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he attains a state of immorality. With "These four, monks," and so on – "These four persons, monks, exist, are found in the world. Which four? One who practices for his own benefit, not for the benefit of others. One who practices for the benefit of others, not for his own benefit. One who practices neither for his own benefit nor for the benefit of others. One who practices both for his own benefit and for the benefit of others." With this, he points out the Suttanta Pāli connected with the teaching on persons. "Not understanding the intention" means: Not understanding the Blessed One's intention thus: "This teaching on persons is by way of conventional usage, not in the ultimate sense." Indeed, the Blessed One Buddha's teaching is of two kinds: conventional teaching and ultimate teaching. Therein, "person, being, woman, man, noble, brahmin, deity, Māra" – such is conventional teaching. "Impermanent, suffering, non-self, aggregates, elements, sense-bases, foundations of mindfulness" – such is ultimate teaching. Therein, the Blessed One teaches conventional teaching to those who are capable of understanding the meaning, abandoning delusion, and attaining distinction, having heard the teaching by way of convention. But to those who are capable of understanding the meaning, abandoning delusion, and attaining distinction, having heard the teaching by way of ultimate truth, he teaches ultimate teaching. Herein is this simile – Just as a teacher, skilled in local languages, explaining the meaning of the three Vedas, teaches in the Tamil language to those who understand the meaning when spoken in Tamil; and in one of the Andhra languages (and so on) to those (who understand that language); thus those pupils, having approached a clever, skilled teacher, quickly learn the craft. Therein, the Buddha, the Blessed One, is like the teacher. The three Piṭakas, which are in the state of being taught, are like the three Vedas. Skill in local languages is like conventional... Skilled in the highest ultimate truth, like students of various lands and languages who are capable of penetrating by way of conventional and ultimate truth, the Buddha's teaching, too, should be understood as being by way of conventional and ultimate truth, like a teacher explaining in Tamil and other languages. And here it is said: Two truths were declared, by the Fully Awakened One, best of speakers; Conventional and ultimate, a third is not found. Conventional speech is true, due to worldly convention; Ultimate speech is true, due to the true nature of phenomena. Therefore, for the Teacher, the Lord of the world, skilled in expression, speaking in conventional terms, no falsehood arises. Furthermore, the Blessed One speaks of a 'person' for eight reasons: for demonstrating shame and dread, for demonstrating ownership of kamma, for demonstrating individual effort, for demonstrating deeds of immediate retribution, for demonstrating the divine abidings, for demonstrating past lives, for demonstrating the purification of offerings, and for not abandoning worldly convention. When it is said, "Aggregates, elements, sense-bases feel shame and dread," the general public does not understand, they become confused, they become hostile, thinking, "What is this about aggregates, elements, sense-bases feeling shame and dread?" When it is said, "A woman feels shame and dread, a man, a khattiya, a brahmin, a deva, Māra," the general public understands, they do not become confused, they do not become hostile. Therefore, the Blessed One speaks of a 'person' for demonstrating shame and dread. When it is said, "Aggregates are owners of kamma, elements, sense-bases," the same applies. Therefore, the Blessed One speaks of a 'person' for demonstrating ownership of kamma. When it is said, "Great monasteries like Veḷuvana were built by aggregates, elements, sense-bases," the same applies. Therefore, the Blessed One speaks of a 'person' for demonstrating individual effort. When it is said, "Aggregates deprive mother of life, father, an Arahant, cause blood to flow, cause schism in the Sangha, elements, sense-bases," the same applies. Therefore, The Blessed One teaches a discourse on persons to illuminate immediate results. Even when it is said: "Aggregates are friendly, elements are sense bases," the same method applies. Therefore, the Blessed One teaches a discourse on persons to illuminate the divine abodes. Even when it is said: "Aggregates recollect past lives, elements are sense bases," the same method applies. Therefore, the Blessed One teaches a discourse on persons to illuminate past lives. Even when it is said: "Aggregates receive offerings, elements are sense bases," the general public does not know, they become confused, they become hostile, thinking: "What is this, that aggregates, elements, and sense bases receive?" But when it is said: "Persons receive, those virtuous, of good conduct," then they know, they are not confused, they are not hostile. Therefore, the Blessed One teaches a discourse on persons to illuminate the purity of offerings. And the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, do not abandon conventional worldly usage; they teach the Dhamma while abiding in worldly appellations, worldly expressions, and worldly speech. Therefore, the Blessed One also teaches a discourse on persons so as not to abandon conventional worldly usage. Therefore, it is said that those who do not understand this intention do not know that the Blessed One's teaching on persons is for this purpose, and is not a teaching of ultimate reality. "He grasps wrongly" means he grasps wrongly, making it a wrong grasp, by saying things like: "Thus I understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, that this same consciousness runs on and transmigrates, not another." It is said that he grasps wrongly. For "wrongly grasped" is an abstract noun in the neuter gender. "Referring to which" means referring to that wrong grasping. The rest of the text should be understood as: "by the Dhamma wrongly grasped by oneself." Or else, "wrong grasping" is "wrongly grasped." And "by oneself" is an instrumental case in the sense of possession. Therefore, it is said: "by one's own wrong grasping, by a mistaken grasp." "And he slanders us" means he makes a slander against us. "And he digs up himself" means that by digging up his own roots of merit, he digs up himself. "Thinking about Dhamma" means understanding the nature of Dhamma. "Overrunning" means standing. Having stood on another boundary, running beyond, going past, proceeding, with such statements as: "giving is merely by the arising of thought," "the mind itself is its own object," "all mind has non-inherent phenomena as its object." "Four" means these four, reckoned as the sphere of the Buddhas, the sphere of psychic power, the sphere of kamma-result, the sphere of the world. For this has been said – "These four, monks, are inconceivable, not to be conceived, by conceiving which one would be a partaker of madness and vexation. Which four? The sphere of the Buddhas, monks, is inconceivable, not to be conceived, by conceiving which one would be a partaker of madness and vexation. The sphere of absorption of one who meditates, monks, is inconceivable, not to be conceived... The result of kamma, monks, is inconceivable, not to be conceived... Speculation about the world, monks, is inconceivable, not to be conceived... These four, monks, are inconceivable, not to be conceived, by conceiving which one would be a partaker of madness and vexation." (A.N. 4.77) There, "inconceivable" is a designation of their nature. "Not to be conceived" is a designation of what should be done regarding them. There, "inconceivable" means that they cannot be conceived, that they are not fit to be conceived. Because they are inconceivable, they are not to be conceived. Although the six extraordinary qualities, etc., are also inconceivable, for one who recollects them, they are a cause for the arising of wholesome states, hence they are to be conceived. But these are not so; therefore, because they are fruitless, they are not to be conceived – this is the intention. Therefore it is said, "by conceiving which one would be a partaker of madness and vexation." "Of them" refers to those Pitakas. "This" means this word of the Buddha. "Comprised of three sections" means that these are comprised of three sections, reckoned as the section on the aggregate of morality, the great section, and the Pathika section – (thus) comprised of three sections. "Thirty-four suttas" – the meaning of the verse should be understood thus – by the counting of suttas of which collection, there are indeed thirty-four suttas, and by way of section-compilation, there are three sections for its compilation – this is a compilation of three sections. This first collection, the Dīgha... "Nikāya" means consecutive, not contrary, because it follows the meaning, it is said to be a name that accords with the meaning. It is consecutive because it follows the meaning. To explain its consecutiveness, it is asked, "Why then...?" and so on. "Even one group" means even one collection. "Such a mind" means such a varied mind. "As these" means as these. The Poṇikā and Cikkhallikā are Khattiyas, their dwelling is called the Poṇika group and the Cikkhallika group. Such examples here are proofs from the scriptures and from the world. These examples here are proofs that the word "nikāya" denotes groups and dwellings, from the scriptures and from common usage. Here, the first example is a proof-statement from the scriptures, the second is from the world, so it should be understood. "Comprising fifteen sections" means these are comprised of fifteen sections, such as the Mūlapariyāya section. "One hundred and fifty-two suttas" means one and a half hundred, that is, one hundred and two fifty-sutta sections. "Where" means in which collection. "Comprised of fifteen sections" means encompassed, collected,