Re: Kāmañcettha pahānavinayena vinayo na sambhavati

Dear Ven. Bodhi and Petra,

I also had some reservations about rendering pariyāyena as
'figuratively'. I tend to understand it in most contexts as '(way of)
exposition' i.e. it represents a particular way of explaining dhamma on
a particular occasion for a particular reason. This tends to arise in
the abhidhamma context especially where nippariyāya- refers to
abhidhamma teaching.

Of course, 'figuratively' does give a rather straightforward rendering
in clear English that is sometimes appropriate, but it may introduce an
implication that something is not literally true. I don't think that is
intended.

Lance Cousins