Thera Theri Gatha In Sinhala Pdf
Thao Hoga
GATHA: Thera - Theri Gatha belongs to the Khuddaka Nikaya ofthe Sutta Pitaka in the Pali Canon. The Pali term khuddaka has beendefined as 'minor', but it should not be understood as 'insignificant'or 'unimportant'.
The Khuddaka Nikayawas probably considered as 'minor' in relation tothe actual teaching in the other texts in the Pali Canon. As Prof.Oliver Abeynayake observes: "It is in fact an integral part of the greattradition."
Even a cursory glance at the Thera-Theri Gatha will convince a readerthat these theras and theris had been a group of people disciplined by amainstream philosophy and culture whose utterances cannot be considered'minor' in the usual sense of the term.
Thera-Theri Gatha come to us in verse-form because they were passedon in the oral tradition as such. It is a feature in the Pali Canon thatin certain places profound concepts of the Dhamma are explained withsimple similes, emotive language, striking phrases and a narrative stylemixed up with prose and poetry.
Moreover, although Buddhism grew amidst an atmosphere of considerableintellectual activity, writing was not used to record its products, andthe tendency was to convert all utterances that were deemed importantinto metrical form.
According to Rhys Davids, canonical books were the result rather ofcommunistic than of individual effort. Similarly, even in theThera-Theri Gatha there is internal evidence that reveals the hand ofthe invisible compiler such as the presence of duplicate names in thetext, ascription of identical stanzas to separate theras and therepetition of stanzas.
Moreover, some of the writings now found in the Dhammapada, TheraGatha and Theri Gatha had been scattered over the Nikayas before theywere finally incorporated in the present texts by the learned compilers.
During these centuries Gathas were probably added onto the originalstock or underwent alteration. A selection and revision were done at theThird Council in pataliputta, and it is this version that has come downto us.
Some gathas, of course, suggest that they come to us almost in theform they were uttered, while others reveal the hand of a compiler or aliterary composer. Mrs. Rhys Davids points out that the verses ofTheriSumedha and Theri Isidasi show unmistakable signs of literarycraft.
The importance and relevance of this body of literature lie not inwho uttered them but in the utterances themselves. In the words of Mrs.Rhys Davids: ".... these are for the history of human ideas the reallyprecious truths, however legendary or lost the genuine sources may havebecome". It is in this sense, I believe, that these verses should beread and understood.
Thera-Theri Gatha have also been called sravakaudanas. Dhammapala inhis Commentary on the Udana defines it as an "accumulated thrill wave ofstrong emotion, of thought directed and diffused (itakkavippahara),which the heart cannot contain, when it grows to excess cannot staywithin, but bursts forth by way of the door of speech, regardless of whoreceives it - in fact an extraordinary expiration - that is called "udana".
Udana is obviously a religious emotion (dhamma samvega) but scholarsdefine it in several ways. Winternitz renders it as a 'pithy saying'.Woodward as 'verses of uplift', and Jayawickrema as 'utterances of joy'.
But, to my mind the most revealing definition has been given by Mrs.Rhys Davids when she says: "By whomsoever compiled, the contents of thePsalms are profoundly and perennially interesting as expressions of thereligious mind, universal and unconquerable; a mind which is sointensely alive."
Apart from the profound thoughts expressed are evaluated as excellentspecimens of poetry. Winternitz refers to them as "religious poemswhich, in force and beauty, are fit to rank with the best production ofIndian lyric poetry, from the hymns of the Rgveda to the lyrical poemsof Kalidasa and Amaru."
Martin Wickremasinghe sees them as good poetry and says that "it issensibility guided by intellect that responds to the truth asdifferently perceived by the saint and the poet." In fact, he says thatthe Sinhala poets should have sought inspiration from them rather thanfrom Sanskrit poetry.
However, Ven. Karahampitigoda Sumanasara, who translated theThera-Theri Gatha into Sinhala, strikes a discordant note. According tohim, the world-view of the theras and the poets was far apart. He arguesthat Thera Culaka's gatha or Thera Suppaka's gatha reveal that what isinterpreted as beauty by a poet inspired the theras to meditation.
He adds: "So the peacocks, their singing, green grasslands, flowingstreams and cloud-covered skies evoke in Thera Culaka not a 'worldly'emotion but an inclination to meditate. Thus, the thera and the poetviewed the same world with different eyes.
Ven. Sumanasara's argument is valid in the sense that although mostof the theras are enthralled by nature, and speak enchantingly ofmountains, flowing streams, singing peacocks, green grasslands, coolbreezes and so on their minds respond to these external stimuli in anentirely different way from those of ordinary human beings.
As Ven. Sumanasara rightly points out, the theras see in nature not'pleasure' in the sense that we understand the term, but inner peace,'oneness' with nature, something far removed from personal attachment orfeeling.
Here the thera is inspired by Nature to nobler contemplation thanmere delight. If this is poetry, it is poetry in the Aristotlean sense,which is that the end purpose of poetry is not stimulation but purgingof emotions. The entire verse comes as a dialogue between the thera andhis own mind, battling against sensual pleasures. Addressing the mind,he says:
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