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mentioned by name, instruct a group of Jaina laymen. The rumour of this event reaches Rāy. where people ask Goy.'s opinion on these teachings. Goy. transmits the question to My. who approves of the tenets held by the Pāsávaccijjā therā bhagavanto. Likewise in XI 121 (where reference is made to the Tungiy’uddesa just mentioned) Mv. assures certain sceptical laymen that their fellow Isibhaddaputta has excellently answered the question regarding divine rebirths they had asked him at Ala(m)bhiyā.28 He even prophesies that Isibhaddaputta will enter a divine existence and will soon attain salvation,
Once in a while the Master will supplement some answer given by one of his disciples. Thus in X 4, in a discussion passing in the Dūipalāsaya sanctuary near Vāņiyaggāmaa), Goy. cannot completely gratify his condisciple Sämahatthi's desire of knowledge and has to be supported by Mahāvīra. The Lord will praise Goy. for his quickness at repartee (XVIII 82) as well as the layman Madduya for not letting the dissidents entice him to pronounce upon things he does not well understand (XVIII 74). Eventually he will also defend Sankha's way of acting against the accusations of his fellow-laymen (XII 1).
It must be regretted that apart from these rare words of praise from the Master's lips the Viy. hardly records two or three events showing, perhaps, something like a personal feeling on Mv.'s side. A rather curious short text we have in V 43. Mv. forbids the Elders to blame his very young disciple Aimutta who is playing with his alms-bowl in a brook: Aimutta will indeed achieve salvation in his present life. Interpreting this, however, one probably should bear in mind that Aimutta, according to Antag. 6, had been a prince before he became a monk.30 Other places where Mv. does not actually teach but
28 Alabhiyā or Alambhiyā probably is Pāli Alavi identified by CUNNINGHAM with Newal 'nineteen miles south-east of Kanauj on the eastern side of the Ganges' (HOERNLE, Uvās. App. pp. 51-53); see Newal OMI 63 B/1/8 (T.I. p. 231).
29 Vāņiyaggama: mod. Bania (deest GIP) near Basārh in Muzaffarpur district (cf. DEY, Geographical Dict. p. 107 s.v. Kundagāma); Basārh QIM 72 G/1/4 (T.I., p. 208) is the old Vesālī.
30 Cf. SCHUBRING, Worte Mv. p. 19: ... wir gehen vielleicht nicht ganz fehl in dem Gedanken, dass dieser Umstand Mahāvīra beeinflusst hat. Denn beim
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