Connected Discourses with Bhikkhunīs

1. Āḷavikā

1Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park.

2Then, in the morning, the bhikkhunī Āḷavikā dressed and, taking bowl and robe, entered Sāvatthī for alms.³³¹ Thı̄ does not ascribe any verses to a bhikkhunı̄ named Āḷavikā, but two of the verses in this sutta are to be found among Selā’s verses: v. 519 = Thı̄ 57 and v. 521 = Thı̄ 58. Thı̄-a 60 confirms the identity of the two bhikkhunı̄s, explaining that Selā was called Āḷavikā because she was the daughter of the king of Āḷavaka. She heard the Buddha preach and became a lay follower. Later she took ordination as a nun and attained arahantship. See Pruitt, Commentary on the Verses of the Therīs, pp. 83-87. When she had walked for alms in Sāvatthī and had returned from her alms round, after her meal she went to the Blind Men’s Grove seeking seclusion. ³³² Spk explains the origin of the name: After the parinibbāna of the Buddha Kassapa a lay disciple named Yasodhara, while bringing money to build the cetiya for the relics, was ambushed there and blinded by five hundred thieves. Because Yasodhara was a noble disciple, the thieves straightaway lost their own vision as an immediate kammic result. They continued to dwell there and thus it became known as the Blind Men’s Grove. Bhikkhus and bhikkhunı̄s went there for seclusion. It was about three kilometres south of Sāvatthı̄ and was protected by royal guards.

3Then Māra the Evil One, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in the bhikkhunī Āḷavikā, desiring to make her fall away from seclusion, approached her and addressed her in verse:

4, 519 “There is no escape in the world,
So what will you do with seclusion?
Enjoy the delights of sensual pleasure:
Don’t be remorseful later!”

5Then it occurred to the bhikkhunī Āḷavikā: “Now who is it that recited the verse—a human being or a nonhuman being?” Then it occurred to her: “This is Māra the Evil One, who has recited the verse desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in me, desiring to make me fall away from seclusion.”

6Then the bhikkhunī Āḷavikā, having understood, “This is Māra the Evil One,” replied to him in verses:

7, 520 “There is an escape in the world
Which I have closely touched with wisdom.
O Evil One, kinsman of the negligent,
You do not know that state.³³³ Strangely, this verse, the appropriate response to Māra’s taunt, is not found in Thı̄. Spk: The escape (nissaraṇa) is Nibbāna. With wisdom (paññā): with reviewing knowledge. Spk-pṭ: The intention is: “How much more, then, with the knowledge of the path and fruit?”

8, 521 “Sensual pleasures are like swords and stakes;
The aggregates like their chopping block.
What you call sensual delight
Has become for me nondelight.”³³⁴ In pāda b, khandhāsam should be resolved khandhā esam. Spk glosses khandhā tesam. See above n. 209 and EV II, n. to 58. [129]

9Then Māra the Evil One, realizing, “The bhikkhunī Āḷavikā knows me,” sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.

2. Somā

1At Sāvatthī. Then, in the morning, the bhikkhunī Somā dressed and, taking bowl and robe, entered Sāvatthī for alms.³³⁵ Thı̄-a 64 identifies her as the daughter of King Bimbisāra’s chaplain. Two verses here = Thı̄ 60-61, also ascribed to Somā, but the third verse differs in the two sources. For the background, see Commentary on the Verses, pp. 87-90. When she had walked for alms in Sāvatthī and had returned from her alms round, after her meal she went to the Blind Men’s Grove for the day’s abiding. Having plunged into the Blind Men’s Grove, she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.

2Then Māra the Evil One, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in the bhikkhunī Somā, desiring to make her fall away from concentration, approached her and addressed her in verse:

3, 522 “That state so hard to achieve
Which is to be attained by the seers,
Can’t be attained by a woman
With her two-fingered wisdom.”³³⁶ Spk: That state (ṭhāna): arahantship. With her two-fingered wisdom (dvaṅgulapaññāya): with limited wisdom (parittapaññāya ); or else this is said of women because they cut the thread while holding the cotton ball between two fingers. Spk-pṭ and Thı̄-a 65 offer a different explanation: “From the age of seven on they are always testing whether the rice is cooked by taking grains out from the pot and pressing them between two fingers. Therefore they are said to have ‘two-fingered wisdom.’” It should be noted that it is Māra who voices this ancient bias. See too Mvu III 391,19, where we find dvaṅgulaprajñāye strīmātrāye.

4Then it occurred to the bhikkhunī Somā: “Now who is this that recited the verse—a human being or a nonhuman being?” Then it occurred to her: “This is Māra the Evil One, who has recited the verse desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in me, desiring to make me fall away from concentration.”

5Then the bhikkhunī Somā, having understood, “This is Māra the Evil One,” replied to him in verses:

6, 523 “What does womanhood matter at all
When the mind is concentrated well,
When knowledge flows on steadily
As one sees correctly into Dhamma.³³⁷ Spk: When knowledge flows on steadily (ñāṇamhi vattamānamhi ): while the knowledge of the attainment of fruition is occurring (phalasamāpattiñāṇe pavattamāne). As one sees correctly into Dhamma (sammā dhammam vipassato): seeing into the Dhamma of the four truths, or into the five aggregates that form the object of insight in the preliminary phase of practice. Spk-pṭ: By mentioning the occurrence of the knowledge of fruition attainment, the commentator shows that she has been dwelling in nondelusion regarding the four truths (catūsu saccesu asammohavihāro). Seeing into (vipassantassa ; or, “seeing with insight”): for one seeing distinctly by the penetration of nondelusion; for one seeing into the five aggregates themselves in the preliminary portion (of the practice) prior to the breakthrough to the truths (asammohapaṭivedhato visesena passantassa khandhapañcakam eva saccābhisamayato pubbabhāge vipassantassa).
Spk explains in terms of the knowledge of fruition attainment because Somā, being already an arahant, would have been dwelling in the concentration of fruition. In elucidating vipassantassa, Spk-pṭ, in the first clause, connects the word with the realization of the Four Noble Truths on the occasion of the supramundane path; in the second, it takes the word as signifying vipassanā in the technical sense of the preparatory work of insight meditation that leads to the path and fruition.

7, 524 “One to whom it might occur,
‘I’m a woman’ or ‘I’m a manʹ
Or ‘I’m anything at all’—
Is fit for Māra to address.”³³⁸ Spk says one entertains such thoughts on account of craving, conceit, and views. In pāda c, I read with Ee1 & 2 asmī ti, as against Be and Se aññasmim. Strangely, though it delivers the coup de grace to Māra, this verse is without a parallel in Thı̄.

8Then Māra the Evil One, realizing, “The bhikkhunī Somā knows me,” sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.

3. Gotamī

1At Sāvatthī. Then, in the morning, the bhikkhunī Kisāgotamī dressed and, taking bowl and robe, entered Sāvatthī for alms.³³⁹ Spk recapitulates the popular story of her search for the mustard seeds to bring her dead son back to life, told in greater detail at Dhp-a II 270-75; see BL 2:257-60 and Commentary on the Verses, pp. 222-24. Her verses at Thı̄ 213-23 do not correspond to the verses here. When she had walked for alms in Sāvatthī and had returned from her alms round, [130] after her meal she went to the Blind Men’s Grove for the day’s abiding. Having plunged into the Blind Men’s Grove, she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.

2Then Māra the Evil One, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in the bhikkhunī Kisāgotamī, desiring to make her fall away from concentration, approached her and addressed her in verse:

3, 525 “Why now, when your son is dead,
Do you sit alone with tearful face?
Having entered the woods all alone,
Are you on the lookout for a man?”

4Then it occurred to the bhikkhunī Kisāgotamī: “Now who is this that recited the verse—a human being or a nonhuman being?” Then it occurred to her: “This is Māra the Evil One, who has recited the verse desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in me, desiring to make me fall away from concentration.”

5Then the bhikkhunī Kisāgotamī, having understood, “This is Māra the Evil One,” replied to him in verses:

6, 526 “I’ve gotten past the death of sons;
With this, the search for men has ended.
I do not sorrow, I do not weep,
Nor do I fear you, friend .³⁴⁰ Pādas ab read: Accantam mataputtāmhi/Purisā etadantikā. A pun seems to be intended between two senses of being “past the death of sons.” I translate in accordance with the paraphrase of Spk: “I have ‘gotten past the death of sons’ as one for whom the death of a son is over and done with. Now I will never again undergo the death of a son…. The ending of the death of sons is itself the ending of men. Now it is impossible for me to seek a man.” Etadantikā occurs too at Thı̄ 138b.

7, 527 “Delight everywhere has been destroyed,
The mass of darkness has been sundered.
Having conquered the army of Death,
I dwell without defiling taints.”³⁴¹ The first couplet is common in Thı̄, found at vv. 59, 142, 195, 203, 235, etc. Spk elaborates: “The delight of craving has been destroyed for me in regard to all the aggregates, sense bases, elements, kinds of existence, modes of origin, destinations, stations, and abodes. The mass of ignorance has been broken up by knowledge.”

8Then Māra the Evil One, realizing, “The bhikkhunī Kisāgotamī knows me,” sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.

4. Vijayā

1At Sāvatthī. Then, in the morning, the bhikkhunī Vijayā dressed … she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.³⁴² Thı̄-a 156 says that in lay life she had been a friend of Khemā, the chief consort of King Bimbisāra. When she heard that Khemā had gone forth under the Buddha, she visited her and was so inspired by their conversation that she too decided to take ordination. Khemā became her preceptor. See Commentary on the Verses, pp. 204-6. Her verses are at Thı̄ 169-74. While the verses here are not among them, interestingly vv. 528 and 530 (with minor differences) are found among Khemā’s verses, Thı̄ 139 and 140.

2Then Māra the Evil One, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in the bhikkhunī Vijayā, desiring to make her fall away from concentration, approached her and addressed her in verse: [131]

3, 528 “You are so young and beautiful,
And I too am a youth in my prime.
Come, noble lady, let us rejoice
With the music of a fivefold ensemble.”³⁴³ Spk enumerates the five instruments: ātata, vitata, ātatavitata, susira, ghana. Spk-pṭ explains ātata as an instrument with one surface covered by skin, such as a kettle drum (kumbha); vitata, an instrument with two surfaces covered with skins, such as the bheri and mudiṅga drums; ātatavitata , an instrument with a head covered with skin and bound with strings, such as a lute (vīṇā); susira, wind instruments, include flutes, conches, and horns; and ghana is the class of percussion instruments (excluding drums), such as cymbals, tambourines, and gongs.

4Then it occurred to the bhikkhunī Vijayā: “Now who is this…? This is Māra the Evil One … desiring to make me fall away from concentration.”

5Then the bhikkhunī Vijayā, having understood, “This is Māra the Evil One,” replied to him in verses:

6, 529 “Forms, sounds, tastes, odours,
And delightful tactile objects—
I offer them right back to you,
For I, O Māra, do not need them.

7, 530 “I am repelled and humiliated
By this foul, putrid body,
Subject to break up, fragile:
I’ve uprooted sensual craving.³⁴⁴ Though three eds. read in pāda c bhindanena, Ee2 and SS have bhindarena, which perhaps points to an historical reading bhidurena. The Thı̄ counterpart, v. 140, has āturena, but Thı̄ 35a contains the phrase bhiduro kāyo. Both bhindana and bhidura are glossed identically in their respective commentaries as bhijjanasabhāva, “subject to breaking up.”

8, 531 “As to those beings who fare amidst form,
And those who abide in the formless,
And those peaceful attainments too:
Everywhere darkness has been destroyed.”³⁴⁵ Spk: Pāda a refers to the form realm, pāda b to the formless realm, and pāda c to the eight mundane meditative attainments. By the mention of the two higher realms, the sensory realm is also implied. Hence she says, “everywhere the darkness of ignorance has been dispelled.”

9Then Māra the Evil One, realizing “The bhikkhunī Vijayā knows me,” sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.

5. Uppalavaṇṇā

1 At Sāvatthī. Then, in the morning, the bhikkhunī Uppalavaṇṇā dressed … she stood at the foot of a sal tree in full flower.³⁴⁶ She was the foremost among the bhikkhunı̄s in the exercise of supernormal powers (iddhi), to which she testifies in vv. 534-35. Her verses are at Thı̄ 224-35. Vv. 532-35 correspond to Thı̄ 230-33, but with significant differences. Thı̄ 234 is identical with v. 521 here ascribed to Āḷavikā.

2Then Māra the Evil One, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in the bhikkhunī Uppalavaṇṇā, desiring to make her fall away from concentration, approached her and addressed her in verse:

3, 532 “Having gone to a sal tree with flowering top,
You stand at its foot all alone, bhikkhunī.
There is none whose beauty rivals yours:
Foolish girl, aren’t you afraid of rogues?”³⁴⁷ Pāda c: Na c’ atthi te dutiyā vaṇṇadhātu. I translate freely in accordance with the gloss of Spk: “There is no second beauty element like your beauty element; there is no other bhikkhunı̄ similar to you.” A pun on the bhikkhunı̄’s name is probably intended. Se and Ee1 & 2 include an additional pāda between pādas c and d, idh’ āgatā tādisikā bhaveyyum, absent in Be and Thı̄ 230. This seems to me a scribal error, as it is identical with pāda b of the next verse, where it fits.

4Then it occurred to the bhikkhunī Uppalavaṇṇā: [132] “Now who is this…? This is Māra the Evil One … desiring to make me fall away from concentration.”

5Then the bhikkhunī Uppalavaṇṇā, having understood, “This is Māra the Evil One,” replied to him in verses:

6, 533 “Though a hundred thousand rogues
Just like you might come here,
I stir not a hair, I feel no terror;
Even alone, Māra, I don’t fear you.³⁴⁸ Spk explains pādas ab as if they meant: “Though a hundred thousand rogues might come here, they would be treated just like you in that they would get no intimacy or affection.” I translate, however, in accordance with the apparent sense, which also can claim support from the gloss of Thı̄-a on Thı̄ 231.

7, 534 “I can make myself disappear
Or I can enter inside your belly.
I can stand between your eyebrows
Yet you won’t catch a glimpse of me.

8, 535 “I am the master of my mind,
The bases of power are well developed;
I am freed from all bondage,
Therefore I don’t fear you, friend.”³⁴⁹ The iddhipādā, “bases for spiritual power,” are the supporting conditions for the exercise of the iddhi or supernormal powers described in the previous verse. See 51:11.

9Then Māra the Evil One, realizing, “The bhikkhunī Uppalavaṇṇā knows me,” sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.

6. Cālā

1At Sāvatthī. Then, in the morning, the bhikkhunī Cālā dressed … she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.³⁵⁰ Cālā, Upacālā, and Sı̄supacālā—whose verses appear in 5:6-8 respectively—were the younger sisters of Sāriputta, in descending order of age. Their verses are at Thı̄ 182-88, 189-95, and 196-203. However, not only is the correspondence between the two collections fragmentary, but the ascriptions of authorship also differ. Cālā’s v. 537 corresponds to Thı̄ 191, and v. 538 is reflected obscurely in Thı̄ 192, both of which are there ascribed to Upacālā. Upacālā’s vv. 540-43 correspond to Thı̄ 197, 198, 200, and 201, there ascribed to Sı̄supacālā. And Sı̄supacālā’s vv. 544-46 correspond to Thı̄ 183-85, but there are ascribed to Cālā.

2Then Māra the Evil One approached the bhikkhunī Cālā and said to her: “What don’t you approve of, bhikkhunī?”

3“I don’t approve of birth, friend.”

4, 536 “Why don’t you approve of birth?
Once born, one enjoys sensual pleasures.
Who now has persuaded you of this:
‘Bhikkhunī, don’t approve of birth’?”

[The bhikkhunī Cālā:]

5, 537 “For one who is born there is death;
Once born, one encounters sufferings—
Bondage, murder, affliction—
Hence one shouldn’t approve of birth.³⁵¹ In pāda b I read phussati with Be, Se, and Ee2, as against Ee1 passati.

6, 538 “The Buddha has taught the Dhamma,
The transcendence of birth;
For the abandoning of all suffering
He has settled me in the truth. [133]

7, 539 “As to those beings who fare amidst form,
And those who abide in the formless—
Not having understood cessation,
They come again to renewed existence.”³⁵² On pādas ab, see n. 345.

8Then Māra the Evil One, realizing, “The bhikkhunī Cālā knows me,” sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.

7. Upacālā

1At Sāvatthī. Then, in the morning, the bhikkhunī Upacālā dressed … she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.

2Then Māra the Evil One approached the bhikkhunī Upacālā and said to her: “Where do you wish to be reborn, bhikkhunī?”

3“I do not wish to be reborn anywhere, friend.”

4, 540 “There are Tāvatiṁsa and Yāma devas,
And devatās of the Tusita realm,
Devas who take delight in creating,
And devas who exercise control.
Direct your mind there [to those realms]
And you’ll experience delight.”³⁵³ This verse alludes to five of the six sense-sphere heavens. Only the lowest plane, the heaven of the Four Great Kings, is not mentioned.

[The bhikkhunī Upacālā:]

5, 541 “There are Tāvatiṁsa and Yāma devas,
And devatās of the Tusita realm,
Devas who take delight in creating,
And devas who exercise control.
They are still bound by sensual bondage,
They come again under Māra’s control.

6, 542 “All the world is on fire,
All the world is burning,
All the world is ablaze,
All the world is quaking.

7, 543 “That which does not quake or blaze,
That to which worldlings do not resort,
Where there is no place for Māra:
That is where my mind delights.”³⁵⁴ In pāda a, I read ajalitam with Se. Be apajjalitam, though hypermetrical, gives the same sense. Ee1 & 2 acalitam, apparently derived from SS, would mean “unshaken.”

8Then Māra the Evil One, realizing, “The bhikkhunī Upacālā knows me, sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.

8. Sīsupacālā

1 At Sāvatthī. Then, in the morning, the bhikkhunī Sīsupacālā dressed … she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.

2Then Māra the Evil One approached the bhikkhunī Sīsupacālā and said to her: “Whose creed do you approve of, bhikkhunī?”

3“I don’t approve of anyone’s creed, friend.”

4, 544 “Under whom have you shaved your head?
You do appear to be an ascetic,
Yet you don’t approve of any creed,
So why wander as if bewildered?”³⁵⁵ Pāsaṇḍa, in pāda c, refers to the “heretical” systems outside the Buddha’s dispensation. I render it, inadequately, as “creed.” Spk explains the word derivation by way of “folk etymology”: “They are called pāsaṇḍas because they lay out a snare (Be: pāsam ḍenti; Se: pāsam oḍḍenti); the meaning is that they throw out the snare of views among the minds of beings. But the Buddha’s dispensation frees one from the snare, so it is not called a pāsaṇḍa; the pāsaṇḍas are found only outside the dispensation.” MW defines pāṣaṇḍa as“a heretic … anyone who falsely assumes the characteristics of an orthodox Hindu, a Jaina, a Buddhist, etc.; a false doctrine, heresy.”

[The bhikkhunī Sīsupacālā:]

5, 545 “Outside here the followers of creeds
Place their confidence in views.
I don’t approve of their teachings;
They are not skilled in the Dhamma. [134]

6, 546 “But there’s one born in the Sakyan clan,
The Enlightened One, without an equal,
Conqueror of all, Māra’s subduer,
Who everywhere is undefeated,
Everywhere freed and unattached,
The One with Vision who sees all.

7, 547 “Attained to the end of all kamma,
Liberated in the extinction of acquisitions,
That Blessed One is my Teacher:
His is the teaching I approve.”³⁵⁶ Spk explains vimutto upadhisaṅkhaye in pāda d thus: “He is liberated into Nibbāna, known as the extinction of acquisitions, as object.” The expression is also at MN I 454,3-4 and II 260,22-23. Spk-pṭ defines “the end of all kamma” (sabbakammakkhaya ) as arahantship and “the extinction of acquisitions” as Nibbāna. See too 4:25 and n. 324.

8Then Māra the Evil One, realizing, “The bhikkhunī Sīsupacālā knows me,” sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.

9. Selā

1At Sāvatthī. Then, in the morning, the bhikkhunī Selā dressed … she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.³⁵⁷ There is no way to determine whether this bhikkhunı̄ is identical with Āḷavikā; see n. 331. The verses do not appear in Thı̄.

2Then Māra the Evil One, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in the bhikkhunī Selā, desiring to make her fall away from concentration, approached her and addressed her in verse:

3, 548 By whom has this puppet been created?
Where is the maker of the puppet?
Where has the puppet arisen?
Where does the puppet cease?”³⁵⁸ Spk: Both puppet (bimba) here, and misery (agha) at v. 549b, refer to individual existence (attabhāva), in the latter case because individual existence is a foundation for suffering. The philosophers of the Buddha’s time were divided on the question whether suffering is created by oneself (attakata) or by another (parakata). The former was the position of the eternalists, who held there is a permanent self which transmigrates from life to life reaping the fruits of its own deeds. The latter was the position of the annihilationists, who held that a being is annihilated at death and nothing survives, so that one’s share of suffering and happiness is due entirely to external conditions. See the debates recorded at 12:17, 18, 24, 25.

4Then it occurred to the bhikkhunī Selā: “Now who is this…? This is Māra the Evil One … desiring to make me fall away from concentration.”

5Then the bhikkhunī Selā, having understood, “This is Māra the Evil One,” replied to him in verses:

6, 549 “This puppet is not made by itself,
Nor is this misery made by another.
It has come to be dependent on a cause;
With the cause’s breakup it will cease.

7, 550 “As when a seed is sown in a field
It grows depending on a pair of factors:
It requires both the soil’s nutrients
And a steady supply of moisture:

8, 551 “Just so the aggregates and elements,
And these six bases of sensory contact,
Have come to be dependent on a cause;
With the cause’s breakup they will cease.”³⁵⁹ One key to the interpretation of Selā’s reply is AN I 223-24, where it is said that kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and craving the moisture, for the production of future renewed existence. The cause (hetu), then, is the kammically formative consciousness accompanied by ignorance and craving. When that dissolves through the elimination of ignorance and craving there is no production of aggregates, elements, and sense bases in a future life. The imagery of seeds and vegetation recurs at 22:54, which also helps to illuminate these verses.

9Then Māra the Evil One, realizing, “The bhikkhunī Selā knows me,” sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.

10. Vajirā

1 At Sāvatthī. Then, in the morning, the bhikkhunī Vajirā dressed and, taking bowl and robe, entered Sāvatthī for alms.³⁶⁰ Spk provides no personal identification, and no verses in her name have come down in Thı̄. When she had walked for alms in Sāvatthī [135] and had returned from her alms round, after her meal she went to the Blind Men’s Grove for the day’s abiding. Having plunged into the Blind Men’s Grove, she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.

2Then Māra the Evil One, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in the bhikkhunī Vajirā, desiring to make her fall away from concentration, approached her and addressed her in verse:

3, 552 “By whom has this being been created?
Where is the maker of the being?
Where has the being arisen?
Where does the being cease?”

4Then it occurred to the bhikkhunī Vajirā: “Now who is this that recited the verse—a human being or a nonhuman being?” Then it occurred to her: “This is Māra the Evil One, who has recited the verse desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in me, desiring to make me fall away from concentration.”

5Then the bhikkhunī Vajirā, having understood, “This is Māra the Evil One,” replied to him in verses:

6, 553 “Why now do you assume ‘a being’?
Māra, is that your speculative view?
This is a heap of sheer formations:
Here no being is found.

7, 554 “Just as, with an assemblage of parts,
The word ‘chariot’ is used,
So, when the aggregates exist,
There is the convention ‘a being.’

8, 555 “It’s only suffering that comes to be,
Suffering that stands and falls away.
Nothing but suffering comes to be,
Nothing but suffering ceases.”³⁶¹ The simile of the chariot is elaborated at Mil 27-28, which quotes the previous verse. Vism 593,18-19 (Ppn 18:28) also quotes these two verses to confirm that “there is no being apart from name-and-form.” Vv. 553-54 are quoted at Abhidh-k-bh pp. 465-66, ascribed to the arahant nun Śailā (= Selā); see Enomoto, CSCS, p. 42. In v. 555 suffering signifies the inherent unsatisfactoriness of the five aggregates (pañcakkhandhadukkha), which is identical with the heap of sheer formations (suddhasaṅkhārapuñja ) in v. 553c. See too 12:15: “What arises is only suffering arising, what ceases is only suffering ceasing.”

9Then Māra the Evil One, realizing, “The bhikkhunī Vajirā knows me,” sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.

[136]