Dear Yong Peng,
thank you for your observations and the article on poverty.
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Y.P.: Vajja - I understand 'vajja' not just to refer to
something severe, but misdeeds and wrongdoings in general. In the
perspective of this sutta, we may infer 'vajja' to mean "evil deeds",
but I think the word has a wider and more general usage.
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N: I looked at the Co: vajjaaniiti dosaa aparaadhaa.
Dosa is here from another stem than dosa meaning illwill. It means
corruption, depravity, fault etc. Vajja has a wide sense as you say.
Aparaadha: sin, fault, offense.
I think, considering the heavy punishments, that fault is too weak.
We could chose: offense, corruption, depravity.
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Y.P.: I find the Buddha's example of a misdeed affecting the present
life
"mind boggling". .....
the contrary, the poor are so poor that at times stealing is their
only option. Under such situations, harsh laws as we find in this
example are enacted to protect the properties of the wealthy.
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N We should also consider the deeper causes of being born poor. We
read in the suttas that a low birth is due to kamma. We are reminded
of the danger of being in samsara. A deed done long ago, in a past
life can cause one to be reborn in miserable circumstances. There is
no end to dukkha. Being poor one is tempted to steal and this brings
an unhappy result in this life or in a future life. One is in a
vicious circle.
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Y.P.: This example is effective in showing the immediate result of an
evil
deed, though. Hopefully, we may soon read about the Buddha questioning
the impartiality of such laws.
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N: It is a given circumstance. It was like that at that time. But
not just by accident. It is due to kamma to experience such grave
tortures. But these are not as severe as the tortures in Hell, which
are unthinkably worse.
The Buddha showed cause and effect.
Also in other suttas, such as in M. III, 129, Baalapa.n.ditasutta (on
Fools and the Wise) we find the same list of tortures.

In the �The Questions of Pi�giya� (C�laniddesa of the �Khuddhaka
Nik�ya�) we read that the Buddha spoke about the disadvantage and
danger of having a body, since one is subject to affliction.

<The Buddha said to the Brahmin Pi�giya: �People are intoxicated,
they are oppressed by physical phenomena, r�pas. It can be seen that
people are disturbed because of r�pas. Therefore, Pi�giya, you should
not be neglectful, you should give up clinging to r�pas so that you
will not be reborn.� �

The term �by r�pas� (r�pesu) means: by the four great Elements and
the derived r�pas that are dependent on these. Beings are disturbed
and troubled, they are hurt and killed because of r�pa; r�pa is the
condition and the cause of this.
Because of r�pa, Kings commit many kinds of deeds, they inflict many
kinds of punishment. They have someone beaten by whips, sticks, split
rods. They have people�s hands, feet, earlobs, and nose cut off. They
have a pot of boiling rice placed on someone�s head....
The skin of the head is stripped off so that its colour is white as a
conchshell...their body is cut up and smeared with a biting
liquid...They have their skin stripped off, their bones smashed; they
have the body sprinkled with hot oil; they let the dogs eat the flesh
of their body, they let their body be pierced by spears, or they have
it cut up with a knife....>

Dukkha, suffering, arises because of clinging to r�pa. In order to
abandon dukkha, we should eliminate clinging to r�pas. We cling and
take delight in ruupas, namely the sense objects of colour, sound,
odour, flavour and tangible object. All these objects are the cause
of diverse kinds of dukkha.
Thus, by all these texts we are reminded of the danger of rebirth, of
being in the cycle of birth and death.

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Y.P.:Yathaaruupaana.m kho paapakaana.m kammaana.m hetu...
Indeed, on the account of such evil deeds,...

...cora.m aagucaari.m raajaano gahetvaa vividhaa kammakaara.naa
kaarenti.
...the rulers, having held the robber committing the offense, impose
the various punishments.
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N: Yes, it seems fine. I would suggest omitting the article: impose
various punishments.
*****
Nina.



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