Lzh Mg Bu Vb Np 27Bribing Weavers

– MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

– NISSAGGIYA RULES FOR BHIKKHUS

– EXPLANATION OF THE THIRD SECTION (ORIGINALLY CALLED THE FOURTH SECTION) OF THE THIRTY NISSAGGIYA PĀCITTIYA RULES.

27. RULE: BRIBING WEAVERS.

When the Buddha was residing at the Jetavana monastery in the city of Śrāvastī, at that time Viśākhā Mṛgāramātā invited the Saṅgha every day to her home for meals. At that time, a certain bhikkhu whose turn it was to go to her home for a meal saw Viśākhā Mṛgāramātā holding a roll of thread and handing it to a weaver, saying: "Please weave this into cloth for me. I wish to make an offering to the Venerable Nanda and Upananda. These masters are difficult to please, so please weave it as finely as possible."

That bhikkhu, having finished his meal, returned to the monastery and said to Nanda: "Elder, I have some good news to tell you."

—What good news is there?

—I heard that Viśākhā Mṛgāramātā intends to offer a robe to you.

—That robe is not an offering for me. Why? Because this upāsikā is about to make an offering to the noble and holy ones.

—That is not so; with my own eyes I saw Viśākhā Mṛgāramātā holding a roll of thread and handing it to a weaver, saying: "I am giving you this roll of thread; please weave it into fine cloth for me. I wish to make an offering to Nanda, for that master is difficult to please."

—Do you know where the weaver's house is?

—I do.

—In what district is the house? On which lane? Which direction does the door face? Point out all the distinguishing marks to me.

Having asked in detail and learned the location thoroughly, the next morning Nanda put on his robe, went to that house, and seeing the weaver stretching the warp threads in preparation for weaving, asked:

—Good man, for whom are you stretching the warp to weave cloth?

—I am about to weave cloth for Mṛgāramātā Viśākhā.

—Do you know for whom Viśākhā has hired you to weave?

—I know. She has hired me to weave for Nanda and Upananda.

—Do you know who Nanda is?

—I do not.

—Nanda and Upananda — that is us. Weave it finely, long, wide, smooth, and thick.

—The quantity of thread is fixed; can I weave without weft threads?

—Just follow my instructions and weave it beautifully; that household is wealthy and will provide you with additional thread of their own accord.

—If they provide me with additional thread, then who will pay me the weaving fee?

—Just weave it well; I will pay you the weaving fee.

—If the Venerable One pays me the weaving fee and she provides additional thread, then I will weave as instructed.

And so the weaver followed the instructions and wove very finely; when the thread ran out he went to ask for more, and this happened three times. Viśākhā Mṛgāramātā thought: "This man comes only to ask for more thread and not for the weaving fee; why should I not supply him with enough thread?"

When the cloth — wide, long, thick, and fine — was finished, he brought it and presented it to Mṛgāramātā. She received it and inwardly reflected: "This cloth is very fine; it should not be offered to that master [Nanda], for this is a gift of great value. Yet I have already promised to offer it to him." Thinking thus, she presented it to Nanda.

While the cloth was still unfinished, Nanda went to the weaver's house every day; but once he had received the cloth, he kept his distance from that house and turned into a different lane, just as an old crow avoids a place where there are archers. The weaver, occupied with many tasks, was unable to go and collect the weaving fee. Later, on the occasion of a great assembly of weavers, he came to the city of Śrāvastī. At that time the weaver thought: "People have not yet gathered; now let me go to the Jetavana monastery to collect the weaving fee." Thinking thus, he went there and asked the bhikkhus: "Where are Nanda and Upananda staying?"

The bhikkhus said: "In this room here."

He entered the room, saw Nanda, paid obeisance and greeted him, then, feigning ignorance as though they had never met before, asked: "Has the Venerable One received the cloth?"

Nanda asked in return: "What cloth?"

—The cloth I wove for Mṛgāramātā.

—Yes, it has been received.

—Was the cloth satisfactory to the Venerable One?

—It was passable.

—Venerable Sir, please pay me the weaving fee.

—Pay what weaving fee?

—(Recounting the matter:) the upāsikā provided sufficient thread, and you promised to pay me the weaving fee.

Nanda then became angry and said: "Do you know who Nanda and Upananda are? I could gouge out your eyes. Smoke rising from empty space for no reason at all — your hope of receiving a weaving fee from me is no different from wanting to strip the two scraps of cloth from a naked ascetic, or expecting to cut five hundred catties of flesh from the legs of a dead old crow, or throwing a handful of bran into the depths of the Ganges and expecting to recover all of it." He then told his attendant: "Bring me my saṃghāṭi; I shall put it on, go to the palace, summon soldiers, have this man bound, and hand him over to the authorities."

The weaver thought: "This śramaṇa has great power and influence, and he frequently comes and goes at the royal palace; he could bring great harm upon me. What do I need that weaving fee for! It is enough just to keep my life." Thinking thus, he left; upon passing through the gate he ran straight to the assembly of weavers in the middle of the gathering. Everyone there rebuked him: "All of us have set aside our household affairs and come here to attend to the official matter. Why did you abandon everyone and go off?"

He then replied: "Please hear me out: Mṛgāramātā gave me thread to weave; while the cloth was unfinished, Nanda and Upananda came by every day. But once they received the cloth, they were just like an old crow avoiding a place where there are archers… In the end I thought: 'It is enough just to keep my life'" — (he related the whole matter in full) — "and that is why I arrived late."

Everyone became angry and said: "These bhikkhus show us far too much contempt — not only do they fail to pay what is owed but they even intend to use the king's power to have people arrested and bound. Today let us establish an agreement: from now on, no one shall weave cloth for śramaṇas." Someone said: "Let us make this agreement in a secret place, without letting anyone know. I know the measurements of śramaṇa robes: five cubits long and three cubits wide, or five cubits long and two cubits wide. If we encounter cloth of those measurements, we should refuse to weave it. This śramaṇa has great influence; he can use the king's authority to direct people and may even cause harm to others, so let no one know of this."

On the day of Pravāraṇā, a donor shouldered a bundle of thread and went to the weaver's house to hire a weaver to weave cloth. The weaver asked: "What size robe do you intend to weave?"

The patron replied: "Five cubits in length and three cubits in width, or five cubits in length and two cubits in width."

The weaver thought: "Those are the measurements of a śramaṇa's robe," and replied: "I have already taken on weaving work for others; I cannot take on more." And so the patron went and inquired everywhere, but no one was willing to weave.

At that time, the wealthy householders offered cloth that had already been woven as gifts to the Saṅgha. But the poor, having no ready-woven cloth, had nothing to offer the Saṅgha. The Saṅgha thus received few offerings of cloth. The Buddha, though he knew, still asked Ānanda: "Why has the Saṅgha received so few cloth offerings?"

Ānanda then related the whole matter — up to and including how the weavers had developed dissatisfaction and made an agreement among themselves — and reported it fully to the Blessed One. The Buddha then ordered that Nanda and Upananda be summoned. When they arrived, the Buddha asked: "Did this matter truly occur?"

They replied: "It truly occurred thus, O Blessed One."

The Buddha rebuked them: "This is a bad thing. Have you not heard me praise having few desires and censure having many desires?"

Thereupon the Buddha commanded all the bhikkhus living in the city of Śrāvastī to assemble, and for the sake of ten benefits he established this rule for the bhikkhus, which all must hear, even those who have heard it before:

"If a householder or the householder's wife instructs a weaver to weave cloth for a bhikkhu, and that bhikkhu, without having been requested first, goes of his own accord to the weaver and says: 'Do you know that this cloth is being woven for me? You must weave it finely, long and wide, and I will pay you,' — then even if the payment amounts to only enough for a single meal, and the bhikkhu has made such a promise of payment and then receives the cloth, he commits Nissaggiya Pācittiya."

Explanation

—Householder: the head of the household.

—Wife: the wife of the head of the household.

—Bhikkhu: whether the Saṅgha as a whole, or many persons, or one person.

—Weaver: as described above.

—Robe: there are ten kinds, as described above.

—Without having been requested first: originally no request was made but one thinks there was a request; or one requested on behalf of another but thinks it was a request for oneself; or one made a request about another matter but thinks it was a request regarding the weaving of cloth.

—Goes of his own accord: meaning going to their field or going to their house.

—Says: instructing them to weave thickly, finely, or long and wide.

—Payment: various kinds of currency.

—Value of payment: other goods (reckoned as equivalent in monetary value).

—Food: Such as brown rice, glutinous rice, fish, meat.

—Value: Such as money, goods, and so forth; if the robe is obtained, it constitutes an offense of Nissaggiya Pācittiya.

If a bhikkhu says to a weaver: "Weave it for me very beautifully, very firmly, very thickly…" — when he speaks thus, he commits an offense of Dukkaṭa. When the weaver begins to weave even a few rows, he commits a Pācittiya offense. When the weaving is finished and the cloth is received, it constitutes an offense of Nissaggiya Pācittiya.

If a bhikkhu teaches the Dharma to a weaver, and the weaver stops working and stands listening, and the bhikkhu says: "You should listen only with your ears, not with your hands — your hands should keep on working" — when he speaks thus, he commits an offense of Dukkaṭa.

If a bhikkhu hears that someone intends to weave cloth for him, then goes there and persuades the weaver without promising any payment, he commits an offense of Dukkaṭa when he receives the cloth. If he hears of it, goes to persuade the weaver, and promises payment, he commits an offense of Nissaggiya Pācittiya when he receives the cloth. If he has not heard of it but goes to persuade the weaver and spontaneously offers money, he commits an offense of Dukkaṭa when he receives the cloth. If he has not heard of it, does not go to persuade the weaver, and does not offer money for the weaving, then when he receives the cloth there is no offense.

If a widow makes an offering of cloth to the Saṅgha, and a bhikkhu receives that cloth in due order among the Saṅgha, and the woman then says to the bhikkhu: "My household has no one available. Could the Venerable One go to the tailor and ask them to sew this cloth? If the Venerable One goes directly to the tailor to arrange it, it may be done both quickly and well" —

In such a case, the bhikkhu is permitted to go to the tailor and say the following: "Elder, you know how to sew quickly, you know how to sew thickly…" — Speaking thus, there is no offense. Therefore it is said (as above).

Vietnamese translation: Thích Phước Sơn. MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

Chinese translation: TRIPIṬAKA BUDDHABHADRA OF INDIA

TOGETHER WITH ŚRAMAṆA FAXIAN, TRANSLATED DURING THE EASTERN JIN DYNASTY

Meaning verified by: Thích Đỗng Minh