Friends,

Just some thoughts on this strange argument; obvious it is pretty silly to think of Bhikkhunis going around carrying weapons :)

First, the formation satthika is not used anywhere to mean "with a weapon" - it is used to mean "of the caravan", i.e. caravaners (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caravanner), in the Pāyāsi Sutta.

Second, nowhere is a sattha allowed, so it seems incongruous to suggest that bhikkhunis go around carrying one - a satthaka is explicitly allowed for bhikkhus cutting robes (Cv 5); ostensibly this refers to a miniature (-ka) knife (sattha).

Third, the anāpatti clause, "anāpatti satthena saha gacchati" isn't what one would expect if the meaning were "carrying a knife"; it's not a common expression, but it is used elsewhere, e.g. pācittiya 67:

“esāyyo, pabbajitena saha gacchatī””ti.

One would expect something like the common "cīvaraṃ dhāreti" if the meaning were "carrying a knife".

Fourth, weapons in general are considered "untouchable" by the commentary, touching which is subject to a dukkaṭa... can't find the canonical basis for it, but here's the passage in the commentary (to pārājika #2):

sabbañca āvudhabhaṇḍādiṃ āmasantassa dukkaṭaṃ vuttaṃ, idaṃ anāmāsadukkaṭaṃ nāma.

Hope this is welcome. Sorry that the DPR can't figure out asatthika yet :)

Blessings,

Yuttadhammo

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Nina van Gorkom <vangorko@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Bryan and Sister Dipa,
> thank you. The life of a bhikkhu and bhikkhuni is a life with non-
> violence. Think of the Parable of the Saw: even if robbers would saw
> off your limbs, you still should have mettaa. It is not in the spirit
> of the teachings to carry weapons. Caravan would be the only
> possibility I would think.
> Nina.
> Op 1-dec-2011, om 4:34 heeft Bryan Levman het volgende geschreven:
>
> > Presumably the sentence could mean either nuns shouldn't wander
> > without weapons in dangerous places and/or a nun shouldn't wander
> > without companions in such places, both of which things we might
> > say to our own children if they were travelling to an unsafe
> > location (stay with your friends, and keep a pepper spray in your
> > purse); so in the end I'm not sure if both meanings were meant,
> > although the "travel in a caravan" definition seems the most
> > logical if we have to pick one.
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>