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There is a distinctive usage of plurals(bahuvacana) in Pāli which has been under-researched in the field: honorific plurals. This paper introduces textual evidence for early knowledge on the subject by citing Dhammapāla’s commentaries as well as the Rūpasiddhi and the Saddanīti. In characterizing Mūla and Aṭṭhakathāusages of honorific plurals, passages from the Jayaddisa Jātaka in the Jātakatthavaṇṇanā prove to be representative since they contain honorific plurals in first person, which are predominant in canonical texts, and honorific plurals of the second person pronoun unique to post-canonical texts. The latter is found in multitude in the Milindapañha and several commentaries, whereas the former is distributed sparsely across the canonical body. Evidences suggests that the second person pronoun honorific plurals in second person pronouns had likely been grammaticalized by the time when Milindapañha was composed and continued to be applied frequently by the early commentators such as Buddhaghosa, Dhammapāla and the author of the Jātakatthavaṇṇanā. Herein, this chronological development is examined using pericopes set in various pragmatic contexts. Since a detailed academic discussion of the subject has been lacking, most examples and analyses presented in this paper are new and therefore should contribute to enhancing our understanding of honorific plurals in Pāli.

This study investigates the praxeological mechanism through which Vinaya (monastic discipline) and Sati (mindfulness) functionally integrate to facilitate insight into anattā (non-self), specifically through the process of ‘Non-Identification.’ Moving beyond previous research that treats Vinaya as mere ethical norms and Sati as an isolated meditation technique, this study introduces the analytical concept of ‘Cut-off Point’ within the chain of Dependent Origination to examine their integrated operation. The analysis reveals that Vinaya functions as a breakwater, serving as the primary cut-off point that structurally restricts sensory contact to suspend the automatic progression from phassa (contact) through vedanā (feeling) to taṇhā (craving). The ‘waves’ of sensory stimuli that pass over this breakwater arrive with diminished force, enabling Sati to serve as the secondary cut-off point by observing the weakened vedanā as a conditioned phenomenon separate from self-identification. Vinaya and Sati form a mutually reinforcing feedback relationship, and this integrated mechanism is characterized by the gradual reduction of cetanā (intention), transitioning from vigorous effort to wise attention (yoniso manasikāra). The ‘Dual Cut-off Points Model’ proposed in this study shares functional similarities with ‘Cognitive Defusion,’ ‘Acceptance,’ and ‘Psychological Flexibility’ in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). However, it is distinguished by its ultimate aim of dismantling sakkāya-diṭṭhi (identity view) through the triple negation logic of the Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta—”This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self”—thereby fundamentally deconstructing the very concept of self rather than merely enhancing its flexibility. In conclusion, this study provides a theoretical response to critiques of decontextualized modern mindfulness by demonstrating that Vinaya, as a structural foundation, constitutes an essential condition for sustaining the cognitive transformation effected by Sati.

This study reexamines the meaning of the Eight Garudhammas(八敬法) and the Buddhist view of female Buddhahood, focusing on the Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra(大愛道比丘尼經). Previous scholarship has often regarded the Eight Garudhammas as institutional symbols of gender discrimination and interpreted the denial of female Buddhahood and the doctrine of transformation into a male body as limitations on women’s capacity for practice. Through close textual analysis, this paper proposes an alternative reading, understanding these teachings not as contradictory doctrines but as elements within a coherent soteriological framework. The theory of the Five Obstacles(五障說) is interpreted not as asserting women’s inherent inferiority, but as reflecting historical constraints on women occupying positions of supreme authority. By distinguishing between “becoming a Buddha” as religious leadership(作佛) and “attaining Buddhahood” as the realization of awakening(成佛), this study argues that enlightenment itself remains open to women. The concept of “zhangfu”(丈夫) is reinterpreted as a normative term denoting spiritual virtue rather than biological maleness. Likewise, transformation into a male body is understood symbolically, signifying the eradication of defilements and the completion of practice. Furthermore, the Eight Garudhammas are reconsidered not as essential restrictions but as pragmatic measures securing institutional conditions for women’s ordination within their historical context. Through this analysis, this study demonstrates that the Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra presents the principle of equality, affirming that women can also attain Buddhahood through practice.