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[Pali Class] The Story of Cakkhupala Thera #2

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Paragraph three, for translation:

tasmiṃ samaye satthā pavattitavaradhammacakko anupubbenāgantvā anāthapiṇḍikena mahāseṭṭhinā catupaṇṇāsakoṭidhanaṃ vissajjetvā kārite jetavanamahāvihāre viharati mahājanaṃ saggamagge ca mokkhamagge ca patiṭṭhāpayamāno. tathāgato hi mātipakkhato asītiyā, pitipakkhato asītiyāti dveasītiñātikulasahassehi kārite nigrodhamahāvihāre ekameva vassāvāsaṃ vasi, anāthapiṇḍikena kārite jetavanamahāvihāre ekūnavīsativassāni, visākhāya sattavīsatikoṭidhanapariccāgena kārite pubbārāme chabbassānīti dvinnaṃ kulānaṃ guṇamahattataṃ paṭicca sāvatthiṃ nissāya pañcavīsativassāni vassāvāsaṃ vasi. anāthapiṇḍikopi visākhāpi mahāupāsikā nibaddhaṃ divasassa dve vāre tathāgatassa upaṭṭhānaṃ gacchanti, gacchantā ca “daharasāmaṇerā no hatthe olokessantī”ti tucchahatthā na gatapubbā. purebhattaṃ gacchantā khādanīyabhojanīyādīni gahetvāva gacchanti, pacchābhattaṃ gacchantā pañca bhesajjāni aṭṭha ca pānāni. nivesanesu pana tesaṃ dvinnaṃ dvinnaṃ bhikkhusahassānaṃ niccaṃ paññattāsanāneva honti. annapānabhesajjesu yo yaṃ icchati, tassa taṃ yathicchitameva sampajjati. tesu anāthapiṇḍikena ekadivasampi satthā pañhaṃ na pucchitapubbo. so kira “tathāgato buddhasukhumālo khattiyasukhumālo, ‘bahūpakāro me, gahapatī’ti mayhaṃ dhammaṃ desento kilameyyā”ti satthari adhimattasinehena pañhaṃ na pucchati. satthā pana tasmiṃ nisinnamatteyeva “ayaṃ seṭṭhi maṃ arakkhitabbaṭṭhāne rakkhati. ahañhi kappasatasahassādhikāni cattāri asaṅkhyeyyāni alaṅkatapaṭiyattaṃ attano sīsaṃ chinditvā akkhīni uppāṭetvā hadayamaṃsaṃ uppāṭetvā pāṇasamaṃ puttadāraṃ pariccajitvā pāramiyo pūrento paresaṃ dhammadesanatthameva pūresiṃ. esa maṃ arakkhitabbaṭṭhāne rakkhatī”ti ekaṃ dhammadesanaṃ kathetiyeva.

-- DPR Source

Avatar Image asked Feb 8 by Yuttadhammo (301 points)   2 15

1 Answer

+1 vote

Here's a start:

tasmiṃ samaye at that time satthā the teacher pavattitavaradhammacakko with the holy Wheel of Dhamma turned āgantvā having come anupubbena by one [journey] after another viharati was dwelling jetavanamahāvihāre in the great dwelling of Jeta's grove kārite made anāthapiṇḍikena by Anathapindika mahāseṭṭhinā the great millionaire vissajjetvā having given up catupaṇṇāsakoṭidhanaṃ 540 million of [his] wealth, mahājanaṃ patiṭṭhāpayamāno was causing a great multitude to become established saggamagge ca in the path to heaven, and mokkhamagge ca also the path to freedom.

continuing:

hi Verily, tathāgato the Thus-gone vasi resided iti as follows: ekameva just one vassāvāsaṃ rains-residence nigrodhamahāvihāre in the great Nigrodha Monastery kārite made dveasītiñātikulasahassehi by his twice-eighty thousands of related families, iti thus: mātipakkhato asītiyā eighty from the maternal side, pitipakkhato asītiyā eighty from the paternal side; ekūnavīsativassāni nineteen rains jetavanamahāvihāre in the great monastery in Jeta's Grove kārite made anāthapiṇḍikena by Anathapindaka chabbassāni six rains pubbārāme in Forepark monastery kārite made visākhāya by Visakha sattavīsatikoṭidhanapariccāgena with the relinquishing of twenty-seven million of [her] wealth. vasi He resided vassāvāsaṃ for the rains-residence pañcavīsativassāni twenty-five rains nissāya supported by sāvatthiṃ Savatthi paṭicca due to guṇamahattataṃ the fact of greatness of virtue dvinnaṃ of the two kulānaṃ families.

anāthapiṇḍikopi Both Anathapindika visākhāpi and Visakha mahāupāsikā the great lay disciple nibaddhaṃ were bound gacchanti to go for upaṭṭhānaṃ the attending upon tathāgatassa of the Thus-Gone dve on two vāre occasions divasassa per day.

finished:

ca and gacchantā [they,] when going na gatapubbā had never gone tucchahatthā empty-handed, [thinking] iti thus: “daharasāmaṇerā the young novices olokessanti will examine no our hatthe hands. gacchantā When going purebhattaṃ before the meal, gacchanti went gahetvāva having taken khādanīyabhojanīyādīni hard and soft foods; gacchantā when going pacchābhattaṃ after the meal, pañca the five bhesajjāni medicines ca and aṭṭha the eight pānāni drinks. pana further, nivesanesu in their homes honti there were niccaṃ always tesaṃ their paññattāsanāneva appointed meals dvinnaṃ dvinnaṃ for each two bhikkhusahassānaṃ thousand bhikkhus. annapānabhesajjesu in regards to food, drink and medicines, yo who icchati wanted yaṃ what, taṃ that sampajjati was fulfilled tassa for him yathicchitameva just as desired.

tesu Of them, anāthapiṇḍikena by Anathapindika, satthā the teacher na pucchitapubbo had never been asked pañhaṃ a question ekadivasampi on even a single day. kira it is said that so he, adhimattasinehena with excessive love satthari for the teacher, iti [thinking] thus: “tathāgato the Thus-gone buddhasukhumālo is a delicate Buddha khattiyasukhumālo, a delicate noble; desento when teaching dhammaṃ the dhamma mayhaṃ to me iti [thinking] thus: bahūpakāro 'of much support me to me gahapati is this householder,' kilameyya would become wearied," na pucchati didn't ask pañhaṃ a question.

satthā The teacher, pana however, tasmiṃ while that one nisinnamatteyeva was just sitting there, iti [thought] thus: “ayaṃ this seṭṭhi rich man rakkhati protects maṃ me arakkhitabbaṭṭhāne in a way that it is not proper to be protected. ahañhi For I pūrento when bringing to fulfilment pāramiyo the perfections cattāri over four asaṅkhyeyyāni uncountable eras kappasatasahassādhikāni plus one-hundred-thousand eons sīsaṃ having had my head, alaṅkatapaṭiyattaṃ which was decorated and prepared attano by myself, chinditvā cut off akkhīni uppāṭetvā having had my eyes pulled out hadayamaṃsaṃ uppāṭetvā having had the flesh of my heart pulled out pariccajitvā and having given away puttadāraṃ my wife and children, pāṇasamaṃ as dear as life itself, pūresiṃ brought them to perfection dhammadesanatthameva for the purpose of teaching the dhamma paresaṃ to others. esa This man rakkhati protects maṃ me arakkhitabbaṭṭhāne in a way that is not proper to be protected," kathetiyeva gave ekaṃ dhammadesanaṃ a teaching on the dhamma.

translation:

At that time the teacher, having turned the holy wheel of dhamma, having travelled in stages, was dwelling in the great monastery of Jeta's grove, made by Anathapindika the great rich man giving up 540 million of his wealth, and was setting a great multitude on the path to heaven and the path to freedom.

The Thus-gone's residence was as follows: whereas he only spent one rains-residence in the great monastery of Nigrodha made by his twice-eighty-thousand families of relatives (eighty from the maternal side, eighty from the paternal side), he spent nineteen rains in the great monastery in Jeta's Grove made by Anathapindaka and six rains in Forepark monastery made by Visakha, relinquishing twenty-seven million of her wealth. He thus kept the rains-residence for twenty-five rains with Savatthi as his support, due to the greatness of virtue of these two families.

Both Anathapindika and Visakha, the great lay disciple, were bound to go to attend upon of the Thus-gone twice a day. And they, when going, never went empty-handed, thinking "the young novices will look upon our hands." When going before mealtime, they went taking hard and soft foods; when going after mealtime, the five medicines and the eight drinks. Further, in their homes, meals mere ever appointed for two thousand bhikkhus each, and in regards to food, drink, and medicines, whatever was wanted was fulfilled just as desired.

Of the two, Anathapindika had never asked a question of the teacher on a single day. It is said that he didn't ask questions out of excessive love for the teacher, thinking, "the Thus-gone is a delicate Buddha, a delicate noble; when teaching the dhamma to me with the thought, 'of much support to me is this householder,' he would become wearied."

The teacher, however, while the other was just sitting there, thought, "this rich man protects me in a way that it is not proper to be protected. For I, when bringing to fulfilment the perfections over four uncountable periods of time and one-hundred-thousand eons, having had my own adorned and ornamented head cut off, having had my eyes pulled out, having had the flesh of my heart torn asunder, and having given away my wife and children who were as dear as life itself, brought them to fulfilment for the purpose of teaching the dhamma to others. This man protects me in a way that is not proper to be protected," and so gave a teaching on the dhamma.

Avatar Image answered Feb 8 by Yuttadhammo (301 points)   2 15
edited Feb 15 by Yuttadhammo
this word "pavattitavaradhammacakko", could it be the attribute of Buddha,
"the one who turned the noble Wheel of Dhamma"
yeah, but the grammatical construction puts pavattita as an adjective of varadhammacakka, so it is a bahubbihi, literally "one who has a holy dhamma wheel that has been set in motion"
Bhante, sorry for my lack of knowledge, but I'm looking to your translation
"one who has a holy dhamma wheel that has been set in motion"
and I understand that pavattita is an adjective of varadhammacakka, that "o" in cakko makes whole compound an attribute of the teacher, but can't figure out where from comes "has"?

I very much appreciate your explanation.
looking over the grammar, it may not be proper to use the word has.  I was thinking that a bahubbīhi had to be  genative, but it looks like it can be any case relationship.  If it were instrumental, for example, it would be derived as follows:

pavattittaṃ varadhammacakkaṃ yena satthārā soyaṃ satthā pavattittavaradhammacakko

which teacher the holy dhamma wheel is turned by, that such teacher is called "one by whom the holy dhamma wheel is turned".

The 'o' on the end is just a case ending for the adjective, it doesn't make it an attribute.  The compound pavattitavaradhammacakka can refer either to the dhamma wheel itself, or to the owner / agent of the dhamma wheel / turning.   The former is called "kammadhāraya" compound, and the latter, "bahubbīhi".  "bahubbīhi" itself is a bahubbīhi compound, meaning "one of whom there is much rice", not just "much rice".

See for example:

dpr:index?loc=g.4.4.0.0.5.0.m&para=13