[Buddha-l] Re: there he goes again (sam harris)

[L.S. Cousins]

Joy,

It is amazing how a good sound bite wins out over what is actually 
said every time !

As was pointed out by Edward Conze and others long ago, this is not a 
reasonable translation of the Pali. Had the Buddha in the 
Satipa.t.thaanasutta said 'ekamaggo' we could translate as 'one way' 
or 'only way', although even that would be debatable. But he didn't. 
He said: 'ekaayano aya.m . . . maggo'. This is literally 'this path 
goes to a single <destination>'. `(Often explained as a path without 
any forks.)

Nor does tradition so interpret it. The Mahaaniddesa says that 
ekaayano maggo is a name for: the four establishings of mindfulness, 
the four right efforts, the four bases of iddhi, the five faculties, 
the five powers, sevenfold awakening and the eightfold path.

Later commentaries by Buddhaghosa and others add various other 
interpretations such as the path which one treads alone or the path 
taught by the Buddha alone. Rather conspicuous is the absence of any 
idea that this is the only way.

>Yes.
>"The Blessed One pointed out the teaching thus: "Bhikkhus, my 
>Dispensation leads to Deliverance in this way," closed the 
>instruction that is crowned with arahantship in twenty-one places 
>and uttered the following words: "This is the only way, o bhikkhus, 
>for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and 
>lamentation, for the destruction of suffering and grief, for 
>reaching the right path, for the attainment of Nibbana, namely the 
>Four Arousings of Mindfulness.""
>These are said to be the words of the Buddha and they can be found 
>in the opening of the Satipatthana Sutta.
>

Lance Cousins