..续本文上一页of this sutta, the Udana Commentary helps shed light on the approach that the Venerable Maha Kaccana adopted to reach arahantship. While this explanation conflicts with the account of the elder”s "instantaneous enlightenment" found in the biographical sketch of the Anguttara Commentary (see above, p. 7), it appears more realistic. The Udana Commentary explains that in his endeavor to attain arahantship, Maha Kaccana first developed jhana using mindfulness of the body (kayagata sati) as his subject of meditation. Utilizing that jhana as his foundation of calm concentration, he then redirected mindfulness of the body on to the track of insight meditation (vipassana). With the wisdom of insight that arose from the contemplation of the body, he reached the supramundane paths and fruits, culminating in the final fruit of arahantship. Thereafter he would regularly resort to this same approach in order to enter upon the fruition attainment of arahantship (arahattaphala-samapatti), the special meditative absorption, unique to the arahant, in which the bliss of Nibbana is experienced even in this very life. It was just on such an occasion, when the elder was sitting absorbed in fruition attainment, that the Buddha caught sight of him and extolled him in this inspirational verse. The couplet by which the Buddha expresses the theme of contemplation is taken, by the commentary, to signify "four-cornered emptiness" (catukoti-suññata): the absence of "I" and "mine" in the past and present ("If there had not been, there would not be for me"), and the absence of "I" and "mine" in the future ("There will not be, so there will not be for me"). By applauding the Venerable Maha Kaccana with this inspired utterance, the Buddha has held him up as a model for others to emulate in their own quest to overcome attachment to the world.
7. The Theragatha Verses
The Theragatha, the verses of the ancient elders, includes eight verses ascribed to the Venerable Maha Kaccana (vv.494-501). These verses are in no way exceptional and merely express, in verse form, injunctions to proper discipline for monks and practical advice for householders. Although Maha Kaccana”s verses addressed to the brahman Lohicca did serve effectively as a didactic tool, he does not seem to have been as amply endowed with the gift of poetic expression as several of the other great disciples, such as Maha Kassapa, Sariputta, and Vangisa. His sphere of excellence was analysis and exegesis, not inspirational eloquence or artistic creativity.
The first two verses (vv.494-95), according to the commentary, were spoken as an exhortation to the bhikkhus. One day the elder had noticed that a number of monks had laid aside their meditation practice in order to delight in work and in company. They were also growing too fond of the delicious food provided by their devoted lay supporters. He therefore admonished them thus:[23]
"One should not do much work
One should avoid people,
One should not bustle (to obtain gifts).
One who is eager and greedy for flavors
Misses the goal that entails happiness.
They knew as a bog this homage and veneration
Obtained among devoted families.
A subtle dart, difficult to extract,
Honor is hard for a vile man to discard."
The other six verses, again according to the commentary, were spoken as exhortations to King Candappajjota. The king, it is said, placed faith in the brahmans and at their behest performed animal sacrifices; he also would impose penalties and confer favors arbitrarily, presumably on account of that impulsive temperament of his that earned him the title "the Violent." Therefore, to dissuade the king from such reckless behavior, the elder recited the next four verses (496-99):
"It is not on account of another
That a mortal”s kamma …
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