The hiker's discovery has created a mystery: What was such a valuable coin doing around the Sea of Galilee?
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| Devas and titans battle in space/sky (akasha loka) in European art, war in heaven where Sakka is St. Michael and the titan chief Vepacitti, a Lucifer/Satan figure. |
.
"Once, meditators, a battle between the shining ones (
devas) and the (
asuras) titans [sometimes spoken of as if it were a battle between angels and demons over issues of good and evil] was in full
swing.
In that battle, the titans won and the
devas lost. Having
lost, the
devas fled while the titans, heading north, attacked
them. Then the thought occurred to the
devas, 'The titans are still
attacking. Why not do battle a second time?'
"So the
devas did battle with the titans a second time. And a second
time, the titans won and the
devas lost. Having lost, the
devas fled while the titans, heading north, attacked them. Then the thought
occurred to the
devas, 'The titans are
still attacking. Why not do
battle a third time?'
"So the
devas did battle with the titans a third time. And a third
time, the titans won and the
devas lost. Having lost, the
devas -- afraid -- returned to the
deva capital [of one particular world called Tavatimsa or the "World of the Thirty-Three"].
Having gone to their capital, the
devas
thought, 'Having come to this shelter for the fearful, we will now keep
here to ourselves, having nothing to do with the titans.' And the titans
also thought, 'Having gone to this shelter for the fearful, the
devas
will now keep here to themselves having nothing to do with us.'
Heading south
"Once, meditators, a battle between the
devas and titans was in full
swing. In that battle, the
devas won and the titans lost. Having
lost, the titans fled while the
devas, heading south, attacked
them. Then the thought occurred to the titans, 'The
devas are still
attacking. Why not do battle a second time?'
"So the titans did battle with the
devas a second time....And a third
time, the
devas won and the titans lost. Having lost, the titans --
afraid -- returned to the titan capital. Having gone to their capital, the
titans thought, 'Having come to this shelter for the fearful, we will
now keep here to ourselves having nothing to do with the
devas.' And
the
devas also thought, 'Having gone to this shelter for the fearful,
the titans will now keep here to themselves having nothing to do with
us.'
Comparison to meditation
"In the same way, meditators, on whatever occasion a meditator -- secluded from
sensuality, secluded from unskillful things -- enters the first
meditative absorption (
jhāna or
dhyana) accompanied by
rapture and pleasure born of seclusion [i.e., withdrawal from sensuality and unskillful things], accompanied by
applied and sustained attention -- on such an occasion the thought occurs to a meditator:
"'Having come to this shelter for the fearful, I will now keep here to
myself, having nothing to do with
Māra [the
defilements of the mind/heart personified].'
"And the thought occurs to Māra,
the Harmful One, 'Having gone to this shelter for the fearful, the meditator
will now keep here having nothing to do with me.'
[Similarly with the second, third, and fourth meditative absorptions.]
"On whatever occasion a meditator, with the complete transcending of
perceptions of (physical) form, with the disappearance of perceptions of
resistance, and not heeding
perceptions of diversity, (perceiving,)
'Boundless space,' enters the base [dimension] of the boundlessness of space: Such a person is
said to be a meditator who has put Māra in the dark.
- [Note 1: The text here has antamakāsi -- "has put an end to" -- which does not fit the context as well as the reading, andhamakāsi -- "has put in the dark" -- found in the parallel passage in MN 25, so I have followed the latter reading here.]
Having bound Māra's eyes and leaving no opening, that meditator has become invisible to the Harmful One.
- [2: The interpretation of this image here differs from that in MN 25,
which states that the (meditator) puts Māra in the dark upon entering the first meditative absorption. In either case -- putting Māra in the dark beginning with the
first absorption or only beginning with the base of the boundlessness of
space -- the "dark" is temporary, lasting only as long as one remains in that
attainment.]
[Similarly with the bases or dimensions of the boundlessness of consciousness, nothingness, and neither-perception-nor-non-perception.]
"On whatever occasion, with the complete transcending of the
base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, one enters and
remains in the
cessation of perception and feeling.
"And having seen
[that] with wisdom, one's
defilements [
fetters] are completely ended: One is said
to be a meditator who has put Māra in the dark. Having bound Māra's eyes and
leaving no opening, one has become invisible to the Harmful One, having
crossed over attachment in the universe."
- [3: This is the only one of these attainments that inherently contains
the wisdom (insight or discernment) that takes one, once and for all, beyond attachments in
the universe.]
The Buddha's mother's name was Maya, but she is always called Maya Devi, which simply designates that she was royalty, a queen, a ruler. How does devi signify that?
As the father of a certain monk lay dying, he longed to see his son. But he was unable to contact him. 
There are two distinct Buddhist traditions, the older more "orthodox" Theravada and the newer, more "reformed" Mahayana. (Other traditions, like Zen and Vajrayana, are actually forms of Mahayana Buddhism). People rarely make the distinction because the separation is not absolute. Most of what is known about Buddhism is less to do with the historical Buddha and more to do with the Mahayana school and its teachings.
Buddhist monastics, known as the Sangha, are governed by 227 to 253 rules depending on the school or tradition for males (bhikkhus). There are between 290 and 354 rules, depending on the school or tradition, for females (bhikkhunis). These rules, contained in the Vinaya, are divided into several groups, each entailing a penalty for their breech, depending on its seriousness.
Nuns have additional rules related to various physical contacts with males with one relating to concealing from the Sangha the defeat of another. Before his passing, the Buddha instructed that permission was granted for the abandonment or adjustment of minor rules should prevailing conditions demand such a change. These rules apply to all Sangha members irrespective of their Buddhist tradition. The interpretation of the rules, however, differs between the Mahayana and Theravada traditions. 
When one examines why this rule was instituted initially, it is possible to reach the conclusion that it is currently redundant. It was the practice in the Buddha's time for mendicant ascetics to go to a village with bowls to collect alms. To avoid disturbing the villagers unnecessarily, the Buddha ordained that monastics only visit once a day, in the early morning. This would allow the villagers to be free to conduct their day to day affairs without being disturbed by ascetics requiring food. Today, however, people bring food to temples, monasteries, and nunneries or prepare it on the premises. So at least part of the original reason for the restriction may no longer apply. In any case, that is how the Mahayanists have chosen to alter the rule.
