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B020101Pārājikakaṇḍa aṭṭhakathā(grave sins commentary)

English

they ponder over it, they look at it, or think it bad, is the meaning. Khiyyanti means they speak ill of him, they make it known. Vipācenti means they make it widespread, they spread it everywhere; and this meaning should be understood according to grammar. Here is the application: Thinking 'These Sakyan ascetics are shameless,' and so on, they complain. Saying 'There is no asceticism in them,' and so on, they speak ill. Spreading 'These have lost their asceticism,' and so on, here and there, they make it widespread. In this way, the application of these words, and others that appear here and there, should be understood according to the words. Brahmacārī means those of excellent conduct. Sāmañña means the state of an ascetic. Brahmañña means the state of excellence. The rest is clear in meaning. In 'the king's wood,' and so on, 'he will take what is not given' is the meaning of complaining. But to show what was taken that was not given, 'the king's wood' was said. Thus, the meaning should be understood by those not confused by the difference in expression. Purāṇavohāriko mahāmatta means a great minister who, in his former lay life before becoming a monk, was appointed to judicial affairs, and thus came to be known as 'vohāriko' (judicial officer). Then the Blessed One said this to that monk: The Blessed One himself knows worldly conventions, and also knows the ordinances of past Buddhas – 'Past Buddhas declared a pārājika for this much, a thullaccaya for this much, a dukkaṭa for this much.' Even so, if, without consulting with others who know worldly conventions, he were to declare a pārājika for just a foot, then there would be those who would say, 'Moral restraint for even one monk is immeasurable, incalculable, exceedingly vast like the great earth, the ocean, and the sky; how then could the Blessed One destroy it with just a foot?' Then, not knowing the Tathāgata's power of knowledge, they might violate the training rule, and even the declared training rule would not stand in its proper place. But with those who know worldly conventions... When compared and laid down, that reproach does not arise. Otherwise, they would say thus: "Indeed, these householders, for a mere quarter-kāhāpaṇa, kill a thief, or bind him, or banish him. Why would the Blessed One not destroy a renunciant, by whom even a blade of grass belonging to another should not be taken!" And they will know the Tathāgata's power of knowledge. And the rule laid down will be unshakable, it will stand in its proper place. Therefore, wishing to lay down the rule after comparing it with those skilled in worldly custom, looking over the entire assembly, then the Blessed One, seeing that monk seated not far off, said to him: "For how much, O monk, does King Seniya Bimbisāra of Magadha, having caught a thief, kill him, or bind him, or banish him?" Here, "Māgadha" means "lord of the Magadhans." "Seniya" means "endowed with an army." "Bimbisāra" is his name. "Or banishes" means "expels from the country." The rest here is clear in meaning. "A quarter-kāhāpaṇa" (pāda) means a five-māsaka coin, for at that time in Rājagaha, a kāhāpaṇa was twenty māsakas, therefore, five māsakas is a quarter (pāda). By this characteristic, in all regions, the fourth part of a kāhāpaṇa is to be understood as "pāda." And this is in terms of the ancient blue kāhāpaṇa, not others like the Rudradāmaka coins. Indeed, by this quarter-kāhāpaṇa, past Buddhas also laid down the pārājika rule, and future Buddhas will also lay it down. For there is no difference among all Buddhas regarding the pārājika offenses or the pārājika rules. These are the four pārājika offenses. These are the four pārājika rules. There is nothing less or more than these. Therefore, the Blessed One, having rebuked Dhaniya, and laying down the second pārājika rule precisely with this quarter-kāhāpaṇa, said, "Whatever monk takes what is not given, with the intention of stealing," and so on. Thus, having made it firm by way of cutting off the root, when the second pārājika rule was laid down, another incident, the case of the washerman's bundle, arose for the purpose of a supplementary rule. To illustrate its origin, this was said: "Thus, this rule of training was laid down by the Blessed One for the monks." And its meaning... And the connection with subsequent regulations should be understood in the manner stated in the description of the first Pārājika. And just as here, so too in all the other training rules hereafter. Whatever has been said before, avoiding all of that, we shall describe only what is new, further and further. For if we were to describe again whatever has been said before, when would we reach the end of the description! Therefore, whatever has been said before, having carefully observed all of that, the meaning and application should be understood in each place. But whatever is new and has a profound meaning, all of that we ourselves shall describe. The description of the Dhaniya incident is concluded. 90. "Having gone to the washerman's spreading-place" means "having gone to the washerman's ford." For because washermen spread out clothes there, therefore it is called the washerman's spreading-place. "Washerman's bundle" means a bundle of washermen. Washermen, entering the city in the evening, tie many clothes into individual bundles. From there, having taken away one bundle while they were not looking due to their carelessness, means having stolen it. Description of the Word-Analysis 92. "Village, so called" and so on, is stated here to show the distinctions of "village" and "forest" as mentioned in "from a village or from a forest." There, a village in which there is only one hut, one house, just like in the Malay region; this is called a one-hut village. By this method, others should also be understood. "Non-human" means either completely devoid of humans and possessed by yakkhas; or from where humans have departed for some reason, intending to return again. "Enclosed" means enclosed by a brick wall and so on, down to even thorny branches. "Settled like cows sitting" means not settled in the manner of street arrangements and so on, but just as cows sit here and there, two or three at a time, so too, having made two or three houses here and there, settled. "Caravan" means any one of foot-caravans, cart-caravans, and so on. And in this training rule, it should be understood that a market town and a city are also included by the term "village." "Village vicinity" and so on, was said to show the boundary of the forest. "Standing at the city gate pillar" means: for a village that has two city gate pillars, like Anurādhapura, standing at the inner city gate pillar; for its outer city gate pillar, by the Abhidhamma method, it goes into the category of forest. But for one that has only one, it means standing in the middle of the village gate posts. Even where there is no city gate pillar, the middle of the village gate posts is called "city gate pillar." Therefore it was said: "standing in the middle of the village gate posts." "Of a medium person" means of medium strength, not of medium size, neither of little strength nor of great strength; it means of medium strength. "A clod's throw" means the place where a clod falls when thrown by a woman who, shooing away crows, lifts her hand straight up and throws a clod, or as water is thrown in a water-throwing game, but not thrown like that, rather, as young men, showing their strength, stretch out their arm and throw a clod, the place where such a thrown clod falls. But if it falls and then rolls somewhere, that is not to be taken. "A clod's throw by a medium person standing in the house vicinity of an uncircumscribed village" – here, the place where water is thrown by one without a well, or a winnowing basket's throw, or a pestle's throw by a medium person standing there, is called the house vicinity. A clod's throw by one standing in that house vicinity is the village vicinity, so it is stated in the Kurundi commentary. In the Mahāpaccari, it is similar. But in the Mahāaṭṭhakathā, after setting out the headings: "What is a house? What is a house vicinity? What is a village? What is a village vicinity?" – the area inside the place where water is thrown by one without a well is called a house. And the place where a woman standing at the door discards dishwashing water, and the place where a winnowing basket or a broom, normally thrown outside by a woman standing inside the house, falls, and the entrance for cattle, established by placing a wooden gate between two posts connected at the front of the house And this whole vicinity of the house is a boundary made to prevent obstruction. Within the throw of a clod by a medium man standing in that vicinity of the house is called a village. From there, within another clod's throw, is called the village vicinity, it is said. This is the standard here. And as it is here, so everywhere, whatever commentary statement or elder's statement is said later, that should be regarded as the standard. And what is said in the Great Commentary, that seems to contradict the Pāli. For in the Pāli, only this much is said: "the throw of a clod by a medium man standing in the vicinity of the house." But in the Commentary, that clod's throw is made the village boundary, and from there, the village vicinity is stated? It is said: Indeed, it is stated in the Pāli, but the intention here should be understood. And that is known only to the Commentary teachers. Therefore, just as the definition of "vicinity of the house" though not stated in the Pāli in "standing in the vicinity of the house," is taken according to what is stated in the Commentary, so also the rest should be taken. Here is the method: Here, a village is of two kinds: bounded and unbounded. Of these, for the bounded, its boundary itself is the definition. Therefore, without stating a separate definition for it, it is said in the Pāli: