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

[Dan Lusthaus]

Lance,

I'm not sure what you are trying to find objectionable in the statement:

>It recurs numerous times in
>> the Nikayas.

You write:
> Well not really, Dan. It is never found in the Vinaya or Abhidhamma

Since these are not Nikayas, that's irrelevant.

> Piṭakas, nor in the Majjhima and Aṅguttara Nikāyas. So the contexts are
> quite limited.

You neglect to mention that several of the occurrences of the utterance 
"attadīpā" are associated with Sāvatthi, the capital of Kosala, suggesting 
he liked to say that when there (The Attadīpā sutta is situated there as 
well). So limited "contexts" -- yes.

You then go on to account for what I would call (actually, I did call) 
*numerous* instances.

In general English usage, according to my exposure to it, a "couple" means 
two, "few" means three or bit more than that, and "numerous" would be 
anything that is more than a few. Numerous is not synonymous with 
"ubiquitous."

But thank you for listing the instances.

I agree that the various appearances of the phrase -- particularly when 
viewed synchronically -- tend to give the impression of a phrase scattered 
about by later redactors rather than a redundant Buddha. That it struck the 
redactors as a noteworthy phrase deserving to be inserted on several (do you 
prefer that to "numerous"?) occasions suggests that an importance was 
attached to it early on. Since the Nibbana sutta is a later compilation (we 
seem to agree on this too), that may NOT be the original source for the 
quote. But who knows?

Dan