English
Aparagoyāna is seven thousand leagues. Likewise, Pubbavideha. Uttarakuru is eight thousand leagues. Each of these great continents is surrounded by five hundred small islands. All of that is one Cakkavāḷa, one world-element. Between them are the Lokantarika Hells. Thus, the Blessed One knew, understood, and penetrated infinite Cakkavāḷas and infinite world-elements with infinite Buddha-knowledge. Thus, the spatial world was known to him in every way. Thus, because he knew the world in every way, he is "Knower of the World." 138. And because there is no one superior to him in qualities, there is no one above him, hence "Unequalled." For he surpasses the entire world in the quality of virtue, and also in the qualities of concentration, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation. In the quality of virtue, he is incomparable, uniquely incomparable, unequalled, without peer, without equal... and so on... in the quality of knowledge and vision of liberation. As it is said: "I do not see, in the world with devas..." in the world with Māra, ...and with the generation of devas and humans, I am the most accomplished in virtue." This is the full explanation. Thus, the Aggappasāda Sutta and others, and the verses like "I have no teacher," should be elaborated upon. 139. He guides men to be tamed, therefore he is the guide of men to be tamed. It means he tames and trains. Here, "men to be tamed" refers to untamed beings fit to be tamed, whether animal-men, human-men, or non-human-men. For example, the Blessed One tamed animal-men such as the Nāga king Apalāla, Cūḷodara, Mahodara, Aggisikha, Dhūmasikha, the Nāga king Aravāḷa, and the elephant Dhanapālaka, making them harmless and establishing them in the refuges and precepts. He also tamed human-men such as Saccaka the Nigaṇṭha's son, Ambaṭṭha the brahmin student, Pokkharasāti, Soṇadaṇṭa, Kūṭadaṇṭa, and others. He also tamed non-human-men such as Āḷavaka, Sūciloma, Kharaloma, the Yakṣa, Sakka the king of devas, and others, training them with various methods of discipline. "Indeed, Kesi, I train men to be tamed with gentleness, with harshness, and with both gentleness and harshness." This sutta should be elaborated upon here. Furthermore, the Blessed One, teaching the path of higher practice for those with pure virtue and so on, and for those who have attained the first jhāna and so on, and for stream-enterers and so on, tames even those who are already tamed. Or, "unexcelled guide of men to be tamed" is a single meaning-phrase. For the Blessed One guides men to be tamed in such a way that, seated on a single couch, they run unhindered in the eight directions. Therefore, he is called the unexcelled guide of men to be tamed. "Monks, an elephant tamed by an elephant tamer runs in only one direction." This sutta should be elaborated upon here. 140. He instructs appropriately with regard to the present life, the future life, and the ultimate goal, therefore he is the Teacher. Furthermore, he is like a caravan leader, therefore he is the Teacher; the Blessed One is the caravan leader. Just as a caravan leader leads the caravan across the wilderness, leads across the wilderness of robbers, leads across the wilderness of wild beasts, leads across the wilderness of famine. He ferries across the desert without water, He ferries across, He brings over, He carries over, He leads to the land of safety. Just so, the Blessed One, the Teacher, the Caravan Leader, Ferries beings across the desert, He ferries across the desert of birth, And so on, this meaning should be understood according to the explanation. "Of gods and humans" means of gods and of humans. This is said by way of the highest classification, And by way of the classification of capable individuals. But the Blessed One is indeed a teacher even to animals, By giving them instruction. For they too, by hearing the Dhamma of the Blessed One, Attain the perfection of supporting conditions, And by that very perfection of supporting conditions, In a second or third existence, They become partakers of the path and its fruits. The frog devaputta and others are examples here. It is said that when the Blessed One was teaching the Dhamma To the residents of Campā city On the bank of the Gaggarā lotus pond, A certain frog took a mental sign in the voice of the Blessed One. A cowherd, leaning on his staff, stood there, And crushed it on the head. That very moment, it died And was reborn in the Tāvatiṃsa heaven, In a golden palace twelve yojanas in size. As if awakened from sleep, Seeing himself surrounded by a host of celestial nymphs, He reflected, "Alas, I too am reborn here! What deed did I do?" And he saw nothing else Except the taking of a mental sign in the voice of the Blessed One. That very moment, he came with his palace And bowed his head at the feet of the Blessed One. The Blessed One, though knowing, asked: "Who is it that bows at my feet, Shining with power and glory? With an exceedingly beautiful complexion, Illuminating all directions?" "I was formerly a frog, A water-dweller in the water. While listening to your Dhamma, The cowherd killed me." The Blessed One taught him the Dhamma. The realization of the Dhamma occurred for eighty-four thousand beings. The devaputta, too, established in the fruit of stream-entry, Smiled and departed. 141. Whatever there is to be known, Because he has awakened to all of it, By means of knowledge leading to liberation, he is a Buddha. Or because he himself has understood the four noble truths, and you awaken other beings. For these and other reasons, you are the Buddha. To explain this meaning, the entire method of exposition (MahaNiddesa 192) or the method of analytical knowledge (Paṭisambhidāmagga 1.162) should be elaborated, as stated: "He is Buddha because he has awakened to the truths. He is Buddha because he awakens beings." 142. The word Bhagavā (Blessed One) is an appellation of respect and reverence, signifying his excellence in qualities and his supremacy among all beings. Therefore, the ancients said: "The word Bhagavā is supreme, The word Bhagavā is excellent; He is endowed with respect and reverence, Therefore he is called Bhagavā." Names are of four kinds: occasional, indicative, causal, and spontaneously arisen. Spontaneously arisen means, in worldly usage, that which is by chance. Among these, "calf," "tamed," "ox" are occasional. "Staff-bearer," "umbrella-bearer," "top-knot wearer," "elephant" are indicative. "Possessor of the three knowledges," "possessor of the six supernormal powers" are causal. "Prosperity-increaser," "wealth-increaser" are spontaneously arisen, occurring without regard for the meaning of the word. But this name, Bhagavā, is causal, not given by Mahāmāyā, nor by King Suddhodana, nor by eighty thousand relatives, nor by Sakka, Santusita, and other special deities. This has also been said by the General of the Dhamma: "Bhagavā is not a name given by a mother... (and so on)... This is a true designation, leading to liberation, for the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, upon the attainment of omniscience at the foot of the Bodhi tree, that is, Bhagavā" (MahaNiddesa 84). 143. And this name is causal due to certain qualities. To make known those qualities, they recite this verse: "He is fortunate, he has divided, he has shared, He has broken, he is revered, he is blessed; By many methods, he has well-developed himself, He has gone beyond existence, so he is called Bhagavā." Here, the meaning of each of those words should be understood in the same way as stated in the Niddesa (MahaNiddesa 84). 144. This is another method. He is fortunate, he has broken, he is endowed, He has divided the blessings, He has eaten, he has gone beyond, In existences... The Blessed One, that is. Here, taking the characteristics of etymology such as the change of letters or the inversion of letters, or taking the characteristic of insertion as in the case of "pisodara," it should be understood that because he possesses fortune (bhāgya) which brings forth worldly and transcendent happiness, and has reached the culmination of generosity, morality, and so on, he is called "Bhagavā" instead of "Bhāgyavā." Moreover, because he broke (bhañji) hundreds of thousands of defilements, torments, and burning fevers, such as shamelessness, fearlessness of wrongdoing, anger, resentment, hypocrisy, envy, avarice, deceit, craftiness, stubbornness, arrogance, pride, excessive pride, intoxication, heedlessness, craving, ignorance, the three unwholesome roots, evil conduct, mental defilements, wrong perceptions, thoughts, mental elaborations, the four perversions, the influxes, fetters, floods, yokes, wrong destinations, the arising of craving, clinging, the five mental stakes, hindrances, delight, the six roots of contention, craving, the body, beings, latent tendencies, the eight wrong views, the nine roots of craving, the ten unwholesome courses of action, the sixty-two wrong views, the one hundred and eight modes of craving, and all kinds of suffering and distress; or, in brief, the five aggregates of defilement, formations, the Māra of the gods, and the Māra of death. Therefore, because these dangers are broken (bhagga), he is called "Bhagavā" instead of "Bhaggavā." And it is said here: "His lust is broken, his hatred is broken, His delusion is broken, he is without influxes; His evil qualities are broken, Therefore he is called the Blessed One." By his being fortunate (bhāgyavatā), his perfect physical body, endowed with the hundred marks of merit, is revealed. By his having broken defilements (bhaggadosatā), his perfect Dharma body is revealed.