> Jaatakapaali 1441: attaa ca me so sara.na.m gati ca, dipo ca le.no ca
> paraaya.no ca; asantuleyyo mama so dhanena, paa.nena me saadiso esa kattaa.

Dear Bruce, Bhante Pesala,

Remember the book "Satipatthana Vipassana Meditation: Criticisms and Replies" - I think it
is a good example of the importance and effectiveness of replying to such wrong view.
Anyway, I'm willing to try translating this... here goes:

attaa ca me so sara.na.m gati ca, dipo ca le.no ca paraaya.no ca;
/for the self /and /to me /he /for refuge /going/and /support /and /safety /and /relief
/and /
He's a place of refuge for myself, support, safety and relief;

asantuleyyo mama so dhanena, paa.nena me saadiso esa kattaa
/not to be measured /my /he /by wealth /life /of me /like /this /agent /
Not to be measured is he by my wealth, this agent is equal to my life.

It even almost rhymes :) Please have them read the Jataka themselves, and put this verse
in context. They will realise themselves that there is clearly no reference to the
soul-theory. In the PTS, this is the Vidhurapa.n.dita Jaataka (545), but 546 in the CSCD.
It is talking about Vidhura who is a refuge for "himself", a phrase which we use commonly
in English as in Pali, without any attachment to "soul" or "self". I am not 100% about my
translation, I admit, but, no matter how it is translated, I think it is a long stretch to
find proof for a soul in what is simply praise of the Bodhisatta.

The verse preceding this one is translated by the PTS as:

"Elephants, oxen, horses, jewels and earings,whatever gems thou hast in the earth, Vidhura
the minister is the best of them all, he has been won by me, pay him down to me." (v.6
p.138)

The verse you give us is a response to this one, that Vidhura is like life itself, is a
refuge for "his-self" if you wish, and cannot be given up by the king. Come to think of
it, it is silly to use this verse to prove existence of a soul-theory in Buddhism, even if
it is read wrongly as "he is a refuge for my soul which really does exist in a way that I
can prove", because it did not come from the Buddha, the Bodhisatta, or any Buddhist; it
came from a king in the far gone past, who probably did believe in a soul. :)

Best wishes,

Yuttadhammo