Dear Ven Yuttadhammo and Yong Peng,

Could this perhaps be interpreted another way?
"Attha.m hi naatho sara.na.m avoca."
good / indeed / protector/ refuge / spoke
"The protector spoke of the good as [being] a refuge."
That is we are protected by our good actions.

Metta, John

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, "Yuttadhammo" <buffer@...> wrote:
> Dear Yong Peng,
>
> > 5. "Attha.m hi naatho sara.na.m avoca."
> > meaning / indeed / lord / guide / spoke
> > "Meaning indeed (is) guide", spoke the Lord.
>
> I am not sure about this... let's break it down:
>
> attha.m (m. accusative) = welfare, meaning
> naatho (m. nominative) = protection, refuge
> sara.n.a.m (n. nom. or acc.) = refuge, guide
> avoca = spoke, said, told
>
> I think you might be right in your interpretation, but literally it
should
> probably be "The protector spoke of the essential meaning as [being] a
> refuge" since both attha.m and sara.na.m are probably in the
accusative. I
> wonder if attha could be taken as "home, shelter" (cp PED attha2)
and this
> sentence could mean "The protector spoke of refuge, indeed, of shelter."
>
> Can't find it in the Tipitaka.
>
> Suma'ngalaani,
>
> Yuttadhammo