4👑☸ Cattāri Ariya-saccaṃ 四聖諦

Oral tradition

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Misc.

AN 2.20 memory fidelity and interpreting important words correctly

“Dveme, bhikkhave, dhammā saddhammassa sammosāya antaradhānāya saṃvattanti.	“These two things, monks, lead to the decline and disappearance of the true teaching.
Katame dve?	What two?
Dunnikkhittañca padabyañjanaṃ attho ca dunnīto.	The words and phrases are misplaced, and the meaning is misinterpreted.
Dunnikkhittassa, bhikkhave, padabyañjanassa atthopi dunnayo hoti.	When the words and phrases are misplaced, the meaning is misinterpreted.
Ime kho, bhikkhave, dve dhammā saddhammassa sammosāya antaradhānāya saṃvattantī”ti.	These two things lead to the decline and disappearance of the true teaching.
“Dveme, bhikkhave, dhammā saddhammassa ṭhitiyā asammosāya anantaradhānāya saṃvattanti.	These two things lead to the continuation, persistence, and enduring of the true teaching.
Katame dve?	What two?
Sunikkhittañca padabyañjanaṃ attho ca sunīto.	The words and phrases are well organized, and the meaning is correctly interpreted.
Sunikkhittassa, bhikkhave, padabyañjanassa atthopi sunayo hoti.	When the words and phrases are well organized, the meaning is correctly interpreted.
Ime kho, bhikkhave, dve dhammā saddhammassa ṭhitiyā asammosāya anantaradhānāya saṃvattantī”ti.	These two things lead to the continuation, persistence, and enduring of the true teaching.”

AN 4.6 One of Little Learning

34“Bhikkhus, there are these four kinds of persons found existing in the world. What four? One of little learning who is not intent on what he has learned; one of little learning who is intent on what he has learned; one of much learning who is not intent on what he has learned; and one of much learning who is intent on what he has learned. 35(1) “And how is a person one of little learning who is not intent on what he has learned? [7] Here, someone has learned little—that is, of the discourses, mixed prose and verse, expositions, verses, inspired utterances, quotations, birth stories, amazing accounts, and questions-and-answers631""—but he does not understand the meaning of what he has learned; he does not understand the Dhamma; and he does not practice in accordance with the Dhamma. In such a way, a person is one of little learning who is not intent on what he has learned.

AN 5.202 benefits of listening to dhamma

♦ 202. “pañc'-ime, bhikkhave,	“[there are] five-of-these, *********,
ānisaṃsā dhammas-savane.	benefits (of) listening-to-Dhamma.
as-sutaṃ suṇāti,	(the) un-heard (gets) heard,
sutaṃ pariyodāpeti,	(what has been) heard, (one) clarifies;
kaṅkhaṃ vitarati,	doubts (are) overcome,
diṭṭhiṃ ujuṃ karoti,	(one's) view, straightened (they are) made,
cittamassa pasīdati.	one’s-mind becomes-placid.

AN 5.209 chanting is not singing

gītassara-suttaṃ (AN 5.209)	AN 5.209 Intonation
♦ 209. “pañc'-ime, bhikkhave, ādīnavā	“[there are] five-(of)-these, *********, dangers
āyatakena gītas-sarena	(in) drawn-out song-like-intonation
dhammaṃ bhaṇantassa.	(for) dhamma reciting.
katame pañca?	What five?
attanāpi tasmiṃ sare sārajjati,	(1) One-self, (with) one's intonation (becomes) infatuated.
parepi tasmiṃ sare sārajjanti,	(2) Others, (with) one's intonation (becomes) infatuated.
gahapatikāpi uj-jhāyanti —	(3) Householders complain:
‘yatheva mayaṃ gāyāma,	‘Just as we sing,
evamevaṃ kho samaṇā sakya-puttiyā gāyantī’ti,	so, too, these ascetics (of the) Sakyans’-son sing.’
sara-kuttimpi ni-kāma-yamānassa	(4) intonation-refining (for) one-desiring (that),
samādhissa bhaṅgo hoti,	(their) concentration breaking-up happens.
pacchimā janatā diṭṭhānugatiṃ āpajjati.	(5) [Those in] the next generation follow one’s example.

Vin. Contains same passage as AN 5.209

Vin 5, 5. khuddaka-vatthuk-khandhakaṃ, para. 20 ⇒ 249. tena kho pana samayena chabbaggiyā bhikkhū āyatakena gītassarena dhammaṃ gāyanti. manussā ujjhāyanti khiyyanti vipācenti — “yatheva mayaṃ gāyāma, evamevime samaṇā sakyaputtiyā āyatakena gītassarena dhammaṃ gāyantī”ti! assosuṃ kho bhikkhū tesaṃ manussānaṃ ujjhāyantānaṃ khiyyantānaṃ vipācentānaṃ. ye te bhikkhū appicchā . pe . te ujjhāyanti khiyyanti vipācenti — “kathañhi nāma chabbaggiyā bhikkhū āyatakena gītassarena dhammaṃ gāyissantī”ti! atha kho te bhikkhū bhagavato etamatthaṃ ārocesuṃ. “saccaṃ kira, bhikkhave . pe . “saccaṃ bhagavā”ti . pe . dhammiṃ kathaṃ katvā bhikkhū āmantesi — “pañcime, bhikkhave, ādīnavā āyatakena gītassarena dhammaṃ gāyantassa. attanāpi tasmiṃ sare sārajjati, parepi tasmiṃ sare sārajjanti, gahapatikāpi ujjhāyanti, sarakuttimpi nikāmayamānassa samādhissa bhaṅgo hoti, pacchimā janatā diṭṭhānugatiṃ āpajjati — ime kho, bhikkhave, pañca ādīnavā āyatakena gītassarena dhammaṃ gāyantassa. na, bhikkhave, āyatakena gītassarena dhammo gāyitabbo. yo gāyeyya, āpatti dukkaṭassā”ti.

KN Snp 5 Pingiya establishing recitation lineage

https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/i-shall-keep-reciting-the-way-to-the-beyond/21911 (B. sujato Essay) These words begin the final chapter of the Sutta Nipata, and the final chapter of my translation project. Yesterday I finished! I’ve now translated all of the early Suttas from Pali. I knew that this chapter would be an emotional moment for me, as I have loved this passage for a long time. But I never really understood it till now. The setting is that a group of sixteen very devoted brahmins have come on a long journey to see the Buddha. They were sent by their teacher Bāvari, who could not go himself due to his old age. At the end, Pingiya, himself an elderly sage, is discussing with his teacher Bāvari about their experiences. Pingiya is so moved, he declares that he will “keep on reciting” these teachings. Yet none of the translations I have consulted quite capture the force of his statement. As a brahmin elder, Pingiya’s life has been devoted to his teaching, and to the ongoing recitation of his sacred scriptures. When speaking of this, the Pali texts use the word anugāyati. Here, the prefix anu- carries the force of “continuing, ongoing”. The idea is that the brahmins of the present maintain the recitation made by the legendary sages of old. It’s the inverse of the term anussuta from the Dhammacakkappavattana, which means the “hearing from another” of what has been maintained in recitation. Thus Pingiya is not merely speaking in praise of these verses, he is saying that he will establish a recitation lineage to preserve them. The passage, perhaps uniquely, shows how a trained brahmin scholar considered the Buddha as a unique voice to be preserved as were the sages of old. More than that, he dismisses his previous learning as the mere “testament of hearsay” (itihītihaṁ). The Buddha is not just added to the pantheon of sages, he supplants them. I think it’s easy to take our heritage for granted, to think of scripture as a means of preserving ideas. But this chapter reveals with rare vulnerability the emotional depths that motivate this. Pingiya was not just “preserving scripture”, he was keeping alive the “way to the beyond”. Bāvari asks him how he could bear to be separated from the teacher he loves. Pingiya says that he stays close to the Buddha always in his mind. And through this, they point the path to the need and the means for Buddhist devotion in ages to come. We cannot stay with the Buddha, and we cannot ask him our pressing questions. Yet because of Pingiya, and countless others like him, the “Way to the Beyond” has been passed down, and we can still hear its song. And that is why all of this matters. I am so honored to have been able to serve the Dhamma, and so grateful to the Buddhist community who have supported me always. It has been a long, beautiful, road. Thank you everyone, and may you too find the way to the beyond.

KN Thag 17.3 general advice on memorized dhamma

(,not just to people with super memory) excerpt from Ananda’s verses in Thag 17.3: You should stay close to a learned person— Don’t lose what you’ve learned. It is the root of the spiritual life, So you should memorize the Dhamma. Knowing the sequence and meaning of the teaching, Skilled in the interpretation of terms, He makes sure it is well memorized, And then examines the meaning. Accepting the teachings, he becomes enthusiastic; Making an effort, he scrutinizes the Dhamma; Striving at the right time, He is serene inside himself. If you want to understand the Dhamma, You should associate with the sort of person Who is learned, and has memorized the Dhamma, A wise disciple of the Buddha. A monk who is learned, and has memorized the Dhamma, A keeper of the great sage’s treasury, Is a visionary for the entire world, Venerable, and learned. Delighting in Dhamma, enjoying Dhamma, Reflecting on Dhamma, Recollecting Dhamma, He doesn’t decline in the true Dhamma.

SN 35.113 Buddha composes 12ps instructions for reciting

113. Upassutisutta	113. Listening In
Ekaṃ samayaṃ bhagavā nātike viharati giñjakāvasathe.	At one time the Buddha was staying at Nādika in the brick house.
Atha kho bhagavā rahogato paṭisallīno imaṃ dhammapariyāyaṃ abhāsi:	Then while the Buddha was in private retreat he spoke this exposition of the teaching:
“cakkhuñca paṭicca rūpe ca uppajjati cakkhuviññāṇaṃ. Tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso.	“Eye consciousness arises dependent on the eye and sights. The meeting of the three is contact.
Phassapaccayā vedanā;	Contact is a condition for feeling.
vedanāpaccayā taṇhā;	Feeling is a condition for craving.
taṇhāpaccayā upādānaṃ;	Craving is a condition for grasping.
upādānapaccayā bhavo;	Grasping is a condition for continued existence.
bhavapaccayā jāti;	Continued existence is a condition for rebirth.
jātipaccayā jarāmaraṇaṃ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā sambhavanti.	Rebirth is a condition that gives rise to old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress.
Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.	That is how this entire mass of suffering originates.
Jivhañca paṭicca rase ca uppajjati … pe …	Ear … nose … tongue … body …
manañca paṭicca dhamme ca uppajjati manoviññāṇaṃ. Tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso.	Mind consciousness arises dependent on the mind and thoughts. The meeting of the three is contact.
Phassapaccayā vedanā;	Contact is a condition for feeling.
vedanāpaccayā taṇhā;	Feeling is a condition for craving.
taṇhāpaccayā upādānaṃ;	Craving is a condition for grasping.
upādānapaccayā bhavo;	Grasping is a condition for continued existence.
bhavapaccayā jāti;	Continued existence is a condition for rebirth.
jātipaccayā jarāmaraṇaṃ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā sambhavanti.	Rebirth is a condition that gives rise to old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress.
Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.	That is how this entire mass of suffering originates.
Cakkhuñca paṭicca rūpe ca uppajjati cakkhuviññāṇaṃ. Tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso.	Eye consciousness arises dependent on the eye and sights. The meeting of the three is contact.
Phassapaccayā vedanā;	Contact is a condition for feeling.
vedanāpaccayā taṇhā.	Feeling is a condition for craving.
Tassāyeva taṇhāya asesavirāganirodhā upādānanirodho;	When that craving fades away and ceases with nothing left over, grasping ceases.
upādānanirodhā bhavanirodho;	When grasping ceases, continued existence ceases.
bhavanirodhā jātinirodho;	When continued existence ceases, rebirth ceases.
jātinirodhā jarāmaraṇaṃ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā nirujjhanti.	When rebirth ceases, old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress cease.
Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa nirodho hoti … pe …	That is how this entire mass of suffering ceases.
jivhañca paṭicca rase ca uppajjati … pe …	Ear … nose … tongue … body …
manañca paṭicca dhamme ca uppajjati manoviññāṇaṃ. Tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso.	Mind consciousness arises dependent on the mind and thoughts. The meeting of the three is contact.
Phassapaccayā vedanā;	Contact is a condition for feeling.
vedanāpaccayā taṇhā.	Feeling is a condition for craving.
Tassāyeva taṇhāya asesavirāganirodhā upādānanirodho;	When that craving fades away and ceases with nothing left over, grasping ceases.
upādānanirodhā … pe …	When grasping ceases …
evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa nirodho hotī”ti.	That is how this entire mass of suffering ceases.”
Tena kho pana samayena aññataro bhikkhu bhagavato upassuti ṭhito hoti.	Now at that time a certain monk was standing listening in on the Buddha.
Addasā kho bhagavā taṃ bhikkhuṃ upassuti ṭhitaṃ.	The Buddha saw him
Disvāna taṃ bhikkhuṃ etadavoca:	and said:
“assosi no tvaṃ, bhikkhu, imaṃ dhammapariyāyan”ti?	“Monk, did you hear that exposition of the teaching?”
“Evaṃ, bhante”.	“Yes, sir.”
“Uggaṇhāhi tvaṃ, bhikkhu, imaṃ dhammapariyāyaṃ.	“Learn that exposition of the teaching,
Pariyāpuṇāhi tvaṃ, bhikkhu, imaṃ dhammapariyāyaṃ.	memorize it,
Dhārehi tvaṃ, bhikkhu, imaṃ dhammapariyāyaṃ.	and remember it.
Atthasañhitoyaṃ, bhikkhu, dhammapariyāyo ādibrahmacariyako”ti.	That exposition of the teaching is beneficial and relates to the fundamentals of the spiritual life.”

AN 5.209 commentary + notes by B.Sujato

https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/do-we-need-a-new-chanting-style/6532 sujato: So to clear up the Pali situation here. In AN 5.209, as cited above, the Buddha prohibits reciting Dhamma in āyataka gītissara. Gīti means “song” and sara means “sound”. Āyataka means “drawn out, lengthy”. We have a good idea what gītissara means because it is also found in DN 21, where the Buddha refers to the song that Pancasikha sings to the accompaniment of his arched harp, tantissara (“sounds of strings”). So gītissara simply means “singing”, and is associated with the worldly arts and entertainments, such as practiced by Pancasikha, the Justin Bieber of the heavens. “Stretched out” or “extended” probably refers to melodic styles that stretch the natural rhythm to allow for embellishment, such as is found in some modern Sri Lankan chanting styles. The above passage is also found in the Vinaya in the Khuddhakavatthukkhandhaka, i.e. “Chapter on Minor Matters”. There, the Buddha adds a second clause. The monks were practicing sarabhañña and were worried about falling into an offence, but the Buddha said, “No worries, she’ll be right”, or words to that effect. Bhañña means to recite, and it is a standard word used when the Buddha delivers a teaching. Sarabhañña is used at Ud 5.6 and Kd 5 of Soṇa when reciting the verses of the Atthakavagga for the Buddha, and also at Kd 22 in the account of the Second Council in the context of a teacher training a student to recite the texts. We don’t seem to have any context outside of this in the early texts to understand the difference between these chanting styles. But it seems reasonable to conclude that sarabhañña was the standard way texts were recited, and referred to a simple, plain form of recitation, where the words were clear and the diction was not too far from regular speech. There are a few extra details supplied in the commentaries, especially the Vinaya commentary.

Na bhikkhave āyatakenāti ettha āyatako nāma taṃ taṃ vattaṃ bhinditvā akkharāni vināsetvā pavatto.	“Drawn out” means: Here “drawn out” specifies that one proceeds having ruined that particular duty.
Dhamme pana suttantavattaṃ nāma atthi, jātakavattaṃ nāma atthi, gāthāvattaṃ nāma atthi,	For in this Dhamma there is the duty of the Suttas, the duty of the Jatakas, and the duty of the verses (gāthā).
taṃ vināsetvā atidīghaṃ kātuṃ na vaṭṭati.	Having ruined that to make it over long is not proper.
Caturassena vattena parimaṇḍalāni padabyañjanāni dassetabbāni.	With square duty (? fourfold, perhaps “balanced”) rounded words and phrases should be seen. (Tika explains “square duty” as “fully raising the voice”)
Sarabhaññanti sarena bhaṇanaṃ. Sarabhaññe kira taraṅgavattadhotakavattagalitavattādīni dvattiṃsa vattāni atthi.	“Vocal recitation” means: reciting with the voice. It seems that in vocal recitation there are 32 duties, such as the wave duty (?), the washing duty, the flowing duty, etc.
Tesu yaṃ icchati, taṃ kātuṃ labhati.	One gets to do whichever of these one wishes.
Sabbesaṃ padabyañjanaṃ avināsetvā vikāraṃ akatvā samaṇasāruppena caturassena nayena pavattanaṃyeva lakkhaṇaṃ.	All of these do not ruin the words and phrases, undistorted, suitable for ascetics, with the characteristic of proceeding in a fourfold (= “balanced”?) manner.

This is a very rough translation, but the gist is clear enough. The problem with gītissara is that it ruins the sense of the words, distorting them to fit the melody, and hence undermining the whole point of the exercise, which is to remember and make clear the Buddha’s words. Thus one should employ any one of the 32 styles of sarabhañña according to your pleasure. These preserve the sense of the words without distortion. The names of the 32 styles are obscure, and I can’t find an explanation. Note that they all seem to refer to water or flowing in some way. Perhaps they are punning on the two meanings of sara as “stream” and “sound”? I do remember, though, that the Sri Lankan monks refer to their normal chanting style—not the drawn out embellished style—as sounding like the rise and fall of the ocean. Perhaps this passage is where that idea comes from.

reason for "musical" element in chanting

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Can’t we read Sutta in Pali without chanting? (and avoid the possibility of having chants be too musical and provacative of the sense pleasure of music) In Chanting, “musical” elements you’re objecting to are really important in helping out with memory. The more suttas you memorize, the more you’re going to see the need for that. And you’ll see why the suttas are constructed with so many repetitions. For the suttas I don’t chant daily or weekly, they start fading from memory, and as I chant the sutta trying to remember jthe missing peaces, the different tones and pitches act as checksums and memory tags and keys to alert me something doesn’t “sound” quite right, or something is missing. So as a device for the oral tradition in keeping accurate fidelity of the suttas, the “musical”-ish elements are necessary. But at a personal level, one has to be careful ti chant it in a way where it doesn’t become a hindrance of sensual desire for pleasant melodies and sound. I have a simple way to avoid that problem. I chant fast, at fluent speed, with lots of breaks (of silence) between phrases, sentences, and key ideas. I’m aware of the meaning of the sutta as I chant it, so there is no time to appreciate any sonic or tonal qualities that are aesthetically pleasing. some Burmese monks have another solution, which may be intentional. They chant in really unpleasant tonal pattern which has no musical aesthetically pleasing qualities. So that’s another way, as long as the tonal patterns have some kind of method and logical consistency to help with memory.

Wikipedia excerpt

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_tradition Ancient texts of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were preserved and transmitted by an oral tradition.[40][41] For example, the śrutis of Hinduism called the Vedas, the oldest of which trace back to the second millennium BCE. Michael Witzel explains this oral tradition as follows:[5] The Vedic texts were orally composed and transmitted, without the use of script, in an unbroken line of transmission from teacher to student that was formalized early on. This ensured an impeccable textual transmission superior to the classical texts of other cultures; it is, in fact, something like a tape-recording... Not just the actual words, but even the long-lost musical (tonal) accent (as in old Greek or in Japanese) has been preserved up to the present. — Michael Witzel[5] Ancient Indians developed techniques for listening, memorization and recitation of their knowledge, in schools called Gurukul, while maintaining exceptional accuracy of their knowledge across the generations.[42] Many forms of recitation or paths were designed to aid accuracy in recitation and the transmission of the Vedas and other knowledge texts from one generation to the next. All hymns in each Veda were recited in this way; for example, all 1,028 hymns with 10,600 verses of the Rigveda was preserved in this way; as were all other Vedas including the Principal Upanishads, as well as the Vedangas. Each text was recited in a number of ways, to ensure that the different methods of recitation acted as a cross check on the other. Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat summarizes this as follows:[43] Samhita-patha: continuous recitation of Sanskrit words bound by the phonetic rules of euphonic combination; Pada-patha: a recitation marked by a conscious pause after every word, and after any special grammatical codes embedded inside the text; this method suppresses euphonic combination and restores each word in its original intended form; Krama-patha: a step-by-step recitation where euphonically-combined words are paired successively and sequentially and then recited; for example, a hymn "word1 word2 word3 word4...", would be recited as "word1word2 word2word3 word3word4 ...."; this method to verify accuracy is credited to Vedic sages Gargya and Sakarya in the Hindu tradition and mentioned by the ancient Sanskrit grammarian Panini (dated to pre-Buddhism period); Krama-patha modified: the same step-by-step recitation as above, but without euphonic-combinations (or free form of each word); this method to verify accuracy is credited to Vedic sages Babhravya and Galava in the Hindu tradition, and is also mentioned by the ancient Sanskrit grammarian Panini; Jata-pāṭha, dhvaja-pāṭha and ghana-pāṭha are methods of recitation of a text and its oral transmission that developed after 5th century BCE, that is after the start of Buddhism and Jainism; these methods use more complicated rules of combination and were less used. These extraordinary retention techniques guaranteed an accurate Śruti, fixed across the generations, not just in terms of unaltered word order but also in terms of sound.[42][44] That these methods have been effective, is testified to by the preservation of the most ancient Indian religious text, the Ṛgveda (ca. 1500 BCE).[43]

Misc.

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cmy

2018-01-21

https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/in-praise-of-memorizing-the-dhamma/7960/3 Ananda was famous for his memory, but we shouldn’t misunderstand and think that advice to memorize and constantly reflect on the dhamma we memorized only applied to Ananda, or people with extraordinary memory, or reciter monks tasked with memorizing portions of the tipitaka. The same instructions come across regularly in the suttas, applicable to everyone, not just Ananda. In AN 6.29 for example, the buddha asks a monk, ‘what are the 6 recollections’? The monk gives the wrong answer, and the Buddha calls that monk “a fool”. After reading that sutta a few times, I realized even though I’m not a monk, the Buddha was talking to everyone who wants nirvana. I’m no fool, so I memorized (sati) it, and recite it daily, reflect on it (using V&V vitakka and vicara of first jhana) as I recite it, and reflect on it any time it’s relevant throughout the day. I can’t emphasize enough how important this practice is. The only difference between Ananda and you is the amount you memorize, but the practice of relating to what you do have memorized is the same, it involves memory (sati), being rememberful and a rememberer (sato), this practice is samadhi, and you should be doing it all the time if you care about nirvana. One of the first things I started doing after this insight really sunk in, is I stopped reciting useless things that I memorized, let those fade from memory, identified what were the critical necessities that I didn’t yet have memorized that were important to nirvana, and acted accordingly. IMO, most pali chanting books I’ve seen contain over 50% unnecessary things I wouldn’t bother memorizing. And most of the most important things you should have memorized aren’t in most chanting books. If every Buddhist did this, memorizing the important core, word for word, the Dhamma wouldn’t get corrupted. Or at least, if there was unintentional corruption from misinterpretation or misunderstanding of the Buddha’s words, then later generations at least have an opportunity to recover the lost meaning and figure out the misinterpretation.

game of broken telephone

🔗📝 external notes broken telephone: why Buddhists should study EBT, memorize and recite passages daily from wikipedia: Chinese whispers (Commonwealth English) or the telephone game (American English) [1] is an internationally popular children's game [2] in which players form a line, and the first player comes up with a message and whispers it to the ear of the second person in the line. The second player repeats the message to the third player, and so on. When the last player is reached, they announce the message they heard to the entire group. The first person then compares the original message with the final version. Although the objective is to pass around the message without it becoming garbled along the way, part of the enjoyment is that, regardless, this usually ends up happening. Errors typically accumulate in the retellings, so the statement announced by the last player differs significantly from that of the first player, usually with amusing or humorous effect. Reasons for changes include anxiousness or impatience, erroneous corrections, the difficult-to-understand mechanism of whispering, and that some players may deliberately alter what is being said to guarantee a changed message by the end of the line. The game is often played by children as a party game or on the playground. It is often invoked as a metaphor for cumulative error, especially the inaccuracies as rumours or gossip spread,[1] or, more generally, for the unreliability of human recollection or even oral traditions.

collection of articles on the oral tradition

🔗collection of articles on oral tradition

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