4👑☸ Cattāri Ariya-saccaṃ 四聖諦
FLIPT
pali translation method
FLIPT = Fast Learning Intuitive Pali Translation
Goals
• Not aiming for most accurate or fluent translation. You can consult other translations for those criteria, such as those from Bhikkhu Bodhi or Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
• translation tries as much as possible to match pali word for word in order, at the cost of fluency and proper english grammar (or other target language other than english) . The goal is to learn Pali quickly, and learn the typical grammatical order of pali words. The goal is to learn to think in pali.
• when you chant in pali, the word for word translation should make it much easier to think, reflect, solidify the memory of the meaning of each pali word as you chant every day. Fluent translations that don't have word to word correspondence make this awkward and slow, making your brain freeze up, especially when you chant quickly.
• translation word choices will often select words that resemble pali in a way that's easy to remember, rather than the most accurate one. For example, "āsava" and "asinine-tendency" both start with letters "as", so that choice of english word helps to make an easy connection for pali memorization.
Translation Process
• If an existing public domain or free translation with shareable license exists, such Thanissaro's or B. Sujato’s translations exist, start with that.
• Use DPR (Digital Pali Reader) and look up word by word using PED and CPED dictionaries.
• to preserve pali word for word in order translation, grammatical cases for the translated target language will sometimes be inaccurate.
Usage
• parenthesis, "( )", will enclose words that are usually articles, prepositions to promote fluency in the translated target language. parenthesized words were not explicitly in the pali.
• square brackets "[ ]" enclose words that add context to the pali word which in its bare literal translation might be vague. For example, in the 4 reflections, "sitassa" just means "cold". But in context, it's referring to cold [weather].
• curly braces, "{ }" will refer to a pali word that's been translated out of order. Sometimes it's really difficult to come up with a pali word for word translation into the target language, so the curly brace is a way to help us out. The word in the curly brace usually will be in the same line (phrase or sentence). But sometimes it will refer to a different sentence further down.
• words blocked out with asterisks, such as "**********": Sometimes simple common words, articles, prepositions in pali are replaced with asterisks if they hinder comprehension in english. For example, "Cattaro'me, Bhikkhave, iddhi-pada...", would be translated as "four'-of-these, *********, power-bases...". Because that's easier to comprehend than "four of these o monks, power-bases", which in english is confusing.
FLUENT = plain simple English as much as possible
Using plain langauge, (SP) Spelling out some of the important meditation details that get lost from the terse coded language when one just translates literally.
FLUENT, as opposed to FLIPT style which is targeted for students who want to learn and memorize pali passages.
SP = spelled out in ‘[ ]’: Details that are not explicitly stated in the pāḷi sutta text, will be enclosed in square brackets [ ]
For example:
He had a pleasant abiding, pacified body [which are the features of the first three jhānas].
On suttas where frankk is listed as translator along with Sujato:
for example, cited like this:
(2022 SP-FLUENT translation by frankk derived from B. Sujato 2018/12)
This means I started with Sujato's public domain translation.
The final result, by percentage of total word count, the bulk of the translation work is still his.
But having a few words different can drastically alter the experience of the sutta.
Most important Buddhist terms will have been changed to frankk's
STED , to be consistent with my other translations.
For example, jhāna = jhāna, instead of Sujato's 'absorption', and samādhi = 'undistractible-lucidty', instead of Sujato's 'immersion.'
’dhamma’ untranslated give the suttas a very different flavor.
Most importantly, my translations leave 'dhamma' untranslated. Most translators disambiguate 'dhamma' into a large assortment of terms according to context, such as (qualities, teaching, principles, things, phenomena, mental qualities, etc.). The problem with that, is that 'dhamma' often straddles mutliple meanings, and those are lost when a translator chooses only one possibility. Leaving it untranslated, also teaches the listener to think and disambiguate the term in real time, quickly. These skills are important in the oral tradition style of learning, and for learning in general in any era. Just as if one tries to raise a child in an overprotective way, coddling and shielding it from any slight danger, the child is not equipped to handle difficulties in life in adulthood.
In the same way, when translators disambiguate and translate 'dhamma' into what they think the correct meaning is in contexts, it deprives you the opportunity to disambiguate, learn an important life skill, and appreciate the richness, subtle nuances that 'dhamma' can take in many contexts. It also breaks the connection of all the suttas as a whole. When you rely on translators' "dhamma' mapped into many english words, you don't realize all those words are translations of 'dhamma', and you lose the thread of 'dhamma' that runs through the suttas, and you can't connect dots.
Copious bookmarks of interesting landmarks, and built in sutta summaries
Where I added a lot of value over Sujato's translation, is breaking down a long sutta with bookmarked headings. All the headings put together (omitting the sutta text itself) give a pretty comprehensive summary of the sutta. See the end of the article, with the table of contents of all the bookmarked headings.
game of broken telephone, authenticate the source
The Pāḷi + English version will always accompany (or available with a link) any of my published transltions.
This is my ironclad rule, to never release any suttas without the pāḷi.
Why?
Translators make mistakes, accidentally or otherwise. Having the source (pāḷi) there, is like having good journalistic standards of citing named sources, allowing one to audit and validate any part of the translation.
B. Sujato sutta translation guideline:
https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2021/04/b-sujato-sutta-translation-guideline-1.html
1) “principle of least meaning”
Well, first, there are two general principles that inform my translation. These are somewhat counter-intuitive, so it is worth spelling them out.
One is the “principle of least meaning”. This is a handy rule of thumb, that stems from the observation that we tend to read excessive meaning into texts, especially ancient spiritual texts. To counteract that, it is often prudent to read the texts in the most simple and plain way possible, unless there is a good reason to do otherwise. In this case, the Vibhanga interpretation gives a more highly articulated meaning to the passage, so a simpler reading would be preferred.
2) “principle of least accuracy”
The second is the “principle of least accuracy”. This stems from the observation that Buddhist studies and translations are still in an immature stage, and we are a lot less certain about things than we think. People like it when two translators are consistent, because it “reduces confusion”. But confusion is entirely appropriate when it is a confusing matter. If everyone translates things the same way, it conveys the impression that all the experts agree that this is what it means. But if you talk to the experts, they will frequently say, “well, it could easily be the other thing, this is just a best guess”. This is similar to the problem of false precision in mathematics. Thus a translation should strive to convey no more accuracy than is justified, and this is considered in light of other translations, too. Seeing two different translations informs a reader that there are a variety of possibilities.
when you have power, facts become optional
https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/bhikkhunis-can-reordain/3492
There is a constant temptation to overinterpret ancient texts, to read as much meaning as possible into each statement. On this forum, I have repeatedly advocated for the principle of least meaning; that is, we should read each context as simply as possible, interpreting it as little as possible, and staying close to plain, literal meanings.
...
I found, to my dismay, that many monks simply dismissed any research or arguments made by myself or by others. They didn’t respond to them or refute them, they just ignored them. I learned a hard fact of life: when you have power and wealth and property and prestige, facts become optional.