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

[Joy Vriens]

Lance wrote:

>For Bhikkhu Bodhi's views on the best rendering, see his revision of  
>~Naa.namoli's Majjhima translation - note 135 to Sutta 10. He points  
>out that ~Naa.namoli renders this as 'a path that goes in one way  
>only' against the widespread understanding that it is a statement  
>upholding an exclusive path. He himself adopts the rendering 'the  
>direct path' as an attempt to preserve ~Naa.namoli's meaning 'in a  
>more stream-lined phrasing'. I do not see that this is quite the case  
>as the implication that other paths are indirect seems also exclusive. 

I quite like 'direct path', since I definitely see directness, no intermediary, and simplicity (as the opposite of complexity) as Buddhist objectives and as criteria that can again be applied to Buddhism, which some later schools (e.g. ch'an) have actually tried to do.  
 
>He then goes on to suggest that satipa.t.thaana is so-called to  
>distinguish it from the approach that proceeds through the jhaanas or  
>brahmavihaaras. But, as he admits, there is neither canonical nor  
>commentarial support for this view. In fact, it is explicitly  
>indicated in the Canon (in the Niddesa passage I quoted earlier) that  
>various other lists can also be called ekaayana. 

Sorry for my ignorance, but is this because jhaanas can be pretty 'blind' without the apport of vipassana etc. and are the satipa.t.thaana considered as as sort of blend: a combination of focussing and knowing?  
 
Joy