Sanskrit
From LabelingThoughts
Sanskrit was the predominate language used for Buddhist texts in India in the later periods, in earlier periods the Pali language was preferred.
Sanskrit is not typically spoken in the modern era, beyond institutions that specialize in religious use. Hindu and Buddhist traditions share the use of the language in hymns and mantras. In Tibetan Buddhism, mantras in liturgies are generally in Sanskrit. Compared to other lineages of Tibetan origin in the west, Shambhala prefers Sanskrit terms when referring to technical terminology. When Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche referred to traditional Buddhist terms he tended to prefer Sanskrit terms to their Tibetan counterparts, when a Sanskrit version was available.
Further reading
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Trungpa, Chögyam (2002) Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism
- pages 32, 55, 123, 151-2, 187, 197, 220
