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INTRODUCTION.
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speak of the town of Srâvastî instead of Sâvatthi in Pali, Sevet in Sinhalese; of Tripitaka, 'the three baskets,' instead of Tipitaka in Påli, Tunpitaka in Sinhalese; of Arthakatha, "commentary,' instead of Atthakathâ in Pali, Atuwâva in Sinhalese ; and therefore also of Dharmapada, the path of virtue,' instead of Dhammapada.
But inclinations are stronger than arguments. Påli scholars prefer their Pâli terms, and I cannot blame them for it. Mr. D'Alwis (Buddhist Nirvâna, p. 68) says: 'It will be seen how very difficult it is to follow the rule rigidly. We are, therefore, inclined to believe that in translating Påli works, at least, much inconvenience may not be felt by the retention of the forms of the language in which the Buddhist doctrines were originally delivered. For the sake of uniformity, therefore, I have given up my former plan. I use the Pâli forms when I quote from Pâli, but I still prefer the Sanskrit forms, not only when I quote from Sanskrit Buddhist books, but also when I have to speak of Buddhism in general. I speak of Nirvana, dharma, and bhikshu, rather than of Nibbâna, dhamma, and bhikkhu, when discussing the meaning of these words without special reference to southern Buddhism ; but when treating of the literature and religion of the Theravada school I must so far yield to the arguments of Pâli scholars as to admit that it is but fair to use their language when speaking of their opinions.
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