5.

Connected Discourses with Buddhist Nuns

1.

Commentary on the Āḷavikā Discourse

162. In the first discourse of the Bhikkhunīsaṃyutta, "Āḷavikā" means she was born in Āḷavī and went forth having left from the city of Āḷavī itself. "Blind Men's Grove" means the grove that came to be reckoned as "Blind Men's Grove" from that time onwards, because five hundred thieves who had plucked out the eyes of a noble person, a Dhamma reciter named Yasodhara, who was coming after having instigated the collection of wealth for the purpose of new construction work at the shrine of the Fully Self-Enlightened One Kassapa, dwelt right there, having become blind through the destruction of their eyes. That, it is said, was about a league away on the southern side of Sāvatthī, guarded by royal protection. There, monks and nuns desiring solitude go. Therefore this one too, desiring bodily seclusion, approached that grove. "Escape" means Nibbāna. "Through wisdom" means through reviewing knowledge. "You do not know that state" means you do not know this state of Nibbāna or the state of the path leading to Nibbāna. "Like stakes of spears" means similar to stakes of spears in the sense of piercing through. "The aggregates are their chopping block" means the aggregates are their chopping blocks. The first.

2.

Commentary on the Somā Discourse

163. In the second, "state" means arahantship. "Difficult to reach" means difficult to overcome. "With two-finger wisdom" means with limited wisdom. Or because they spin thread having taken a cotton roll with two fingers, therefore a woman is called "one of two-finger wisdom." "When knowledge is progressing" means when the knowledge of fruition attainment is occurring. "Seeing the Teaching" means for one seeing with insight the Teaching of the four truths, or in the preliminary stage, just the five aggregates which are the object of insight. "Or I am anything at all" means or anything else for whom there might be "I am" by way of craving, conceit, and wrong view. The second.

3.

Commentary on the Kisāgotamī Discourse

164. In the third, "Kisāgotamī" - she was emaciated (kisā) due to having little flesh and blood, and "Gotamī" was her name. Formerly, it is said, in Sāvatthī, in a certain family, wealth of eighty ten millions had all turned to charcoal, as it were. The householder, without removing the things that had turned to charcoal - "Inevitably someone possessing merit will come; by that person's merit it will become normal again" - having filled jars with gold and silver, having placed them in the shop, he sat down nearby. Then a daughter of a poor family - "Having taken half a māsaka, I shall bring firewood and vegetables" - having gone to the street, having seen that, she said to the householder - "In the shop alone there is this much wealth; how much must there be in the house?" Having seen what, dear girl, do you speak thus? This gold and silver. He, thinking "She must be one possessing merit," having asked about her dwelling place, having set in order the goods in the shop, having approached her mother and father, spoke thus - "In our house there is a boy who has come of age; give this girl to him." Why, my lord, are you making sport with the poor? Friendly association is indeed even with the poor; give her, she will become the mistress of the household - having taken her, he brought her to the house. She, in the course of living together, gave birth to a son. The son died at the time of walking about on foot. She, having been born in a poor family, even having gone to a great family, with powerful sorrow arisen, thinking "I have reached the destruction of my son," having prevented the bodily rites for the son, having taken that dead body, went about wailing in the city.

One day, having gone by the great Buddha-avenue to the presence of the One of Ten Powers - She said "Give medicine for the sake of my son's health, Blessed One." Go, having wandered through Sāvatthī, from whatever house where no one has previously died, bring mustard seed from there; it will be medicine for your son. She, having entered the city, beginning from the first house, having gone according to the method stated by the Blessed One, requesting mustard seed from house to house, being told "Where will you find such a house?" having wandered through several houses - "This is indeed the natural order for all, not for my son alone" - having abandoned the corpse in the hall, she requested the going forth. The Teacher sent her to the nuns' dwelling, saying "Give her the going forth." She attained arahantship at the very hall of tonsure. With reference to this elder nun, "then Kisāgotamī" was said.

"Ekamāsī" means she sat alone. "Rudammukhī" means as if with a weeping face. In "accantaṃ mataputtāmhi," here "accantaṃ" means having gone beyond (atītaṃ) the end (antaṃ); this is a neuter of state. This is what is meant - Just as the death of sons has gone beyond the end, so I am one whose sons have died; now there is no more death of sons for me. "Purisā etadantikā" means men too are at this end for me. That which is the end of the death of sons for me, that very same is the end for men too for me; I am now incapable of seeking a man. "Delight has been destroyed everywhere" means my delight of craving has been destroyed in all aggregates, sense bases, elements, existences, modes of generation, destinations, stations of consciousness, and abodes. "Tamokkhandho" means the mass of ignorance. "Padālito" means split open by knowledge. The third.

4.

Commentary on the Vijayā Discourse

165. In the fourth, "with the five-part" means possessed of five factors thus: ātata, vitata, ātatavitata, ghana, and susira. "I hand them over to you alone" means I give all to you alone. "I have no need of them" means I have no need of them. "With this foul body" means even a body of golden colour is constantly a foul body in the sense of oozing and trickling; therefore she spoke thus. "Breaking up" means having the intrinsic nature of breaking. "Brittle" means having the nature of being crushed to bits. "I am troubled" means I am afflicted, oppressed. "I am ashamed" means I feel shame. "The peaceful attainment" means the eightfold mundane attainment is called peaceful because of the tranquillity of its object and the tranquillity of its factors. "Everywhere" means in all fine-material and immaterial existences; and because those two existences are included, in the included sensual existence and in the eight attainments - she says that in all these states the darkness of my ignorance has been destroyed. The fourth.

5.

Commentary on the Uppalavaṇṇā Discourse

166. In the fifth, "in full bloom at its top" means a sal tree well bloomed beginning from the top. "There is no second one equal to your beauty" means there is no second element of beauty similar to your element of beauty; he says there is no other nun similar to you. "Such as these, might come here" means just as you, having come here, do not obtain any intimacy or affection, just so they too would be similar to you. "Between the eyelashes" means even standing in the middle of the two eyes, at the bridge of the nose, you do not see me. "I have become master" means I am one who has become master. The fifth.

6.

Commentary on the Cālā Discourse

167. In the sixth, "who indeed made you accept this" means who indeed, a dull-witted fool, caused you to accept thus? "Hardship" means also other various kinds of misfortune. Now, what Māra said - "who indeed made you accept this" - crushing that - in order to show "no blind fool made me accept this, but rather the foremost person in the world, the Teacher, taught the Teaching," she said beginning with "the Buddha." Therein, "he established me in the truth" means he established her in the ultimate truth, Nibbāna. "Not knowing cessation" means not knowing the truth of cessation. The sixth.

7.

Commentary on the Upacālā Discourse

168. In the seventh, "they come again under Māra's control" means again and again they come under the control of death-Māra, defilement-Māra, and deity-son-Māra. "Burning" means tormented. "Where there is no access for Māra" means where there is no access for you, Māra. "There" means in that Nibbāna. The seventh.

8.

Commentary on the Sīsupacālā Discourse

169. In the eighth, "you appear like a female ascetic" means you appear similar to a female ascetic. "Why do you wander about like one in sheer delusion" means for what reason do you wander about as if in sheer delusion? "Outside of this" means outside of this Dispensation. "Those who cast a snare" means heretics; the meaning is those who cast the snare of views into the minds of beings. The Dispensation, however, releases from snares; therefore it is not called heresy; only those outside of this are heretics. "They place confidence" means they sink down, they become attached.

Now, speaking the question "with reference to whom are you shaven," she said beginning with "there is one born in the Sakyan clan." Therein, "the all-conquering one" means one who stands having overcome all aggregates, sense bases, elements, existences, modes of generation, destinations, and so on. "The dispeller of Māra" means one who drove away and expelled death, Māra, and so on. "Undefeated in every respect" means unconquered in all matters of lust and so on, or in the battle with Māra. "Everywhere liberated" means liberated in all aggregates and so on. "Unattached" means independent of the support of craving and views. "Having attained the elimination of all action" means having attained arahantship, which is reckoned as the elimination of all action. "In the extinction of clinging" means liberated by way of object in Nibbāna, which is reckoned as the extinction of clinging. The eighth.

9.

Commentary on the Selā Discourse

170. In the ninth, "by whom was this made" means by whom was this done. "Image" means he speaks with reference to individual existence. "Misery" means he speaks of individual existence itself, because it is the support of suffering. "From the dissolution of the cause" means by the cessation of the cause, by the deficiency of conditions. The ninth.

10.

Commentary on the Vajirā Discourse

171. In the tenth, "no being is found here" means in this mere heap of pure activities, in the ultimate sense no being is found. "When the aggregates exist" means when the five aggregates are present, defined in this and that way. "The convention 'a being'" is merely a designation. "Suffering" means the suffering of the five aggregates. "Not apart from suffering" means setting aside suffering, nothing else indeed comes into being nor ceases. The tenth.

Thus in the Sāratthappakāsinī

Of the Commentary on the Saṃyutta Nikāya

the commentary on the Bhikkhunī Saṃyutta is completed.