The “Completely Pleasing” Exegesis on the Vinaya

This chapter argues that Buddhaghosa understood the Vinaya as demonstrating the unfolding nature of the Buddha’s omniscient ken because it shows how he was able to anticipate the future. It does so through a close reading of the opening of the Vinaya Piṭaka, the account of an occasion that took place at Verañjā, as it is interpreted in the Samantapāsādikā. The Vinaya rules, in Buddhaghosa’s reading, show how the Buddha created a monastic law code that could address immediate circumstances and foresee the future. It also argues for the importance of the narrative frames of the monastic rules, and considers closely Buddhaghosa’s own narrative frame in his Vinaya commentary; the key term here is “occasion” (samaya). The chapter also shows how essential the Buddha’s qualities were for Buddhaghosa’s reading of scripture.