I am kind of wondering about the Tibetan words for
“edition/editing” (zhu dag or zhus dag) and “to edit” (zhu dag byed
pa). Has anyone already “hinterfragt” (lit. “asked behind” =
“ scrutinised”) them? What does zhu/zhus and dag here really mean? Remarkably, zhu ba in the sense of “to edit” does not
seem to be lexically attested. But obviously zhu (or
its perfect form zhus)
in zhu/zhus dag (“edition/editing”) has been
derived from zhu ba in the sense of “to
request,” “to make a petition,” and so on (Jäschke 1881: s.v.). But what has “edition” to do with “to request”? And what is
the component dag (which seems to be mean something “pure”)
doing here?
Here is a possible explanation or
speculation: In the Tibetan context, dissemination of Buddhism
(particularly during the early phase) has been intricately linked with
translation and transmission of Buddhist scriptures and treatises. Edition or
revision of translation has been seen as a culmination of translation. In other
words, a translation that has not undergone the processes of edition and
revision is an incomplete translation. A scripture or treatise and the teaching
or doctrine that it contains can be said to be transmitted in a
(spiritual) meaningful way only if the scripture or treatise has
been “translated, edited/revised, and established [i.e. by means
of studying, contemplation, and meditation]” (bsgyur zhus
gtan la phab pa). So edition in this context has been seen as act or
process of “revision” or “correction,” and hence also as a kind of “polishing”
and “purification.”
But how is this
“edition/revision/correction/purification” done? It has been done by way of
“consultation,” that is, often by “requesting” or “asking” (zhu ba) one
or more persons of greater competency and authority to give their
validation or suggestion and hence the process of “edition” seems to have been
seen as a means of “authentication” or “certification.” I contend that zhu dag byed “to edit”
includes zhu bar byed “to edit/validate” and dag par byed “to purify/polish.”
Note that a translator (lo tsā ba) in
Tibetan is often glossed with “great editor” (zhu chen): zhu chen gyi lo tsā ba.
Happy New Year from your friends down below! Hope all is well and we'll hear from you before too long.
ReplyDeleteI personally think the zhu ('ju-ba, bzhu-ba) has more to do with smelting metal than with asking questions, but then nobody has ever asked me what I thought about it. Hope all is well. Here the weather is terrible. And where I'm going it may be even worse. But let's try to keep a positive attitude about it!
ReplyDeleteDear Dan,
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for my inactivity. Belated New Year greetings to you, too! So we shall not see you? Hope the weather has improved a bit. With regard to zhu dag, so you think it is a process of purification through smelting? Interesting by all means!
Thanks again and take care,
D.
Dear Dorji! Up here in McCloud it's true the nights are very cold, but the days are entirely tolerable. Say hello to my dear wife since I guess you're going to meet before I will! Yours, D.
ReplyDeleteDear Dan,
ReplyDeleteOK. We will for sure! Keep warm! Take care!
D.