Lzh Dg Bu Vb Sk 96Holding a staff
Pāli / Sanskrit:Daṇḍapāṇi
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– FOUR-PART VINAYA
– SEKHIYA RULES
RULE 96
At one time, the Buddha was staying in the Anāthapiṇḍika Garden, Jeta's Grove, in the country of Śrāvastī. At that time, one among the group of six bhikkhus taught the Dharma to a person holding a staff, without showing respect.
The bhikkhus, having heard of this, censured him as above, then went and reported the matter to the Blessed One. The Blessed One also censured him… as above, down to the passage: "From now on, I will lay down a rule for the bhikkhus comprising ten bases of meaning, down to the passage: so that the true Dharma may long endure."
The precept should be recited as follows:
One must not teach the Dharma to a person holding a staff — this is a sekhiya rule.
Some monks were uncertain and did not dare to teach the Dharma to a sick person holding a staff. The Buddha instructed:
If it is for a sick person, there is no offense. From now on I lay down this rule for the bhikkhus:
One must not teach the Dharma to a person holding a staff who is showing no respect, except for a sick person — this is a sekhiya rule.
Whatever bhikkhu intentionally teaches the Dharma to a person holding a staff commits a dukkhaṭa requiring confession. Because it is done intentionally, it constitutes a dukkhaṭa of improper conduct. If done unintentionally, it is still a dukkhaṭa.
For a bhikkhunī, and down to a sāmaṇera or sāmaṇerī, it is a dukkhaṭa. These are called offenses.
Non-offense: if one is afflicted with some illness, or if one is speaking to a King or a King's chief minister, there is no offense.
Those who do not commit an offense: one who offends for the first time before the rule was established; one who is deranged, mentally disturbed, or in extreme pain and distress.
Vietnamese translation: Bhikkhu Thích Đỗng Minh and Thích Đức Thắng. FOUR-PART VINAYA, PART ONE
Chinese translation: Tripiṭaka Master 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
Prepared for SuttaCentral by Ayya Vimala.
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