[6. Upāli]
In the city, Haṃsavatī
the brahmin known as Sujāta
was very rich, with great vast wealth,
having saved eight hundred million. (1) [446]
[I] was that learned mantra-knower
who had mastered the three Vedas.
I had excelled in Saddhamma,
in reading signs and history. (2) [447]
A great many female renouncers,
with single top-knots, ascetics,1
who followed Rishi2 Gautama,
were wandering around back then. (3) [448]
They then came and surrounded me,
thinking, “he’s a famous brahmin.”
The common people worshipped me
but I worshipped no one at all. (4) [449]
I saw no one worthy of pūjā;
I was fiercely proud at that time.
The word “Buddha” did not exist [yet]
as the Victor’d still not been born. (5) [450]
When [many] days and nights had passed
the Leader, Padumuttara,
Eyeful One, arose in the world,
dispelling all of its darkness. (6) [451]
When [his] dispendation had been
explained and spread to many folks,
then [he], the Buddha, did approach
the city called Haṃsa[vati]. (7) [452]
In order to assist others
the Eyeful Buddha preached Dhamma.
At that time his [large] retinue
extended for an entire league. (8) [453]
An ascetic named Sunanda3
with the favor of the people.
then pleased with flowers everyone
in that Buddha-retinue [there]. (9) [454]
On a superb flowered platform
he explained the Four [Noble] Truths.
Dhamma-comprehension was reached
by a trillion [beings who heard him]. (10) [455]
For seven days and nights Buddha
rained forth a shower of Dhamma,
[and] when the eighth day then did dawn
the Victor spoke of Sunanda: (11) [456]
“This one, transmigrating in lives4
in the gods’ world or that of men,
being most excellent of all
will transmigrate through his lifetimes.5 (12) [457]
In one hundred thousand aeons,
arising in Okkāka’s clan,
the one whose name is Gotama
will be the Teacher in the world. (13) [458]
Worthy heir to that one’s Dhamma,
Dhamma’s legitimate offspring,
[he] will be that Teacher’s follower
named Mantāṇiputta Puṇṇa.”6 (14) [459]
The Sambuddha spoke in this way
to Sunanda the ascetic,
causing all the people to smile
and displaying his own power. (15) [460]
With hands pressed they showed reverence
to ascetic Sunanda then.
Acting in accord with Buddha
he purified his future state. (16) [461]
[And] this thought then occurred to me
on hearing the words of the Sage:
“I also shall act [in that way]
until I [too] see Gotama.” (17) [462]
Having thought in this fashion I
then considered the deed I’d do:
“what karma then should I perform
in this unrivaled merit-field? (18) [463]
This bhikkhu [known as]7 Pāṭhika
is ranked first in the Vinaya
and all the recited teachings;
I will aspire to that status.” (19) [464]
I had immeasurable wealth
analogous to the ocean.8
With that wealth I caused to be made
an ashram for the [monks and] Buddha. (20) [465]
That ashram, known as Sobhana9
was built to the east of the city.
I spent a hundred thousand [coins]
[then] built that monastic ashram.10 (21) [466]
Constructing gabled cells, mansions,
platform stages and [also] caves,
and making a well-made walkway
I built that monastic ashram. (22) [467]
I caused a bath-house to be made
with heated rooms and a fire-room
beneath the water-storage hall
and gave it to the Assembly.11 (23) [468]
I gave everything [they would need]:
short chairs for sitting and recliners,
vessels for cooking and eating,
and medicines for the ashram. (24) [469]
[Then] providing it protection
I had a solid rampart built
so none would do it any harm,
[a place] for peaceful meditation. (25) [470]
I built that monastic ashram
with lakhs of quarters for the monks
and filling them abundantly
I [then] approached the Sambuddha. (26) [471]
“I’ve completed the ashram [now];
please may you [therefore] accept it.
I’m gifting12 it to you, Hero,
and the residents, Eyeful One.” (27) [472]
Padumuttara, World-Knower,
Sacrificial Recipient,
discerning what I was thinking
[then] accepted it, the Leader. (28) [473]
Learning of the acquiescence
of the Omniscient One, Great Sage,
after the food had been prepared
I announced the time [for giving]. (29) [474]
When the time had [thus] been announced,
Padumuttara, the Leader,
along with one thousand arahants
[then] came to my [splendid] ashram. (30) [475]
Discerning the time to sit down
I entertained with food and drink.
Seeing that they’d finished eating
I [then] spoke these words [to him]: (31) [476]
“[This] ashram known as Sobhana
cost [me] one hundred thousand [coins]
and building it cost so much more;13
please may you [therefore] accept it. (32) [477]
Because of giving this ashram
with intention and [firm] resolve
being reborn in lifetimes I
should receive what I’m wishing for.” (33) [478]
The Buddha, having accepted
that well-made monastic ashram,
seated in the monks’ Assembly
[then did] speak these words [about me]: (34) [479]
“This one who gave to the Buddha
a well-made monastic ashram,
I shall relate details of him;
[all of] you listen to my words: (35) [480]
[He said], “The army, with four parts —
tusker, soldier, chariot, horse —
will ceaselessly wait on this one:
fruit of a monastic ashram. (36) [481]
Sixty thousand instruments14 [and]
well-decorated kettle-drums15
will ceaselessly attend this one:
fruit of a monastic ashram. (37) [482]
Women numbering sixteen thousand,
decked out in all the ornaments,
with varied clothes and jewelry
and wearing earrings made of gems, (38) [483]
with long eyelashes, lovely smiles16
and slim waists, pleasant to look at,17
will ceaselessly wait on this one:
the fruit of a monastic ashram. (39) [484]
He’ll delight in the world of gods
for thirty thousand aeons [hence].
A thousand times the king of gods,
he will exercise divine rule. (40) [485]
Whatever a god-king obtains
he [too] will receive all of that.
Not lacking anything at all
he will exercise divine rule. (41) [486]
A thousand times he’s going to be
the wheel-turning king of a country.
His reigns on earth will be many,
innumerable by counting. (42) [487]
In one hundred thousand aeons,
arising in Okkāka’s clan,
the one whose name is Gotama
will be the Teacher in the world. (43) [488]
Worthy heir to that one’s Dhamma,
Dhamma’s legitimate offspring,
[this one] will be that Teacher’s follower;
his name will be Upāli [then]. (44) [489]
Excelling in the Vinaya,
skilled in right and wrong conclusions,18
furthering the Victor’s teaching
he will live without defilements. (45) [490]
Having recognized all of that,
Gotama, Bull of the Śākyas,
seated in the monks’ Assembly
will place him in the foremost place.” (46) [491]
Doing service beyond measure
longing for your dispensation,
I have [now fully] reached the goal,
in which all fetters are destroyed. (47) [492]
Just as a man tied to a stake,
fearing punishment by the king,
finding no pleasure in that stake,
would wish only to be set free, (48) [493]
so too am I, O Great Hero,
afraid of rebirth-punishment.
Being bound to the karma-stake
I’m scared of desirous feelings. (49) [494]
I find no pleasure in existence
being burned up by the three fires.19
I am seeking liberation
like one punished by the king [does]. (50) [495]
Just as a person who’s been poisoned,
who’s wracked with pain because of that,
would seek after an antidote,
a way20 to destroy that poison; (51) [496]
and seeking, should he find a cure
that’s able to destroy poison,
drinking it he would be happy
[to be] set free from that poison. (52) [497]
Just so am I, O Great Hero,
like him struck down by the poison.
Pained because of [my] ignorance
I came for the Saddhamma-cure. (53) [498]
Searching for that curing Dhamma
I saw the Śākyan dispensation,
the best among all medicines,
by which all arrows are removed. (54) [499]
Drinking that Dhamma-medicine
I have destroyed every poison.
I have seen tranquil nirvana,
which does not age and does not die. (55) [500]
Just as one frightened by a ghost,
wracked with pain because of that [fear]
would seek after an exorcist21
to free him from that ghost’s [attacks], (56) [501]
and seeking, should he find a man
with skill in exorcising22 ghosts,
that one would slay the ghost for him,
and wipe it out right to the root. (57) [502]
Just so am I, O Great Hero,
pained because I’m sunk in darkness.
I searched for the world of knowledge
that could free me from this darkness. (58) [503]
And then I saw the Śākyan Sage,
cure for darkness and defilement.
He drove out my mental darkness
like the exorcist does the ghost. (59) [504]
Diverting the stream of being;23
he held back the craving-waters;
obliterating all rebirth
like the exorcist, to the root. (60) [505]
Just as a harpy who swoops down
on snakes to serve as his own food
will launch attacks from a great lake
a hundred leagues in each direction, (61) [506]
[and] that one, picking up a snake
would hurt it right beneath the head
[then] carrying it, take off [again],
flying about the sky at will, (62) [507]
just so am I, O Great Hero,
just as strong as is that harpy.
Searching for the unconditioned
I washed away [all of] my stains. (63) [508]
I have seen the superb Teaching,
the peaceful state, [so] unsurpassed.
Carrying it, I’m [now] dwelling
like the harpy with the serpent. (64) [509]
There is a vine, āsāvatī,
which grows up in Indra’s garden.24
A single fruit is borne by it
after a thousand years [have passed]. (65) [510]
The gods are looking after that
as long as the fruit may last [there].
Thus indeed the gods do savor
that superb vine, āsāvatī. (66) [511]
For one hundred thousand [years then]
I did attend upon that Sage,
worshipping him morning and night
just like the gods āsāvatī. (67) [512]
Service which was never-ending,
[and] worship which was not empty;
for all the time that I had come
not one moment did he fail me. (68) [513]
I witness no re-becoming;25
I’ve investigated being;
free of desires [and] fully free,
calmed, I’m wandering about [now]. (69) [514]
And just as a lotus flower
blooms due to the rays of the sun,
so too do I, O Great Hero,
bloom because of the Buddha-rays. (70) [515]
Just as male birds are not always
found mating with the female cranes26
[but only] when the clouds do rumble
do they take them to their wombs, (71) [516]
and for much time they stay pregnant27 —
as long as the clouds don’t thunder —
then they are freed from that burden
when the clouds are raining [again], (72) [517]
[so] when the Dhamma-cloud thundered
of Padumuttara Buddha,
due to that Dhamma-cloud’s loud sound
I [then] conceived a Dhamma-womb. (73) [518]
Serving for a hundred thousand
[aeons] I bore that merit-fetus.
I was not freed from that burden;
the Dhamma-cloud did not thunder. (74) [519]
But when you, Sage of the Śākyas
did thunder from your Dhamma-cloud
in lovely Kapilavastu,
I was set free from that burden. (75) [520]
[Then] I explained the whole Teaching
and also its four fruits, which are:
emptiness, the absence of marks,
suchness, intentionality. (76) [521]
The Second Recitation Portion.
Giving service beyond measure,
longing for your dispensation,
I have [now fully] reached the goal,
the state of peace without rival. (77) [522]
I have excelled in Vinaya
just as had the sage Pāṭhika.
There is no one to rival me;
I further your dispensation. (78) [523]
I’m without any doubts about
the letter as well as the spirit
of both Vibhangas,28 Khandakas,29
and the [Parivāra], the fifth.30 (79) [524]
Skilled in rebuking,31 redressing,32
in correct and flawed conclusions,
restoration33 and expungement34 —
I have excelled in all regards.35 (80) [525]
Citing the relevant sentence
in the Vibhangas and Khandhakas,
[and] disentangling both of them
I make suitable restorations.36 (81) [526]
Well-skilled in the Pāli language,37
wise in what’s meaningful and not,
there’s nothing that’s not known by me,
foremost in the Teacher’s teaching. (82) [527]
I am now skilled in [all] matters38
in the Śākyan39 dispensation.
I resolve all perplexities
and cut off every [single] doubt. (83) [528]
I am skilled in all the subjects:
prior clauses, subsequent ones,
in the letter and the spirit,
opening frames, concluding ones. (84) [529]
Just as a king with great power
who having rebuked enemies40
and triumphing in [his] battles
might build a city in that place, (85) [530]
and he’d construct in that city
many ramparts, and trenches too,
gateways with strongholds and pillars,
and high watch-towers of various sorts, (86) [531]
and well-planned bazaars at crossroads
and places where four roads do meet,
and there he’d build a court of law
to settle meanings and lacks thereof. (87) [532]
To censure [all] unfriendly [kings],
to make known faults and faultlessness
and for protection he’d appoint
a general of the army [there]. (88) [533]
In order to protect his goods
he would appoint a treasurer,
one with skill in [guarding] treasure,
[commanding], “do not waste my goods.” (89) [534]
So that procedures are followed
he’d give the administration
to a friend, the king’s devotee,
desiring his prosperity. (90) [535]
He’d appoint as his adviser
one with [much] skill in reading signs
as well as omens which arise,
a learned master of mantras. (91) [536]
[Thereby] endowed with [all] these limbs
he would be called “a Kṣatriyan”.
Always they would protect the king
like a goose [protects] the injured.41 (92) [537]
Thus indeed are you, Great Hero,
a Kṣatriyan with slain enemies.
You are called the King of Teaching
in this world including the gods. (93) [538]
Having destroyed the heretics
and Māra with his army [too],
driving out that cause of darkness
you built a city of Dhamma. (94) [539]
Morality’s the ramparts there;
your knowledge, the gates and strongholds;
faith in you, the pillar, Wise One;
restraint, the sentry at the door. (95) [540]
Mindfulness42 is the high watch-tower;
you wisdom is the crossroads, Sage;
the superpowers, where four roads meet;
the Dhamma-road’s well-constructed. (96) [541]
Your court of law consists of the
nine-fold teaching of the Buddha,
the Suttas and Abhidhamma
and the whole of the Vinaya. (97) [542]
Emptiness, the absence of marks,
dwelling wanting very little,
desirelessness and cessation:
[all of] these form your Dhamma-hut. (98) [543]
At the top of those with wisdom
and skilled in understanding too,
the one known as Sāriputta’s
general of your Dhamma-army. (99) [544]
Wise in the four sudden events,43
excelling in the super powers,
the one who’s known as Kolita
is your top adviser, O Sage. (100) [545]
Bearer of the ancient lineage,
hard to approach, of mighty power,
foremost in ascetic virtue,
[Kassapa]’s Prime Minister, Sage. (101) [546]
The learned bearer of Dhamma,
reciter of all the teachings,44
the one who’s known as Ānanda
[serves as] your Dhamma-guard, O Sage. (102) [547]
Passing over all of those [monks]
the Blessed One did reckon45 me
best46 explainer of Vinaya
and gave my judgments [authority]. (103) [548]
Whatever Buddha-follower
raises some Vinaya question,
there without my even thinking
I relate the answer to that. (104) [549]
Throughout the entire Buddha-field
except [of course] for you, Great Sage,
in Vinaya there’s no rival;
where would someone better come from? (105) [550]
Seated in the monks’ Assembly
Gotama thus thundered forth [then]:
“There’s no rival for Upāli
in Vibhangas47 and Khandhakas.” (106) [551]
Teacher’s nine-fold dispensation
as far as the Buddha’s preached it
is all found in the Vinaya
for one who knows it to the root.48 (107) [552]
Remembering my [past] karma
Gotama, Bull of the Śākyas,
seated in the monks’ Assembly
did place me in the foremost place. (108) [553]
Having served one hundred thousand
[aeons] while longing for this place,
I have [now fully] reached the goal,
excelling in the Vinaya. (109) [554]
I was formerly a barber
bringing the Śākyas happiness.
The son of the Great Sage was born
after I’d abandoned that clan. (110) [555]
In the second aeon ago
there lived Kṣatriyan Añjasa49
of boundless might and measureless fame,
king of the earth, and very rich. (111) [556]
I was [then] the son of that king,
the Kṣatriyan named CChandana.
I was puffed up with pride of clan
and pride about my fame and wealth. (112) [557]
One hundred thousand elephants
decked out in all the ornaments,
in rut in three ways,50 mātaṅgas,51
waited on me all of the time. (113) [558]
Wishing to go to the garden
surrounded by my army, I
mounted the elephant Sirika
then headed out from the city. (114) [559]
The [Lonely] Buddha Devala
abundant in perfect conduct,
self-controlled with doors well-guarded52
approached my city [at that time]. (115) [560]
Driving Sirika the tusker
I insulted that Buddha then.
Due to that, with ire arisen,
he would never lift his foot.53 (116) [561]
Having seen [my] tusker’s bad mood
I got angry at the Buddha.
Having harassed the Sambuddha
I [then] went into the garden. (117) [562]
I felt no pleasure in that moment
as though my head were set ablaze.
I was burning up with anguish
just like a fish caught on the hook. (118) [563]
I felt the whole earth was burning
all the way to the ocean’s edge.
Going to my father’s presence
I spoke these words [to him just then]: (119) [564]
“My insult to that Self-Become One
is like a very angry snake,
it’s like a mass of fire that’s come,
it’s like a drunk tusked elephant. (120) [565]
It’s awful that I’ve insulted
that Buddha, Victor, Fiercely Strong.
We’ll bring our cities all to ruin;
let’s seek the pardon of that sage.” (121) [566]
“If we don’t make him understand,
that Self-Tamed One, Self-Controlled One,
then on the seventh day from now
my country will [all] be destroyed. (122) [567]
Sumekhala the Kosiyan
and Siggava, so Sattuka,
after they’d insulted sages
came to grief, as did their armies. (123) [568]
Whenever sages get enraged,
well-trained ones who are celibate,
they cause [the world] to be destroyed
with its gods, oceans and mountains.” (124) [569]
I assembled [all] the people
throughout three hundred thousand leagues.
In order to discuss that crime,
I approached the Self-Become One. (125) [570]
Wearing wet clothes, bearing wet heads,
everyone pressed hands together.
Falling down at the Buddha’s feet
I spoke these words [to him just then]: (126) [571]
“Please show forgiveness, Great Hero;
the populace is begging you.
Please extinguish this awful fire;
and don’t destroy the [whole] country. (127) [572]
All the gods and also the men
and titans54 and spirits55 as well,
would constantly break my head open
with a hammer made of iron.” (128) [573]
“Fire does not survive in water
[and] seeds don’t germinate in rock;
worms don’t survive in medicine;
there’s no anger in a Buddha. (129) [574]
Like the earth, which is unshaken
and the ocean, beyond measure,
and the sky, which has no limit,
so the Buddha can’t be perturbed. (130) [575]
Great Heroes who are ascetics56
are patient and forgiving [folks].
Such patient, forgiving people
do not consider your [wrong] course.” (131) [576]
The Sambuddha, having said this,
[then] extinguished that awful fire.
Then in front of everyone [there]
he flew right up into the sky. (132) [577]
Wise One, due to that [bad] action
I attained inferior birth;57
[now] passing beyond that station,
I’ve come to the fearless city. (133) [578]
Then, Great Hero, [having seen] me,
well-settled [but] being burnt up,
that Self-Become [Lonely Buddha]
drove off the fire [and] forgave [me].58 (134) [579]
Even so today, Great Hero,
you have extinguished the three fires,59
relieving me who was being
burnt up by those [self-same] three fires.60 (135) [580]
Let those of you with ears to hear,
[all of] you, listen to my words:
I’m declaring the facts for you
of how I came to see this state. (136) [581]
Sneering at the Self-Become One,
peaceful-hearted [and] attentive,
today, due to that [bad] karma,
I am born in this low-caste womb. (137) [582]
Don’t transgress even one moment;
you will grieve for the moment missed.
The moment is prepared for you:
endeavor [now] for your own good. (138) [583]
The poison [called] haḷāhaḷa
in some [is cured] by vomiting.
For some [the antidote] is purging,
for others medicinal herbs. (139) [584]
With reference to merit-field-seekers,
for those on the path [the cure] is vomit;61
for those after path-fruits it’s a purge;62
for the fruit-attainers, medicinal herbs.63 (140) [585]
Those who would oppose the teaching
are poisoned as with haḷāhaḷa:64
a snake’s venom, poison eaten,
surely is going to harm65 that man. (141) [586]
Only once does haḷāhaḷa
bring about the end of [one’s] life.
After opposing the teaching
he burns for ten million aeons. (142) [587]
Patiently and non-violently,
with loving-kindness in his heart,
[Buddha] helps66 [this world] with its gods.
Therefore you shouldn’t oppose67 him. (143) [588]
Unattached to getting or not,
whether honored or insulted,
Buddhas are [steady] like the earth;
therefore they shouldn’t be opposed.68 (144) [589]
The Sage is just the same toward all,
Devadatta the murderer,
the thief Angulimālaka,
Dhanapāla and Rāhula.69 (145) [590]
They don’t experience anger;
passion is never found in them.
The Buddha’s just the same toward all,
a murderer [or] his own son. (146) [591]
Seeing a robe atop a tree70 —
discarded, smeared with excrement —
one should press the hands, head bowed;
that sages’ flag should be worshipped. (147) [592]
[All of] the Buddhas of the past
and the present and future [too,]
purify themselves with that flag;
therefore they ought to be worshipped. (148) [593]
With my heart I bear Vinaya,
almost the same as71 the Teacher.
I will always live my life [by]
paying homage to Vinaya. (149) [594]
Vinaya’s my inclination;
it’s72 my walking meditation.
I make my home in Vinaya;
the Vinaya is my pasture. (150) [595]
I have excelled in Vinaya,
skilled in mental tranquility.
Great Hero, Teacher, Upāli
is now venerating your feet. (151) [596]
I’ll wander village to village
and [also] city to city
paying homage to Sambuddha
and to the practice of Dhamma. (152) [597]
My defilements are [now] burnt up;
all [new] existence is destroyed.
Like elephants with broken chains,
I am living without constraint. (153) [598]
Being in Best Buddha’s presence
was a very good thing for me.
The three knowledges are attained;
[I have] done what the Buddha taught! (154) [599]
The four analytical modes,
and these eight deliverances,
six special knowledges mastered,
[I have] done what the Buddha taught! (155) [600]
Thus indeed Venerable Upāli Thera spoke these verses.
The legend of Upāli Thera is finished.
lit., “ascetics who were wandering”↩
all the manuscripts have “followers of Gotama [some spell it Gautama] Buddha,” but I follow the cty (which says they were all Jains [nigaṇṭhasāvakā] spouting varied views) and BJTS, which offers “Rishi Gautama” as the Sinhala gloss. This reading makes sense, given that Gotama Buddha was a hundred thousand aeons off still, and even — at this point in the legend — his predecessor Padumuttara Buddha had yet to be born. Indeed, verse 5 points out that there was not even the idea of “Buddha” in the world at that time. It is possible to take the term as referring to their later status as followers of Gotama Buddha, but the former interpretation seems much more fitting to the context.↩
“Good Joy”↩
lit., “in being” or “in existence”.↩
reading bhavesu samsarissati (BJTS) for bhaveussaŋsarissati (PTS, sic).↩
#5 of Therāpadāna, above↩
I follow BJTS and cty in taking this a personal name, which makes especial sense given the further reference to him in v. (78) [523] below. But it could also mean “a person on the road,” taking it as der. from patha, road.↩
lit., “analogous to the unperturbable ocean”.↩
“beautiful”↩
sanghārāma, a Buddhist monastic residence, lit., “grove of/for the Assembly.” The wider connotation of ārāma is “garden” or “park,’ not precisely the same as ashram (Pāli assama) but closer than any alternative that occurs to me, so I adopt the Anglicized “ashram” to translate both ārāma and assama. I also sometimes translate these terms “hermitage,” as meter demands. I have tried to reserve the more technical “monastery” for vihāra.↩
lit., “to the monks’ Assembly”.↩
reading niyyādessāmi with BJTS (and PTS alt.) for PTS niyyātessāmi↩
lit., “and was built with such a large amount”↩
turiya, musical instruments↩
bheri↩
hasulā = ? Cf. RD hasula, s.v., which following Kern treats this as a corrupted reading of bhamuka, “eyebrows” or “thick eyebrows”, often found in combination with the term for “long eyelashes” (aḷārapamha).↩
RD gives “good hips,” referring to this text. I don’t see the warrant, and take the term susaññā from saññā, sense, perception, as does BJTS↩
thānāṭhāne ccha kovido. This is one of the ten powers of a Buddha.↩
cty here explains these as the fires of rāga (lust), dosa (anger) and moha (ignorance, folly)↩
reading upāyanam with BJTS, cty↩
bhūtavejjaŋ↩
bhūtavijjāsu kovidaŋ, lit., “skilled in exorcisms of ghosts,” “skilled in the knowledges about ghosts”↩
saṃsāra-sotaŋ↩
lit, in the forest of the CChittalatā, the name of one of Indra’s gardens↩
paṭisandhi = conception, reunion, following cty in connecting this with future existence↩
balāka, a kind of small crane or kōkā. lit., “just as the males are not always found in the vaginas of female balākas…”↩
lit., “for a long time they carry the fetus”↩
lit “of the Vinaya;” BJTS and cty understand this to mean the two Vibhangas of the Vinayapiṭaka: Bhikkhu-vibhanga and Bhikkhunī-vibhanga.↩
that is, the Mahāvagga and the CChūlavagga of the Vinayapiṭaka.↩
tikacchchede ‘va pañcchake; BJTS: sanghādisesa tika pācchittiyādiyehi da, pasvaeni vu parivarayehi da↩
niggahe: rebuking evil monks↩
paṭikamma: cty: of monks who are unattained; a formal act of the Saṅgha against guilty bhikkhus.↩
osāraṇe↩
vuṭṭhāpane: cty: āpattito vuṭṭhapaṇe nir-āpatti-kāraṇe↩
lit everywhere, sabbaṭṭha↩
rasato osāreyy’aham. Rasa = kritya, function, what should be done — in the abl? [This section contains a lot of technical material that needs checking in the Vinaya texts)↩
niruttiyā, in knowledge of the original dialect of the holy scriptures, which the BJTS Sinhala gloss explains as knowing the original meaning of words and understanding grammar.↩
rūpadakkho↩
lit., “in the dispensation of the Son of the Śākyas.”↩
neither I, nor the mss tradition, knows what to do with “tape” here. The BJTS takes it to mean “army,” cty reads tappeyya (“would feel remorse”)↩
dukkhitaṃ. Cty understands this to mean “its own relatives,” the other birds.↩
satipaṭṭhāna↩
cchatūpapātakovido. What are these?↩
lit., “of everything in the dispensation”.↩
reading pamesi (“measured,” BJTS, cty, PTS alt) for pihesi (“loved,” PTS).↩
lit., “[most] learned”.↩
see notes to [524] above.↩
lit., “for one who knows Vinaya to [or through, or with] the root”,↩
“path”. This spelling follows BJTS, cty and PTS alt; PTS reads Ajasa.↩
i.e., showing their rut in their eyes, ears, and genitals. See cty, p. 288.↩
see #1, v. 25 [164]. Or glossary?↩
this refers to the “doors” of the body’s sense-organs: eyes, ears, etc.↩
lit., “the elephant did not lift his foot”.↩
asurā↩
yakkhā↩
lit., “practicing austerities”.↩
cty stipulates that this refers to his former occupation as the barber of the Śākyas.↩
my translation here follows the BJTS Sinhala gloss on this grammatically-ambiguous verse, and the BJTS (and PTS alt.) reading of the final verb as khamāpayi (third person) for PTS khamāpayiŋ (first person); the ambiguity revolves around the term translated here as “Self-Become,” sayambhuñ (sayambhuṃ), which as a nominative (as in the BJTS gloss, and corresponding to the third person verb), should be sayambhū (would -ū ever become -uñ in sandhi with ccha?), rather than this form which appears to be an accusative (sayambhuṃ, which would accord with the first person verb of PTS, but leaves the text asserting that the protagonist forgave the Buddha rather than the other way around); the -uṃ could also be read as a vocative form, but then the verse lacks a subject, since the first reference to the (present) Buddha is clearly in the vocative.↩
cty here explains these as the fires of rāga (lust), dosa (anger) and moha (ignorance, folly)↩
cty here explains these as the fires of rāga (lust), dosa (anger) and moha (ignorance, folly)↩
cty: expelling samsāra, getting freed from samsāra↩
cty: dripping, oozing out of samsāra↩
cty: the medicine is nirvana↩
lit., “it’s poison just like haḷāhaḷa for those in conflict with the dispensation”↩
this interpretation of jhāpeti follows the cty.↩
reading tāreti (BJTS, cty) for tarati (PTS).↩
the term avirodhiyā (alt avirādhiyā) here and in the next verse is problematic — to be taken as the optative of virujjhati>virodhati?↩
reading na virādhiyā (cty) or na virodhiya (BJTS) for n’ avirodhiyā (PTS).↩
the Buddha’s son, Therāpadāna #16, below.↩
I follow the cty and BJTS Sinhala gloss in taking dumagge as duma + agge. It would also be possible to take it as du + magge, “on a bad road”. Here the former reading makes sense of the allusion to “flag” in the fourth foot.↩
kappa, could also translate: “which is the practice of”↩
lit., “the Vinaya is”.↩