Leṇa (& lena) (nt.) [*Sk. layana, fr. lī in meaning "to hide," cp. Prk. leṇa] 1. a cave (in a rock), a mountain cave, used by ascetics (or bhikkhus) as a hermitage or place of shelter, a rock cell. Often enumd with kuṭi & guhā, e. g. Vin iv.48; Miln 151; Vbh 251 (n.). At Vin ii.146 it is given as collective name for 5 kinds of hermitages, viz. vihāra, aḍḍhayoga, pāsāda, hammiya, guhā. The expln of leṇa at VbhA 366 runs as follows: "pabbataŋ khaṇitvā vā pabbhārassa appahonakaṭṭhāne kuḍḍaŋ uṭṭhāpetvā vā katasenāsanaŋ," i. e. opportunity for sitting & lying made by digging (a cave) in a mountain or by erecting a wall where the cave is insufficient (so as to make the rest of it habitable). Cp. Vin i.206=iii.248 (pabbhāraŋ sodhāpeti leṇaŋ kattukāmo) Mhvs 16, 12; 28, 31 sq. (n); Miln 200 (mahā˚). -- 2. refuge, shelter, (fig.) salvation (sometimes in sense of nibbāna). In this meaning often combd with tāṇa & saraṇa, e. g. at D i.95; S iv.315 (maŋ -- leṇa refuge with me;+maŋtāṇa); iv.372 (=nibbāna); A i.155 sq. (n); J ii.253; DA i.232. Cp. Vin iii.155. leṇ'atthaŋ for refuge Vin ii.164 (n); J i.94. -- aleṇa without a refuge Ps i.127; ii.238; Pv ii.25 (=asaraṇa PvA 80).

 -- gavesin seeking shelter or refuge J ii.407=iv.346. -- guhā a mountain cave J iii.511. -- dvāra the door of the (rock) hermitage Vism 38; DhA iii.39. -- pabbhāra "cave -- slope," cave in a mountain DhA iv.170.