680 PKOCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY. 



two groups Bkikkhu-vibhafiga and Bhikkhuni-vibhariga, which two 

 might be styled Maha-vibhafiga (it is in fact so styled) and Culla- 

 vibhanga (with a propriety no less than that with which the two 

 khandhaka-groups are styled Maha-vagga or M V. and Culla-vagga or 

 CV.) and accordingly designated also as MV. and CV., a futile 

 duplication. 



Now the Vinaya-pitaka forms a clean-cut body of treatises on the 

 perfectly definite subject of discipline (which is the natural and usual 

 meaning of the word vinaya), and it forms a clean-cut group of volumes 

 in all the three editions. Canon 1 bids me ask first whether anything 

 is gained by making the abbreviations such that they will tell us 

 whether a given passage is in the Rule-Division (Big or Little) or in 

 the Little-Division (schlechthin) ; and since I must answer No, and 

 since, to a Pali scholar, Vin. readily and naturally suggests Vinaya, 

 and since (Canon 3) it does not suggest anything else, and since the 

 uniliteral V. meets neither of the last two requirements, and since 

 the biliteral Vi. might easily be mistaken for the Vibhanga of the 

 Abhidhamma, — therefore there is (considering Canons 4 and 5) no 

 choice left us 20 but to take the admirably suggestive Vin. as compre- 

 hensive designation of the whole Vinaya-pitaka, and to distinguish its 

 different parts simply by the volume-numbers. 21 



About so small a matter, my colleagues will ask, why so much wordy 

 talk ? kim anenativistarena 1 And I answer, Naivatra doshah, the 

 case is a typical one. It clearly shows how many-sided is the circum- 

 spection which may be used in the choice of fit designations. Let the 

 scholar who has never been vexed and whose time has never been 

 wasted by the lack of such circumspection in his predecessors, tell me 

 that such circumspection is profitless ! 



Canon 3. — In the chosen designations, elements which are not 

 readily suggestive or which are easily susceptible of several interpre- 

 tations, should be studiously avoided. 



This is indeed a corollary of Canon 2, or also, in some aspects, so 

 to say, the converse of Canon 2 ; but the violations of Canon 3 have 

 been so many and so gross as to call for special illustration and express 

 condemnation. 



To begin with, I need hardly say that the words pitaka and nikaya 

 and sutta should not be used as the basis of an abbreviation, for this 

 practice has gone out of vogue, and rightly, since the words are far too 



20 Assuredly, no one would prefer Vna. or Vny. to Vin. 



21 This plan admits of easy reference to each of the editions, ed. O., ed. B., 

 ed. S. 



