Lzh Mg Bu Vb Np 7Accepting Too Many Robes

– MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

– NIḤSARGIKA RULES

– EXPLAINING THE SECOND PART OF THE THIRTY NIḤSARGIKA PĀYATTIKA RULES.

7. RULE: ACCEPTING CLOTH BEYOND THE PERMITTED AMOUNT.

When the Buddha was dwelling in the city of Śrāvastī, sixty bhikkhus traveling from the North toward Śrāvastī were robbed of their robes along the way. When these bhikkhus arrived at the Jetavana Monastery, Upananda saw what had happened and said to them: "Venerable elders, the Blessed One has permitted bhikkhus who have lost their robes to ask for robes from those who are not relatives. Why do you not ask?"

They replied: "Our fellow practitioners in the holy life have already given us sufficient robes, so there is no need to ask."

Upananda then said: "If you do not take advantage of this opportunity to ask, it would be a great waste of benefit."

They replied: "We have already received robes—what need is there to speak of losing benefit or not losing benefit?"

Upananda then spoke again to the bhikkhus who had lost their robes:

"If you are unable to ask, I will ask on your behalf."

They said: "You know the proper time yourself."

And so, early the next morning, Upananda put on his everyday robe, took paper and brush, and entered the city of Śrāvastī, saying to the upāsakas: "Please help me solicit robes."

The upāsakas asked: "For what reason are you soliciting?"

He replied: "Because there are bhikkhus who have come from the North and were robbed of all their robes and belongings along the way. We must solicit robes on their behalf."

The upāsakas said: "Very well."

They then led one another to the various shops to make appeals. At that time many people were of faithful and reverent hearts, so from some places one piece of cloth was obtained, from others two pieces. In this manner, gradually a considerable quantity of cloth was gathered, so much that it had to be carried by pole. One might say that about one quarter of the faithful households had already been visited, yet he still wished to solicit further. The upāsakas then said: "Venerable sir, that is surely enough; let us return."

Upananda said: "Alas, good sirs! What is the hurry! We have solicited only this much—it is not yet time to go back. Why is that? Because the more people who give, the more people accumulate merit. We who have gone forth have fixed times for eating, and even we do not yet wish to return. You who are householders may eat at any time and need not fear breaking a schedule—what urgency is there that you should wish to hurry back?"

And so they continued to go about soliciting.

The upāsakas again said: "That is surely enough, Venerable sir."

Upananda said: "It is still not enough."

The upāsakas asked: "How many people are there?"

He replied: "Many."

They asked again: "How many is many?"

He said loudly: "There are sixty bhikkhus."

The upāsakas said: "Venerable sir, this amount of cloth could supply five hundred bhikkhus—how much more sixty people! Why do you continue to solicit? Do you wish to ruin people's shops?"

They then threw down their paper and brush in anger and said: "Where in the world has this kind of person come from—so greedy in seeking, never satisfied, never knowing when enough is enough!"

At that time a bhikkhu of few desires and contentment heard these words and went to report the matter to the Blessed One. The Buddha then ordered Upananda to be summoned. He was summoned accordingly. The Buddha then questioned him carefully about the matter: "Did you truly do this?"

He replied: "It is true, Blessed One."

The Buddha asked Upananda: "Why did you solicit?"

He replied: "I solicited on behalf of the bhikkhus who had lost their robes."

The Buddha then summoned the bhikkhus who had lost their robes. When they had come, the Buddha asked them: "Bhikkhus, is it true that you commissioned Upananda to solicit robes on your behalf?"

They replied: "No, Blessed One, it is not."

The Buddha then asked them why Upananda had done this. They then reported the full account of the matter to the Blessed One. The Buddha then said to Upananda: "You foolish man, this is a wrongful act. You solicited when it was not the time to solicit, and did not solicit when it was the time to solicit. Have you never heard me use countless skillful means to praise having few desires and to censure being full of desire? This is contrary to the Dharma, contrary to the Vinaya; it is not what I have taught, and such an act cannot be used to nourish wholesome qualities."

After the Buddha had thoroughly reproached him, he commanded all the bhikkhus dwelling in Śrāvastī to assemble, and for ten beneficial reasons he laid down a precept for the bhikkhus, which all must hear even if they have heard it before:

"If a bhikkhu has lost his robes, he may ask for robes from a male lay follower or a female lay follower who is not a relative. If the male or female lay follower who is not a relative willingly offers a large amount of cloth, the bhikkhu may accept only two robes—an upper robe and a lower robe. To accept beyond that number incurs a Niḥsargika Pāyattika offense."

Explanation

(Some terms above have already been explained.)

—Willingly offers: Gives as one pleases.

—Upper and lower robes: One may accept two pieces of cloth, each five cubits in length and three cubits in width. To accept beyond that number incurs a Niḥsargika Pāyattika offense.

—Niḥsargika Pāyattika: Explained above.

If a monk is traveling along the road with merchants and encounters bandits coming from one direction, two directions, or three directions, he should flee from the bandits as circumstances allow. If the bandits close in from all four sides and he cannot flee, he should stand composed and must not struggle or fight with them. If the bandits demand that he hand over his saṅghāṭi robe, he should respond: "Here it is, venerable sir." In this way, he should hand over to them as much or as little as they demand, and must not angrily shout abuse at them.

After handing over the robes, he should slowly withdraw into the forest to hide and observe them from a distance, waiting until the bandits have departed. If any robes or articles remain that the bandits have left behind, he may take and use them. If no robes remain and among the monastics — whether Buddhist or those of other renunciant traditions — someone has been killed by the bandits, he may take and use their robes.

If no renunciant has died but a layperson has died, he should take that person's clothing, cut and sew it, perform the act of making it allowable (kappiya), and only then wear it. If there is no clothing from the dead and fine cloth belonging to the merchants has been left behind, he should not take it. If the cloth they have left behind is coarse and plain, he may take and use it.

If the merchants return and call the monk over to give him fine cloth, he should accept it; after accepting, he should cut and sew it, dye it with cow dung to make it allowable, and only then use it. If a merchant says to the monk: "I am lending you this garment to wear until you reach the next stopping place, then return it to me without damaging it," the monk should take that garment, fold it, sew it loosely, without revealing marks of the allowable-making, wear it temporarily, travel to the stopping place, and then return it to them.

If none of these circumstances arise, he should pluck leaves from trees to cover the front and back of his body as he walks. If there are no leaves, he should use his hands to cover the front of his body and walk along the side of the road; he must not walk brazenly down the middle of the road as the Nigaṇṭhas do. He must also not go deep into the forest, lest the bandits mistake him for someone lying in wait to ambush them; he should walk only along the roadside through sparse grass.

While walking, if he encounters people coming toward him, he should pretend to be crouching to urinate in the sparse grass so that they can see him. If they ask: "Who are you?" he should reply: "A renunciant." If they ask further: "Of what tradition?" he should reply: "One gone forth in the lineage of the Śākyas." If they ask again: "Why are you naked?" he should reply: "Bandits took my things." Thereupon, if without being asked they voluntarily give him many garments, he may accept them without offense.

If they do not give, he should ask them. When asking, if they offer much cloth, he should take only two pieces, each five cubits in length and three cubits in width, and no more. If this situation does not arise, he should go to the dwellings of acquaintances in remote areas to ask for robes to use.

If there is no remote area, he should go to a charnel ground. If there is a caretaker of the charnel ground, he should say to them: "I wish to gather discarded garments." If the caretaker of the charnel ground tells him to take them, and after taking them he is to show them to the caretaker, he should take them and hold them up for the caretaker to see. If he is taking clothing from the body of a recently deceased woman whose body has not yet decomposed, he should approach from the head to take it.

If the body has already decomposed, he may take it freely. Or if it is clothing from a male corpse, he may also take it freely. If the clothing of a corpse has jewels on it, he should use his foot to push the jewels aside and then take the clothing and depart.

If he does not know there are jewels and only upon returning to the monastery discovers there are jewels, he should instruct a 净人 (kappiyakāraka, a lay attendant residing at the monastery) to exchange them for medicinal supplies. If the caretaker of the charnel ground says to the monk: "You may take inferior garments, but do not take fine ones." Yet when the monk arrives at the charnel ground and sees no inferior garments but only many fine ones, he should bring them to the caretaker and say: "There are only these fine garments." If the caretaker permits him to take them, he should take them at once.

If the caretaker says those are fine and he may not take them, the monk should return them and ask for others. If the caretaker tells the monk to take garments from the ground, he should take garments from the ground. If the caretaker tells him to take garments hanging up in the air, he should take garments hanging in the air.

If a garment is still in good condition with half on the ground and half hanging in the air, he should cut it and take one half.

If none of these circumstances arise, he should go to the dwelling of monks on the outskirts of a village, and must not enter the village during the daytime. He should wait until dusk, when the cowherd drives the cattle home, and follow along with the herd of cows; he should also not walk beside the strong bulls but should walk near the weak calves. When he sees people, he should sit down. If they ask: "Who are you?" he should reply: "A renunciant." If they ask again: "Of what tradition?" he should reply: "One gone forth in the lineage of the Śākyas." If they ask: "Where are your robes?" he should reply: "Bandits took everything."

At that point, if without being asked they freely give him cloth, he may accept as much or as little as they give. If they do not give, he should ask them. When asking, if they give much, he should take only two pieces, each five cubits in length and three cubits in width, and no more.

If none of these circumstances arise, he should go to a monastery and ask the senior monks who is the karmadāna (verger) and who is the one in charge of beds and bedding. When they have directed him to the appropriate person, the monk should go to that monastic steward and ask: "What beds and bedding is a monk of such-and-such seniority entitled to?" If the steward replies: "A monk of such-and-such seniority is entitled to beds and bedding of such-and-such kind," the monk, upon receiving a blanket, should open it up, tie a knot of hair on the inside as a mark, and use it as a lower garment; upon receiving a pillow, he should also open it up, tie a knot of hair on the inside as a mark, and use it as an undergarment; and upon receiving bedding, he should likewise mark it.

Once all this is done, he should go to pay respects at the stūpa, pay respects to the senior monks, inquire after the junior monks, and then explain: "While traveling on the road, I was robbed of my robes by bandits. I hope, Venerable, you will help me obtain robes." If an elder monk says: "You are like a hungry crow that never settles in one place — who would help you? Perhaps the owner of a wine shop or a gambling house robbed you of your robes, or perhaps you traded them for food and are now claiming bandits took them so that you can have others beg on your behalf."

If such a situation arises, he should go to the house of an upāsaka and say: "Venerable layman, while traveling I was robbed of my robes by bandits. Please help me obtain robes." If at that point they reply: "Venerable, certainly," and then solicit much cloth on his behalf, the monk should take only two pieces, each five cubits in length and three cubits in width, and no more. At that time the upāsaka says to the monk: "Is there a way, Venerable, for you to accept all of this cloth?" He should reply: "Would you be able to select two small pieces of cloth and bring them here?" If the upāsaka is skilled and flexible, he will lead the monk outside the sīmā boundary and say: "Venerable, this cloth is being offered as a present offering to the present Saṅgha,

but at present there are no other members of the Saṅgha here — only you are present.

Please accept it on their behalf." In that case, when the monk accepts it, there is no offense.

If the upāsaka gives a large piece of cloth, the monk should cut it and take two pieces. If they ask why, he should explain: "The Blessed One has established a rule that only two pieces of cloth may be accepted." Then if the upāsaka says: "Please take it to be dyed," the monk should have it dyed and bring it back. The upāsaka then says: "When it was undyed it was lay clothing and I had no desire for it; how much less now that it has been dyed in the renunciant's color — what use would I have for it?" At that point the monk is permitted to take it, make robes from it, and use it at will.

Thereupon, the blanket and pillow-cover previously used temporarily as a lower and undergarment must be dyed by the monk and restored to their function as blanket and pillow-cover, and returned to the steward monk, after which he may depart. If he wishes to remain there, he should seek permission to stay as he pleases; he must not remain there without permission. Therefore it is said:

"If a monk loses his robes, he is permitted to ask for cloth from a lay male or lay female supporter who is not a blood relation. If a lay male or lay female supporter who is not a blood relation gives much cloth, the monk may only take two pieces — an upper and a lower garment. If he takes more than that, it is a Niḥsargika Pāyattika offense."

End of the Seventh Niḥsargika Rule.

Vietnamese translation by Thích Phước Sơn. MAHĀSĀṄGHIKA VINAYA

Chinese translation by TRIPIṬAKA BUDDHABBHADRA OF INDIA TOGETHER WITH ŚRAMAṆA FAXIAN, TRANSLATED DURING THE EASTERN JIN DYNASTY

Certified by: Thích Đỗng Minh