|
The grove presented by
Ambapālī to the
Buddha and the Order. It was in Vesāli and was given to the Buddha during his
last tour in that town, at the conclusion of the meal to which Ambapālī had
invited him (Vin.i.231-3). But both the Buddha and the monks seem to have stayed
there previously during their visits to Vesāli (thus according to D.ii.94 the
Buddha was already in the grove before Ambapālī visited him; see also S. v.301,
which must refer to an incident before the Buddha's last tour, because Sāriputta
was still alive).
The Buddha is stated to have preached
three suttas in the grove, two of them being on the value of the
satipatthānā
(S.v.141ff). In the third sutta (A.iv.100-6) he dwells on the impermanence of
all sankhāras and proceeds to describe the process by which the whole world will
ultimately be destroyed by seven suns arising in the world and drying everything
up. In this sutta appears also the story of the teacher
Sunetta, who, even after
becoming the Great Brahma, is yet subject to old age and death.
The Samyutta also records a conversation
that took place between Anuruddha and
Sāriputta during a stay in Ambapālivana
(S.v.301).
The grove was planted with mangoes and
was so called because it belonged to Ambapālī. DA.ii.545.

|