[Buddha-l] 9. Attadiipaa Sutta (Joy Vriens)

[Joy Vriens]

Dear Lance,

Thanks a lot, this is wonderful.

I have been thinking further about the island and "the ground which is
not submerged by floodwaters coming from two sides". I was thinking
how to render the idea of an island that is a refuge and came up with
asylum. A dry place between two (flood)waters makes me think of a
river island. Living in France, it made me think of Notre-Dame which
is situated on an island in the river Seine. "Crier : asile!" (HUGO,
Notre-Dame de Paris, t. 2, 1832, p. 402). Where were the traditional
places where asylum was granted (like on l'île Saint-Louis, in
Notre-Dame)?  I don't know whether there is a tradition of asylum in
India, in holy places, near a river. E.g near or on the tirthas.
"Tirtha  means a ford, a shallow part of a body of water that may be
easily crossed. A tirtha provides the inspiration to enable one to
cross over from worldly engagement to the side of nirvana". A "shallow
part surrounded by water" comes very near to dviipa, the "ground which
is not submerged by floodwaters coming from two sides". If India does
have an asylum tradition, then asylum (the original meaning) could be
a good or acceptable translation.

Joy