Lzh Dg Bu Vb Pj 4Laying False Claim to Superhuman Attainments

– FOUR-PART VINAYA

– PĀRĀJIKA

4. THE GREAT FALSE SPEECH

A. ORIGIN OF THE RULE

1. FIRST PROMULGATION OF THE RULE

At one time, the Blessed One was traveling and teaching at Vesālī, in the Kūṭāgārasālā beside the Monkey Pond. At that time it happened that grain and rice were scarce, the people were suffering from hunger, and alms were difficult to obtain. The Blessed One said to the Venerable Ānanda:

"Assemble all the bhikkhus residing at Vesālī in the assembly hall."

The Venerable Ānanda, in obedience to the Buddha's instruction, assembled the bhikkhus in the assembly hall. When the assembly had gathered, the Venerable Ānanda paid homage at the feet of the Buddha, then stood to one side and said:

"All the bhikkhus present at Vesālī have assembled in the hall. May the Holy One know that the time has come."

Thereupon the Blessed One went to the assembly hall and, seated in the midst of the great assembly, addressed the bhikkhus:

"You should know that at this time grain and rice are scarce, the people are suffering from hunger, and alms are difficult to obtain. Whoever among you has friends, acquaintances, or those who share the same preceptor or teacher living near Vesālī, let them go there and take shelter, making their rains retreat wherever is suitable. I too shall remain here for the rains retreat. Why is this? Because food is scarce, and it would cause the Sangha to suffer hardship."

Having heard the Blessed One's instruction, each of the bhikkhus went to stay with friends, acquaintances, or those who shared the same preceptor or teacher living near Vesālī, and observed the rains retreat there. The Blessed One also observed the rains retreat within the city of Vesālī.

At that time, a large number of bhikkhus were observing the rains retreat in a monastery beside the Vaggumudā River, and the thought arose in them: "At this time grain and rice are scarce in this land, the people are suffering from hunger, and alms are difficult to obtain. By what means shall we avoid suffering on account of food and drink?" They devised the following scheme: "Now we should go to the houses of laypeople and say: 'I have attained the superhuman Dharma.

I am an arahant; I have attained jhāna, attained spiritual powers, and know the minds of others.' And we shall praise whichever bhikkhu has realized arahantship, attained jhāna, attained spiritual powers, and knows the minds of others. Among those laypeople who believe and are pleased, whatever food and drink they have, they will not dare keep for themselves, nor give to their wives and children, but will bring it as an offering to us.

Those laypeople will also praise us, saying: 'These bhikkhus are truly a field of merit, worthy of reverence.' In this way we can receive fine and nourishing food and drink, live in comfort, and not be troubled by the difficulty of seeking alms."

Having thus devised this scheme, the bhikkhus beside the Vaggumudā River went to the houses of laypeople and declared:

"I have realized the superhuman Dharma. I am an arahant; I have attained jhāna, attained spiritual powers, and know the minds of others."

They also praised whichever bhikkhu they claimed had realized arahantship, attained jhāna, attained spiritual powers, and knew the minds of others.

At that time the laypeople, believing and pleased, accepted those words, and immediately brought whatever food and drink they had—food they had not dared keep for their wives and children—and offered it to the bhikkhus, saying: "These are worthy of veneration in the world."

These bhikkhus, having received the offerings of the laypeople, had bright and radiant complexions, were joyful, and were full of vigor. Meanwhile, the other bhikkhus who had observed the rains retreat at Vesālī were haggard in appearance, withered in body, and ragged in their robes. When the rains retreat ended, they packed their robes and bowls, went to where the Blessed One was, paid homage at his feet, and then sat to one side.

At that time the Blessed One inquired of those bhikkhus:

"Were you going and dwelling in harmony and comfort? Did you not suffer on account of food and drink?"

The bhikkhus replied:

"Venerable Blessed One, we went and dwelt in harmony and comfort; but grain and rice were scarce, the people were suffering from hunger, and alms were difficult to obtain. Because of that we suffered."

Meanwhile, those bhikkhus who had observed the rains retreat in the monastery beside the Vaggumudā River had bright and radiant complexions, were joyful, and were full of vigor. When the rains retreat ended, they packed their robes and bowls, went to where the Blessed One was, paid homage at his feet, and then sat to one side.

At that time the Blessed One inquired of those bhikkhus:

"Were you going and dwelling in harmony and comfort? Did you not suffer on account of food and drink?"

The bhikkhus said to the Buddha:

"Venerable Blessed One, we went and dwelt in harmony and comfort; we did not encounter any difficulty with food and drink."

The Buddha asked:

"At this time grain and rice are scarce, the people are suffering from hunger, and alms are difficult to obtain. By what means did you avoid encountering difficulty with food and drink?"

The bhikkhus then related the preceding circumstances fully to the Blessed One and said:

"It is for this reason that we did not encounter difficulty with food and drink."

The Blessed One asked the bhikkhus:

"Did you truly realize what you thus claimed?"

The bhikkhus replied:

"Some of us had truly realized it. Others had not."

The Buddha said to the bhikkhus:

"You foolish men—even when it is true, one should not speak of it to others; how much less when it is not true, going to others to speak of it!"

The Blessed One said to the bhikkhus:

"In the world there are two kinds of thieves: the first is one who is not truly of pure conduct yet claims to be of pure conduct; the second is one who, on account of mouth and belly, being untruthful—claiming for himself what he does not have—deliberately speaks false words in the midst of the assembly, declaring that he has attained the superhuman Dharma. Of these two kinds of thieves, the one who, on account of mouth and belly, being untruthful—claiming for himself what he does not have—deliberately speaks false words in the midst of the great assembly, declaring that he has attained the superhuman Dharma, is the greatest thief of all, without equal. Why is this? Because such a one steals the food and drink of others."

The Blessed One reproached the bhikkhus who had observed the rains retreat in the monastery beside the Vaggumudā River by means of countless skillful teachings, and then said to the bhikkhus:

"These are foolish men; they are a place where many seeds of the defiled are sown; they are the first to transgress this precept. From now on, I shall establish this precept for the bhikkhus, gathering ten bases of meaning, and so on, so that the true Dharma may long endure."

Whoever wishes to recite the precept should recite it thus:

"Whatever bhikkhu, having no actual knowledge, declares: 'I have realized the superhuman Dharma; I know thus, I see thus'—if at a later time, whether questioned by others or not questioned, wishing to purify himself, he says: 'In truth I did not know and did not see, yet I spoke of knowing and seeing; I spoke empty and false words'—that bhikkhu is one who has committed pārājika and is not permitted to live together with the community."

2. SECOND PROMULGATION OF THE RULE

After the Blessed One had thus established the precept for the bhikkhus, at that time there was a bhikkhu who, out of overweening conceit, said to others: "I have attained the Path." Later, with diligent and unrelenting effort, applying himself through skillful means, he attained the most excellent and supreme Dharma. He then reflected: "The Blessed One has established this precept for the bhikkhus: 'Whatever bhikkhu, having no actual knowledge, declares: "I have realized the superhuman Dharma; I know thus, I see thus"—if at a later time, whether questioned by others or not questioned, wishing to purify himself, he says: "In truth I did not know and did not see, yet I spoke of knowing and seeing;

I spoke empty and false words"—that bhikkhu is one who has committed pārājika and is not permitted to live together with the community.' With a mind of conceit, I declared that I had attained the Path.

Afterward, through diligence, skillful means, and unrelenting effort, I attained the most excellent and supreme Dharma. In this case, have I not committed pārājika? What should I do now?" He sought out bhikkhus of like mind and said to them: "The Blessed One has established this precept for the bhikkhus: 'Whatever bhikkhu, having no actual knowledge, declares: "I have realized the superhuman Dharma; I know thus, I see thus"—if at a later time, whether questioned by others or not questioned, wishing to purify himself, he says: "In truth I did not know and did not see, yet I spoke of knowing and seeing;

I spoke empty and false words"—that bhikkhu is one who has committed pārājika and is not permitted to live together with the community.' I, with a mind of overweening conceit, declared that I had attained the Path.

Afterward, through diligence, skillful means, and unrelenting effort, I attained the most excellent and supreme Dharma. In this case, have I not committed pārājika? I pray that the Venerable Ones will report this matter to the Buddha on my behalf.

Whatever the Buddha instructs, I shall respectfully carry out."

The bhikkhus went to where the Blessed One was and presented this matter fully to the Blessed One. At that time the Blessed One, on account of this matter, assembled the Sangha of bhikkhus, and in accordance with the bhikkhus' dispositions he expounded the Dharma, using countless skillful means to praise the practice of dhutaṅga, to praise contentment with little and knowing sufficiency, to praise the joy of renunciation, and then said to the bhikkhus:

"One who acts out of overweening conceit has not transgressed."

From now on, the precept should be recited as follows:

B. THE PRECEPT

Any bhikkhu who, truly knowing nothing, declares: "I have attained a superhuman state; I know thus, I see thus" — if at another time that bhikkhu, whether questioned or not questioned, wishing to purify himself, speaks thus: "Truly I do not know, I do not see, yet I said I know and see; I spoke falsely, I uttered a vain lie" — except in the case of one with overweening conceit, that bhikkhu is one who is pārājika, not to be lived with.

C. EXPLANATION

Bhikkhu: as explained above.

Not knowing, not seeing: truly not knowing, truly not seeing.

Declares: one declares of oneself that one possesses faith, virtue, generosity, learning, wisdom, and eloquence.

Qualities of a human being: the skandhas of a human being, the elements of a human being, the āyatanas of a human being.

Superhuman state: those qualities that are capable of bringing about liberation.

Declares oneself: one declares that one has mindfulness established in the body; one declares right recollection; one declares the keeping of precepts; one declares that one has zeal; one declares non-negligence; one declares energy; one declares the attainment of concentration; one declares the attainment of right reception; one declares possession of the path; one declares cultivation; one declares possession of wisdom; one declares vision; one declares attainment; one declares fruition.

— Declares mindfulness established in the body: one has mindfulness capable of leading to liberation; one is diligent, devoted to this quality, cultivates and broadly develops it — like guiding a chariot, protecting and observing, skillfully achieving evenness, having arrived at resolution, free from difficulty, possessing mastery. This is called declaring oneself to have attained the foundation of mindfulness in the body.

— Declares right recollection: one has mindfulness capable of leading to liberation; one is diligent, devoted to this quality, cultivates and broadly develops it — like guiding a chariot, protecting and observing, skillfully achieving evenness, having arrived at resolution, free from difficulty, possessing mastery. This is called declaring oneself to have right recollection.

— Declares attainment of virtue, declares possession of zeal, declares non-negligence, declares energy: also stated as above.

— Declares attainment of concentration: one declares the attainment of samādhi with applied and sustained thought; samādhi without applied thought but with sustained thought; samādhi without applied thought and without sustained thought; samādhi that is empty, signless, and wishless; one is diligent and devoted to reflecting on this concentration. The remainder is as stated above.

— Declares attainment of right reception: right reception with perception, right reception without perception, right reception in accordance with the Dharma, right reception of mental perception, right reception with the removal of form-perception, right reception without the removal of form-perception, right reception with the cessation of āyatanas, right reception of the totality of āyatanas — one familiarizes oneself with, trains in, draws near to, and reflects on this right reception. The remainder is as stated above.

— Declares possession of the path: from a path of one factor up to a path of eleven factors; one is diligent and devoted to reflecting on this path. The remainder is as stated above.

— Declares cultivation: cultivation of virtue, cultivation of concentration, cultivation of wisdom, cultivation of the wisdom of liberation, cultivation of the wisdom of the vision of liberation; one is diligent and devoted to these. The remainder is as stated above.

— Declares possession of knowledge: dhamma-knowledge, inferential knowledge, universal knowledge, knowledge of others' minds — one familiarizes oneself with, trains in, draws near to, and reflects on this knowledge. The remainder is as stated above.

— Declares vision: seeing suffering, seeing the arising, seeing the cessation, and seeing the path. Or one speaks thus: "With the divine eye, purified, I observe sentient beings — being born or dying, of beautiful form or ugly form, in a good destination or an evil destination; I know what is good and what is poor, noble and base, in accordance with the karmic results of sentient beings." Knowing this as it truly is, one is diligent and devoted. The remainder is as stated above.

— Declares attainment: attainment of Stream-entry, attainment of Once-returning, Non-returning, Arahatship — one familiarizes oneself with, trains in, draws near to these. The remainder is as stated above.

— Declares fruition: the fruit of Stream-entry, the fruit of Once-returning, the fruit of Non-returning, the fruit of Arahatship — one familiarizes oneself with, trains in, draws near to these... the remainder is as stated above.

In such vain and untrue matters — not knowing, not seeing — one says to another: "I have attained a superhuman state." If one speaks this from one's own mouth to another person and that person understands, one commits a pārājika offense. If one speaks and that person does not understand, one commits a thullaccaya offense.

If one communicates by making a hand gesture, or by sending a messenger, or by writing a letter, or by giving a sign, and that person understands, one commits a pārājika offense; if that person does not understand, one commits a thullaccaya offense.

If one is in a secluded place with no other person present yet thinks there is someone present, and says with one's own mouth: "I have attained a superhuman state," one commits a thullaccaya offense. If one is in a non-secluded place yet thinks it is secluded, and says with one's own mouth: "I have attained a superhuman state," one commits a thullaccaya offense. If one says to devas, asuras, gandharvas, yakkhas, hungry ghosts, or animals capable of transformation who possess intelligence, that one has attained a superhuman state, and those beings understand, one commits a thullaccaya offense; if they do not understand, one commits a dukkaṭa offense.

If one communicates by hand gesture, messenger, letter, or sign, and those beings understand, one commits a thullaccaya offense; if they do not understand, one commits a dukkaṭa offense. If one says to animals incapable of transformation that one has attained a superhuman state, one commits a dukkaṭa offense.

If one who has truly attained the path speaks to a senior bhikkhu who does not assent, claiming to have attained a superhuman state, one commits a dukkaṭa offense. If one is teaching another about the faculties, the powers, the factors of enlightenment, liberation, samādhi, and right reception, and then says: "I have attained these," one commits a pārājika offense.

If the other is a human being and one perceives him as a human being, one commits a pārājika offense. If one is uncertain whether he is a human being, one commits a thullaccaya offense. If he is a human being yet one perceives him as not a human being, one commits a thullaccaya offense. If he is not a human being yet one perceives him as a human being, one commits a thullaccaya offense. If he is not a human being and one is uncertain, one likewise commits a thullaccaya offense.

For a bhikkhunī: pārājika. For a sikkhamānā, a sāmaṇera, a sāmaṇerī: dukkaṭa, with expulsion. This is called an offense.

Non-offense: one with overweening conceit who claims attainment, attributing it to karmic conditions rather than to practice; or one who speaks of a superhuman state to a consenting senior bhikkhu; or one who teaches another about the faculties, powers, factors of enlightenment, liberation, samādhi, and right reception without claiming "I have attained these." Or one who speaks in jest; or speaks hastily; or speaks in a secluded place; or speaks to oneself; or speaks while dreaming; or when intending to say one thing mistakenly says another — in these cases there is no offense.

Those not guilty of an offense: the first offender at the time before the rule was laid down; one who is insane, of deranged mind, or afflicted and overcome with pain.

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

Chinese translation: Tripiṭaka masters Buddhayaśas and Zhu Fonian.

Revised and annotated: Bhikkhu Thích Nguyên Chứng

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

Buddhist Studies Editorial Board, 2002