Commentary on the stanza on the lion (sīha)

128. what is the origin of the stanza, starting with sīho yathā? it is said that a certain king of benares, went with his mighty army, taking the forest road, avoiding the road of major and minor villages, in order to quell the border rebellion. On that occasion, however, at the foot of a certain hill, a lion lay itself down, basking itself in the warmth of the rising sun. On seeing it, the royal retainers informed the king. The king, saying to himself: “They say a lion is fearless”, ordered to have the sound of drums, big and small, made; the lion kept itself lying as he had done in the beginning. For the second time, the drums were ordered to be beaten, but the lion slept on as before. For the third time the sound of drums was ordered to be made. Thereupon, the lion stood up, established itself firmly on its four legs and roared the lion's roar saying to itself: “There must be my enemy against me”. Having heard that lion-roar, army elephant riders and so on dismounted from their elephants and so on and entered the grass and bamboo bushes and jungles; The herds of elephants and horses fled in different directions. the royal elephant also took the king away and fled pounding down jungles and bushes. the king, not being able to keep his elephant under his control, kept himself hanging at a branch of a tree, dropped himself down to the ground, and as he walked along a single foot-path, arrived at the residence of silent buddha. there, the king asked the silent buddhas thus: “Venerable Sirs! Perhaps you had heard sounds?” Their reply was in the affirmative. The king enquired as to what sounds they were. The reply was: “First, the sound of drums, conch-shells and so on; later, the roar of the lion”. The king asked: “Venerable Sirs! Were you not afraid?” their answer was: “O great king! We are not afraid of the sound of anyone”. The king enquired thus: “Venerable Sirs! Are you, however, able to make like this for me also?” They replied thus: “O great king! it is possible, if you would become a monk”. The king promised to become a monk. subsequently, the silent buddhas made the king monk and disciplined him in the least to be expected of good conduct (abhisamācarika), That king also, in the self-same manner as told before, developed spiritual insight, visualised the silent buddhahood and recited this stanza of joyous utterance.

128.1. Sīha (lion) there, is because of endurance, killing and swift speed, it is (lion) sīha. Here, only the hairy mane-lion is meant. The lion is dāṭhabalī, since it has the vigourous strength of eyeteeth. The expression: pasayha abhibhuyya (overcome with force and vanquished) should both be interpreted together with the grammatical word cārī, one who practises, as pasayhacārī abhibhuyya cārī, one who overcomes with force and one who used to vanquish. In that context, one is used to overcome by force, pasayhacārī, because of his behaviour of having controlled, after having overcome with force. One is used to vanquish, abhibhuyyacārī, because of his behaviour of having made mastery over, after frightening and vanquishing. That this is one who is practised in overcoming with force, pasayhacārī due to physical strength; one is practised in vanquishing, abhibhuyyacārī, because of his power. There, if anybody should ask thus: “What is a practitioner of overcoming and vanquishing?” That question should be answered thus: “One who is used to overcome and vanquish the deer (or beasts of prey)”, after making, thereafter, the genitive-case word migānam, ellipsis (or accusative case). Pantāni (remote) is very far (dūrāni). Senāsanāni (monasteries) is dwelling places. The rest is in the self-same manner, aforesaid and is possible to know, and so need not be told in extenso.

The Commentary on the stanza, starting with dāṭhābalī, has ended.