Aṅguttara Nikāya
Catukka Nipāta
XIV: Puggala Vagga
The Book of the Gradual Sayings
The Book of the Fours
XIV: On Persons
Sutta 140
Vādī Suttaṃ
Professors
Translated from the Pāḷi
by
Michael M. Olds
Once upon a time the Lucky man, Sāvatthī-town revisiting.
There then Bhagava said this to the beggars:
"Beggars!"
And "Elder!" those beggars responding,
the Lucky Man said this:
"Four, beggars, are professors.
What four?
There is, beggars, the professor
who is baffled[1] by the sense,
not the letter.
There is, beggars, the professor
baffled by the letter,
not the sense.
There is, beggars, the professor
baffled by both the sense
and the letter.
There is, beggars, the professor
baffled by neither the sense
nor the letter.
These, beggars, are the four professors.
It is, however, impossible, beggars,
there is no probability,
that one possessed of the four analytical powers[2]
could be baffled by both the sense and the letter."
[1] Pariyādānaṃ. PED has this as meaning the opposite of upādāna. Being upset, up-ended. Thrown over. Woodward follows this first, Bhk. Bodhi takes this in the sense of 'Thoroughly grasping' going to his 'exhausts', presumably meaning that he reaches the limit of his knowledge. In the sense I make of this we are speaking about the ability to explain a matter of Dhamma; in Bhk. Bodhi's sense he is speaking about the limit on the ability to expound on a matter. Take your pick.
[2] Knowledge of sense; knowledge of things; knowledge of etymology; and having his wits about him. See also footnote 2, Woodward:
