The Connected Discourses of the Buddha

by Bhikkhu Bodhi

  311 Spk: The six sense bases are like the crossroads; the defilements arising in the six sense bases are like the mound of soil there. The four establishments of mindfulness, occurring with respect to their four objects, are like the four carts or chariots. The “flattening” of the evil unwholesome states is like the flattening of the mound of soil by the cart or chariot.

  312 In the Buddha’s description of his own practice of mindfulness of breathing, sato va (“just mindful”) is replaced by simple sato, and sikkhati (“he trains”) is entirely dropped. Spk explains that va is omitted to show the exceptional peacefulness of his practice, since the in-breaths and out-breaths are always clear to him; sikkhati is omitted because he has no need to train himself.

  313 Cp. 22:122 (III 169,1-3) and II, n. 332.

  314 Te ime pañca nīvaraṇe pahāya viharanti. All trainees have completely abandoned the hindrance of doubt; nonreturners have, in addition, eradicated ill will and remorse (as well as sensual desire in its more restricted sense). Trainees abandon the other hindrances only temporarily through jhāna and insight; see n. 7 on the five kinds of seclusion. The absolutive pahāya here should be construed in the light of these qualifications.

  315 Tesaṃ pañca nīvaraṇā pahīnā ucchinnamūlā tālāvatthukatā anabhāvakatā āyatiṃ anuppādadhammā. This emphasizes the final and complete abandonment of the five hindrances.

  316 The sequel as in 46:3. This passage is also included in the Ānāpānasati Sutta, at MN III 85,7-87,37. Section (iii), on true knowledge and liberation, is at MN III 88,1-11.55. Sotāpattisaṃyutta

  317 On the wheel-turning monarch, the ideal ruler of Buddhist legend, see 22:96 and 46:42, and for details DN II 172-77 and MN III 172-76. The four continents are Jambudīpa, Aparagoyāna, Uttarakuru, and Pubbavideha, respectively to the south, west, north, and east of Mount Sineru, the world axis. See AN I 227,28-228,8 for a fuller cosmological picture. The “four things” are explained just below.

  318 The hells, animal realm, and domain of ghosts are themselves the plane of misery, the bad destinations, and the nether world.

  319 The formulas of homage to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha are explicated at Vism 198-221 (Ppn 7:2-100). On aveccappasāda, “confirmed confidence,” see II, n. 120.

  320 The terms describing the noble one’s virtue are explicated at Vism 221-22 (Ppn 7:101-6). Spk says that noble ones do not violate (na kopenti) the Five Precepts even when they pass on to a new existence; hence these virtues are dear to them.

  321 Cp. Dhp 178.

  322 This is the stock definition of a stream-enterer. “Fixed in destiny” (niyata) means that the stream-enterer is bound to reach final liberation in a maximum of seven more lives passed either in the human world or the celestial realms. Enlightenment (sambodhi) is the final knowledge of arahantship.

  323 Brahmacariyogadhaṃ sukhaṃ. On ogadha see III, n. 243. Spk: This is the happiness associated with the higher three paths. The confidence mentioned in the verse can be interpreted either as the confidence concomitant with the path (maggappasāda) or as the reviewing confidence of one who has reached the path (āgatamaggassa paccavekkhaṇappasāda).

  324 These six perceptions are found along with others at 46:71-76; see n. 119. As a group, the six things that partake of true knowledge (cha vijjābhāgiyā dhammā) are mentioned at AN III 334,5-9, but without elaboration. The text uses the suffix -anupassī for the first contemplation and -saññī for the others. Their meanings are the same.

  325 These are the preliminary factors for attaining stream-entry, also called sotāpattiyaṅga but distinct from the other four, which are the factors that define a person as a stream-enterer. See below 55:55-74, where they are said to be instrumental in obtaining all the fruits of the spiritual life. Though the Pāli is the same, to avoid confusion I have rendered the first “factors for stream-entry.” This can be justified by appeal to DN III 227, where the four factors for attaining stream-entry are alone called sotāpattiyaṅga (§13), while the other four are called sotāpannassa aṅgāni, the factors of a stream-enterer (§14).

  326 Though elsewhere thapati evidently means a carpenter, from the description of their duties below it seems these two were royal chamberlains. In Skt literature sthāpatya are often keepers of the women’s apartments, and that seems to be their function here. The two are also mentioned as employed in the service of King Pasenadi at MN II 124,1-10. According to Spk, at the time Isidatta was a once-returner, Purāṇa a stream-enterer content with his own wife (i.e., not celibate). At AN III 348,1-5, it is said that after their deaths the Buddha declared them both once-returners reborn in the Tusita heaven; Purāṇa was then celibate, Isidatta content with his own wife.

  327 Here the usual fourth factor of stream-entry, the virtues dear to the noble ones, is replaced by generosity. The terms are commented on at Vism 223-24 (Ppn 7:107-14). On my preference for the reading yājayoga, see I, n. 635.

  328 Attūpanāyikaṃ dhammapariyāyaṃ. Spk-pṭ: Having related it to oneself, it is to be applied to others (attani netvā parasmiṃ upanetabbaṃ). As it is said: “What is displeasing and disagreeable to me is displeasing and disagreeable to the other too.”What follows are the first seven of the ten courses of wholesome action, each practised in three ways: by observing them oneself, by enjoining others to observe them, and by speaking in their praise.

  329 Ee ti koṭiparisuddho should be corrected to tikoṭiparisuddho (without the hiatus). The “three respects” are: personally abstaining from killing, exhorting others to abstain, and speaking in praise of abstinence from killing.

  330 Along with 55:10 (but not 55:9), this text is included in the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta at DN II 91-94. The latter calls the town Nādikā, but both Sv and Spk explain the name in a way that supports Ñātika: “There were two villages close by the same pond, inhabited by the sons of two brothers; thus one of these was called Ñātika (‘of the relatives’).”

  331 Spk: The diminishing (of lust, etc.) should be understood in two ways: as arising infrequently and as lacking obsessive force. For in once-returners lust, etc., do not arise often as they do in worldlings, but only occasionally; and when they do arise they are not thick, as in worldlings, but thin like a fly’s wings. “This world” (imaṃ lokaṃ) is the sense-sphere world. If one who attains the fruit of once-returning as a human being is reborn among the devas and realizes arahantship, that is good. But if one cannot do so, having come back to the human world one definitely realizes it. Conversely, if one who attains the fruit of once-returning as a deva is reborn among human beings and realizes arahantship, that is good. But if one cannot do so, having come back to the deva world one definitely realizes it.

  332 The number seems inflated, but Spk explains that while the village was not very large, the noble disciples there were said to be many. On account of a plague, 24,000 creatures died at one stroke, among whom were many noble disciples.

  333 Be: maraṇaṃ āgameyyāsi; Se and Ee read āgaccheyyāsi. Spk glosses: maraṇaṃ iccheyyāsi, pattheyyāsi vā; “one should wish for or long for death.”

  334 Here and in all parallel passages I read te vo, which is consonant with 47:48 (V 189,4-5).

  335 Cp. 40:10 (ii).

  336 Sambādhabyūhaṃ. The explanation in Spk suggests that byūhā are major traffic routes. They are said to be “congested” (sambādha) to show the crowded living conditions in the city.

  337 On manobhāvanīya, “worthy of esteem,” see III, n. 2. Ee bhante na should be changed globally to bhantena, instrumental past participle of bhamati. Spk glosses with “wandering about here and there, roaming excitedly” (ito c’ ito ca paribbhamantena uddhatacārinā).

  338 At the time Mahānāma was at least a stream-enterer, possibly a once-returner; hence he was assured of a good rebirth and had no reason to fear death.

  339 Taṃ uddhaṅgāmi hoti visesagāmi. The passage shows citta as the principle of personal continuity which survives the death of the body and reaps the fruits of kamma. In the
case of a noble disciple it “goes to distinction” by way of a higher rebirth and by evolving onwards to Nibbāna. The following simile of the pot is at 42:6 (IV 313,27-30), differently applied.

  340 Spk: He thought: “The Bhikkhu Saṅgha might speak without knowing, as it lacks omniscient knowledge, but there is no lack of knowledge in the Teacher.” Kocideva dhammasamuppādo , “issue concerning the Dhamma,” is glossed by Spk kiñcideva kāraṇam. At 22:7 the same compound dhammasamuppāda has quite a different meaning, rendered “a constellation of mental states.”

  341 Here Ee alone has the reading required, evaṃvādiṃ. Be and Se have evaṃvādī. See II, n. 205.

  342 Though the argument has not been explicitly settled, the matter seems to be clinched through Mahānāma’s testimony to his faith. By expressing so intensely his confidence in the Buddha, Mahānāma confirms his status as a noble disciple, and thus his viewpoint must be correct. Spk-pṭ says that while one endowed with any one of these four qualities is a stream-enterer, one should explain in terms of possessing all four.

  343 I transcribe the name as in Se. Be and Ee have Saraṇāni.

  344 Sikkhādubbalyaṃ āpādi majjapānaṃ apāyi. This would be a breach of the fifth precept. The Sakyans thought that if Sarakāni violated a precept he would lack the fourth factor of stream-entry and thus could not be a stream-enterer.

  345 This is the arahant, who is actually free from all future rebirth; freedom from the nether world is mentioned only as the “thread” tying the sutta together. On “joyous wisdom, swift wisdom” (hāsapañña, javanapañña), see I, n. 184.

  346 This is the dhammānusārī, the Dhamma-follower; the next paragraph describes the saddhānusārī, the faith-follower. Though the terms themselves are not used here, their descriptions match their formal definitions at MN I 479. According to 25:1, these two types have reached the plane of the noble ones but have not yet realized the fruit of stream-entry; they are bound to do so before they die. See III, n. 268.It should be noted that while they have faith (one of the five faculties), they do not yet have “confirmed confidence” (aveccappasāda) in the Triple Gem. And though it is said that they “do not go to hell” (agantā nirayaṃ), etc., it cannot be said that they are “freed from hell” (parimutto nirayā), etc., for actual release from the bad destinations comes only with the attainment of the fruit.

  347 Spk says that at the time of his death he was a fulfiller of the three trainings (in virtue, concentration, and wisdom). This implies that while he might have indulged in strong drink earlier, before his death he undertook strict observance of the precepts and thereafter attained stream-entry.

  348 Sikkhāya aparipūrakārī ahosi. The wording is slightly different from that in the preceding sutta but the purport is the same.

  349 As at 48:50. The expression, ekantagato abhippasanno, is effectively synonymous with aveccappasādena samannāgato.

  350 A fivefold elaboration on the nonreturner; see n. 65.

  351 At MN III 76,7-9, it is said that the trainee in the practice has eight factors, the arahant ten. Yet here, strangely, the last two factors, sammāñāṇa and sammāvimutti, which are supposed to be unique to the arahant, are ascribed to the stream-enterer Anāthapiṇḍika. The last line of the sutta confirms that this was not a mere editorial oversight. For another example of such anomalies, see 47:13 (and n. 160), where two factors of an arahant—liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation—are ascribed to the trainee Ānanda.

  352 Samparāyikaṃ maraṇabhayaṃ. Spk: samparāyahetukaṃ maraṇabhayaṃ, which might mean “fear of death caused (by expectations for) the next life.”

  353 Spk: They are tracks of the devas (devapadāni) as tracks tread upon by the knowledge of the devas, or with the knowledge of a deva. In this sutta the four persons established in the fruits are called devas in the sense of purity.

  354 Woodward mistakenly assumes that this sutta is identical with the previous one and thus does not translate the sequel.

  355 Woodward understands sabhāgataṃ to be resolvable into sabhā + gataṃ, “joined the company,” but it is actually the accusative singular of the abstract noun sabhāgatā, “similarity.”

  356 Be and Ee have ehī ti, presumably understood as an imperative, while Se has etīti, which seems hard to explain. I suggest reading the singular future ehiti.

  357 The simile of the water flowing down the slope is at 12:23 (II 32,3-10). Spk: “Having gone beyond: the beyond is Nibbāna; the meaning is, ‘having reached that.’ They lead to the destruction of the taints: it is not that they first go to Nibbāna and later lead (to the destruction of the taints); rather, they lead there as they go to Nibbāna.”

  358 As at 48:18.

  359 From here on as at 35:97, and conversely for the passage on dwelling diligently.

  360 Reading with Se and Ee seyyā-nissajja-ttharaṇassa, as against Be seyyāni-paccattharaṇassa.

  361 Spk glosses “the Dhamma’s core” (dhammasāra) as the noble fruit, and “destruction” (khaya) as the destruction of defilements. I suggest reading the last line: Na vedhati maccurāj’ āgamissatī ti.

  362 I follow Be and Se in not inserting mahāyaso here. If this is inserted, as in Ee, there is no difference between this sutta and the next one.

  363 See n. 325.

  364 Verses as in 55:26.

  365 Spk: He was one of the seven people in the Buddha’s time who had a retinue of five hundred; the others were the lay follower Visākha, the householder Ugga, the householder Citta, Hatthaka Āḷavaka, Anāthapiṇḍika the Lesser, and Anāthapiṇḍika the Great.

  366 Cp. 20:7. It is unusual for the Buddha to give such an injunction to householders, but Spk gives a bizarre explanation, which I reproduce just below. Dhammadinna’s words of protest echo 55:7 (V 353,11-15). In addressing Dhammadinna, the Buddha consistently uses the plural, implying that his statements refer to the entire group.Spk: “Deep (gambhīra), like the Salla Sutta (Sn III, 8); deep in meaning (gambhīrattha), like the Cetanā Sutta (12:38-40?); supramundane (lokuttara), like the Asaṅkhatasaṃyutta (SN 43); dealing with emptiness (suññatāpaṭisaṃyutta), that is, explaining the emptiness of beings, like the Khajjaniya Sutta (22:79). It is in such a way that you should train yourselves : ‘You should train by fulfilling the practice of the moon simile (16:3), the practice of the relay of chariots (MN No. 24), the practice of sagehood (moneyyapaṭipadā, Sn I, 12), the practice of the great noble lineage (mahā-ariyavaṃsa , AN II 27-29).’ (These all allude to suttas that advocate a strict ascetic life; the identity of some of the allusions is uncertain.) Thus the Teacher charged these lay followers with an unbearable task. Why? Because, it is said, they had asked for an exhortation without taking a stand on their own plane (na attano bhūmiyaṃ ṭhatvā), but had asked as if they could take up any task indiscriminately. Hence the Teacher charged them with an unbearable task. But when they asked for an exhortation after taking a stand on their own plane (with the words ‘as we are established …’), the Master complied by saying, ‘Therefore ….’” It is difficult to reconcile this explanation with the principle that the Buddha always adjusts his teaching to the mental proclivities of his audience.

  Spk had commented on the terms describing the deep suttas earlier, in relation to 20:7. Some of the suttas referred to there are different from those referred to here. See II, n. 368.

  367 Sapañño upāsako. Spk: A stream-enterer is intended.

  368 Āyasmā, usually an address for monks, but occasionally used for lay followers. In what follows I have translated using idiomatic English second-person constructions where the Pāli uses indirect, third-person forms, e.g., “The venerable one has confirmed confidence in the Buddha.…”

  369 At MN II 194-95, Sāriputta guides a dying brahmin through a similar sequence of reflections, but stops after directing him to the brahmā world. For stopping there he is later reproached by the Buddha.