The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha - Bhikkhu Nanamoli [648]
1284 MA mentions four kinds of acquisitions (upadhi) here: see n.674.
1285 The “tides of conceiving” (maññussavā), as the following paragraph will show, are thoughts and notions originating from the three roots of conceiving—craving, conceit, and views. For a fuller explanation, see n.6. The “sage at peace” (muni santo) is the arahant.
1286 That which is not present in him is craving for being, which leads those who have not eradicated it back to a new birth following death.
1287 MA says that he was reborn in the Pure Abode called Avihā and attained arahantship as soon as he took rebirth there. It quotes a verse from the Saṁyutta Nikāya (SN 1:50/i.35) mentioning Pukkusāti as one of seven bhikkhus who were reborn in Avihā and attained deliverance by transcending the celestial bonds.
SUTTA 141
1288 This refers to the Buddha’s first sermon, delivered to the five bhikkhus in the Deer Park at Isipatana.
1289 MA: Ven. Sāriputta trains them until he knows they have attained the fruit of stream-entry, then he lets them develop the higher paths on their own and he takes on a new batch of pupils. But Ven. Moggallāna continues to train his pupils until they have attained arahantship.
1290 The definitions of birth, ageing, and death are also found at MN 9.22, 26. This entire detailed analysis of the Four Noble Truths is included in the Mahāsatịhāna Sutta, with an even more elaborate exposition of the second and third truths. See DN 22.18–21/ii.305–13.
SUTTA 142
1291 Mahāpajāpatı̄ Gotamı̄ was the younger sister of Queen Mahāmāyā, the Buddha’s mother, and was also the wife of King Suddhodana. After Mahāmāyā’s death, she became the Buddha’s foster mother. The present sutta takes place at an early point in the Buddha’s ministry, on one of his return visits to his native city. After King Suddhodana’s death, Mahāpajāpatı̄ pleaded with the Buddha to admit women into the Sangha, and her acceptance marked the beginning of the Bhikkhunı̄ Sangha, the Order of Nuns. The story is found at Vin Cv Kh 10/ii.253–5 6 (see Ñā˚amoli, The Life of the Buddha, pp. 104–7).
An interesting anachronism in this sutta was brought to my notice by Ven. Ajahn Sucitto of Cittaviveka Monastery. The sutta depicts Mahāpajāpatı̄ Gotamı̄ as a devout lay Buddhist and refers to the Bhikkhunı̄ Sangha as if it were an existing reality, yet the canonical account of the founding of the Bhikkhunı̄ Sangha shows Mahāpajāpatı̄ to have been the first historical bhikkhunı̄. Thus the Bhikkhunı̄ Sangha could not have existed at the time the sutta was spoken if Mahāpajāpatı̄ was still a lay woman. We might resolve the discrepancy (unnoticed by the commentator) by supposing that the original discourse was later modified after the founding of the Bhikkhunı̄ Sangha to bring the latter into the scheme of offerings to the Sangha.
1292 MA: The Buddha asked her to give the gift to the Sangha because he wanted her volition of generosity to be directed both to the Sangha and to himself, as the combined volition would yield merit conducive to her welfare and happiness for a long time to come. He also said this so that later generations would be inspired to show respect towards the Sangha, and by supporting the Sangha with the four physical requisites would contribute towards the longevity of the Dispensation.
1293 These are the four factors of stream-entry. Thus it is clear that at the time this sutta takes place, Mahāpajāpatı̄ Gotamı̄ was already a stream-enterer.
1294 MA: The Buddha undertakes this teaching because the sutta began with a personal gift presented to him, and he wishes to make clear the comparative value of personal gifts and gifts offered to the Sangha.
1295 MA and MṬ explain that this term can be loosely extended to include even a lay follower who has gone for refuge to the Triple Gem, as well as lay people and monks intent on fulfilling the moral training and the practice