In Piyadassi Thera’s “Book of Protection,” he includes the Ten Questions (Sāmaṇerapañhā or Kumārapañhā) from the Khuddakapāṭha. The answer to question 9, “Nava nāma kiṃ?” is “Navasattāvāsā,” “the nine abodes of beings.” The suttas consistently list these as beings which variously differ or are the same in body and perception (yielding four possibilities); beings of the realms of unlimited space, consciousness, and nothingness; non-percipient beings, and those of the base of neither perception nor non-perception.
In his notes, referencing Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli’s translation of the Khuddaka Nikāya and its commentary, the Paramatthajotikā, “Minor Readings and The Illustrator of Ultimate Meaning” p. 92, Piyadassi explains the nine abodes as “the abodes where beings such as humans, animals, devas, ghosts, and brahmas are born, and the realms of the infinity of space, infinity of consciousness, of nothingness, and of neither perception and non-perception.” This is very different.
I’d like to cross-reference this, but not only is this one of the works of Ñāṇamoli not publicly available, but I haven’t been able to locate the original Pāli Paramatthajotikā online. Does anyone have it, know a site where it’s located, or have any idea where Piyadassi Thera and/or Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli may be getting this from?