On Sat, May 9, 2009 at 6:11 AM, Jim Anderson <jimanderson.on@...>wrote:

>
>
> I'm not familiar with the poem where the quote occurs. I'm not even
> sure if Gotami herself is the speaker although it is in her section.
> One will need to study the context to dertermin whether to use bones
> or relics.
>
> Dear Jim and OYP,
>

Making the tentative translation I gave earlier, I did not take the
precaution of checking with the original Pali text where the phrase "tato
gotamidhaatuuni" occurs. I find that it is in a long poem quoted in the
Commentary to the Theriigaathaa. According to the story given there, after
the death of Mahaapajaapatii Gotamii, the stepmother of the Buddha, the
Thera Ananda attends to the funeral rites at the Buddha's behest. After the
cremation, he presents the remnant bones in a bowl to the Buddha.It s in
this description that these words are found. The meaning is "Then Ananda
presented to the Lord .. the bones of Gotamii". So the correct meaning of
"tato gotamidhaatuuni" is "Then, the bones of Gotamii". The leftover bones
of an Arahant or a Buddha are what are called reelics in Buddhsit lore. I am
sorry that I did not check with this text in my earlier post.

Mahinda.

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