[Buddha-l] Aupapaduka

[L.S. Cousins]

One or two quick comments on the history of these words.


Piya Tan wrote:
> (2) What do you think of Pali "opapaatika" and "aupapaaduka" being 
> synonyms. As such, the Pali term opapaatika would both mean "spontaneously 
> born" (for non-returners" as well as "intermediate being".
>   

In the form of written Middle Indian current especially from the second 
century B.C. to the first century A.D. words derived from Sanskrit 
upapaata and from Sanskrit upapaada were often identical in form. But 
there was no standardized spelling.  From the second century A.D. or so 
onwards) there was a general move towards a more standardized and 
literary form of written language. This eventually produced the 
languages we know as Buddhist Sanskrit and Pali (and probably others).


In the case in question it meant that those who were tidying up the 
texts needed to make a choice between a derivation from upapaata and one 
from upapaada. The ancestors of the Pali tradition chose the former 
(perhaps seeing a connexion also to upapatti), while the ancestors of 
the Sanskrit texts known to us chose the latter.


Originally, there was not much difference in meaning. Both effectively 
mean 'taking rebirth' and one has to understand this as meaning 'taking 
rebirth directly' i.e. not going to an egg or a womb or some kind of 
generative fluid. 'Direct rebirth' seems to be the default mode for 
everything except human beings and animals.


Lance Cousins