English
Then, after another half month, five protuberances arose from each piece of flesh, for the hands, feet, and head. Then, after another half month, one piece of flesh became a boy like a golden image, and the other became a girl. Affection for the children arose in the ascetic. Due to the children’s good karma, milk flowed from his thumb. From then on, milk... They did not get hands. The ascetic, having eaten his meal, poured milk into the children's mouths. But whatever entered their stomachs, all of it appeared as if in a crystal vessel. Just as in his last existence, when the Bodhisatta was in the womb, the Bodhisatta's mother's abdominal skin was clear and bright, so too were they 'skinless'. Others said, "Their skin was stuck together, as if sewn and placed." Thus, because they were 'skinless' or 'stuck-skinned', they were known as 'Licchavī'. The ascetic, raising the children, would enter the village for alms late in the day, and return very late. Knowing his predicament, the cowherds said, "Venerable sir, raising children is an impediment for renunciants. Give us the children, we will raise them. You do your own work." The ascetic agreed, saying, "Good." On the second day, the cowherds smoothed the path, scattered flowers, raised flags and banners, and came to the hermitage with musical instruments playing. The ascetic said, "These children are greatly meritorious. Raise them carefully. When they grow up, marry them to each other. Please the king with the five cow-products, take a piece of land, build a city, and anoint a prince there," and he gave the children away. They agreed, saying, "Good," took the children, and raised them. As the children grew up and played, in places of dispute, they would hit other cowherd children with their hands and feet, and those children would cry. When asked by their parents, "Why are you crying?", they would say, "These parentless children, raised by the ascetic, hit us excessively." Then their foster parents also said, "These children harass and trouble other children. They should not be kept. They should be avoided." From then on, it is said that that region, for a hundred yojanas around, was called "Vajjī" (avoided). Then the cowherds, having pleased the king, took that region. And there, having built a city, they anointed a sixteen-year-old prince and made him king. Because of having done deeds that give royal prosperity, and because of being born in an unbroken royal lineage, some say that deities, impelled by the power of the prince's merit, made them do it. Having arranged a marriage for the boy with the girl, they made an agreement: "No girl should be brought from outside, no girl from here should be given to anyone." From their first cohabitation, two children were born, a daughter and a son. Thus, sixteen times, two by two were born. Then, as those children grew up in due course, the city, being insufficient to accommodate their parks, gardens, residences, and retinue, they encircled it three times, each time with a distance of a gāvuta. Because it was repeatedly enlarged, the name "Vesālī" came into being. Therefore it is said: "By the three-time enlargement of the city wall's circumference, because it became spacious, it is called Vesālī." And this is also a city; it shows that it's not just Rājagaha and Sāvatthī. There, "Mahāvana" and so on, is a common commentary of the Majjhima-bhāṇakas and Saṃyutta-bhāṇakas. Indeed, in the Majjhima Commentary (M.N.A. 1.146) and the Saṃyutta Commentary (S.N.A. 3.5.984-985), it is stated in this very manner. But in the Dīgha Nikāya Commentary (D.N.A. 1.359) it is said: "Regarding Mahāvana: outside the city, there is a self-grown forest, connected with the Himalayas, which is called Mahāvana simply because of its vastness; in that Mahāvana. Regarding Kūṭāgārasālā: in that forest grove, they established a monastery. There, by fitting a pinnacle and building a palace like a divine mansion on top of the pillars, in short, a Kūṭāgārasālā; because of that, the entire monastery became known as Kūṭāgārasālā." Because it was made in the middle of the forest, it is said "relying on the forest." "Ārāma" means "monastery." "By a covering like a swan's circle" means "covered like a swan's circle"; the meaning is "in the shape of a swan's circle." Regarding "by many ways" (Anekapariyāyena), here, the word "pariyāya" means "reason," it says, "by many reasons..." "without attachment" - this body, whether without consciousness or with consciousness, is thus impure, is thus impure, due to various reasons - this is the meaning. "Proceeding to show the impure aspect" means proceeding to show the impure aspect completely from its color and so on in the case of hair and so forth. "Disgusting talk about the body" means talk that produces disgust in one's own body and in others' bodies. "Urine and so on" shows the unpleasantness of the body by way of contrast. There, by the first three terms, its unseemliness and worthlessness; by the middle four, its foul smell; by the last one, the absence of pleasantness even in the slightest degree is shown. "And then" and so on, shows its unpleasantness in its very nature, by direct statement. "Desire" means weak passion. "Passion" means strong passion. To show in detail the meaning stated briefly as "hair, body-hair, etc." "even those" and so on was said. "Impure" means impure because devoid of an adventitious beautiful aspect. "Unclean" means unclean by its very nature. "Repulsive" means repulsive because it is loathsome, like a dirty place to a city dweller. Hair, it is said, is repulsive in color, in shape, in smell, in its abode, and in its location. Showing this, it says: "And that (repulsiveness of hair) should be understood by five reasons." Indeed, even in pleasant porridge bowls or rice bowls, seeing some hair-like color, people feel disgust, saying: "This is mixed with hair, take it away!" Thus, hair is repulsive in color. Even when eating at night, touching something of hair-like shape, like a spider's web or a caterpillar, they feel disgust in the same way. Thus, hair is repulsive in shape. And the smell of hair devoid of preparations like oil, flowers, incense, etc., is extremely repulsive. Even more repulsive is that of hair thrown into fire. Indeed, hair might be not repulsive in color and shape, but by smell, it is always repulsive. Just as the feces of a young child are turmeric-colored in appearance, and turmeric-lump-shaped in form, in a refuse heap... A discarded, bloated, black dog's body, its color like a ripe palm fruit, its shape like a drum, rolled up and thrown away, its fangs like jasmine buds— both color and shape might not be repulsive, but its smell is repulsive. So too, hair might not be repulsive in color and shape, but its smell is repulsive. Just as vegetables grown from village refuse in an unclean place are disgusting to city dwellers and not to be consumed, so too, hair, being born from the flow of pus, blood, urine, feces, bile, and phlegm, is disgusting. This is its repulsiveness due to its origin. And this hair, like a thorn grown in a heap of dung, is born in the heap of the thirty-one parts. Like vegetables grown in charnel grounds and refuse heaps, or like lotus and water lily flowers grown in ditches, it is born in an unclean place, and is therefore extremely disgusting. This is its repulsiveness due to its location. And just as with hair, so too with all parts, repulsiveness in five ways —by color, shape, smell, origin, and location— should be understood. Thus it is said: "So too with the hairs, etc." Here, "in five ways, in five ways" should be understood as a compound of external meaning: "This has five, five divisions," thus "five-five-divided." "Expounding" means elaborating. "On the unlovely" means on the meditation on the unlovely. "Making it grow" means making it abundant. "Devoid of five factors, endowed with five factors"— here, being devoid of five factors should be understood as the abandonment of these five hindrances: sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and remorse, and doubt. For when these are not abandoned, absorption does not arise. Therefore, these are called the factors of abandonment. Although other unwholesome states are also abandoned at the moment of absorption, these in particular are obstacles to absorption. For with sensual desire, the mind, enticed by various objects, does not become concentrated on a single object. Or the mind, overcome by sensual desire, does not enter upon the path for the abandonment of the sense-sphere. And with ill will, When struck back from the object, it does not proceed continuously. Overcome by sloth and torpor, it becomes unworkable. Afflicted by restlessness and remorse, it wanders about uncalmed. Hindered by doubt, it does not ascend the path that achieves jhāna. Thus, because they are specifically hindrances to jhāna, these are called the factors of abandonment. But since initial thought places the mind on the object, and sustained thought keeps it connected; and from the success of the mind's effort, produced by these for non-distraction, rapture causes swelling, and bliss causes development; then one-pointedness, aided by these placing, connecting, swelling, and developing, correctly and evenly establishes the mind and its associated states on the single object. Therefore, the five-factored nature is to be understood as the arising of these five: initial thought, sustained thought, rapture, bliss, and one-pointedness of mind. For when these five arise, jhāna is said to have arisen. Therefore, these five are called its constituent factors. Thus, it should not be taken that there is some other jhāna apart from being endowed with these. Just as a four-limbed army, a five-instrument orchestra, and an eight-factored path are spoken of merely by way of their factors, so too, this is to be understood as being called "five-factored" or "endowed with five factors"