moved down and became \u201cthere are no more griefs or sorrows in that cycle<\/em> for them.\u201d Beal\u2019s \u201cthousand myriads of Buddhas instantly resort here for refreshment, and then return to their own regions\u201d became \u201cMyriads of Spirits (Lha) resort there for rest and then return to their own regions<\/em>.1<\/sup>,\u201d with the footnote \u201c1. Those who have not ended their earth rings.\u201d Beal\u2019s \u201cAgain, S\u00e2riputra, in that land of perfect joy all who are born, are born as Avaivartyas (never to return),\u201d became \u201cAgain, O, Sariputra, in that land of joy many who are born in it are Avaivartyas<\/em> . . .2<\/sup>,\u201d with the footnote \u201c2. Literally\u2014those who will never return\u2014the seventh round men, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

As may be seen, all of these changes made by the Mahatma in the quotation brought in teachings about devachan that the Mahatma was giving to his correspondent, A. P. Sinnett. It may be thought that these changes made by the Mahatma are simply more accurate translations of the Buddhist text. They are not. They are less accurate translations, but bring in esoteric interpretations of the Buddhist text. We learn what the Shan-mun-yih-tung<\/em> is from Samuel Beal\u2019s article, \u201cTranslation of the Amit\u00e2bha S\u00fbtra from Chinese\u201d\u00a0(Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society<\/em>, 1866, pp. 136-144). Beal\u00a0begins his translation by saying: \u201cThe Amit\u00e2bha S\u00fbtra. Extracted from the work called \u2018Shan Mun Yih Tung,\u2019 or Daily Prayers of the Contemplative School of Priests\u201d (p. 140). He had a few pages earlier introduced it as follows: \u201cThe following translation of the Amit\u00e2bha S\u00fbtra is made from the Chinese edition of that work, prepared by Kum\u00e2raj\u00eeva, and bound up in a volume known as the \u2018Daily Prayers of the Buddhist Priests belonging to the Contemplative School\u2019 (Shan-mun)\u201d (p. 136). So what we have from Beal in his 1871 Catena of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese<\/em> is actually a translation of the Amit\u0101bha S\u016btra. As is well known, the Amit\u0101bha S\u016btra is a popular name for the shorter Sukh\u0101vat\u012b-vy\u016bha S\u016btra<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The original Sanskrit text of the shorter Sukh\u0101vat\u012b-vy\u016bha S\u016btra<\/em> was recovered and first published by F. Max M\u00fcller in his article, \u201cOn Sanskrit Texts Discovered in Japan\u201d (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society<\/em>, 1880, pp. 153-188). It was reprinted along with the larger Sukh\u0101vat\u012b-vy\u016bha S\u016btra<\/em> in the book, Sukh\u0101vat\u012b-vy\u016bha: Description of Sukh\u0101vat\u012b, the Land of Bliss<\/em>, edited by F. Max M\u00fcller and Bunyiu Nanjio (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1883). So we can compare the original Sanskrit. The Sanskrit word for the first change, \u201ceight\u201d to \u201cseven and one,\u201d is a\u1e63\u1e6da<\/em>, \u201ceight.\u201d The Sanskrit word for the second change, \u201cshowers\u201d to \u201cshadow,\u201d is pravar\u1e63ati<\/em>, \u201cshowers.\u201d Further, the Sanskrit does not have \u201cUdambara flower\u201d here, but rather has \u201cm\u0101nd\u0101rava flower.\u201d The third change, the addition of \u201cin that cycle,\u201d is not in the Sanskrit. The fourth and fifth changes are a little more complex. Beal\u2019s translation from the Chinese does not quite match the Sanskrit, but neither do the changes introduced by the Mahatma. Of course, the added footnotes by the Mahatma bring in esoteric teachings, not found in the exoteric text.<\/p>\n

For those who wish to pursue this in English translations, both the shorter and the longer Sukh\u0101vat\u012b-vy\u016bha S\u016btra<\/em>s were first translated from the original Sanskrit by F. Max M\u00fcller in Buddhist Mah\u00e2y\u00e2na Texts<\/em>, Part II (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1894), = Sacred Books of the East, vol. 49. This was a pioneering translation, when the meaning of a number of Sanskrit Buddhist terms was not yet established. Both the shorter and the longer Sukh\u0101vat\u012b-vy\u016bha S\u016btra<\/em>s were again translated from the original Sanskrit by Luis O. G\u00f3<\/em>mez, and published in Land of Bliss: The Paradise of the Buddha of Measureless Light<\/em> (Honolulu: University of Hawai\u2018i Press, 1996). This book also includes separate translations of these two texts from the Chinese translations. The shorter Sukh\u0101vat\u012b-vy\u016bha S\u016btra<\/em> was translated from the Tibetan translation by Georgios T. Halkias, and published in Luminous Bliss: A Religious History of Pure Land Literature in Tibet<\/em> (Honolulu: University of Hawai\u2018i Press, 2013).<\/p>\n

References to the rest of the quotations from Buddhist texts in Mahatma letter #16, chronological #68, the \u201cdevachan letter,\u201d in Beal\u2019s Catena of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese<\/em>, are, in sequence: pp. 117, 86, 85, 90, 120, 64. Perhaps more about these and others can be posted later.<\/p>\n

In summary, the Mahatma letters teach esoteric Buddhism. Being letters, they used then available translations of Buddhist texts for their quotations. They often altered these quotations to show the esoteric teachings. The Buddhist terms and quotations found in the Mahatma letters are therefore often inaccurate on two counts: They are quotations from early and often unreliable translations; they are often altered to bring in esoteric teachings that are not stated in the Buddhist texts themselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The previous post, \u201cA Mahatma Letters Puzzle,\u201d ended with the statement: \u201cThe Buddhist terms and quotations found in the Mahatma letters almost always come from then existing books, and therefore cannot be relied upon for accuracy.\u201d This statement should be substantiated by more than just the one example given in that post (nirira namastaka = […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mahatmas-letters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1581"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1591,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1581\/revisions\/1591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}