"It is the gooseberry and some varieties you can almost see through. It occurs many times in the Pali writings and in the commentary by Buddhaghosa does have this meaning.
One instance is his commentary on Digha Nikaya, Brahmajaalasutta (PTS I, 02)
The Pali reads (in Walshe's translation) "It is wonderful, friends, it is marvellous how the Blessed Lord, the Arahant, the fully enlighted Buddha knows, sees and clearly distinguishes the different inclination of beings!"
and the commentary comments as follows;
tena bhagavataa jaanataa ... pe ... suppa.tividitaa ti etthaaya.m sa"nkhepattho. yo so bhagavaa samati.msa paaramiyo puuretvaa sabbakilese bha~njitvaa anuttara.m sammaasambodhi.m abhisambuddho, tena bhagavataa tesa.m tesa.m sattaana.m aasayaanusaya.m jaanataa,hatthatale .thapita.m aamalaka.m viya sabba~neyyadhamma.m passataa . (1, 0043)
where Buddhaghosa says (roughly translated)
"known by the Blessed One .... up to (pe) clearly distinguishes". Here is a condensed meaning (sa"nkhepattho). The Blessed One after fulfilling the thirty perfections, haveing destroyed all the afflictions, has achieved unsurpassed enightenment, by knowing the inclinations and predispositions of all beings, by seeing all the dharmas to be known like a gooseberry placed in the palm of one's hand...
There are lots of other references which the person interested could look up, but it will take some time,
Best,
Bryan
On 30-Apr-11, at 11:04 AM, Stephen Hodge wrote:
This example of the "amla in the hand" is also mentioned in the early core
portion of the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, which I date to mid-late c1st
CE:
無有所取。其名取者。猶如手執阿摩勒果。眞解脱者則不如是。
[Faxian/Buddhabhadra]
又解脱者名不可取。如阿摩勒果人可取持。解脱不爾不可取持。不可取持即眞解脱。眞解脱者即是如來。
[Dharmakṣema]
<nyon mongs pa med pa> <nyon mongs pa med pa> zhes bya ba ni ji ltar mi'i
'chang par skyu ru ra gzung du yod pa bzhin du thar pa ni de dang 'dra bar
ci yang gzung du med do ||
I have found that many of the examples in this sutra have Agamic antecedants
and this may also be the case here ~ in one of the other collections if not
in the Pali Nikāyas.
Best wishes,
Stephen Hodge