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A word is missing?

Ludovic Bubner 10 years ago updated 10 years ago 2

Dear Bhante,


I'm reading the Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasutta in Pāli - M10. It seems that the word "matthaluṅgaṃ" or "brain" is missing between the two words: karīsaṃ and pittaṃ.
This issue can be found in the pabba: Kāya-anupassanā-paṭikūka-manasikāra-pabba. The pabba concerning the 32 parts of the body. It should be read: karīsaṃ matthaluṅgaṃ pittaṃ 

Well, it's not a big deal. But if you could update this sutta, it would be icing on the cake.

Best,

Ludo

Hi Ludo,


Actually the text is correct. In the Nikayas the list of body parts usually has 31 items, and the brain is not included. Only in the later texts, starting, perhaps, with the Khuddakapatha, is matthalunga added to make the now-standard list of 32 parts.


Just a general remark on the Pali text we use. It's the edition of the 6th Council, based on the VRI tipitaka text, with extensive corrections by the Dhamma Society; the formal name of the edition is the Mahasangiti. It was hosted for several years online as the "World Tripitaka", but that site has since vanished. It is, I believe, the most consistent and accurate Pali text ever produced. Stylistically, it uses various Burmese-style readings, while I personally prefer the Sinhalese readings, which seem to me to be more colloquially Pali. But this is just a detail. On the whole it is highly accurate and it is very hard to find typos. We are currently working on an updated text, which will include a large range of variant readings.

Thank you for your explanation, Bhante. Now, it makes more sense to me. 
Best,

Ludo