[Buddha-l] bodhi

[Richard Hayes]

On Nov 24, 2009, at 11:24 PM, Artur Karp wrote:

> Sanskrit/Pali "bodhi" is being routinely translated as  
> "enlightenment".
>
> Are there any textual reasons why this term - and not "awakening" - is
> strongly preferred by the authors of the secondary (English language)
> Buddhist literature?

I don't think there is any justification in Indian languages for  
rendering "bodhi" as "enlightenment." My guess is that this habit may  
have begun when Buddhism was first being discussed in English and  
reflects the influences of the European Enlightenment on the one hand  
and the Theosophical movement on the other. Once such linguistic  
habits take hold, they are difficult to break.

What is the standard Polish translation of bodhi?

Richard Hayes
Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhism
International Institute for Asian Studies
P.O. Box 9500
2300 RA Leiden
the Netherlands