40b: The Last Days 2, In Vajji – 1510
(
āsava
), namely the pollutant of sense-desire (
kammāsava
), the pollutant of
craving for continued existence (
bhavāsava
) and the pollutant of ignorance of
the four noble truths (
avijjāsava
).”
The Mirror of Wisdom
Then, after staying at Koṭi village for as long as he wished, the Buddha said to
Ven. Ānanda: “Come, Ānanda, let us go to Nātika village.” – “Very well, sir,”
said Ven. Ānanda, and he called the monastics for the journey. The Buddha
went to Nātika village accompanied by many monastics and stayed in a brick
building.
Herein, Nātika was a twin village founded by two cousin brothers
[1016]
who sited it near a reservoir. Thus the village got its name, the village of
relatives (
ñātika
). In the Pāḷi word the
ñ
became corrupted into
n
, and
hence the name Nātika. In that twin village there was a brick monastery
which was the place of the Buddha’s sojourn.
During that time Ven. Ānanda approached the Buddha and asked these questions:
“Venerable sir, in Nātika village, a monastic by the name of Sāḷha has passed
away. What is his destination? What is his next existence?
Venerable sir, in this same Nātika village, a nun named Nandā has passed away.
What is her destination? What is her next existence?
Venerable sir, in this same Nātika village, a devotee named Sudatta has passed
away. What is his destination? What is his next existence?
Venerable sir, in this same Nātika village, a devotee named Sujātā has passed
away. What is her destination? What is her next existence?
Venerable sir, in this same Nātika village, a devotee named Kukkuṭa …
Kāḷimba … Nikaṭa … Kaṭissaha … Tuṭṭha … Santuṭṭha … Bhaddha … a
devotee named Subhadda has passed away. What is his destination? What is his
next existence?”
To these questions the Buddha answered them, one by one thus: “Ānanda, due to
the extinction of the pollutants (
āsava
), Sāḷha the monastic had realized in this
very life emancipation of mind (
Arahatta-phala-samādhi
) and emancipation
through wisdom (
Arahatta-phala-paññā
) and he died an Arahat.
Ānanda, through the eradication of the five fetters that lead to rebirth in the
sensuous sphere, the lower planes of existence, Nandā the female monastic has