Lzh Dg Bu Vb Pc 84Beds and Benches

– DHARMAGUPTAKA VINAYA

– PĀCITTIYA

84. A BED TOO HIGH IN MEASURE

A. ORIGIN

At one time, the Buddha was staying at the Anāthapiṇḍika garden, Jeta's Grove, in the country of Śrāvastī. At that time, the Venerable Kāḷudāyin, having guessed that the Blessed One would pass along a certain road, spread out a tall and fine bed right in the middle of that road. When Kāḷudāyin saw the Blessed One approaching from afar, he said to the Buddha:

"Blessed One, look at my bed! Well-Gone One, look at my bed!"

The Blessed One said:

"Know that this foolish man harbors much that is evil within his heart."

On account of this matter, the Blessed One assembled the community of bhikkhus and said to them:

"This foolish Kāḷudāyin spread out a large and high bed solely for himself."

After the Blessed One had reproved Kāḷudāyin with countless skillful means, he said to the bhikkhus:

"This foolish man is a field for planting many seeds of the āsavas, and he is the first to commit this offense. From this day forward, I shall lay down a precept for the bhikkhus, based on ten principles, up to and including the principle that the true Dharma may long endure."

The precept should be spoken thus:

Whatever bhikkhu makes a rope bed or a wooden bed, the legs of the bed shall be only eight finger-breadths of the Tathāgata in height, not counting the portion from the mortise joint upward where the bed frame is fitted. If they exceed this, it is a pācittiya; he must cut it down.

B. ANALYSIS OF THE PRECEPT

Bhikkhu: as defined above.

Bed: there are five kinds of beds as mentioned above.

If a bhikkhu himself makes a rope bed or a wooden bed, and the height of the legs after cutting equals eight finger-breadths of the Tathāgata, if they exceed this, it is a pācittiya. If he makes it but does not complete it, he commits a dukkaṭa. If he instructs another to make it, and after cutting the legs exceed eight finger-breadths, it is a pācittiya; if it is not completed, he commits a dukkaṭa. If he makes it for another person, whether completed or not, in all cases he commits a dukkaṭa.

For a bhikkhunī, it is a pācittiya. For a sikkhāmānā, a sāmaṇera, or a sāmaṇerī, it is a dukkaṭa. This is called an offense.

Non-offense: making a bed with legs equal to eight finger-breadths or less than eight finger-breadths; using one made by another and given as a gift; cutting away the excess and then using it; or removing the legs and setting them aside — these are no offense.

Non-offenders: one who commits the first offense prior to the laying down of the precept; one who is insane; one whose mind is disturbed; one who is afflicted with pain and overcome by distress.

Vietnamese translation: Bhikkhu Thích Đỗng Minh and Thích Đức Thắng. DHARMAGUPTAKA VINAYA, PART ONE.

Chinese translation: Tripiṭaka masters Buddhayaśas and Zhu Fonian.

Revised and annotated by: Bhikkhu Thích Nguyên Chứng.

(Chinese translation, fascicles 1–21; Vietnamese translation, volumes 1 and 2)

Buddhist Studies Editorial Board, 2002.