Soṇa untranslated

Soṇa 01. Soṇa Thera Aggasāvaka of Vessabhū Buddha. He was the Buddha’s younger brother, and the Buddha’s first sermon was preached to him. Ja.i.42; Bv.xxii.23; Bv­a.205; DN.ii.4.

Soṇa 02. Soṇa Thera The enemy and rival of Piyadassī Buddha, corresponding to Devadatta. He conspired with Mahā Paduma to kill the Buddha, but was unsuccessful. Bv­a.174f.; for details see Piyadassī.

Soṇa 03. A fierce horse belonging to the king of Benares; he was also called Mahā Soṇa. See the Suhanujātaka (Ja 158).

Soṇa 04. Soṇa Kuṭikaṇṇa, Soṇa Koṭikaṇṇa A Thera, declared chief of those possessing clear utterance (AN.i.24). He was the son of Kāḷī Kuraragharikā, and was conceived before the Buddha appeared in the world (according to Thag­a.i.429, his father was a rich seṭṭhi; no mention is made there of his mother).

A little while before the birth of the child Kāḷī went to her parents’ house in Rājagaha, and one day, as she was cooling herself, she heard a conversation between two Yakkhas, Sātāgira and Hemavata. As she listened to their talk, her mind was filled with thoughts of the virtues of the Buddha, and she became a Sotāpanna. That same night the child was born and was called Soṇa. His mother later returned to Kuraraghara. At that time Mahā Kaccāna lived near by and often visited her home. Soṇa was very attached to him, and was later ordained by him. Three years later he received the upasampadā, and, with Mahā Kaccāna’s leave, visited the Buddha. Kāḷī gave him a large carpet to spread in the Buddha’s Gandhakuṭi.

When Soṇa arrived at the Gandhakuṭi, he worshipped the Buddha, who asked Ānanda to find him a lodging. Ānanda, reading the Buddha’s thoughts, spread a rug in the Buddha’s chamber. Late at night Soṇa went to bed, and, very early the next morning, the Buddha woke him and asked him to recite the Dhamma. Soṇa recited the whole of the Aṭṭhakavagga, which he had learnt from Mahā Kaccāna. At the end of the recital the Buddha applauded him and gave him a boon. Soṇa asked for the “Vinayadharapañcamagaṇena upasampadā, which Kaccāna had asked him to choose (this means permission to admit a monk into the Saṅgha with a chapter of only five monks, one of whom was versed in the Vinaya. For details of Soṇa’s visit to the Buddha, see Vin.i.194ff.; cf. Ud.v.6). Later he returned to Kuraraghara and visited his mother’s house. She had heard of the Buddha’s applause from the Devas, and wished Soṇa to recite the Dhamma just as he had done before the Buddha, and this he did.

In the time of Padumuttara Buddha Soṇa had resolved to win this eminence. In the time of Vipassī Buddha he was a member of the Saṅgha and sewed a robe for a monk. Later he was a tailor of Benares and mended a Pacceka Buddha’s robe (Thag.vss.365-9; AN­a.i.133f.; Thag­a.i.429).

The Dhammapada Commentary says (Dhp­a.iv.103f) that, on the day when Soṇa recited the Dhamma in Kuraraghara, Kāḷī went to listen to him, leaving only one female slave in the house. Her house had seven walls and fortified gates and savage dogs on leash. Molten lead flowed round the walls at night, and in the night it proved a slippery surface, difficult to walk on. Nine hundred thieves had been awaiting a chance of breaking into the house, and this day they saw their opportunity. They stationed one of their number to watch Kāḷī going to the monastery, and to kill her if she started homewards after the thieves entered her house. When they came her female servant ran to the monastery to tell her about it. But she would not be disturbed and sent her back. Again the servant went, and again she was sent back. When the thief, stationed near Kāḷī, saw her extraordinary piety, he was filled with remorse, and, at the end of the sermon, begged her forgiveness. All the nine hundred thieves joined the Saṅgha under Soṇa Kuṭikaṇṇa, and on the day they became Arahants the Buddha appeared before them in a ray of light to encourage them.

According to the Udāna Commentary (Ud­a.307), Soṇa was called Kuṭikaṇṇa because he wore ear ornaments worth one crore (koṭi). It is said that he once went with a caravan to Ujjenī, and when the caravan stopped for the night he slept away from the rest of its members. The caravan started very early and nobody waked Soṇa. When he finally awoke, he ran along the road till he came to a large tree. There he saw an ugly man tearing off his own flesh and eating it. On enquiry, Soṇa learnt that he had been a wicked merchant of Bhārukaccha, who had been born as a Peta because he had deceived his patrons. This revelation filled Soṇa with great misgivings, which were increased by the sight of two Peta boys with blood pouring out of their lips. They had been youths, also of Bhārukaccha, who had found fault with their mother for feeding an Arahant monk. When Soṇa returned from Ujjenī he consulted Mahā Kaccāna about these things, and resolved to enter the Saṅgha.

The Vinaya says (Vin.i.195f) that when Kaccāna wished to confer the higher ordination on Soṇa, it was three years before he could get together the necessary chapter of ten monks. This was because there were but few monks in Avanti and in the Southern Country; hence Soṇa’s request to the Buddha that he should allow five monks to officiate in Avanti. Other boons asked for by Soṇa and allowed by the Buddha were:

• (1) Permission to use, in Avanti, shoes with thick linings, because the soil of Avanti was black and always muddy;
• (2) permission to bath constantly;
• (3) to use skins for coverlets;
• (4) to accept robes set apart for absent monks even after the lapse of ten days.

Soṇa is evidently identical with Pāṭihīrasaññaka of the Apadāna (Ap.ii.392). Gosāla Thera was a friend of Soṇa Kuṭikaṇṇa. Thag­a.i.79.

Soṇa 05. Soṇa Koḷivisa Thera. He was also called Sukhumāla Soṇa (AN­a.i.679). He was born in Campā, his father being Usabha seṭṭhi. From the time of his conception his father’s wealth continued to increase, and, on the day of his birth, the whole town kept festival. Because in a previous birth he had given a ring, worth one hundred thousand, to a Pacceka Buddha, his body was like burnished gold – hence his name (he was evidently called Koḷivisa because he was a Koḷiyan, Ap.i.95, 21). His hands and feet were soft like bandhujīvaka-flowers, and a fine down grew on them (four inches long on his feet, Ap.i.298) curved “like ear ornaments.” He lived in great luxury in three palaces, each having its own season. King Bimbisāra, hearing of him, sent for him and Soṇa went with eighty thousand fellow townsmen.

In Rājagaha he heard the Buddha preach, and, winning faith, entered the Saṅgha with his parents’ consent. The Buddha gave him a subject for meditation, and he went to Sītavana, but many people visited him and he was unable to concentrate. He strove hard, and, through pacing up and down in meditation, painful sores developed on his feet. But he won no attainment and was filled with despair. The Buddha saw this and visited him, and by preaching to him the Vīnūpamovādasutta (see Soṇasutta), taught him how to temper energy with calm. Thus corrected, he put forth fresh effort and attained Arahant-ship (Thag.vss.632-644).

The Vinaya (i.179ff) gives details of Soṇa’s visit to Bimbisāra. The king, being curious to see Soṇa’s feet, sent for him. He and his eighty thousand companions went to see the Buddha, and there they were greatly impressed by the iddhi-power of Sāgata. Soṇa then sought the Buddha alone and joined the Saṅgha. After ordination he walked about meditating, his feet bled, and his caṅkamana was covered with blood “like a slaughter house for oxen.” After Soṇa attained Arahant-ship, the Buddha gave him permission to wear shoes with one lining. Soṇa said he had abandoned eighty cartloads of gold and a retinue of seven elephants. He did not wish, as a monk, to have any luxuries which his colleagues did not share, The Buddha then gave permission to all monks to wear shoes with one lining.

In the time of Anomadassī Buddha he was a very rich seṭṭhi, and, having gone with others to the vihāra and heard the Buddha preach, he decorated a caṅkamana for the Buddha and a long hall (dīghasālā) for the monks. On the caṅkamana he scattered various flowers, and, above it, he hung canopies. In the time of Padumuttara Buddha he was a seṭṭhi of Haṁsavatī named Sirivaḍḍha. It was then that he resolved to win eminence as foremost of those who strove energetically (aggaṁ āraddhaviriyānaṁ), and in this he was successful (AN.i.24). After the death of Kassapa Buddha, Soṇa was a householder in Benares, and built a hut by the river for a Pacceka Buddha, whom he looked after during the rainy season. He was king of the gods for twenty-five kappas, and seventy-seven times king among men under the name of Yasodhara. Thag­a.i.544f.; cf. Ap.i.93f., where he is called Koḷiyavessa. The Apadāna Commentary confused his story with that of Soṇa Kuṭikaṇṇa; see also AN­a.i.130f., where the details are different, especially regarding the honour paid by Soṇa to the Pacceka Buddha. Once, on visiting the Pacceka Buddha’s cell, he noticed that the ground outside it was muddy; so he spread on the ground a rug worth one hundred thousand, so that the Pacceka Buddha’s feet might not be soiled.

The Apadāna mentions (Ap.i.298) a Thera, called Soṇa Koṭivīsa, evidently identical with the above, the reason given for the name being that he gave away wealth equal in value to twenty crores (vīsa koṭi). His eminence is ascribed to the fact that, in the time of Vipassī Buddha, he made a lena (cave) for the Buddha and his monks and spread it with rugs. Buddhaghosa (AN­a.i.130) gives a variant of his name, calling him Koṭivessa, and explains this by saying that he belonged to a Vessa (merchant) family worth a crore.

The Soṇasutta (Cf. AN­a.ii.680, where he is described as Gandhabbasippe cheko, skilled in the Gandhabba art, mentions that Soṇa was a clever player of the vīnā before he joined the Saṅgha. It was the example of Soṇa Koḷivisa which urged Nandaka and his brother, Bharata, to leave the world. Thag­a.i.299.

Soṇa 06. An Arahant monk who was sent with Uttara to convert Suvaṇṇabhūmi. Dpv.viii.12; Vin-a.i.68, 69; Mhv.xii.6, 44ff.; for details see Suvaṇṇabhūmi.

Soṇa 07. A minister of Mahā Sena and a follower of the heretic monk, Saṅghamitta. He helped Saṅghamitta in the despoliation of the Lohapāsāda and other buildings. He was killed in an attempt to destroy the Thūpārāma (Mhv.xxxvii.10, 13, 28). In the Dīpavaṁsa (Dpv.xxii.70, 71) he is called Pāpasoṇa.

Soṇa 08. See Mahā Soṇa.

Soṇa 09. Soṇa Poṭirīyaputta Thera (or Seṭṭhiputta). He was born in Kapilavatthu as the son of the zemindar Poṭirīya (Selissariya), and became chief of the forces of the Sākyan Bhaddiya. When Bhaddiya left the world, Soṇa followed his example and entered the Saṅgha. But he was lazy and not given to meditation. The Buddha saw this from the Ambavana at Anupiyā and, sending forth a ray of glory, spurred him on. Soṇa became inspired, and putting forth effort became an Arahant.

In the time of Sikhī Buddha he was a forester and gave the Buddha a kuruñjiya-fruit (Thag.vss.193, 194; Thag­a.i.316f). He is probably identical with Kuruñjiyaphaladāyaka of the Apadāna. Ap.ii.448f.

Soṇa 10. A gahapatiputta (son of a householder) of Rājagaha. He is mentioned as having had two conversations with the Buddha at Veḷuvana: one on the impermanence of the body, feelings, etc., their origin and their cessation (SN.iii.48f); and, on another occasion, as to why some beings achieve complete cessation in this life and others do not. SN.iv.113.

Soṇa 11. A gifted preacher, who lived in the Pipphali vihāra at the foot of Soṇṇagiri. His father was a hunter, and all Soṇa’s efforts to lead him away from sin failed, until he was very old, when Soṇa ordained him just before his death. The old man saw the Niraya and dogs coming to devour him. He shouted in fright, and Soṇa took him on his bed to the vihāra and made him worship the cetiya, the bodhi-tree, etc., and offered various things in his father’s name. He then saw the Devaloka before him. Vibh­a.439; cf. AN­a.i.255, where the vihāra is called Pañcālavihāra, and MN­a.ii.887, where it is called Pacelivihāra.

Soṇa 12. A Thera of the Mahā Vihāra, at whose request the Kaṅkhāvitaraṇī was written. Knv., p.1.

Soṇa 13. See Soṇa and its compounds.

Soṇā 01. One of the chief women patrons of Dīpaṅkara Buddha. Bv.ii.215.

Soṇā 02. An Aggasāvikā, of Sumana Buddha. Bv.v.24; Ja.i.34.

Soṇā 03. An eminent lay woman, disciple of the Buddha. AN.iv.348.

Soṇā 04. An eminent Therī of Ceylon. Dpv.xviii.38.

Soṇā 05. A Therī. She was declared foremost among nuns for capacity of effort (āraddhaviriyānaṁ). She belonged to the family of a clansman of Sāvatthī, and because, after marriage, she had ten sons and daughters, she came to be called Bahuputtikā (Many-children). When her husband renounced the world, she distributed her wealth among her children, keeping nothing for herself. Her children soon ceased to show her any respect, and she entered the Saṅgha in her old age. She waited on the nuns and studied most of the night. Soon her strenuous energy became known to the Buddha, and he, sending forth a ray of glory, spoke to her. Then she attained Arahant-ship.

Her resolve to win eminence was made in the time of Padumuttara Buddha, when she was the daughter of a rich seṭṭhi. (AN.i.25; Thīg.vss.102-6; Thīg­a.96f.; Ap.ii.576; cf. the story of Bahuputtikā at Dhp­a.ii.276f).

The Aṅguttara Commentary says (AN­a.i.199) that after she became an Arahant she wished her colleagues to know this because they had been in the habit of constantly finding fault with her for various things, and she did not wish them to continue doing so and thereby commit a sin. She therefore filled a vessel with water, which she heated by her iddhi-power, using no fire. When the nuns came to look for water she told them that if they wanted warm water they could have it from the vessel. They found the water hot, and understood. Then they begged her forgiveness.

Soṇā 06. An eminent teacher of the Vinaya in Jambudīpa. Dpv.xviii.10.

Sona 01. The Bodhisatta born as a Brahmin of Benares. See the Sonanandajātaka (Ja 532).

Sona 02. See Soṇa.