[Buddha-l] Attadiipaa Sutta

[Joy Vriens]

On the website http://rightmindfulness.wordpress.com, I discovered a
translation of the Attadiipaa Sutta I was unfamiliar with. It's the
first time I saw "light" used instead of "island". Diipaa seems to
mean both light and island, but the translation of island somehow
prevails, because of commentaries, perhaps occurrences in a different
context where the meaning of island is more appropriate. I have always
considered the image of an island in the context of the sutta a bit
like the image of a citadel used by Marcus Aurelius. Every commentary
on this sutta hastes to add that of course this is not for selfish
reasons and that Buddhists, who are sociable citizens like you and me,
think like John  Donne  that "No man is an island."  Another similar
Buddhist image is that of the solitary rhinoceros, but a rhinoceros
apart from being solitary has an enormous carapace and a huge horn on
its nose to make it perfectly clear it wants to be left alone. This
does do some damage in my fragile mind with its rich imagination to
the idea of Buddhist solitariness merely serving the purpose of
profound introspective investigation. Moreover, the image of the
rhinoceros is specifically used for Paccekabuddhas, not the most
sociable buddhists. For me the image of the island and the rhinoceros
are linked.

Reading this for me new translation was a refreshment and because of
my with light or Light inundated Tathagatagarbha background it does
seem to make sense. So I would like to know whether regardless of the
commentaries, traditions, etc. The Pali does allow the website's
translation.

Here's the simplified Pali version of the website (beautiful in its simplicity):

Atta Dipa
Atta Dipa
Viharatha
Atta Sharana
Ananna Sharana
Dhamma Dipa
Dhamma Sharana
Ananna Sharana

Here's the translation:

Look within!
You are the Light itself.
Rely on yourself.
Do not relay on others.
The Dharma is the Light.
Rely on the Dharma.
Do not relay on anything,
Other than the Dharma.

Simple as well when one compares it with e.g. Walshe's translation:

"Monks, be islands unto yourselves, be your own refuge, having no
other; let the Dhamma be an island and a refuge to you, having no
other. Those who are islands unto themselves... should investigate to
the very heart of things."

I don't know any Pali and this is a simplified transcription without
diacritics, but Dhamma dipa ought to get the same treatment as Atta
dipa, which it doesn't in Walshe's translation. I can see that one is
one's own light, and that the Dhamma is the light. I have more
problems with seeing the Dhamma being an island, without the addition
"to you", which is questionable. So I am not sure about the island any
more. Could anyone lead me back onto the right path?

Joy