Translation Review - The University of Texas at Dallas

time highlighting the profundity: “we become what
we think.” Although the use of the phrase “we
become” is a substantial departure from manopubbangama
(thought precedes) or manosettha (thought
is dominant), it demonstrates a successful effort to
bridge the gap between Eastern and Western
thought.
Appamada-Vaggo
Appamada Vaggo, like the Twin Verses, presents
the disciple with two paths leading to opposite
destinations. Those who are aware of the world
around them, who maintain this awareness, and who
are vigilant in their practice will break the cycle of
birth and death known as samsara. Those who are
slothful, lazy, or caught up in the pursuit of pleasure
will continue to suffer multiple births and deaths.
According to the commentary in Pelikan’s
Dhammapada, the Pali term appamada “illumines a
massive meaning, spans a massive content; for the
entire Word of the Buddha included in the three
pitakas taken up and given articulation, boils down
to the word ‘awareness’ only” (Pelikan, 109). But
not just awareness as we think of it in the West, but
an intense and constant awareness of experience. It
is said that a man endowed with this type of awareness
will give his full and undivided attention to all
experience whether he is washing dishes or making
love. This intensity and constancy is essential in following
the path laid out by the Buddha. For this reason,
appamada is also translated as “vigilance” or
“earnestness.” Since the translators are bound by the
verse structure of the Dhammapada, they don’t have
the freedom to explain this in prose form. Much as
in poetry, the Dhammapada demonstrates a certain
fixity of signs that correspond to multiple meanings.
In light of this, how does one choose a term to signify
appamada when no single English term encompasses
the multiple meanings of the term? The translator
must be adept at using context and combinations
that provide the multiplicity of meaning denoted
by appamada. It is not merely the sign in itself
that points to meaning but also the configuration
and convergence of multiple signs. In the translations
that follow, it can be seen how these translators
have dealt with (or failed to deal with) the dilemma
of configuring signs so that they encompass this
multiplicity of meaning.
Appamado amatapadam pamado maccuno padam
Appamatta na miyanti ye pamatta yatha mata.
21 Earnestness is the path of immortality
(Nirvana), thoughtlessness the path of
death. Those who are in earnest do not
die, those who are thoughtless are as if
dead already. (Müller, 117)
21 Vigilance is the abode of eternal life,
thoughtlessness is the abode of death.
Those who are vigilant (who are given to
reflection) do not die. The thoughtless are
as if dead already. (Radhakrishnan, 66)
21 The path to the Deathless is awareness;
Unawareness, the path of death. They who
are aware do not die; They who are
unaware are as dead. (Pelikan, 109)
21 Be vigilant and go beyond death. If you
lack vigilance, you cannot escape death.
Those who strive earnestly will go beyond
death; those who do not can never come
to life. (Easwaran, 81)
Müller has chosen “earnestness” as his translation
of appamada, a term synonymous with sincerity
and seriousness. In and of itself, it lacks the breadth
of meaning signified by appamada. So the job of
the translator is to open appamada, in this case
“earnestness,” up to multiple meanings. This can be
done through using particular combinations of
words, i.e., pluralizing the meaning through the use
of context. This particular verse provides that opportunity
through its oppositional structure. Because
two opposing paths are laid out, each path can be
defined by its opposite: awareness/unawareness,
mindfulness/lack of mindfulness. Therefore, in the
careful choice of an opposite to appamada, the
translator has the opportunity to broaden the reader’s
interpretation of the term. Müller has chosen
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