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**Grennios** · 05-09-2010, 09:28 AM

The Buddhadasa book on DO available on the internet is a very poor translation & not the complete work.

Whereas in English, one will not find much on this by Buddhadasa. He did not discuss the sankhara much in public lectures. He generally only described sankhara in a general way as "the power of concocting".

I just obtained a copy of Buddhadasa's book. It has probably been 15 years since I read it.

The translation used of sankhara is mental concocting. The book states:

What is mental concocting? The Buddha said: "Monks, there are these three kinds of mental concocting: bodily formation, verbal formation and mental formation." The sayings of the Buddha in the Pali Scriptures explain sankhara as that which brews up or gives rise to the bodily functions, that which brews up verbal functions and that which brews up mental functions.

But people who study in the dhamma schools don't explain sankhara this way. They are usually taught according to the Visuddhimagga - that the three sankhara are meritorious karma functions (punn-abhisankhara), demeritorious karma functions (apunn-abhisankhara) and imperturbable karma functions (anenj-abhisankhara).

In the Pali Scriptures, the real words of the Buddha explain sankhara as bodily, verbal and mental functions. Mental concocting gives rise to consciousness.
This book was translated from the Thai prior to 1986 by Steve Schmidt. What is interesting is Buddhadasa does not refer to MN 44 like Nanavira does.

Further, the word "formation" is used, as in found in Buddhadasa's older translated works, such as Anapanasati (although in this older work, the term "conditioner" is also found).

But in his more recent translated works, Buddhadasa used the term "conditioner" exclusively (rather than "condition" or formation").

Personally, I find the discussion confusing (which is why I never cared much for this book). How can "mental concocting" be bodily, verbal & mental functions?

However, Buddhadasa's discussion of sankhara in Anapanasati - Unveiling the Secrets of Life, which was spoken to Western students, is perfectly clear & excellent.

05-09-2010, 09:28 AM	#17
Grennios Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 522 Senior Member	The Buddhadasa book on DO available on the internet is a very poor translation & not the complete work. Whereas in English, one will not find much on this by Buddhadasa. He did not discuss the sankhara much in public lectures. He generally only described sankhara in a general way as "the power of concocting". I just obtained a copy of Buddhadasa's book. It has probably been 15 years since I read it. The translation used of sankhara is mental concocting. The book states: What is mental concocting? The Buddha said: "Monks, there are these three kinds of mental concocting: bodily formation, verbal formation and mental formation." The sayings of the Buddha in the Pali Scriptures explain sankhara as that which brews up or gives rise to the bodily functions, that which brews up verbal functions and that which brews up mental functions. But people who study in the dhamma schools don't explain sankhara this way. They are usually taught according to the Visuddhimagga - that the three sankhara are meritorious karma functions (punn-abhisankhara), demeritorious karma functions (apunn-abhisankhara) and imperturbable karma functions (anenj-abhisankhara). In the Pali Scriptures, the real words of the Buddha explain sankhara as bodily, verbal and mental functions. Mental concocting gives rise to consciousness. This book was translated from the Thai prior to 1986 by Steve Schmidt. What is interesting is Buddhadasa does not refer to MN 44 like Nanavira does. Further, the word "formation" is used, as in found in Buddhadasa's older translated works, such as Anapanasati (although in this older work, the term "conditioner" is also found). But in his more recent translated works, Buddhadasa used the term "conditioner" exclusively (rather than "condition" or formation"). Personally, I find the discussion confusing (which is why I never cared much for this book). How can "mental concocting" be bodily, verbal & mental functions? However, Buddhadasa's discussion of sankhara in Anapanasati - Unveiling the Secrets of Life, which was spoken to Western students, is perfectly clear & excellent.
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