Lzh Dg Bu Vb Sk 34Finding Fault

– FOUR-PART VINAYA

– ŚIKṢĀKARAṆĪYA

RULE 34

At one time, the Buddha was staying in the Anāthapiṇḍika garden, Jeta's Grove, in the country of Śrāvastī. At that time, a householder invited the bhikkhus to come the following morning to receive an offering of rice, broth, and various delicacies. During the night he prepared everything fully, and early in the morning he came to invite the Saṅgha to come and receive the meal.

The bhikkhus put on their robes, took their bowls, and went to the householder's home, where they sat down in their seats. The householder personally, with his own hands, served rice, broth, and various delicacies to the Saṅgha. Among the group of six bhikkhus, one received a small portion, and seeing that the bhikkhu seated nearby had received a large portion, he said to the householder:

"Now that you have invited the Saṅgha to receive a meal, do you serve more to whomever you wish and less to whomever you wish? You, as a householder, show favoritism."

The householder replied:

"I served the food with an equal and impartial mind. Why do you say I show favoritism?"

The bhikkhus who heard this — among whom were those of few desires and contentment, who practiced the austere practices, who delighted in training in the precepts, and who knew shame and remorse — rebuked the group of six bhikkhus: "Why did you glance to either side and look into the bowls of those seated nearby?"

The bhikkhus went to where the Blessed One was, paid homage at his feet, and sat to one side. They reported this matter in full to the Blessed One. The Blessed One used this occasion to assemble the Saṅgha of bhikkhus and rebuked the group of six bhikkhus:

"What you have done is wrong, not in accordance with proper conduct, not in accordance with the way of a śramaṇa, not in accordance with pure conduct, not in accordance with proper behavior — you have done what ought not to be done. Why did you glance to either side and look into the bowls of those seated nearby to determine who received more and who received less?"

At that time, the Blessed One, having rebuked them with countless skillful means, said to the bhikkhus:

"These foolish ones are a field where many seeds of defiling influences are sown; they are the first to commit this offense. From this day forward, I shall lay down a rule for the bhikkhus, comprising ten principles of meaning, up to and including the perpetuation of the true Dharma for a long time."

The rule should be stated as follows:

One should not glance to look into the bowl of the bhikkhu seated nearby with a mind of envy and fault-finding — this is a śikṣākaraṇīya.

Bhikkhu: the meaning is as above.

Here, glancing into the bowl of the bhikkhu seated nearby means doing so to know who has received more and who has received less. A bhikkhu who intentionally glances into the bowl of the bhikkhu seated nearby to determine more or less commits a duṣkṛta requiring repentance. Because it is done intentionally, it constitutes an offense of improper conduct — a duṣkṛta. If done unintentionally, it is still a duṣkṛta.

A bhikkhunī, śikṣamāṇā, śrāmaṇera, or śrāmaṇerī — duṣkṛta. This is called an offense.

Non-offense: if one is afflicted with such an illness, or if the bhikkhu seated nearby is ill, or if one's eyesight is dim and one looks in order to know whether they have received food or not, whether it is pure or impure, whether it has been received or not yet received — in such cases there is no offense.

Those who do not commit an offense: one who offends for the first time before the rule has been established; one who is insane, mentally disturbed, or overcome and oppressed by 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 by: Bhikkhu Thích Nguyên Chứng

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

Buddhist Publication Committee, 2002