Lzh Dg Bu Vb Sk 68Not Take Corpse by Stupa

– FOUR-PART VINAYA

– ŚAIKṢA-KARAṆĪYA

RULE 68

At one time, the Buddha was dwelling in the garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the Jeta Grove, at Śrāvastī. At that time, a group of six bhikkhus carried a corpse past beneath a stupa, causing the spirit guardian of the stupa to become angered.

The bhikkhus came to know of this, and among them were those of few desires and contentment, who lived the ascetic practices, delighted in training in the precepts, and understood shame and remorse; they reproached the group of six bhikkhus: "Why did you carry a corpse past beneath the Buddha's stupa?"

Having reproached them, the bhikkhus of few desires went to where the Blessed One was, bowed their heads at his feet, then sat to one side, and reported this matter to the Blessed One in full.

The Blessed One used this occasion to convene the assembly of bhikkhus, and reproached the group of six bhikkhus... as before, up to the passage: "From this day forward, I shall establish a rule for the bhikkhus, encompassing ten principles of meaning, up to the phrase that the true Dharma may long endure."

Wishing to recite the rule, it should be spoken thus:

One should not carry a corpse past beneath a stupa — śaikṣa-karaṇīya.

If a bhikkhu intentionally carries a corpse past beneath a stupa, he commits a duṣkṛta offense requiring confession. Because it is committed with intentional mind, it is a duṣkṛta offense of improper conduct. If it is not done with intentional mind, it is a duṣkṛta offense.

For a bhikkhunī, and down to a śrāmaṇera or śrāmaṇerī, it is a duṣkṛta offense. This is called an offense.

Non-offense: if one has some form of illness, or when it is necessary to pass by this road, or when one is led by the force of others — there is no offense.

Those who do not commit an offense: one who commits it for the first time before the rule has been established, one who is mentally deranged, one whose mind is disturbed, one who is afflicted with severe pain and distress.

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 Publication Committee, 2002