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and adopted the lion's posture in the aforementioned place. This place was used by the Blessed One in all four postures. Pāṭaligāma The description of the story of the spittoon is finished. Description of the Story of Sunidha and Vassakāra 286. Sunidha and Vassakāra: Sunidha and Vassakāra were two brahmins. Magadhan ministers: They were great ministers of the King of Magadha, or great ministers in the Magadha country, or great ministers endowed with great power. Building a city in Pāṭaligāma: They were building a city in the area called Pāṭaligāma, meaning that the place formerly known as "Pāṭaligāma" was now being made into a city. To ward off the Vajjians: To cut off the source of income for the Licchavi kings. Sites: House sites, places for establishing houses. Minds incline to build residences: The minds of the king's and royal ministers' architects incline to build residences. It is said that by the power of their craft, they know, thirty cubits deep in the earth, "Here is a dwelling place for nāgas, here for yakkhas, here for bhūtas, here is a rock or a stump." So, they would recite their craft, avoid such troublesome places, and in untroubled places, as if consulting with the deities who preside over those sites, they would build those various houses. Alternatively, deities would possess their bodies and incline their minds to build residences here and there. After driving stakes into the four corners and the site was taken, they would depart. For faithful families, faithful deities do this; for faithless families, faithless deities do so. For what reason? For the faithful, it is like this: "When people build a residence here, they will first seat the community of bhikkhus and have them recite blessings. Then we will be able to see the virtuous, hear Dhamma talks, answers to questions, and words of appreciation. After giving to humans, they will give us our share." The faithless deities also think, "According to their own wishes, their “How shall we be able to see the Buddha and hear the Dhamma?” Thus they do. By the Tāvatiṃsa gods: Just as in one family, because of one wise person, and in one monastery, because of one very learned monk, the report arises, “The people in that family are wise, the monks in that monastery are very learned,” even so, because of Sakka, the king of gods, and Vissakamma, the divine son, the report has arisen, “The Tāvatiṃsa gods are wise.” Therefore it is said, “by the Tāvatiṃsa gods.” “Just as…” and so on, shows that Sunidha and Vassakāra built the city as if consulting with the Tāvatiṃsa gods. “As far as the noble resort” means as much as there is a place of resort for noble people. “As far as the merchants’ path” means as much as there is a place for buying and selling, or a place for merchants to dwell, where goods brought by merchants are piled up. “This will be the chief city” means this city will be the foremost, the principal, the chief of those noble resorts and merchants’ paths. “Breaking open of bundles” means a place for breaking open bundles of goods, it is said to be a place for untying knots of goods. Indeed, even goods not found in the entire Jambudīpa will be found here; even goods not going for sale elsewhere will go for sale here. Therefore, the meaning is, the bundles will be broken open here. “Incomes” means the four at the four gates, and one in the assembly hall; thus, five hundred thousand will arise there every day. This shows its future incomes. In “by fire or…” and so on, the word “or” has the meaning of “and.” The meaning is, it will be destroyed by fire, by water, and by mutual division. Indeed, one part of it will be destroyed by fire, and they will not be able to extinguish it. The Ganges will carry away one part. One part will be destroyed by the mutual division of people who are split by slanderous words, saying, “This one said what that one didn’t,” and “That one said what this one didn’t.” Having said this, the Blessed One, in the early morning, went to the bank of the Ganges, washed his face, and having received alms He sat down waiting for the time to depart. Sunidha and Vassakāra also thought: “Our king is a supporter of the ascetic Gotama. When we approach him, he will ask: ‘The Teacher, they say, went to Pāṭaligāma. Did you go to him, or did you not go to him?’ And when we say, ‘We went to him,’ he will ask: ‘Did you invite him, or did you not invite him?’ And when we say, ‘We did not invite him,’ he will blame us and reprimand us. And furthermore, we are building a city in an unbuilt place. Wherever the ascetic Gotama goes, evil spirits retreat. So we will have him recite the city blessing.” Having thought this, they approached the Teacher and invited him. Therefore it is said, “Then Sunidha and Vassakāra,” and so on. “In the forenoon” means in the forenoon time. “Having put on the lower robe” means having put on the lower robe in the manner of entering a village, and having fastened the waist-band. “Taking bowl and robe” means taking the bowl and robe, making them ready for use; the meaning is, having put on the robe and holding the bowl in hand. “Virtuous ones here” means virtuous ones in this place of their dwelling. “Restrained” means restrained in body, speech, and mind. “He dedicates the offering to them” means he should dedicate the four requisites given to the Saṅgha as a share of merit to those household deities. “Honored, they honor” means “These people are not even our relatives, yet they give us a share of merit,” so they provide excellent protection. “Respected, they respect” means honored by performing offerings from time to time, “These people are not even our relatives, yet they perform offerings for us every four or six months,” so they respect them and remove any arising danger. “Therefore, that one” means therefore, that wise person. “Like one’s own child” means raised by placing on the chest; just as a mother has compassion for her own child, and strives for him to remove any arising danger, so they have compassion, this is the meaning. “He sees good things” means he sees beautiful things. Having rejoiced Thus, by them, then, having given them a Dhamma talk, in the way of rejoicing in the merit they had performed. And Sunidha and Vassakāra, having heard the Blessed One's words, "Whatever deities were there, to them dedicate the offering," gave the dedication to the deities. That became known as Gotama's Gate: the gate of that city by which the Blessed One departed, that became known as Gotama's Gate. But because he did not descend into the Ganges for the purpose of crossing, it was not known as Gotama's Ford. "Full" means "filled." "Level with the banks" means "the water filled level with the banks." "Drinkable by crows" means "water that crows standing on the bank could drink." By all three terms, it speaks only of the state of being completely full, level with both banks. "Raft" means, for the purpose of crossing over, taking light wooden poles, like door planks, hammering in nails to connect them to each other, made like a small boat. "Float" means, gathering bamboo, reeds, etc., and binding them together in bundles with creepers, etc., made. "Having understood this matter" means, having understood in all respects this inability of the great multitude to cross even just the Ganges water, and his own and the Bhikkhu Saṅgha's state of having crossed the exceedingly deep and vast ocean of saṃsāra, he uttered this solemn utterance illuminating that meaning. But the meaning of the Udāna verse is already shown in the commentary. "There, this is a designation for a body of water" means, for any body of water as described, this is a designation as "ocean"; the intention is not only for the sea. "Flowing": here, a river is intended, because it flows, it streams. "Deep and vast" means deep in the sense of being unfathomable, vast in the sense of pervading all three worlds. "Having abandoned" means without approaching, without reaching, because they did not cross those pools. "For people bind a float" means they undertake the effort to bind a float. "Without a float" means such water, without such a float. "The wise people have crossed" means, because they are endowed with wisdom, which is called the knowledge of the Noble Path, the wise ones, the Buddhas and the disciples of the Buddhas, have crossed to the other shore. is established. The description of the story of Sunidha and Vassakāra is finished. The description of the truth story in Koṭigāma 287. Koṭigāma means a village built at the corner of the palace of the great king Panāda, meaning a village established at the pinnacle of the fallen palace. Of the Noble Truths, meaning the truths that make one noble, for those who penetrate them. By not understanding, by not knowing. By not penetrating. Here, understanding is the preliminary knowledge, and penetration is the realization by the path-knowledge. There, since penetration precedes understanding, and without understanding, it does not occur, and understanding is also a certain connection to penetration, and the wandering in saṃsāra is due to the absence of both, therefore it is said, "by not understanding... and for you." There, "wandered" means having wandered from existence to existence by taking rebirth. "Cycled" means having cycled repeatedly by passing away and reappearing. "For me and for you" means by me and by you. Or, "wandered and cycled" means the wandering and cycling was for me and for you; this is the meaning to be understood here. "Cycled" means wandered. "The craving that leads to rebirth is uprooted" means, just as a person with a rope in hand leads a bird tied with a long rope to another country, so too the craving-rope leads the stream of beings, bound by craving, to another existence; this is the craving that leads to rebirth.