2.
The Chapter on Worthy Deeds
1.
Commentary on the Discourse on Worthy Deeds
61. In the first of the second, "desirable" is by rejecting the undesirable. "Lovely" means they enter into the mind. "Agreeable" means they satisfy the mind, they increase it. "Rare" means supremely rare. "Wealth" means objects such as forms and so on that are to be enjoyed. "With reason" means may they arise together with the Teaching itself, not by destroying the Teaching, not by what is contrary to the Teaching. Or alternatively, "with reason" means with cause; the meaning is may they arise together with each and every cause such as the position of general, treasurer, and so on. "Fame" means the achievement of retinue. "Together with relatives" means together with kinsmen. "Together with preceptors" means together with those termed preceptors because they are to be reflected upon in times of happiness and suffering, that is, friends seen and associated with.
"Does what should not be done" means does what ought not to be done. "Fails in what should be done" means not doing the duty that is fit to be done, one fails in that, so it is called. "Falls" means falls down, declines. "Covetousness and unrighteous greed" means unrighteous greed termed as covetousness. "Abandons" means drives away, takes out. "Of great wisdom" means of great wisdom. "Of broad wisdom" means of extensive wisdom. "One who sees what comes into range" means one who brings each and every matter into range and sees that very thing; the meaning is that even a subtle matter that has arisen comes within range indeed.
"Acquired through industrious effort" means acquired through energy termed as industriousness. "Gathered by the strength of the arms" means gathered and increased by the strength of the arms. "Earned by the sweat of the brow" means with sweat shed; the meaning is acquired through exertion and effort, releasing sweat. "Righteous" means in accordance with the Teaching. "Righteously obtained" means obtained without violating the righteousness of the ten wholesome courses of action. "Fitting deeds" means proper deeds, befitting deeds. "Makes happy" means makes one happy. "Pleases" means makes one pleased and endowed with strength. "Has gone to a proper place" means has gone to a reason. But what is that? Among the four fitting deeds, one deed to be done with wealth - that very wealth has gone to a proper place. "Has gone to a fitting place" means has gone to a proper and fitting place. "Used according to reason" means the wealth has been used just by reason.
"Provides protection against" means having closed, it operates. Just as when misfortunes have arisen from fire and so on, so by making the relinquishment of wealth for the purpose of extinguishing a burning house and so on, he closes and prevents the path of those misfortunes. "He makes himself safe" means he makes himself free from mishap and secure. "Offerings to relatives" means offerings to one's relatives. "Offerings to guests" means offerings to visitors. "Offerings to departed ancestors" means offerings to relatives who have gone to the world beyond. "Offerings to the king" means the tax to be given to the king that is fit to be done. "Offerings to deities" means the offering fit to be done to deities. All this is a designation for the gift to be given to each of those respective ones according to what is befitting.
"Established in patience and meekness" means established in the patience of endurance and in virtuous conduct. "They tame themselves alone" means they tame one self alone, their own individual existence, by the taming of the faculties. "They calm" means they calm their own mind by the appeasement of mental defilements. "They bring to final quenching" means they bring to final quenching by the final extinguishment of mental defilements alone. Regarding "conducive to higher states" and so on: because by way of giving fruit in successively higher planes, its path is upward, thus it is "conducive to higher states." "Beneficial for heaven" means leading to heaven because of generating rebirth there. "Its result would be only happiness in whatever place of rebirth" means resulting in happiness. "Conducive to heaven" because of the well arising of the ten distinctions, the highest, such as divine beauty and so on; the meaning is: he establishes such an offering.
"Established in the noble teaching" means firmly established in the teaching of the five precepts. "After death he rejoices in heaven" means having gone to the world beyond, wherever in heaven he takes conception in rebirth, there he rejoices. Whether they be stream-enterers, once-returners, or non-returners, this practice is obtainable for all of them.
2.
Commentary on the Discourse on Freedom from Debt
62. In the second, "to be attained" means to be reached. "Enjoying sensual pleasures" means by one who partakes of both objective sensual pleasures and defilement sensual pleasures. Among the happiness of ownership and so on, "there is" - the happiness arising is called the happiness of ownership. The happiness arising for one who uses wealth is called the happiness of wealth. "I am free of debt" - the happiness arising is called the happiness of freedom from debt. "I am faultless, I am blameless" - the happiness arising is called the happiness of blamelessness.
"Enjoying" means one who is enjoying. "Sees with insight through wisdom" means he sees with insight by wisdom. "Both kinds" means two portions: the lower three are one portion, and the happiness of blamelessness is one portion - thus seeing with wisdom, he knows the two portions: this is the meaning. "Of the happiness of blamelessness" means this threefold happiness is not worth a sixteenth fraction of the happiness of blamelessness.
3.
Commentary on the Brahmā Discourse
63. The third is as already explained in the Book of Threes. "With the first deities" - only the term here is the distinction. In the fourth, everything is of clear meaning.
5.
Commentary on the Discourse on Matter
65. In the fifth, one who is pleased having taken appearance as a measure is called one who measures by appearance. "Pleased by appearance" is a synonym for that very thing. One who is pleased having taken sound as a measure is called one who measures by sound. One who is pleased having taken the coarseness of robes and the coarseness of bowls as a measure is called one who measures by austerity. One who is pleased having taken the teaching as a measure is called one who measures by the teaching. The others are synonyms for those very things. Having divided all beings into three portions, two portions measure by appearance, one does not measure by appearance. Having divided into five portions, four portions measure by sound, one does not measure by sound. Having divided into ten portions, nine portions measure by austerity, one does not measure by austerity. But having divided into a hundred thousand portions, only one portion measures by the teaching; the rest should be known as not measuring by the teaching.
"Measured by appearance" means those who, having seen appearance, were pleased - they are said to have measured by appearance; the meaning is they were devoted. "Followed by sound" means followed by sound, having taken sound as a measure, they were pleased: this is the meaning. "Overcome by the power of desire and lust" means having come under the control of desire and of lust. "He does not know internally" means he does not know his virtue in one's own internal self. "And he does not see externally" means he does not see his practice externally either. "Obstructed all around" means obstructed on all sides; or one who has obstruction all around, thus obstructed all around. "Is carried away by sound" means he is led by sound, not by virtue. "He does not know internally, but he sees with insight externally" means he does not know the virtue in one's own internal self, but he sees his practice externally. "Seeing the fruit externally" means seeing externally the fruit of honour done by others for him. "One who sees with obstructions removed" means one who sees with what is unveiled. "He is not carried away by sound" means he is not led by sound.
6.
Commentary on the Discourse on With Lust
66. In the sixth, "born of delusion, the fools" means born of delusion, and also the fools, the unwise. "Bringing vexation" means bringing suffering. "With painful consequences" means giving rise to the increase of suffering in the future. "Without eyes" means devoid of the eye of wisdom. "Being such as those mental states are" means just as mental states such as lust and so on are established, having become of that very intrinsic nature. "They do not think 'we are just that'" means they do not think "we are of such existence, of such intrinsic nature"; they do not think so - this is the meaning. In this discourse too and in the verses too, only the round of rebirths is spoken of.
7.
Commentary on the Discourse on the Serpent King
67. In the seventh, "these four royal families of serpents" - this was said with reference to those whose venom is through biting only. For whatever serpents whose venom is through biting, all of them are included within these four royal families of serpents. "For self-protection" means for the purpose of guarding oneself. "For self-guarding" means for the purpose of protecting oneself. "For self-safety" means for the purpose of the safety of oneself. The meaning is: I allow what is called protection.
Now, showing how that protection should be made, he said beginning with "I have friendliness with the Virūpakkhas." Therein, "with the Virūpakkhas" means with the Virūpakkha serpent families. The same method applies in the remaining ones too. "With the footless" means with footless beings. The same method applies in the remaining ones too. "All beings" - having previously spoken of specified friendliness by this much of a passage, now this was begun in order to speak of unspecified friendliness. Therein, "beings," "living things," "creatures" - all of these are merely synonyms for persons. "May all see good fortune" means may they see good fortune as objects. "May no evil come to anyone" means may evil, inferior things not come to any being. "Immeasurable is the Buddha" - here, "the Buddha" should be understood as the virtues of the Buddha. For they are indeed immeasurable. The same method applies to the remaining two terms as well. "Measurable" means endowed with a measure of virtues. "Uṇṇanābhi" means a hairy-navelled spider. "Sarabū" means a house lizard. "Protection has been made by me, safety has been made by me" means protection and safety for this many people has been made by me. "May beings withdraw" means may all beings for whom safety has been made by me depart; may they not vex me - this is the meaning.
8.
Commentary on the Devadatta Sutta
68. In the eighth, "recently departed Devadatta" means not long after he had departed, having split the Community. "For ruin" means for decline, for destruction. "A mule" means one born from a donkey in the womb of a mare. "Conceives an embryo for its own destruction" means they mate her together with a horse; she, having conceived an embryo, when the time has arrived, being not able to give birth, stands striking the ground with her feet. Then, having tied her four feet to four stakes, having split open her belly, they take out the young. She dies right there. Therefore this was said.
9.
Commentary on the Padhāna Sutta
69. In the ninth, striving for the purpose of restraint of mental defilements, for the purpose of closing the door of entry, is striving by restraint; striving for the purpose of abandoning is striving by abandonment; striving for the purpose of development, for the purpose of increasing wholesome mental states, is striving by development; striving for the purpose of protection of those very things is striving by protection.
10.
Commentary on the Discourse on the Unrighteous
70. In the tenth, "are unrighteous" means unrighteous by not taking the one-tenth share of tax established by ancient kings and the punishment corresponding to the offence, but by seizing excessive tax and excessive punishment. "The king's officials" means the appointed men who arrange the duties in the king's provinces. "Brahmin householders" means the brahmins and householders dwelling within the city. "Townspeople and country folk" means those dwelling in market towns and those dwelling in the countryside. "Unevenly" means having become uneven, they blow at the wrong time - this is the meaning. "Uneven" means not even, either excessively harsh or excessively soft - this is the meaning. "Off their paths" means departed from the path, having become goers on wrong paths, they blow - this is the meaning. "The deities become agitated" means for when winds blow unevenly and off their paths, trees are broken, mansions are broken. Therefore the deities become agitated; they do not allow the rain god to rain properly. Therefore it was said "the rain god does not send down proper showers." "The crops ripen unevenly" means in one place they are in the ear, in one place they have produced milk, one place is ripening - thus the crops ripen unevenly.
"The constellations and stars revolve evenly" means just as the Kattika full moon obtains the Kattika constellation itself, the Migasira full moon obtains the Migasira constellation itself - thus in each and every month, that respective full moon obtains that respective constellation itself; so they revolve rightly. "Winds blow evenly" means having become not uneven, they blow only at the right time; for six months northern winds, for six months southern - thus they blow at the suitable time for those respective provinces. "Even" means proceeding evenly, neither excessively harsh nor excessively soft. "On their paths" means having entered the path, they blow only by the path, not by a wrong path - this is the meaning.
"Goes crookedly" means goes in a crooked manner, takes an unsuitable way. "When the leader has gone crookedly" means "leader" (nettā) because it leads (nayati). When that leader has gone crookedly, having gone in a crooked manner and taking an unsuitable way, the others too take only the unsuitable way - this is the meaning. "Nete" is also a reading. "Sleeps in suffering" means lies down in suffering, is afflicted - this is the meaning.
The Worthy of Offerings Chapter is the second.