Thank you Bhante Yuttadhammo,
I am gathering this iformation to present to the person who has the impression that I.B. Horner was correct in her translation. I hope that by providing these responses that the individual will be convinced that it does indeed mean caravan.

thanks,
Sister Dipa

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, "Yuttadhammo" <yuttadhammo@...> wrote:
>
> 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]
> >
>