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

[Dan Lusthaus]

>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.

Joy, these terms are the crucial epistemological recommendation of the 
Bhagavad Gita, ch. 13. The knower is purusa, the field is prakrti. "Body" is 
too limited a concept to encompass prakrti.

As for the dvipa discussion, let's not forget during all the thought 
experiments, that India itself is called -- in the same Nikayas --  
jambudīpa, the "island/continent of Jambu" (Skt. Jambudvīpa). So the 
claustrophobic musings about islands, including consigning it to mid-river 
tidal flashes, is too restrictive.

It is especially disappointing that after a discussion of Nagarjuna the 
buddha-hell regulars start applying either/or insistence to a delicious 
hermeneutic aporia, otherwise known as a pun. -dīpa has both meanings, and, 
while it has a traditional interpretation that probably reflects the more 
basic sense, the other senses dance in the margins of our considerations, 
enriching our thinking. The advice by Lance and Richard in that regard is on 
target. Take note as well, that this phrase was oft-repeated, and does not 
just occur in this sutta and the Nibbana sutta. It recurs numerous times in 
the Nikayas.

Dan