SUTTA 103

[^969]: Bhaväbhavahetu. MA: "Do you think that he teaches the Dhamma as a means of gaining merit so that he can experience happiness in this or that [higher] state of being?"

[^970]: Abhidhamma. MA says that this refers to the thirty-seven requisites of enlightenment mentioned in the previous paragraph. See n. 362 .

[^971]: Meaning (attha) and phrasing (byañjana) are the two aspects of the Dhamma taught by the Buddha. The following passage, §§5-8, should be compared with DN 29.18-21/iii.128-29, which also expresses a concern for the preservation of the correct meaning and phrasing of the Dhamma.

[^972]: This statement is made because slight deviations from the correct phrasing are not necessarily an obstacle to a proper understanding of the meaning. But elsewhere (e.g., AN 2:20/i.59) the Buddha points out that the wrong expression of the letter and the wrong interpretation of the meaning are two factors responsible for the distortion and disappearance of the true Dhamma.

[^973]: The general principle underlying §§10-14 is this: If the offending bhikkhu can be rehabilitated, then despite the hurt to him and the trouble to oneself, one should try to correct him. But if he is not susceptible to being rehabilitated, one should just maintain one's own equanimity.

[^974]: "The Recluse" (samana) is glossed by MA with sattha, the Teacher, referring to the Buddha. A similar use of the term is found at MN 105.18, 21.

[^975]: The "thing" (dhamma) intended, MA says, is quarrelling.