[Buddha-l] 9. Attadiipaa Sutta (Joy Vriens)

[Joy Vriens]

Hi Joanna,

My idea is that the Buddha, in the attadipa sutta and the mahaparibbana
sutta teaches that no other refuge, or sanctuary is needed than oneself and
the Dhamma. The Dhammapada shows the different sanctuaries in which people
used to take refuge. He said IMO let yourself and the Dhamma be your
sanctuary. In other words you don't need any sanctuary. Refuge often tends
to be refuge in something, which is believed to be able to protect us,
various animistic gods, yaksa, etc., common denominator sanctuaries.
The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary, Vāman Shivarām Āpte, p.519 has as
the first meaning for dvipa : 1. island and as the second 2. place of
refuge, shelter, protection.
It's not unreasonable to say that refuge in... goes better with the 2nd
meaning than with the first meaning of dvipa. Dvipa seems to be able to
stand for an object of refuge.

Why is it particularly pertinent at the moment of the Buddha's death? The
Buddha who used to be their refuge is going to die. Who shall be their dvipa
(2nd meaning) next? Oneself and the Dhamma.

Another example. Take the word ksetra which means field. If you hang on to
that first meaning of the word, you wont be able to understand the
expression ksetra and ksetrajnana properly. Ksetra in this context means the
body and the knower of the body. i am not sure about the translations, but
there you have the gist. Translating taking refuge in an island instead of
in a sanctuary or place or object of refuge would be like translating
ksetrajnana as the knower of an (agricultural) field or somesuch. Sometimes
it's not the first meaning of a word that is meant.

Joy