13.
The Book of the Thirteens
1.
Commentary on the Verses of the Elder Soṇa Koḷivisa
632-644. In the Thirteenth Chapter, the verses beginning with "He who was in the realm" are those of the Venerable Soṇa Koḷivisa. What is the origin? This one too, having formed aspirations under former Buddhas, accumulated merits in this and that existence. It is said that this one, in the time of the Blessed One Anomadassī, having become a millionaire of great wealth, having gone together with lay followers to the monastery, having heard the Teaching in the presence of the Teacher, with a gladdened mind, having had the preliminary work done with lime at the Teacher's walking meditation place, having spread it with flowers of various colours, having had a canopy bound above with cloths of various colours, likewise having had a Dīghasāla built for the Teacher and the community of monks, he dedicated it. He, by that meritorious action, wandering in the round of rebirths among gods and humans, in the time of the Blessed One Padumuttara, was reborn in a millionaire's family in the city of Haṃsavatī; his name was Sirivaḍḍhatissa. He, having come of age, having gone to the monastery, while hearing the Teaching in the presence of the Teacher, having seen the Teacher establishing a certain monk in the foremost position among those putting forth strenuous energy, himself too aspiring to that position of rank, having carried on a great giving for seven days, he made an aspiration. The Teacher too, having seen that his aspiration would succeed, having declared it, departed.
He too, having done wholesome deeds for as long as life lasted, wandering in the round of rebirths among gods and humans, when Kassapa, the One of Ten Powers, had attained final Nibbāna, when our Blessed One had not yet arisen, having been reborn in a family home in Bārāṇasī, having attained discretion, having made a hermitage on the bank of the Ganges, he attended upon one Individually Enlightened One for three months carefully with the four requisites. The Individually Enlightened One, having finished keeping the rains retreat, with complete requisites, went to Gandhamādana itself. That son of good family too, having performed meritorious deeds there for as long as life lasted, having passed away from there, wandering in the round of rebirths among gods and humans, in the time of our Blessed One, took conception in the house of the millionaire Usabha in the city of Campā. From the time of his taking of conception, the millionaire's great mass of wealth increased. On the day of his birth, throughout the entire city he was endowed with great honour. Because of his former bestowal of a red woollen blanket worth a hundred thousand to an Individually Enlightened One, his body was golden-coloured and more delicate; on account of that they gave him the name Soṇa. He grew up with a great retinue. The palms of his hands and the soles of his feet were the colour of bandhujīvaka flowers. The touch on the soles of his feet was like cotton beaten a hundredfold, and hairs of the colour of spiralling jewelled earrings grew on the soles of his feet. When he had come of age, they had three mansions built suitable for the three seasons and provided dancers. He, experiencing great success there, dwelt like a divine prince.
Then, when our Teacher, having attained omniscience, had set in motion the excellent wheel of the Teaching and was dwelling in dependence on Rājagaha, having been summoned by King Bimbisāra, he came to Rājagaha together with eighty thousand villagers. Having gone to the Teacher's presence, having heard the Teaching, having gained faith, having obtained permission from his mother and father, having gone forth in the Dispensation, having obtained full ordination, having taken a meditation subject in the presence of the Teacher, dwelling in the Cool Grove for the purpose of avoiding association with people, thinking "My body is delicate, and it is not possible to attain happiness through happiness alone; it is fitting to weary the body and practise the ascetic duty," having determined upon only standing and walking meditation, devoting himself to striving, even when blisters arose on the soles of his feet, having disregarded the feeling, making firm energy, being unable to produce a distinction through excessively strenuous energy, he thought "Even striving thus, I am unable to produce either the path or the fruit. What is the use of my going forth? Having returned to the lower life, I shall both enjoy wealth and make merit." The Teacher, having known the disposition of his mind, having gone there, having exhorted him with the exhortation of the simile of the lute, showing the method of applying evenness of energy, having purified the meditation subject, went to Vulture's Peak. The Elder Soṇa too, having received an exhortation face to face from the Teacher, having applied evenness of energy, having aroused zeal in insight, became established in arahantship. Therefore it was said in the Apadāna -
Having made a coating with lime, I had a walking path built.
Having made a canopy in space, I fed the highest Buddha.
I dedicated the Dīghasāla to the Blessed One then.
The Blessed One accepted, the one with vision, out of compassion.
Having sat down in the community of monks, he spoke these verses.
Him I will explain, listen to me as I speak.
A chariot yoked with a thousand horses will appear at that very moment.
The gods will give thanks when one of noble birth has arrived.
Endowed with excellent pinnacle buildings, he will dwell in the divine mansion.
For twenty-five cosmic cycles, he will be a king of gods.
All of them named Yasodhara, all having the same name.
In the twenty-eighth cosmic cycle, he will be a wheel-turning monarch.
That place, secluded from the ten sounds, will dwell in the middle of the city.
Okkāka by name, will be a king in the realm.
A well-born woman of the warrior caste, she will give birth to nine sons.
And a young, dear maiden will become the chief queen.
Having obtained the boon, that maiden will cause her sons to go forth.
All, fearing the mixing of birth, will dwell with their sisters.
Lest our lineage be broken,' the warriors will bury her.
There will be a schism then, of the Okkāka clan origin.
There he will experience no small human wealth.
There too he will obtain an excellent divine mansion, delightful.
Having come to human existence, he will be named Soṇa.
Having fully understood all mental corruptions, he will attain nibbāna, without mental corruptions.
The great hero, knower of distinctions, will establish him in the foremost position.
Having stood firm, for one devoted to exertion, such a one, beyond that the highest state is not found.
All my burden has been laid down, I am quenched, without mental corruptions.
Having sat down in the community of monks, established me in the foremost position.
But having attained arahantship, having reviewed his own practice, by way of an inspired utterance and by way of a declaration of final liberating knowledge -
632.
He today is superior in the teachings, Soṇa, who has gone beyond suffering.
633.
A monk who has gone beyond five attachments is called a crosser of the mental floods."
634.
Morality, concentration, and wisdom do not go to fulfilment.
635.
For the arrogant and the heedless, their mental corruptions grow.
636.
They do not pursue what is not their function, acting continuously in their function;
For the mindful, for the fully aware, mental corruptions come to an end.
637.
Urge oneself by oneself, one should bring oneself to Nibbāna.
638.
Having made the simile of the lute for me, the one with vision teaches the Teaching;
Having heard his word, I dwelt delighted in the Dispensation.
639.
The three true knowledges have been attained, the Buddha's teaching has been fulfilled.
640.
For one inclined to non-affliction, and to the elimination of clinging.
641.
Having seen the arising of the sense bases, the mind becomes rightly liberated.
642.
There is no adding to what has been done, nothing to be done is found.
643.
So forms, flavours, sounds, odours and contacts, all these.
644.
The mind is steady, detached, and he contemplates its passing away." He spoke these verses.
Therein, "he who was superior in the realm" means he who was, who existed, in the country of Aṅga, with eighty thousand village headmen, rightly, exceedingly superior, the foremost, through the achievement of wealth and the achievement of sovereignty. "A follower of the king of Aṅga" means it should be connected thus: a distinguished householder who was a retinue member of King Bimbisāra, the overlord of Aṅga, in the sense of delighting the assembly by the four ways of supporting others, a householder in his country. "He today is superior in the teachings" means that Soṇa has now at present become superior in supramundane states; having been superior to some even in the time of lay life, now in the time of one gone forth too he is indeed superior - thus he indicates himself as if speaking of another. "Who has gone beyond suffering" means gone to the far shore, the limit, of the entire suffering of the round of rebirths; by this he distinguishes the state of superiority stated without distinction as "superior in the teachings," because of the illustration of the achievement of arahantship.
Now, showing by way of an indirect reference the practice by which he became one who has gone beyond suffering, he spoke the verse "one should cut off five." Its meaning is - One should cut off the five lower mental fetters that lead to the realms of misery, sensual existence, and fortunate worlds, just as a man cuts a rope bound to his feet with a knife, by means of the lower three paths; one should give up, should cut off, the five higher mental fetters that lead to fine-material and immaterial existence, just as a man gives up a rope bound to his neck, by the highest path; and for the abandoning of those higher mental fetters, one should further develop the five faculties beginning with faith. A monk being thus, by the overcoming of the five attachments - the attachment of lust, the attachment of hate, delusion, conceit, and wrong view - having gone beyond the five attachments, because of having crossed the four mental floods - the mental flood of sensuality, the mental flood of existence, the mental flood of wrong view, and the mental flood of ignorance - he is called a crosser of the mental floods.
And this crossing of the mental floods comes about only through the fulfilment of the practice of morality and so on; and morality and so on go to fulfilment through the abandoning of conceit and so on, and not otherwise - showing this, he spoke the verse beginning with "of the arrogant." Therein, "of the arrogant" means of one with risen, hollow conceit. For conceit, because of its manner of rising up and its hollow nature, is like a reed - thus it is called "a reed." "Of the heedless" means of one who has fallen into negligence through the abandoning of mindfulness. "Of one with external longing" means of one who has longing in the external sense bases; the meaning is of one not free from lust regarding sensual pleasures. "Morality, concentration, and wisdom do not go to fulfilment" means for him who cultivates the opposites of morality and so on, even the mundane virtue of morality and so on does not go to fulfilment, how much less the supramundane.
Therein, he states the reason by the phrase beginning with "for whatever function." For a monk, from the time of going forth onwards, the guarding of the immeasurable mass of morality, dwelling in the forest, maintaining the ascetic practices, delight in meditation - such things and so on are called one's function. But by those for whom this aforesaid function of their own has been thrown away, abandoned through non-performance. "What is not one's function" means the decoration of bowls, the decoration of robes, waistbands, shoulder-bound straps, umbrellas, sandals, palm-leaf fans, and filter waterpots - such adornment of requisites and so on, abundance of requisites and so on, is called what is not a monk's function; that is done. For those who, having raised up the reed of conceit, by their conduct are arrogant, by the abandoning of mindfulness are heedless, all four mental corruptions grow.
But in order to show those for whom the virtue of wisdom and so on grows, "for those" and so on was said. Therein, "well undertaken" means thoroughly taken up. "Mindfulness of the body" means the development of observation of the body. "What is not their function" means that which is not their function beginning with the decoration of bowls. "They do not practise" means they do not do. "In their function" means in what should be done beginning with the guarding of the immeasurable mass of morality and so on, from the time of going forth onwards. "Acting continuously" means acting constantly; for them, through the continuous presence of mindfulness being mindful, being fully aware with the four kinds of full awareness - full awareness as to the goal, full awareness of what is suitable, full awareness of the meditation's object, and awareness without confusion - all four mental corruptions come to an end, go to utter elimination, go to non-existence - this is the meaning.
Now, giving exhortation to the monks standing in his presence, he spoke the verse beginning with "on the straight path." Therein, "when the straight path has been declared" means when the noble path, which is straight through the avoidance of the two extremes and through the abandoning of bodily crookedness and so on, which has become the middle practice, has been spoken by the Teacher. "Go" means proceed. "Do not turn back" means do not fall into stopping midway. "Urge oneself by oneself" means here a son of good family who desires welfare, urging himself by himself through the reviewing of the fear of the realms of misery and so on. "One should bring oneself to Nibbāna" means one should bring, should lead oneself to Nibbāna; one should proceed in such a way that one realizes it - this is the meaning.
Now, "I too have practised in just this way" - in order to show his own practice, "when my energy was too strenuous" and so on was stated. "When my energy was too strenuous" means when by me, while developing insight, energy was excessively exerted without making energy balanced with concentration. And his state of excessive energy has been stated below already. "Having made the simile of the lute for me" means when for the Venerable Soṇa the thought arose: "Whatever disciples of the Blessed One dwell putting forth strenuous energy, I am one of them, and yet my mind is not liberated from the mental corruptions by non-clinging; therefore I shall leave the monastic community" - when this thought had arisen, the Teacher, by supernormal power, having shown himself before him face to face, having asked "Why, Soṇa, did you produce the thought 'I shall leave the monastic community'? Were you formerly, when living the household life, skilled in the sound of the lute strings?" and when he said "Yes, venerable sir," "What do you think, Soṇa? When the strings of your lute were overly taut, was your lute at that time tuneful or fit for playing?" "No, venerable sir!" "What do you think, Soṇa, when the strings of your lute were overly slack, was your lute at that time tuneful or fit for playing?" "No, venerable sir." "What do you think, Soṇa, but when the strings of your lute were neither overly taut nor overly slack, but established at an even pitch, was your lute at that time tuneful or fit for playing?" "Yes, venerable sir." "Just so, Soṇa, excessive energy leads to restlessness, and deficient energy leads to idleness. Therefore, Soṇa, resolve upon evenness of energy, and penetrate to evenness of the faculties" - thus, having made the lute a simile, by the exhortation through the simile of the lute thus set forth, he taught the Teaching to me. "Having heard his word" means having heard the word, the exhortation through the simile of the lute, of that Blessed One, having abandoned the desire to leave the monastic community that had arisen in the meantime, I dwelt delighted and devoted to the Teacher's Dispensation.
And while dwelling, I brought about serenity, applying evenness of energy, producing the balanced state of concentration and energy just as of faith and wisdom, I accomplished the meditative absorption as a foundation, the insight concentration, and I aroused zeal in insight. Therein, he stated the purpose as "for the attainment of the highest goal." "For the attainment of the highest goal" means for the achievement of arahantship - this is the meaning.
Now, showing by way of an indirect reference how serenity and insight succeeded for one thus practising, he said beginning with "for one inclined to renunciation." Therein, "renunciation" means the escape from sensuality such as going forth and so on. "For one inclined" means therein, of one engaged and devoted with a disposition of slanting, sloping, and inclining towards it; the meaning is of one engaged and devoted to blameless qualities such as these and so on: first, having turned towards going forth, having abandoned sensual pleasures, and having gone forth, the purification of morality, dwelling in the forest, maintaining the ascetic practices, devotion to meditation. "And to solitude of mind" means of one inclined to solitude of mind; thus, being one inclined to renunciation, of one engaged and devoted to seclusion through the production of the fourfold and fivefold meditative absorptions. "For one inclined to non-ill-will" means of one inclined to non-ill-will, to freedom from suffering; of one engaged and devoted to the happiness of serenity, having produced the meditative absorptions and attainments. "And to the elimination of clinging" means of one inclined to arahantship, which is the end of the elimination of all four kinds of clinging. For this is the genitive case used in the locative sense. The meaning is of one who, having made the meditative absorption attained as it was the foundation, is devoting himself to insight for the achievement of arahantship.
"For one inclined to the elimination of craving" means craving is eliminated here, thus it is the elimination of craving, that is Nibbāna; of one inclined to that, by seeing clinging as peril and non-clinging as security, of one with a disposition of slanting, sloping, and inclining towards cessation. "And to non-confusion of mind" means of one inclined to the non-confused occurrence of consciousness by way of awareness without confusion, or of one inclined to the noble path, which is the non-confusion of consciousness, by the cutting off of confusion. "Having seen the arising of the sense bases" means having seen with path wisdom together with insight wisdom the arising moment by moment of the sense bases beginning with the eye through their respective conditions, and their cessation as the opposite of that; "because of that seeing, the mind becomes rightly liberated" means the mind becomes liberated from all mental corruptions rightly, by cause, by the true method, in the succession of paths.
In "for one rightly liberated" and so on, this is the meaning in brief - For that monk who has eliminated the mental corruptions, who is liberated in the manner stated from all defilement completely, whose mind is peaceful through precisely that absolute appeasement, there is no accumulation of what has been done, whether wholesome or unwholesome, because it has been uprooted by the path itself; no function to be done consisting of full understanding and so on is found, because his task is done. For one who is thus, just as a solid rocky mountain is not moved, does not shake by an ordinary wind, so desirable and undesirable object-phenomena beginning with forms do not cause to tremble, do not shake the stable, without longing, detached mind - detached because of the abandoning of all sorrow - of such a one who has attained the state of suchness. And seeing with insight the object-phenomena of this one, having from time to time attained the fruition attainment, he observes the fall, the cessation, the intrinsic nature of breaking apart moment by moment - thus he declared the final liberating knowledge.
The commentary on the verses of the Elder Soṇa Koḷivisa is concluded.
The commentary on the Chapter of Thirteens is concluded.