English
Homage to the Blessed One, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One. In the Minor Collection Commentary on the Netti-pakaraṇa Description of the introductory discourse of the book At the beginning of the commentary, the homage to the Triple Gem is for the purpose of making known the purity of origin and support of the Dhamma to be commented upon, and that (homage) in the commentaries on the Dhamma is for the purpose of generating respect among the wise, and that (respect) for them rightly, for the right practice to be attained by means of learning, memorizing, etc., for the purpose of accomplishing all welfare and happiness. Or else, because it is auspicious, because it is a preliminary act in all undertakings, because it is rightly practiced by the wise, and because it leads others to follow the example in the future, the act of bowing to the Triple Gem is done in the commentary. Or else, the act of bowing to the Triple Gem is for the purpose of generating the special merit of honoring those worthy of honor, and that (merit) is for the purpose of giving strength to one's own karma, which is the cause of the prosperity already attained, and for the purpose of not diminishing it in the interim, both of which are for the purpose of completing the commentary without obstacles. And this very purpose is intended by the teacher here. For thus he will say: "generated by homage... (etc.)... by its power." Indeed, the worship of the Triple Gem, by means of the attainment of an unsurpassed field of merit, is an immeasurable and powerful excess of merit, and even amidst many kinds of obstacles in the world, it is capable of destroying all defilements that cause obstacles, and it prevents dangers and other calamities. As it is said – "To one who honors those worthy of honor, whether Buddhas or disciples." Likewise – "Monks, those who are confident in the Buddha, they are confident in the supreme; and for those confident in the supreme, the supreme result arises." Likewise – "For one who proclaims 'Buddha,' the joy that arises in the body; Indeed, that joy is superior even to the whole of Jambudīpa; 'Dhamma'... (etc.)... 'Sangha'... (etc.)... of the island." And thus: “Mahānāma, at whatever time a noble disciple recollects the Tathāgata, at that time, his mind is not overcome by lust, nor by hatred… nor by delusion.” And thus: “In the forest, at the foot of a tree, or… Fear or trepidation, or horripilation, will not arise.” Here, desiring to praise the Triple Gem, whose praise he wishes to make, in order to show its abundance of qualities, he speaks the three verses beginning with “the Greatly Compassionate.” For by an abundance of qualities, is worthiness of praise, and praise offered to the worthy accomplishes the intended purpose. Here, the exposition he wishes to make, that is the guideline, especially in accordance with the teachings, and it reveals the varied ways of its progression. Thus, the Suttanta teaching is not primarily compassion, like the Vinaya teaching, nor primarily wisdom, like the Abhidhamma teaching, but rather, it is primarily compassion and wisdom. Therefore, to praise the Perfectly Enlightened One, by revealing this special teaching, which is primarily both, and because the other gems have their root in him, it is said, “the Greatly Compassionate Lord,” and so on. Here, it scatters, thus it is compassion, meaning it dispels, removes the suffering of others. Or, it afflicts, thus it is compassion, meaning when there is suffering in others, it afflicts, torments the compassionate one. Or, it causes trembling, thus it is compassion, meaning when there is suffering in others, it causes sorrow in the hearts of good people. Or, pleasure is ‘kama’, that which obstructs it is compassion. For this is characterized by the wish to remove the suffering of others, meaning it obstructs, hinders the pleasure of the compassionate, due to their disregard for their own happiness. Or, it is extended to the suffering, thus it is compassion. One engaged in compassion is compassionate. as in "doorkeeper." Just as a person who lives by the door, even if he is elsewhere, is called a "doorkeeper" because his livelihood is tied to the door and he does not transgress the duties of the door, so too the Blessed One, even if he abides in states other than the abiding of compassion, such as loving-kindness, is called "compassionate" because his conduct does not transgress compassion, and he is appointed to compassion. For from the Great Renunciation until the Great Parinibbāna, the Protectors of the World stand for the welfare of the world. Great and compassionate is the Greatly Compassionate One. Even though the Blessed One is great by virtue of other qualities as well, since it is stated in conjunction with the word "compassionate," his greatness here should be understood in terms of compassion, just as in "great grammarian." And thus, by this word "Greatly Compassionate One," the Great Compassion of the Teacher is stated from the perspective of the individual. Another method: He is compassionate because he is worthy of effecting compassion, of causing compassion to arise, of bringing about compassion, by accomplishing the goal. For the Blessed One, knowing the welfare of beings completely through omniscience, and knowing the means to welfare, and being tireless in that, his desire for welfare is effective, not so for others. Or, he is compassionate because compassion, the arising of compassion, is his virtue, his nature, his inherent quality. For the Blessed One, just as the touch of earth and so on has the nature of roughness and so on, so too compassion is his nature, meaning he is of the nature of compassion. The rest is similar to the former. Or, great is compassion because of its vast scope, its great power, and its great fruit, thus Great Compassion. For the compassion of the Blessed One extends to all beings without exception, and when it extends, it extends in a way uncommon to others, and it absolutely brings about the great welfare and happiness of beings, distinguished by seen-in-this-life and so on. He is appointed to Great Compassion, thus the Greatly Compassionate One. That Greatly Compassionate One. All the rest should be understood by the method stated. The derivation of words here should be understood as in the words Sumāgadhā and so on. He protects, thus Protector. He wishes for, desires, the welfare and happiness of those to be trained, is the meaning. Here, the wishing for welfare and happiness is by way of loving-kindness. It should be understood as 'sana', not in the sense of 'karuṇāyana' as stated in the first word. Or alternatively, he protects those to be disciplined from the suffering of defilements, thus he is 'Nātha'. Or he is 'Nātha' because he protects, meaning he implores. For the Blessed One, beginning with "It is good, monks, that a bhikkhu should from time to time review his own attainments," having implored beings to practice various beneficial deeds, encouraged by great compassion, he directs them there. Or endowed with supreme mental sovereignty, or he rules over, overcomes all beings with virtues like morality, thus he is the Supreme Lord, the Blessed One is called 'Nātha'. That Nātha. 'To be known' means 'the knowable', all conditioned things divided into past and so on, and the unconditioned. 'Sāgara' (ocean) in the sense of engulfing, meaning it causes those who fall and fall to sink and immerse themselves by its vast and deep nature. Here the word 'saṃ' should be understood by etymology, as in 'sābhāvo' (having its own nature) and 'sārāgo' (having attachment), and so on. Or in the sense of engulfing or making a compact, meaning, by its fixed nature, it is as if it makes a compact or agreement with the world, saying "This is my boundary, I will not transgress this limit." Or 'Sāgara' is that which causes water to flow and stream all around. For at the time of the world's dissolution, the great ocean overflows here and there, making the entire world-system a single flood. But worldly people say, "The eastern ocean region is called 'Sāgara' because it was dug out by the sons of King Sāgara, who were called Sāgaras. And by common usage, due to its connection, the entire ocean is referred to in that way." It is 'Sāgara' because it is like the ocean. The knowable itself is the ocean, thus 'the ocean of knowables'. Here the similarity should be understood by its vastness, difficulty to cross, depth, and beginninglessness. And this comparison is inferior. For thus, the knowable itself has extraordinary vastness, extending over immeasurable world-systems. Omniscience itself is difficult to cross in terms of its traversability, its depth, and its beginningless existence. Not so for the other (the external ocean) because of its limited space. Even by those without passion, it is to be crossed in a short moment, due to its limited depth, and due to its limited duration. One who has gone to the far shore, the end of the ocean of the knowable, is called 'one who has gone to the far shore of the ocean of the knowable'. That one, who has gone to the far shore of the ocean of the knowable. And here, the going is only a going by knowledge, not otherwise, due to the apprehension of the knowable. But that knowledge is of two kinds: by way of comprehension and penetration, and also by way of cause and effect. Therein, the Blessed One's knowledge of comprehension, having entered solely by way of compassion, thinking "Verily, this world has fallen into difficulty," and comprehending the formations in various ways, plunged into the ocean of the knowable through thirty-six hundred thousand entrances, and reached its far shore, its end, which is called "Great Adamantine Knowledge." But the knowledge of penetration is the knowledge of the destruction of defilements, which is the proximate cause of omniscience; and omniscience is the proximate cause