Dear Nina,

N:

>> attasammaapa.nidhi: this is often translated as : perfect
>> adjustment of oneself, or self control. The Commentary gives:
>> aspiration or decision for all that is wholesome. So I chose
>> rather aspiration.

Dh:

> Are you sure you are reading the right part of the Commentary? I
> don't see anything in it about aspiration. The A`nguttara
> Commentary to the Cakka Sutta explains the term as 'attano sammaa
> .thapana.m' -- 'the right/perfect establishing of oneself'. It
> then gives the example of a person who had formerly been without
> faith but who then abandons faithlessness and establishes himself
> in faith.

Dh:
I would like to begin by re-phrasing what I wrote above. The noun
.thapana.m is from the verb .thapeti, which is a causative of
ti.t.thati (to stand). So I should have said that the man is
made/caused to be established in faith (by living in a suitable
place and friendship with sappurisas), rather than "establishes
himself in faith".

N:

> Yes, my Thai Co gives the same. I wanted to convey this by right
> aspiration. The PED and Ven. Buddhadatta dict give for pa.nidhi
> (pa.nidhahati): aspiration, determination. I thought of
> aspiration for all kusala. I hesitated here and also thought of
> determination, resolve. I know I left out atta, but the term
> itself is no problem for me. Just a pronoun. I agree with all
> your comments. I think of the avarage reader and would like him
> to have more confidence in kusala through this sutta I find very
> important. Often they just read it but overlook the meaning. I
> asked the average reader (my husband), and concluded: to be
> rightly established. The substantivum establishment is not so
> clear. Please, would you help me?

Dh:
'Establishing' (or more correctly 'the being established [by]' is
the Anguttara Commentary's gloss on pa.nidhi. To this the
sub-commentary adds the further gloss of 'nivesana.m',
'dwelling', 'abiding'. As I understand it, the Commentary's aim
is to distinguish this sense of pa.nidhi from the word's other
senses (aspiration, yearning, vow etc.).

Pa.nidhi is used twice in the Cakka Sutta. Firstly as
'attasammaapa.nidhi' in the prose; then as
'sammaapa.nidhisampanno' in the verse. The first ought to be
rendered with a substantive, the second with an adjectival
phrase.

For the verse I translated "Well-established in the right
course". This does not accurately replicate the parts of speech
in the Pali, but it does convey the meaning while avoiding the
grotesqueness that would result from a more literal rendering
("fully arrived at the right state of being established/directed"
or something like that).

For 'attasammaapa.nidhi' in the prose I would translate the
'right establishing of oneself', though 'directing' as an
alternative to 'establishing' would also be possible.

N:

> Further on you suggest: to be well established in the right
> course, and this I like better. Avoiding the awkward
> substantivum. The Thai has: tang ju, which is similar to
> establish.

Dh:
The Thai uses substantives for both occurrences of pa.nidhi --
'khwaam tang ton wai chorb' for attasammaapa.nidhi and 'theung
phrorm duai khwaam tang ton wai chorb' for
'sammaapa.nidhisampanno'.

'Tang juu' by itself would correspond to the verbs .thapeti and
pa.nidheti.

N:

> I quoted the Atthasaalinii (Expositor p. 100):
> "A person thinking: 'I ought to do meritorious deeds,' has his
> mind 'determined' [niyamita] for moral acts"

Dh:
If you have a copy of Nyanamoli's Nettipakara.na translation (The
Guide) you will see how the four dhammas of the Cakka Sutta fit
into the broader context of the path on pp 49-50 and 74-7. See
also the Pe.takopadesa (Pi.taka Disclosure) pp 117 and 174-5. In
this scheme the four wheels culminate in the sequence outlined in
the Kimatthiya Sutta (A v 1) and other Suttas in the Anguttara's
Book of the Tens, where kusala siila is the footing for
non-remorse (avippa.tisaara), non-remorse for joy (paamojja) etc.,
culminating in knowledge and vision of release
(vimutti–aa.nadassana).

Best wishes,

Dhammanando