[Buddha-l] "Western Self, Asian Other"

[Richard Hayes]

On Jan 1, 2010, at 9:05 PM, Dan Lusthaus wrote:

> Two questions: Who says mani 
> padme has to be read as a compound [it is a mantra, after all]?

The problem is that maṇi is a masculine noun, the nominative of which is manih. The mantra does not read "maṇiḥ padme" but "maṇipadme." The traditional commentaries (according to Lopez) always took it is a feminine bahuvrīhi in the vocative.  

> If it must 
> be a compound, what recommends it be read as a bahuvrihi instead of a 
> tatpurusa?

Could be a dvandva, I suppose. But that is not how commentators construed it. Whatever the case may be, it is clear that the mantra cannot possibly be translated "the jewel in the lotus." It may be utterly meaningless [it is a mantra, after all], but if that is the case, then it cannot mean "the jewel in the lotus."

Richard (I'm not sure which one)