[^346]: The Buddha inverts Ambaṭṭha's earlier claim that the other three castes only succeed in serving brahmins (DN 3:1.14.7).
[^347]: They are less strict than the previous ascetics, for they dig the soil and harm the plants.
[^348]: "Tradition" renders sācariyaka, "that which stems from one's own teacher".
[^349]: This practice is not elsewhere attested in early Pali.
[^350]: Ugga is a rare word whose root sense is "mighty", but here it must be a noun. Given that it is a military man who consults with the king, I translate as "warrior-chief". | Rājañña is used occasionally in the suttas; it is an archaic synonym for khattiya.
[^351]: Taking this and the next as one sentence, despite the punctuation of the Mahāsaṅgīti text.
[^352]: The "hymns" (mantā) are the verses of the Rig Veda. The ten names here all correspond with Vedic authors according to the Brahmanical tradition (for details, see note on DN 13:13.1). Note that in Sanskrit the names of the rishis are distinguished from the lineage holders, which take the patronymic. For example, Bharadvāja is the rishi, the Bhāradvājas are his descendants; Vasiṣṭha is the rishi, the Vāsiṣṭhas are his descendants. Pali texts do not make this distinction, but use the patronymic, although the two forms are not always readily distinguishable. | "Seer" is isi (Sanskrit ṛṣi). It is of uncertain etymology, but was taken to mean that they had "seen" the Vedas (mantradraṣṭa) or directly "heard" them from Brahmā through divine inspiration, rather than "composing" them like ordinary authors. Here, however, the Buddha says they were "authors" (kattāro). The Buddha adopted isi in the sense "enlightened sage".
[^353]: Veṭhakanatapassāhi is otherwise unattested. At MN 55:12.4veṭhaka evidently means "collar". In the Lokuttaravāda Bhikṣuṇī Vinaya, the brazen nun Thullānandā gets out of the water and wraps herself in a veṭhaka, which here seems synonymous with paṭṭaka, a strip of cloth. It is allowable if used to tie a basket (Lo Bi Pn 3). Nata is "curve", passa is "side, flank". Walshe has "flounces and furbelows", Rhys Davids has "fringes and furbelows round their loins". These are prissy descriptions of what is evidently stripper gear.
[^354]: The Buddha calls back to earlier in the sutta, where Ambaṭṭha drove a mare-drawn chariot (DN 3:1.6.1). | The verbs here (vitudenti vitacchenti) are elsewhere applied to the pecking and slashing of vultures, crows, or hawks (SN 19.1:3.2, MN 54:16.2, etc.). The Buddha was disgusted with this maltreatment of the mares.
[^355]: Remembering that Pokkharasāti lived in a wealthy property that was a royal endowment. Just as today, excessive wealth breeds insecurity.
[^356]: The Buddha has been hard on Ambaṭṭha, but he is not unfair. He invites the same level of scrutiny for himself.
[^357]: This transition occurs nowhere else.
[^358]: Finally he remembers what his teacher Pokkharasāti told him in DN 3:1.5.2: he will know the Buddha by his marks.
[^359]: This exceedingly strange "miracle" is also found at MN 91:7.1, MN 92:14.1, and Snp 3.7:11.5.
[^360]: The diminutive ending for paṇḍitaka is the same as in samaṇaka, which Ambaṭṭha used of the Buddha. | For re ("bloody"), compare cara pi re at Bu Pc 70:1.35 and he je kāḷī at MN 21:9.13. Hard as the Buddha was on Ambaṭṭha, his own teacher was harder.
[^361]: Pokkharasāti shows his astuteness, for in many other dialogues the Buddha engaged with brahmins perfectly politely, as he does in the next sutta (DN 4).
[^362]: Illustrating the lack of restraint of even a senior brahmin teacher.
[^363]: Given Pokkharasāti's mood, this was probably a diplomatic move.
[^364]: Khādanīya and bhojanīya are food categories commonly mentioned in Pali. Etymologically they stem from "hard and soft". Bhojanīya is defined in Bu Pc 37:2.1.10 as grain, porridge, flour products, fish, and meat, thus being foods that are typically eaten cooked and "mooshed up" in with the fingers in the bowl. Khādanīya is not so readily defined, being essentially everything not included in other categories. But it would have included such "crunchy" things as fruit and vegetables, which may be eaten uncooked.
[^365]: Pokkharasāti makes sure he hears both sides of the story.
[^366]: So far has Ambaṭṭha fallen from the learned sage we were introduced to at the start of the sutta.
[^367]: The Buddha bears no ill will. Sukhī hotu is one of the most recognizable Pali phrases, but in early texts it is spoken only a few times: by the Buddha at DN 21:1.8.8 and Snp 5.1:54.1; by Punabbasu's Mother at SN 10.7:10.1; and by various women at Bu Ss 5:1.4.8.
[^368]: "Robed up" because inside the monastery, monks would normally wear just a lower robe, and would don the upper and (sometimes) outer robes when visiting a layperson's home.
[^369]: While all these teachings feature commonly in the suttas, there is no text that depicts this framework in detail.
[^370]: This is the briefest expression of the four noble truths.
[^371]: This indicates that he became a stream-enterer (sotāpanna), the first of four stages of Awakening. Such details of personal attainment are typically found in the narrative rather than the teaching attributed to the Buddha, and hence were added by redactors at some point. They vary considerably in different versions. In this case, the parallel at DA 20 says that he became a stream-enterer and later a non-returner. T 20 said that he understood the teaching and went for refuge, and agrees that he became a non-returner before his death.
[^372]: This is the insight into universal impermanence and dependent origination.
[^373]: When wandering for alms, mendicants would often roam randomly through the village (sapadānacārī). However if an invitation such as this were issued, the mendicant may visit that place for a meal. It was considered a special ascetic practice to refuse such invitations. The same invitation was issued by Lohicca to Mahākaccāna at SN 35.132:14.7.
[^374]: Māṇavikā is also mentioned at MN 56:27.1 and Ud 2.6:1.3 of a young married woman; and at AN 5.192:8.5 of a baby being born. Thus it does not seem that it meant "female student of the Vedas".
[^375]: Kalyāṇaṁ vuccati is a politely ambiguous phrase. It is spoken twice elsewhere in the Pali, and both times the mendicant who said it immediately departed and never returned (SN 41.3:7.13, SN 41.4:6.7).
[^376]: This sutta shows how the conversion of Pokkharasāti in DN 3 affected the brahmins as far away as Campā.
[^377]: Campā is modern Champapuri near Bhagalpur in Bihar state, not far from West Bengal. It is near the eastern-most reach of the Buddha's journeys. Campā was the capital of Aṅga, one of the sixteen "great nations" (mahājanapadā). It was a flourishing trade center at which Northern Black Polished Ware has been found, and became a sacred city for the Jains.
[^378]: Gaggarā, an onomatopoeic reduplication ("gargle"), is the name of a number of rivers and whirlpools in Sanskrit (cp. the modern Ghaggar River in north-west India).
[^379]: Here we see how the endowment of brahmadeyya helped the king of Magadha establish his influence over the Aṅgas.
[^380]: "Householders" (gahapati) is literal; it means land owners. Thus the "brahmins and householders" (not "brahmin householders") were the wealthy class.
[^381]: Both the repetition below and the parallel at MN 95:8.3 include the phrase "it's appropriate that he comes to see you". It may have been omitted here by mistake.
[^382]: Jātivāda is sometimes translated as "doctrine of birth", but the context here shows this cannot be the case. It refers to the genealogical records of the family lineage.
[^383]: For Mahāsaṅgīti vacchasī read vaccasī (Sanskrit varcasin), "possessing splendor".
[^384]: Notice that the royal endowment was not just for a luxury residence, it was the site of a major international college. Kings invested in education.
[^385]: Later tradition says that the young Siddhattha sneaked out of his home to avoid creating such a scene, but the early texts say he left despite his parents' weeping.
[^386]: In contrast with some of the other ascetics in DN 2.
[^387]: This description is applied to the Buddha at DN 5:7.24, and to the corrupt but superficially charming monks Assaji and Punabbasuka at Bu Ss 13:1.3.4.
[^388]: This would be the assemblies of aristocrats, brahmins, householders, and ascetics (AN 5.213:3.1), rather than the Buddha's four assemblies of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen (AN 4.129).
[^389]: Titthakara, literally "ford-maker", is a term restricted to those such as the Buddha who founded a religion, or Mahāvīra who was a major reformer on the same level as a founder.
[^390]: Bimbisāra's refuge is at Kd 1:22.11.4.
[^391]: Pasenadi's refuge is at SN 3.1:14.5.
[^392]: This sutta must have been before the events of DN 2, but after those of DN 3.
[^393]: "Knapsack" is puṭosa, where puṭa is "bag" and osa is "food" (Sanskrit avasa). The compound is a dative-dependent tappurisa with reversal of the usual order, yielding the sense "bag for food".
[^394]: Even before he meets him, Soṇadaṇḍa has extensive knowledge of the Buddha and faith in him. It's also notable how Soṇadaṇḍa gives Pokkharasāti a special status. Perhaps Pokkharasāti told Soṇadaṇḍa of the encounter with Ambaṭṭha in DN 3, which would explain his hesitation. | Note the use of the term yoniso here, which I render "rational". The basic meaning of the term is "womb, source", and it is used to mean "with reason", which here has the sense "pertinent, relevant".
[^395]: For all his previous avowal of faith, Soṇadaṇḍa is merely polite, not reverential. This foreshadows the ending.
[^396]: The Buddha goes out of his way to make him comfortable. Soṇadaṇḍa is nervous and overly eager to please, but he is not contemptuous and grinding a personal ax like Ambaṭṭha.
[^397]: Suja (Sanskrit sruc) was a large wooden ladle for pouring ghee on to the sacred flame.
[^398]: The Buddha uses "Socratic method". He has the other person articulate a view, then leads them to refine their view, leading to a clearer vision of the truth.
[^399]: When the Buddha convinces Soṇadaṇḍa, he does not crow over it or take pleasure in his discomfort, but praises his wisdom and affirms his conclusions.
[^400]: The Buddha has taken pains to establish common ground, but Soṇadaṇḍa's description of wisdom is lacking, so the Buddha prompts a deeper inquiry.
[^401]: Normally, the Buddha frames his teaching as ethics, meditation, and wisdom, but here he adapts to Soṇadaṇḍa's framing and places meditation under wisdom.
[^402]: Soṇadaṇḍa's attachment to his reputation betrays his lack of inner confidence and stands in contrast with Pokkharasāti. Perhaps it may also be read as a regional characteristic, since Buddhism was less well established in the Aṅga region than in central Magadha.
[^403]: When asked about sacrifice, the Buddha tells a story of how a king was persuaded to forgo cruelty and institute a constructive social policy of welfare instead.
[^404]: Khāṇumata is only mentioned here. It means "stumpy", perhaps indicating that it was, or had recently been, a rough out-of-the-way place.
[^405]: The commentary says this was similar to the Ambalaṭṭhikā of DN 1:1.2.1.
[^406]: Like the town Khāṇumata, the brahmin Kūṭadanta appears only here. His name means "pointy teeth", but there is no evidence that he was a vampire.
[^407]: At Snp 2.7:26.1, the sacrifice of cows in particular was said to be the nadir of decline for brahmins. When similar sacrifices are described elsewhere in the canon, the number is five hundred rather than seven hundred (SN 3.9:1.2, AN 7.47:1.2).
[^408]: News of the Buddha had spread in Brahmanical circles. In DN 3 we saw the Buddha use his rhetorical technique of adapting his teaching to reframe Brahmanical doctrines in order to establish a common ground. Here we see the downside to such techniques, as the details of the reframing have been lost.
[^409]: No such sacrifice has been identified in Brahmanical texts.
[^410]: Kūṭadanta's proposal that the Buddha advise him on the sacrifice of 700 animals is outrageous. Nonetheless, the Buddha responds politely since Kūṭadanta is being polite. While it is tempting to see the sacrifice of animals by supposedly virtuous priests as sheer hypocrisy, the fact of sacrifice remains one of the most widespread and mysterious of human religious practices. In an empathetic work that addresses this squarely, Roberto Calasso's Ardor sees the vast complex of Vedic ritual and theory as making plain the fact of killing so that the guilt may be contained, in contrast with our modern culture of killing on an industrial scale while hiding it out of sight.
[^411]: Mahāvijita means "Great Dominion". He seems to be only known from this story. The idiom bhūtapubbaṁ (literally "so it was in the past") introduces legendary narratives of usually dubious historicity, like the English idiom "once upon a time".
[^412]: In the Pali, meaningful thoughts often occur to people when withdrawn in seclusion. This doesn't necessary mean they were in formal meditation.
[^413]: The great sacrifices, especially the horse sacrifice, ensured royal authority. Their very scale and wastefulness showed off the wealth of the king.
[^414]: "High priest" is purohita. He was a family chaplain advising and consecrating the royal family. The closeness of the relationship is shown by the fact that the royal family would take the lineage name of the purohita.
[^415]: Then, as today, government policy was driven by the perception of rising crime rate. This whole passage is one of the Buddha's most important statements on public policy. It is expressed through storytelling, giving a good example of how myths were invoked---and subverted---as rationales for current policy.
[^416]: "Taxes" is bali. He would have had to press his people for the extra funds to hold the sacrifice.
[^417]: "Plague of savages" (dassukhīla) is the only occurrence of Sanskrit dasyu in early Pali. The dasyu were inveterate foes of the Aryans in the Vedic period. Bereft of civilizing rites, scriptures, and observances, they were no children of Manu (Rig Veda 10.22.8). Their wiles (māyā) made them a potent threat (Rig Veda 4.16.9, 8.14.14, 10.73.5). Indra was invoked to ensure their destruction (Rig Veda passim; Atharva Veda 2.14.5, 4.32.3, 20.21.4, 20.37.5, 20.42.2). Legend has it that Agni and Soma first supported the dasyu before being won over by Indra (Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 1.6.3.13; see also 6.4.2.4). By the time of the Buddha the dasyu have vanished except as a legendary foe of the past. Where the Brahmanical texts advocate the pitiless destruction of the dasyu, the brahmin high priest in the Buddhist text advocates an inclusive policy of social welfare.
[^418]: The priest knows that the king will respond better to a pragmatic argument than a moral one.
[^419]: Effective social policy requires a forward-thinking plan, not just reacting to grievances.
[^420]: The king should spend his own resources to support his citizens in the various occupations.
[^421]: Here the priest identifies a fundamental cause of social unrest and disorder.
[^422]: The king spends out of pocket, but the economy flourishes, so tax revenues increase even though he has not raised taxes. This is the essence of Keynesian economic theory.
[^423]: Khema means a place of safety and sanctuary, where both humans and animals have no fear.
[^424]: A good leader listens to advice.
[^425]: Here the phrase "of both town and country" qualifies each group. At AN 4.70:1.3, however, "brahmins and householders" and "people of town and country" are separate groups of people. Elsewhere the context does not always decide between these two possibilities. Generally the idiom aims at inclusivity, as opposed to here where the king is consulting the rich and powerful, so I treat them as two separate groups, thus including the common folk.
[^426]: "Consenting factions" is anumatipakkhā. The king governs with the consent of his people, although only the landowning classes are considered.
[^427]: Royal authority is not based just on birth, conquest, ritual, or power, but on quality of character.
[^428]: Read sahati ("prevails") over the several variants.
[^429]: Showing the importance of comprehension over blind adherence to tradition.
[^430]: Meditators focus on the present, but that does not mean they cannot think about the past or future; it just means they are not trapped in useless thoughts.
[^431]: These are four of the five qualities that Soṇadaṇḍa identifies as the qualities of a brahmin at DN 4:13.2. Missing is appearance, which is the first factor that Soṇadaṇḍa admits is unnecessary.
[^432]: Compare the three factors of a donor's mind-state at AN 6.37:2.4.
[^433]: What a recipient does with a gift is beyond the donor's control.
[^434]: PTS edition acknowledges sajjata only as a variant reading, but it is in the commentary, so should be accepted in the text. It is from √sajj (relinquish).
[^435]: Another lesson in leadership: the importance of communication.
[^436]: Due to abbreviation, the text only mentions householders here, but clearly all are intended.
[^437]: A leader gets results through inspiration, not fear.
[^438]: These were regarded as valuable yet harmless products.
[^439]: The king's generosity and sincerity brings out the best in the others.
[^440]: Here ends the Buddha's legendary account of the past.
[^441]: The other brahmins are satisfied, but Kūṭadanta senses there is more to it.
[^442]: "So I have heard" (evaṁ me sutaṁ) is the standard opening for Buddhist suttas. This tag was used to indicate that the speaker was not present at the events, but "heard" about them. This is in contrast with the phrase "I heard and learned this in the presence" (sammukhā sutaṁ, sammukhā paṭiggahitaṁ), which is used when reporting a teaching heard directly from the Buddha, eg. SN 55.52:5.1, SN 22.90:9.1, MN 47:10.7, etc.
[^443]: This qualifies the story of Mahāvijita as an early canonical Jātaka. There are a small number of such stories in the early suttas, only some of which overlap with the later Jātaka collections, the story of Mahāvijita not being among them.
[^444]: Kūṭadanta is hoping for a better return on his investment. Throughout the suttas, we find a strain of what might be called "spiritual economics".
[^445]: Mentioned in a similar context at AN 4.40:2.2.
[^446]: This contradicts the description given above.
[^447]: This means that the dwelling could be used by any Saṅgha member, as opposed to being given to a particular monastic or group. The gift of a dwelling is regarded as the best kind of offering to the Saṅgha.
[^448]: Thus far the Buddha has described the regular practice of a Buddhist lay person.
[^449]: The entire path may be described as a "sacrifice".
[^450]: Releasing animals remains a Buddhist practice today.
[^451]: Lying some 60 kilometers north of Pāṭaliputra (Patna), Vesālī was the largest city in the Vajji Federation, a republican league in the region north of the Ganges.
[^452]: In the earlier suttas of this chapter, we have seen how news of the Buddha spread, evidently following Pokkharasāti's conversion. Here we see an example of the kind of meeting at which such news would be discussed. | The phrase "brahmin emissaries" (brāhmaṇadūtā) does not seem to occur elsewhere and is not explained in the commentary. Perhaps they were emissaries of the kings, meeting in a neutral location. Or perhaps they were emissaries of their respective communities of brahmins.
[^453]: This monastery features prominently as the Buddha's usual place of residence near Vesālī.
[^454]: At some times the Buddha would go on retreat and ask that no-one visit him except to bring food; this sometimes happened at the Great Wood (SN 54.9:2.1). He also had the habit of withdrawing into the wood itself for meditation (AN 5.58:1.3). At this time, however, he was simply staying in a nearby hut, so it seems Nāgita is being over-zealous.
[^455]: Oṭṭhaddha mean "hare-lip" and is evidently a nickname or epithet. Throughout, the Buddha refers to him by his personal name, Mahāli. And it is under that name we meet him again in SN 11.13 and SN 22.60. | The Licchavis, whose name is derived from "bear", dominated the Vajji Federation. Note that the Mahāsaṅgīti edition here spells the masculine singular as licchavī, whereas normally it is licchavi.
[^456]: This Sīha is unknown elsewhere.
[^457]: Kassapa is Nāgita's clan name; either he was a brahmin or a khattiya whose family chaplain (purohita) was a Kassapa.
[^458]: In trying to protect the Buddha, Nāgita was inflexible and lacking compassion. When given good advice by Sīha, he responded gracelessly, fobbing off responsibility to a junior. No wonder he was replaced by Ānanda.
[^459]: This is still a common place for forest monks to receive guests.
[^460]: This is the last we hear of these emissaries.
[^461]: Sunakkhatta features in several suttas, through which his journey may be traced. In MN 105 he meets the Buddha and gains faith; here in DN 6 he is becoming dissatisfied; in DN 24 he rejects the Buddha; and in MN 12 he attacks the Buddha after disrobing.
[^462]: This refers to "clairvoyance" and "clairaudience", sometimes translated as the "divine eye" and "divine ear". Despite being included in the Gradual Training, they are not a goal of Buddhist practice. Rather, they are unnecessary but potentially useful, as they reveal dimensions of being inaccessible to ordinary consciousness. Sunakkhatta, however, was evidently just interested in having pleasant supersensory experiences.
[^463]: This must have wounded his pride.
[^464]: This description of meditation is unique in the Pali canon. The Buddha answers Mahāli's question directly, even though the premise betrays Sunakkhatta's limited understanding. When a questioner is sincere, answering directly shows respect and builds trust.
[^465]: Having directly answered the original question, the Buddha reframed the issue on request.
[^466]: This is the first description of the four stages of awakening which are featured throughout the Pali canon. The three fetters are identity view, doubt, and misapprehension of precepts and observances (MN 2:11.3).
[^467]: The five lower fetters are the three mentioned above, plus sensual desire and ill will (AN 10.13:1.5). This is the non-returner, who spends their last life in an exalted Brahmā realm. | A "spontaneous" rebirth is one that occurs without gestation in the womb, like most devas, or for that matter, Boltzmann brains.
[^468]: This is the arahant, the "worthy" or "perfected" one. Elsewhere it is said they abandon the five higher fetters: desire for rebirth in the realm of luminous form, desire for rebirth in the formless realm, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance (AN 10.13:2.2).
[^469]: This is the most fundamental of the Buddha's teachings on the path, declared in his first sermon (SN 56.11). It reappears in DN 8:13.5, DN 19:61.7, and DN 22:21.2.
[^470]: The eight factors map roughly on to the Gradual Training thus: hearing the Dhamma gives rise to right view; the choice to renounce is right thought; ethics includes right speech, action, and livelihood; undertaking seclusion and sense restraint is right effort; developing meditation is right mindfulness; and gaining the four jhānas is right immersion. Realization of the Dhamma completes the circle by deepening conceptual right view to liberating insight. Sometimes this is expressed by adding two further factors, right knowledge and right liberation.
[^471]: The Buddha retells the events recorded in the next sutta, DN 7.
[^472]: Muṇḍiya means "shaven one"; his name is spelled Mandissa in some manuscripts. He appears only in this passage. Jāliya returns in DN 24:2.4.1, which recounts the farcical events following Sunakkhatta's disrobal. There he takes the Buddha's part against the delusional Pāṭikaputta favored by Sunakkhatta.
[^473]: The term "soul" (jīva) was favored by the samaṇas, as opposed to the "self" (attā) of the brahmins. Both are rejected by the Buddha as forms of "metaphysical" self: they postulate the absolute, eternal existence of entities that cannot be established empirically. The repeated demonstrative pronouns (taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīraṁ) assert an emphatic identity.
[^474]: They evidently believed that the experience of jhāna would grant insight into this dilemma. But it is a loaded question: it assumes that the soul is real and that what needs determining is its relation to the body.
[^475]: Until this point, none of the experiences described are fundamentally incompatible with the notion of an eternal metaphysical self. Buddhists believe that non-Buddhists, before and after the Buddha, are quite capable of realizing such states. However, they would tend to interpret them in line with their previous beliefs, thus reinforcing their theories of self. Faced with the end of all rebirth, however, no theory of eternal self can stand.
[^476]: This sutta depicts the events that were subsequently related by the Buddha in the previous sutta, DN 6.
[^477]: Ujuññā was a Kosalan town at which King Pasenadi visited the Buddha in MN 90. | "Deer parks" were nature reservations where the animals were safe from hunters.
[^478]: Naked ascetics are still found in India today. Some Jains went naked, but if he were a Jain he would have been introduced as such. Kassapa is an ancient clan name of the brahmins, and we meet four naked ascetics named Kassapa in the canon (here, SN 12.17, SN 41.9, and MN 124). They cannot be the same person, for at the end of each account it is said they went forth and attained arahantship.
[^479]: In his first sermon, the Buddha rejected extremes of self-mortification. There the term was attakilamatha ("self-mortification"), whereas here it is tapas ("heat, burning, fervor"). These refer to the same practices, but tapas points to the fervent ardor of the practitioner, generating an inner heat that "burns off" the corrupting traces of kamma and defilements. This topic is also discussed in AN 10.94.
[^480]: While the self-mortification itself may be useless, the person who practices it may have other good qualities. The Buddha is cautioning against rash judgement.
[^481]: Again we see the Buddha's preferred method of establishing common ground first, then building an argument from there.
[^482]: Rather than logical hair-splitting, the Buddha recommends looking at a person's conduct.
[^483]: Here -va has an exclusive sense (= eva). Compare Dhp 274: eseva maggo natthañño ("This is the path, there is no other").
[^484]: Compare DN 16:5.27.1.
[^485]: What follows is a description of ascetic practices undertaken by the Jains and similar groups. | The phrase "course of fervent mortification" (tapopakkama) is unique to this sutta. Pakkama means "stepping out".
[^486]: Buddhist mendicants may not receive food in their hands, nor lick them while eating. Followers of the practices listed here would have walked steadily and randomly for alms, accepting only what was given at the time.
[^487]: Keeping sheep (eḷaka, for slaughter) goes against the Jain principle of non-violence, as does keeping weapons (daṇḍa). | A musala often means "pestle", but it can also be a "shovel"; at MN 81:18.12 it is regarded as a virtue to not use one to dig the soil (which is regarded as being alive in Jainism). | Thusodaka is an alcoholic porridge fermented from grain-husks, mentioned alongside sovīraka in the Pali commentaries and Carakasaṁhitā 27g.191.
[^488]: It is not easy to meaningfully distinguish the various kinds of grain.
[^489]: All are extremely uncomfortable. Christian ascetics wore a "hair shirt" in order to "mortify the flesh" .
[^490]: Jain ascetics tear out their hair at ordination, rather than shaving.
[^491]: Remaining in one posture for months or years at a time is one of the most difficult practices.
[^492]: Strict Jain ascetics did not bathe.
[^493]: At Kd 6:14.6.3 the four "great unnaturals" (or "filthy edibles", mahāvikaṭa) are said to be feces, urine, ash, and clay. At MN 12:49.3 the Buddha said he ate the "unnatural things" of feces and urine when undertaking ascetic practices.
[^494]: This seems out of place here. It was a Brahmanical practice (SN 7.21), as the Jains refused to bathe at all. Indeed, bathing three times a day in the Indian climate would, for most of the year, be quite pleasant.
[^495]: The term "accomplishment in mind" (cittasampadā) is equivalent to "accomplishment in immersion" (samādhisampadā). More generally, when citta is used in the context of meditation, it is normally a synonym of samādhi.
[^496]: Mettā is universal love and good will free from attachment. As well as being a foundation for good character and healthy emotional development, it serves to lead the mind into deep meditation of jhāna.
[^497]: The Buddha was criticized for going soft after abandoning austere practices, but here he flips the script, arguing that it is inner transformation that is really hard, not outer shows of mortification.
[^498]: Note that the heading for this section in the Mahāsaṅgīti edition uses samādhi rather than citta. Headings were added by later editors, and are not part of the original text.
[^499]: This is the ethical practices as described in the Gradual Training.
[^500]: "Mortification in disgust of sin" renders tapojigucchā; tapo is "fervent mortification" and jigucchā is "loathing, disgust". It captures the severity with which practitioners regarded the "evil" or "sin" with which they were infected, like a quasi-physical stain on the soul, and the burning flame of white-hot pain required to cauterize their spiritual wounds.
[^501]: The Buddha repurposes the concept of "disgust of sin", which here stands in the place of meditation (samādhi).
[^502]: A "lion's roar" is an unapologetic proclamation of spiritual supremacy.
[^503]: The Buddha is referring to the events of the Udumbarikasutta (DN 25). There Nigrodha is referred to as a "wanderer" (paribbājaka) who according to the commentary was clothed. The term tapabrahmacārī here is unique and is not explained in the commentary. I think it means he was a celibate student of a Brahmanical teacher.
[^504]: This probation is laid down in the Vinaya at Kd 1:38.1.5. The candidate shaves, dons the robes, takes refuge, and asks for probation. They must show good conduct and restraint, diligence in duties, and enthusiasm for the Buddha's teachings and practice.
[^505]: In addition to individual exceptions, there are general exceptions for dreadlocked ascetics, since they believe in kamma, and for the Buddha's relatives.
[^506]: Poṭṭhapāda appears only here; he was named for a month of the lunar calendar (August/September). | Mallikā was the chief queen of Pasenadi, and her hall is mentioned in a similar context at MN 78:1.3. The commentary explains that the brahmins, Jains, and others would assemble there to "debate their beliefs" (samayaṁ pavadanti). Evidently the monastery grounds had accommodation for many ascetics of different beliefs, but only "one hall" where they would gather for debate. We hear many times of such debates, but here we catch a glimpse of a place that was set up to facilitate them. For -ācīra, read in the sense of "boundary, hedge" (commentary: timbarūrukkhapantiyā parikkhittattā; cf. Sanskrit prācīra, "enclosure, hedge, fence, wall").
[^507]: According to the commentary, when he approached the vicinity of the city gate, he decided to check the position of the sun and noticed that it was too early to enter. The commentary and sub-commentary explain that it only sounds like the Buddha was in doubt, for Buddhas deliberate before deciding on a course of action.
[^508]: This can be understood as answering the criticism voiced in DN 8:22.2, that the Buddha was afraid to speak in an assembly.
[^509]: In contrast with the silence of the Buddha's community at DN 2:10.7.
[^510]: The Buddha encourages quiet for the sake of mental development; Poṭṭhapāda does it for the sake of reputation.
[^511]: Poṭṭhapāda's address is almost overly deferential.
[^512]: Always polite, the Buddha begins by showing an interest in them.
[^513]: Abhisaññā does not appear elsewhere. Here the prefix abhi- means not "higher", but rather "about, concerning". Compare abhidhamma at MN 32:8.6: dve bhikkhū abhidhammakathaṁ kathenti ("two mendicants engage in discussion about the teaching"); also abhivinaya at AN 3.140:4.4. The commentary here says abhi- is a mere particle, so it need not be translated.
[^514]: This discussion appears to have been directly sparked by the difficult passage in Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.4.12 and 4.5.13. The sage Yājñavalkya, teaching his wife Maitreyī, says that the true Self is a sheer mass of "consciousness" (vijñāna, Pali viññāṇa), which is "great, endless, infinite reality". After realizing this, he says, there is no "perception" (saṁjñā, Pali saññā), a statement that bewilders even the wise Maitreyī. He explains that only in an apparent state of duality (dvaitamiva) do the separate functions of sense consciousness operate. When all is realized as the Self, how, he asks, can one know that owing to which all this is known? He is implicitly distinguishing between viññāna as "infinite" (= vi-) knowing and saññā as "constrained" (saṁ-) knowing. Yājñavalkya says the separate Self emerges with these elements and vanishes with them (etebhyo bhūtebhyaḥ samutthāya tānyevānu vinaśyati), but he does not explain how or why this happens, which is the question the theorists here attempt to address.
[^515]: Here perception is not identified with the "person" (purisa), but rather belongs to them (cf. etaṁ mama, "this is mine"). In the discussion to follow, the Buddha only directly addresses this theory, while the remainder are included by inference.
[^516]: This idiom is also at SN 47.19:1.10.
[^517]: The self is defined as perception (eso me attā), one of the five aggregates. Compare the various theories of the self and perception at DN 1:2.38.0.
[^518]: Implying that at such times a person lacks a "self". This is perhaps related to Yājñavalkya's: "That man, when born, acquiring a body, is connected with ills (the bodily organs); and when he dies, departing, he discards those ills" (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.3.8).
[^519]: The commentary says these were devotees of āthabbaṇa, i.e the practices preserved in the Atharvaveda. This "fourth Veda" is mentioned only once by name in the early Pali (Snp 4.14:13.1), where, as here, it is associated with the performance of magic and the casting of spells. The commentary fairly drips with contempt: "Allegedly, the Āthabbaṇa practitioners cast a spell, showing a creature's head as if cut off, or their hand as if cut off, or as if dead. Then they show them back to normal; imagining so, they say, 'From cessation they have arisen.'"
[^520]: See DN 29:16.20 for upakaḍḍhati and apakaḍḍhati in this sense.