“Āyatana” can mean different things depending on the context.
- The six “indriya” (cakkhu, sota, ghana, jivha, kaya, mano) become “āyatana” in a defiled mind. That is one context.
- But “āyatana” could be used in the context of “a place” too. That is the context in the verse you quoted.
I discussed that in the post “Nibbāna “Exists”, but Not in This World.” The following is from that post:
The “Paṭhama Nibbāna Paṭisaṃyutta Sutta (Ud 8.1)“. It says, “Atthi, bhikkhave, tadāyatanaṃ, yattha neva pathavī, na āpo, na tejo, na vāyo, na ākāsānañcāyatanaṃ, na viññāṇañcāyatanaṃ, na ākiñcaññāyatanaṃ, na nevasaññānāsaññāyatanaṃ, nāyaṃ loko, na paraloko, na ubho candimasūriyā. Tatrāpāhaṃ, bhikkhave, neva āgatiṃ vadāmi, na gatiṃ, na ṭhitiṃ, na cutiṃ, na upapattiṃ; appatiṭṭhaṃ, appavattaṃ, anārammaṇamevetaṃ. Esevanto dukkhassā”ti.”.
- The first part is “atthi, bhikkhave, tadāyatanaṃ.” Here “atthi” means “exists,” and “tadāyatana” is another word for Nibbāna. tadāyatana comes from “tath” + “āyatana,” where “tath” (pronounced “thath”) means “perfect.” Since Nibbāna is something that we cannot define in terms of words, the closest English word for “āyatana” is something like “dimension” or “sphere.” This “āyatana” is not to be confused with the six āyatana referring to the six sensory faculties in “Nāmarūpa Paccayā Salāyatana.”
