Expert: Justin Choo - 3/4/2008

Question
hi justinchoo. i'm engaged in what's proving to be a difficult
challenge. i'm trying to find various pali scripts (or
single characters if they exist) for buddha,
dharma/dhamma and sangha as they're expressed in
the "three jewels." can you help me out or
maybe point me in the right direction. i'd like to see
variants, but am very interested in finding them as
they appeared in their oldest known form. thanks tons!
scott in san francisco

ps. also wondering about the word "tao." was is expressed in pali? what is it's earliest known form in script?


Answer
Hi Scott,

I don't quite understand what you mean.   

Actually Pali is not a language.  The meaning of "Pali" is "language of the text" which refers to the language used by the Buddha to explain his teachings.  The language was Magandhian, the dialect spoken by the people of Magandha, the country around north-east India where the Buddha recided.  Because the Buddha used this dialect to explain his teachings, the Magandhian language was referred to as the language of the text, Pali.  Pali is a spoken dialect.  It has no written script.  Pali is very similar to Sanskrit.  Pali has fewer "R" sound, while Sanskrit has a lot of "R" sound.  Examples are Nibbana, Kamma, Sutta and Tipitaka which are Pali.  The Sanskrit equivalents are Nirvana, Karma, Sutra and Tripitaka.  The Tipitaka recorded by the Sri Lankans are done in their native script.  

On another note; "tao" is Chinese meaning "natural phenomena".  The Buddhist equivalent would be "Dhamma".  For more info, please refer here:  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao


Regards justinchoo :-)