[Buddha-l] Dharmapala

[L.S. Cousins]

I wrote:

>> And, incidentally,
>> -putra in this kind of context doesn't mean 'son'; it means something
>> like 'community member'. So a nigaṇṭhaputta is a 'member of the Jain
>> monastic community' - they probably didn't have sons , being celibate !
>>
Dan responded:

> Nanamoli and Bodhi annote thus (pp. 1225-6, n 369, Middle Length
> Discourses):
>
> "According to MA, Saccaka was the son of Nigantha (Jain) parents who were
> both skilled in philosophical debate. He had learned a thousand doctrines
> from his parents and many more philosophical systems from others. In the
> discussion below he is referred to by his clan name, Aggivessana."
>
> Right or wrong, the MA redactors -- prone to hyperbole in this profile --
> saw an opportunity to read -putta here as "son."
>

They are writing at a different time and place and don't understand this 
usage.

> Walshe -- rightly or wrongly -- takes Vajirapāṇī as the name of the 
> yakkha.
He is following the commentary.

> The sutta from the Anguttara is another weird text. An unnamed monk 
> claims
> he was offended (āsajja) by Sariputta (son of Sari, or a Sari clansman?)
>
It's a metronymic: son of the woman Sārī where Sārī could either be a 
personal name or a clan name. Such names are common in early inscriptions.

Lance