3.
The Chapter on Wish
1.
Commentary on the Wish Discourse
71. In the first of the third, "accomplished in morality" means complete in morality, or the meaning is having become endowed with morality. Therein, the state of being accomplished in morality comes about by two reasons: by seeing the danger in failure in morality and by seeing the benefit in accomplishment of morality. Both of those have been expanded upon in the Visuddhimagga. Therein, the Elder Sumana, the dweller of the Island Monastery, said: by "accomplished in morality," to this extent, it is said, the Blessed One, having recited the fourfold purification morality, showed the chief morality therein in detail by this - "restrained by the restraint of the Pātimokkha." But his pupil, the Elder Cūḷanāga, master of the three Canons, said - In both places only the Pātimokkha restraint was stated by the Blessed One. For the Pātimokkha restraint alone is morality; but having said, without approving, "Is there indeed a place where the other three are called morality?" - he said - "Sense restraint is merely the guarding of the six doors; purification of livelihood is merely the arising of requisites righteously and impartially; that which is dependent on requisites is merely the consuming after reviewing requisites that have been obtained, thinking 'this is the purpose.' Without qualification, the Pātimokkha restraint alone is morality. For one whose that is broken, it should not be said that this person, like a man whose head is cut off, will protect his hands, feet, and the rest. But for one whose that is healthy, this person, like a man whose head is not cut off, is able to restore his life and the rest again to their natural state. Therefore, having recited the Pātimokkha restraint by "accomplished in morality," having stated "accomplished in the Pātimokkha" as a synonym for that very thing, and showing it in detail, he said beginning with "restrained by the restraint of the Pātimokkha." Therein, "restrained by the restraint of the Pātimokkha" and so on are of already stated meaning. "If he should wish" - why was this begun? For the purpose of showing the benefits of morality. If even for those recently gone forth or for those lacking wisdom there might be thus: "The Blessed One says 'Fulfil morality, fulfil morality,' but what indeed is the benefit in fulfilling morality, what is the distinction, what is the growth?" - to show them the ten benefits, he said thus - "Perhaps, having heard this benefit beginning with being dear and agreeable to fellow monks in the holy life and ending with the elimination of mental corruptions, they might fulfil morality."
Therein, "if he should wish" means if he should desire. "May I be dear" means one to be looked upon with eyes of affection; I would become the proximate cause for the arising of affection. "Agreeable" means one who increases their minds, or one to be attained by their minds, one to be pervaded with a mind of friendliness - this is the meaning. "Respected" means one who takes the place of a teacher for them, like a stone umbrella. "Esteemed" means one to be venerated thus: "Surely this venerable one who knows, knows; who sees, sees." "He should be one who fulfils morality" means he should be one who fulfils the fourfold purification morality; what is meant is that he would be endowed with a manner that is not deficient. "Devoted internally to serenity of mind" means engaged in the serenity of one's own mind. "With meditative absorption not neglected" means one whose meditative absorption has not been thrown out externally, or one whose meditative absorption has not been destroyed. "Of insight" means of the sevenfold observation. "One who develops empty dwellings" means one who increases empty dwellings. And here, a monk who, having taken up a meditation subject by way of serenity and insight, enters an empty dwelling night and day and sits down, should be understood as "one who develops empty dwellings." This is the summary here; but the detail, by one who wishes, should be looked at in the commentary on the Ākaṅkheyya Sutta in the Majjhima Nikāya commentary.
"Obtainer" - here the Blessed One does not teach the fulfilment of morality and so on for the sake of material gain. For the Blessed One exhorts his disciples thus: "Seeking food, with speech cut off, one should not speak contentious speech." How then would he teach the fulfilment of morality and so on for the sake of material gain? But this was said according to the disposition of individuals. For those whose disposition might be thus: "If we were not troubled by the four requisites, we would be able to fulfil morality" - according to their disposition he said thus. Moreover, this is the inherent benefit of morality, that is to say, the four requisites. For thus wise people, having brought out what was stored in granaries and so on, without using it themselves, give to the virtuous - therefore this too was said for the purpose of showing the inherent benefit of morality.
In the third section, "those I" means "those of which I." "Their services to them" means the services of giving requisites done to me by those gods or humans. "May they be of great fruit and great benefit" means of great fruit by way of mundane happiness as the fruition, and of great benefit by way of the supramundane. Or both of these have one and the same meaning. For even a ladleful of almsfood given to one endowed with virtues beginning with morality, even having made a leaf-hut on a piece of ground measuring only five cubits, protects from the unfortunate realms and the nether world for many thousands of cosmic cycles, and at the final goal becomes a condition for final nibbāna through the deathless element. And here the stories beginning with "I gave milk-rice" are the cases. Or the entire Petavatthu and Vimānavatthu are the proof.
In the fourth section, "deceased ghosts" means those who have gone to the state after death. "Relatives" means those belonging to the side of the mother-in-law and father-in-law. "Blood-relations" means those bound by one blood - paternal grandfathers and so on. "Passed away" means dead. "That of theirs" means their confident mind towards me, or their recollection with a confident mind. For whatever monk's deceased father or mother, having become of confident mind thinking "Our relative, the elder, is moral, of good character," recollects that monk, for that one, even that confidence of mind, even that mere recollection, is of great fruit and of great benefit indeed.
"One who overcomes discontent and delight" means one who overcomes, overpowers, and submerges both discontent towards the practice of renunciation and delight in the strands of sensual pleasure. "One who overcomes fear and dread" - here "fear" is both mental terror and object, while "dread" is object only.
2.
Commentary on the Thorn Discourse
72. In the second, "well-known" means known and famous, like a full moon in the midst of the sky, like the sun. "With a retinue in front and behind": "para" is called the rear part; "purā" is the front part; the meaning is with a great retinue, running in front and following behind. "Thorn" means a thorn in the sense of piercing. "Seeing shows" means seeing that has become a show. "Approaching women" means frequenting the vicinity of a woman.
3-4.
Commentary on the Discourses on Desirable Things and so on
73-74. In the third, "beauty" means bodily beauty. "Teachings" means the nine supramundane states. In the fourth, "noble" means not of the ordinary person; it is said thus because of being mixed with morality and so on. "One who takes the substance and one who takes the excellent" means he is one who takes up the substance and the excellent. Whatever is the substance of the body, and whatever is its excellent, that he takes - this is the meaning.
5.
Commentary on the Migasālā Discourse
75. Regarding the beginning of the fifth, whatever should be said, that has been stated in the Book of Sixes. But in "is immoral" and so on, "immoral" means devoid of morality. "Liberation of mind" means fruition concentration. "Liberation by wisdom" means fruition knowledge. "Does not understand" means does not know by means of learning and interrogation. "Immorality ceases without remainder" - here, five kinds of immorality are first abandoned by the path of stream-entry, ten by the path of arahantship. At the moment of fruition, those are called abandoned. With reference to the moment of fruition, "ceases" is stated here. The morality of a worldling is broken by five causes: by committing an offence of expulsion, by rejection of the training, by leaping over to a heretical sect, by arahantship, and by death. Therein, the first three lead to the decline of meditative development, the fourth to growth, the fifth to neither decline nor growth. But how is morality broken by arahantship? For the morality of a worldling is exclusively wholesome, and the path of arahantship leads to the elimination of wholesome and unwholesome action - thus by that it is broken. "What should be done by hearing has not been done" means what is fit to be heard has not been heard. "What should be done by great learning has not been done" - here "great learning" means energy. What is fit to be done by energy has not been done; because of its not being done, one declines from both heaven and the path. "What should be penetrated by view has not been penetrated" means what should be penetrated by view has not been penetrated, has not been made evident through direct experience. "He does not obtain even temporary liberation" means he does not obtain joy and gladness in dependence on hearing the Teaching from time to time. "Goes to decline" means proceeds towards decline.
"Understands as it really is" means he knows by means of learning and interrogation that "having attained the fruition of stream-entry, the fivefold immorality ceases without remainder." "For him, what should be done by hearing has been done" means what is fit to be heard has been heard. "What should be done by great learning has been done" means what is fit to be done by energy has been done, at least even a mere weak insight. "What should be penetrated by view has been well penetrated" means at least even by mundane wisdom, the penetration of conditions has been accomplished. For this person, wisdom cleanses morality; he attains distinction through what is cleansed by wisdom.
"Those who measure by measure" means those who take the measure of persons. "They judge" means they begin to assess and weigh. "One is inferior" means one is inferior in virtues. "Superior" means one is superior in virtues, the highest. "That indeed" means that act of measuring. "More brilliant" means more beautiful. "More sublime" means more excellent. "The stream of the Teaching carries along" means the insight knowledge proceeding courageously carries along and causes to reach the noble plane. "Who could know that difference" means who could know that reason thus. "Is moral" means he is moral with mundane morality. "Where that morality of his" - having attained the liberation of arahantship, morality too ceases without remainder, so it is called; the reasoning there has been stated already. In the two factors following this, the fruition of non-returning is called liberation; in the fifth, it is arahantship alone. The remainder here should be understood in accordance with the method already stated. The sixth is of clear meaning.
7.
Commentary on the Crow Discourse
77. In the seventh, "a destroyer of virtue" means one who destroys virtues. Not heeding anyone's virtues, even when seized by the hand, he defecates on that one's head. "Reckless" means possessed of impudence. "Greedy" means envy is called craving; possessed of that, or one full of suspicion. "Fierce" means cruel. "Without compassion" means merciless. "Weak" means feeble, of little strength. "A crier" means one given to crying, he goes about crying. "A hoarder" means one who makes accumulations.
9.
Commentary on the Discourse on Grounds of Resentment
79. In the ninth, "without reason" means without cause. For in the case of intentional occurrence, there could be a cause such as "he has done harm to me" and so on, but in cases of being struck by a stump and so on, that does not exist. Therefore, therein, resentment without reason is called resentment without cause. The remainder is of manifest meaning everywhere.
The Chapter on Wishes is the third.