Commentary on the stanza beginning with aṭṭhāna

110. What is the origin of the stanza, starting with aṭṭhāna tam? It is said that the son of the king of Benares though he was still young, being desirous of renunciation asked for permission of his parents. His parents prohibited him. In spite of being prohibited, he urged persistently saying: “I shall renounce to become a recluse”. Thereupon, his parents told everything similar to previously told banker's son, and gave their consent. They let him know also that he should, after having become a recluse, live in the royal garden only. The son did likewise. His mother, surrounded by twenty thousand dancing damsels would go to the royal garden even early in the morning, offer her son rice-gruel to drink, hard food, etc., to eat at intervals, converse together with him up to mid-day and enter the city. His father would come at noon, offer him soft food, eat himself also, talk together with him the whole day, place men to attend to his needs in the evening and enter the city. In this way, the king's son dwelt day and night without being secluded.

110.1. At that time, however, indeed, there dwelt in the nandamūla cave, a silent buddha, Ādicabandhu (Sun's relative), by name. On reflecting, that silent buddha saw him thus: “This young prince could not do the renunciation; he could not cut off the tangle”. He reflected further thereafter, thus:- “Is he, indeed, going to get disgusted by means of his own nature or is he not?” Then, when the silent buddha came to know that it would be exceedingly long in getting disgusted naturally, said to himself: “I shall give him food for thought (ārammaṇam)”, came away from the stone slab (manosilā), and stood himself in the garden. The royal retinue saw him and informed the king thus: “O great king! The silent buddha has come”. The king, saying to himself: “Now, my son will stay, without being bored, together with the silent buddha”, became joyous at heart, respectfully attended upon the silent buddha, requested the silent buddha to reside there ven, had every such thing as a leaf-hut, day-residence, promenade and so on built and offered the same to him for living. While living there, the silent buddha, one day, obtained opportunity, and asked the young prince thus: “Who are you?” The reply was: “I am a recluse who had made his renunciation”. He was then told: “Recluses, namely, are not like this?” Then when he enquired: “Venerable sir! How are they like? Why am I not appropriate?,” the silent buddha answered: “You do not notice your own impropriety; does not your mother come together with twenty thousand women early in the morning and make the garden unsecluded? Does not your father also do the same with a big body of army-men in the afternoon and your serving retinue of retainers the whole night? Recluses, namely, are not similar to you;but they are like this”. Having answered thus, the silent buddha by means of his magical power, showed him while still standing there, another monastery in the Minavanta region. There, he saw silent buddhas, some standing near balustrade boards, some walking to and fro, others doing dyes, stitching with needles and so on, and asked thus:- “Why do you not get to that monastery? The monks also agree with you” The silent buddha replied: “Yes! The monks agree;beginning from the time of renunciation, monks, namely, gain the opportunity of performing towards one's own escape and of going also to any place desired and aspired by them; so much only is befitting”. Having thus replied, the silent buddha stood in the sky, recited this nearly half a stanza which runs;“Aṭṭhāna tam saṅgaṇikāratassa, yam phassaye sāmayikam vimuttam”, and went away to Nandamūla cave through the sky while he was just looking on. When the silent buddha had thus gone, he entered his own leaf-hut and lay himself down. The watchman also, saying to themselves: “The young prince is asleep; where will he go now?”, became negligent and fell off to sleep. Knowing the condition of the watchman's negligence, he took his bowl and robe and entered the forest. Staying there, he began to develop spiritual insight visualised the silent buddhahood, and went to the place of silent buddhas. There, on being asked how he made his achievement, he recited what the silent buddha, Ādiccabandhu had uttered after making the nearly half-stanza into a complete whole.

110.2. The meaning of that stanza is thus:- Aṭṭhāna tama is that is not the place; it is not proper; it is not to be done; thus, is the statement. As in such expressions as “ariya-saccāna dassanam” and so on, there is an elision of corresponding nasal (or niggahita) made. Saṅgaṇikāratassa is to be construed as to one who takes delight in society. Yam is here an instrumental word, as in such examples as: “Yam hirīyati hirīyitabbena” and so on. Phassaye is: would achieve. Sāmayikam vimuttam is mundane attainment of trance. That attainment indeed, is said to be sāmayika vimutti (emancipation by oneself) because of the escape being obtained by respective individuals themselves even at the time of repeated concentration. That is the emancipation (attained) by oneself. That is not the place; to one who takes delight in society, there does not exist that cause, by which one would achieve emancipation; thus, observing this statement of the silent buddha Ādiccabandhu, I discarded my delight in society, regulated my life wisely and made my achievement; thus, the silent buddha answered. The rest is but in the manner stated.

The Commentary on the stanza, beginning with Aṭṭhāna has ended.

The second chapter is over.