('der Jüngere vom Wege')
erhielt diesen Namen, weil er, ebenso wie sein Bruder (Mahā-Panthaka); auf der Landstrasse zur Welt kam, als deren Mutter auf dem Wege zu ihrer eigenen Familie war.
K und Subk (zusammengefasst): Culla-Panthaka war geschickt in der geistigen Sammlung (ceto-samādhi), nämlich in den vier feinkörperlichen Vertiefungen (rūpa-jjhāna), in denen eine Abwendung (vivattana) von der jeweils niederen zur höheren erfolgt und eine Reduzierung (sankhepa) der in ihnen auftretenden Vertiefungsglieder (s. Wtb: jhāna).
An eminent arahant, declared chief among Mönche skilled in creating forms by mind-power und in mental "evolution" (cittavivatta) (A.i.23). He was the younger Sohn von the Tochter von ein reicher Kaufmann of Rājagaha, who developed intimacy mit a slave und fled mit ihm when her misconduct was discovered. She wished to return to her parents for the Geburt of her first child, aber her Ehemann always postponed the visit until, in the end, she started to go without sein knowledge. He followed her, aber das Kind was born by the wayside, und therefore they called ihm Panthaka. The same thing occurred at the Geburt of the second child, und he auch received the name of Panthaka, he being Cūlapanthaka und sein Bruder Mahāpanthaka. When the boys grew up they were taken to Rājagaha, where their grandparents took charge of them. Mahāpanthaka often accompanied sein grandfather to hear der Buddha preach, und he yearned to become a monk. He easily obtained permission und entered the Order, in due course becoming an arahant. With the consent of sein grandparents, he ordained Cūlapanthaka, aber the latter proved to be a dullard, und in the course of vier Monate was unable to learn a single stanza. Es wird gesagt, dass In der Zeit von Kassapa Buddha Cūlapanthaka was a clever monk, who once laughed to scorn a dull colleague who was trying to learn a passage by heart.
When Mahāpanthaka discovered sein Bruder's stupidity, he asked ihm to leave the Order (see DhA.iv.190f), aber Cūlapanthaka so loved der Buddha's teaching that he did not wish to return to the lay-life. One day Jīvaka Komārabhacca, wishing to give alms to der Buddha und the Mönche, asked Mahāpanthaka, who was acting as steward, to collect all the Mönche in the monastery. This he did, omitting nur Cūlapanthaka who, he said, had made no progress in the Doctrine. Greatly grieved, Cūlapanthaka determined to leave the Order, aber as he was going out der Buddha met him, took ihm into the Gandhakuti und comforted him, giving him a clean piece of cloth. "Sit mit your face to the East," said der Buddha, "repeat the words 'rajoha-ranam' und wipe your face mit the cloth." As Cūlapanthaka carried out these orders he noticed that the cloth wurde dirty, und as he concentrated sein mind on the impermanence of all things, der Buddha sent a ray of light und exhorted ihm about the necessity of getting rid of the impurities of lust und other evils. At the end of the admonition Cūlapanthaka attained arahantship mit the vier patisambhidā, which included knowledge of all the Pitakas.
Tradition has it that Cūlapanthaka war einmal a König und that while going in procession round sein city he wiped the sweat from sein brow mit a spotless garment which he wore und noticed how the cloth was stained. His mind then grasped the idea of impermanence, hence the ease mit which he did so in sein last birth.
Meanwhile, der Buddha und the Mönche were seated in Jīvaka's house, aber when the meal was about to be served der Buddha ordered it to be stopped, saying that there were other Mönche left in the monastery. A servant was sent to find them, und Cūlapanthaka, aware of this, contrived that the whole grove appeared full of Mönche engaged in various activities. When the messenger reported this, he was told to discover which of the Mönche was Cūlapanthaka und to bring him. But all the Mönche answered to this name, und the messenger was forced to return without him. "Take by the hand the first who says that he is Cūlapanthaka," ordered the Buddha; und when this was done the other figures vanished. At the conclusion of the meal, Cūlapanthaka was asked to return thanks, und "like a young lion roaring defiance" the Elder ranged over the whole of the Pitakas in sein sermon. Thenceforth sein fame spread, und der Buddha, in order to prove how in previous births auch Cūlapanthaka had profited by advice received, related to the Mönche the Cullakasetthi Jātaka (Thag.557-66; AA.i.119ff; J.i.114ff; DhA.i.239ff; ThagA.i.515ff; Vsm.388f).
The Dhammapada Kommentar (i.250ff) gives another story of Cūlapanthaka's past. He went to Takkasilā to learn unter a teacher, aber though he did everything for sein teacher he could learn nothing. The teacher, feeling sorry for him, taught ihm a charm: "Ghattesi ghattesi, kim kāranā ghattesi? āham pi tam jānāmi" ("You try und try; what are you trying for? I know it too"). When he had returned home thieves entered sein house, aber he woke up from sein sleep und repeated the charm, whereupon the thieves fled, leaving behind them even their clothes. Der König of Benares, wandering about die Stadt in disguise, seeing what had happened, sent for Cūlapanthaka the next day und learnt from ihm the charm after paying ihm one tausend. Soon after-wards der König's commander-in-chief bribed the court barber to cut der König's throat, aber while the barber was sharpening sein razor der König repeated the charm. The barber, thinking that sein intended crime was discovered, confessed sein guilt. Der König, realising that the youth had saved sein life, appointed ihm commander-in-chief in place of the traitor, whom he banished. The youth was Cūlapanthaka und the teacher was the Bodhisatta.
Cūlapanthaka was a householder In der Zeit von Padumuttara Buddha, und having seen ein Mönch exalted by der Buddha to the rank of chief among those skilled in creating mind-born forms, aspired to the same position. In der Zeit von Kassapa Buddha he was ein Mönch und praktizierten odātakasina for zwanzig tausend Jahre (AA.i.119).
Cūlapanthaka was expert in rūpajjhāna und in samādhi, while sein Bruder was skilled in arūpajjhāna und in vipassanā. When creating forms, other Mönche could produce nur two oder drei, while Cūlapanthaka could bring into being as viele as one tausend at the same time, no two being alike in appearance oder action (ThagA.i.490; PsA.276).
According to the Apadāna (i.58f), Cūlapanthaka joined the Order at the age of eighteen. Es wird gesagt (Vin.iv.54f) that when it was sein turn to teach the nuns at Sāvatthi they expected no effective teaching, since he always repeated the same stanza. One day, at the end of the lesson, he overheard their remarks, und forthwith gab an exhibition of sein magical powers und of sein wide knowledge of der Buddha's teachings. The nuns listened mit great admiration until after sunset, when they were unable to gain entrance to die Stadt. Der Buddha heard of this und warned Cūlapanthaka not to keep the nuns so late.
The Udāna (v.10; UdA.319f) contains a verse sung by der Buddha in praise of Cūlapanthaka, und the Milinda (p.368) quotes a stanza attributed to Cūlapanthaka which has so far not been traced an anderer Stelle.