Lzh Mg Bu Vb Pc 17Throwing Out a Monastic

– MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

– PĀCITTIYA RULES

– DETAILED EXPLANATION of the fourth section of the NINETY-TWO SINGLE EXPIATION RULES.

17. RULE: FORCIBLY OCCUPYING ANOTHER'S RESTING PLACE.

At that time, the Blessed One was traveling through the human realm and arrived at Kauśāmbī. Then one evening, the Blessed One taught the Dharma to the Śrāvakas; after hearing the teaching, the bhikkhus returned to their rooms to rest. At that time, the group of six bhikkhus lingered, chatting with others until late into the night before returning and knocking on the door of a room. Those inside asked, "Who is there?" and they replied, "We are the group of six bhikkhus; we wish to stay the night in this room." The bhikkhus inside replied, "This room is already full."

The group of six bhikkhus then lowered their voices and pleaded softly, "Just give us a place to sit for a little while."

They pleaded in this way but were not admitted, and then they went to another room and pleaded again, also without success. They then went to the lodgings of the junior bhikkhus, such as the warming room, the meditation room, and the lecture hall, and knocked on the doors. The bhikkhus inside asked, "Who is there?" and they replied, "We are the group of six bhikkhus; we wish to stay here."

The bhikkhus inside replied, "This room is already full."

The group of six bhikkhus continued to bargain and plead without stopping. The bhikkhus inside then opened the door. They stepped inside the room and lay down crosswise and lengthwise on the beds, or placed their arms and legs over those beside them, or jabbed their elbows and knees into the sides of those people, or said, "If the elders feel uncomfortable, then go elsewhere." Having said this, they blew out the lamps and called to their companion bhikkhus outside, saying, "Fellow practitioners of the holy life may enter now."

Once they had entered the room, they lay with their heads in opposite directions, one resting his elbow on the knee of another, amusing themselves without restraint. The bhikkhus thought, "Who could possibly sleep together with these ones of improper conduct?" and, taking their sitting mats, left the room. The bhikkhus then reported the matter to the Blessed One. The Buddha said, "Wait until I have completed my journey to Kosala and returned to Śrāvastī; then present this matter to me again, and I will lay down a rule for the bhikkhus."

Furthermore, while the Buddha was residing at Śrāvastī, the account continues as before. Guest bhikkhus had received rooms from the group of six bhikkhus; at night they closed their doors and went to sleep. The group of six bhikkhus, having previously harbored resentment toward the guest bhikkhus, scooped up muddy filth and dumped it on the path in front of the door of the room, then mixed stones and bricks into it. A guest bhikkhu went out of his room during the night, stepped into the muddy filth, and fell among the stones and bricks, and cried out, "Elders! The group of six bhikkhus has harmed me and nearly broken my neck. What they have done—dumping mud and stones on the path—is meant to trouble me. Who could possibly live with them?"

The bhikkhus then brought the matter before the Blessed One. The Buddha immediately told the bhikkhus to go and summon the group of six bhikkhus. When they arrived, the Buddha asked, "Did you truly do this?"

—It is true, Blessed One.

—That is an evil act.

Thereupon the bhikkhus reported to the Buddha, "Blessed One, the group of six bhikkhus did not commit only this one evil act. When the Blessed One was traveling to the land of Kosala, they also troubled the bhikkhus, to the point that those bhikkhus had to take their sitting mats and leave their lodgings."

The Buddha then asked the group of six bhikkhus:

—Did you truly do that?

—It is true, Blessed One.

—Why, knowing that those people had arrived first and had already spread out their sitting mats, did you come afterward and cause disturbance with the intention of driving them away? That is an evil act, contrary to the Dharma, contrary to the Vinaya, contrary to my teaching; such an act cannot be used to foster the growth of wholesome qualities.

The Blessed One then issued an order for all bhikkhus residing at Śrāvastī to assemble, and for the sake of ten benefits he laid down a rule for the bhikkhus—one that, even if already heard, must be heard again:

"If a bhikkhu, knowing that another bhikkhu arrived first and has already spread out his bedding, then arrives afterward and also spreads out his belongings, thinking, 'If that person does not like it, let him leave'—if he acts with such an intention and for no other reason, he commits a Pācittiya offense."

Explanation

Knowing: Knowing oneself, or knowing by having heard it from another.

Having spread out belongings first: Having spread them out from the beginning.

Bedding: As explained previously.

Arriving afterward and spreading out belongings: With the intention of troubling the one who arrived first and causing them to leave. If that is the reason and there is no other, then a Pācittiya offense is committed.

Pācittiya: As stated above.

If lodgings are scarce, each bhikkhu should occupy a space within the range of one pillar, spread out his bedding and sitting mat, and then go to pay respects to his preceptor and teacher, or to inquire after their welfare, or to recite the suttas. A bhikkhu who then arrives afterward rolls up the former bhikkhu's sitting mat, spreads out his own, and sits murmuring verses aloud. When the first bhikkhu returns to the room, sees this, and thinks, "Who could possibly prevail over this person?" and takes his sitting mat and leaves—the bhikkhu who arrived afterward commits a Pācittiya offense.

The same applies to sitting in meditation, reciting suttas, or nursing an illness. Or if one is a senior elder who arrives afterward and sleeps on another's bed, the other should say, "Does the elder not know that the Blessed One has forbidden this?" If the bhikkhu who is sleeping is a junior, the other should reprove him: "You do not know the rules well. Do you not know that the Blessed One has laid down a rule?

Why do you come after another and sleep on their bed?"

If a bhikkhu is walking in kinhin at another bhikkhu's place and sees that person approaching, he should withdraw. If a bhikkhu is asleep at night and talks in his sleep without any intention of troubling others, there is no offense. But if he has a deliberate intention to disturb, he commits a Pācittiya offense. If a bhikkhunī with the intention of disturbing a fellow practitioner of the holy life commits such an act, she commits a Sthūlātyaya offense; if she disturbs a Śikṣamāṇā, a śrāmaṇera, or a śrāmaṇerī, she commits a Duṣkṛta offense; if she disturbs a lay person, she commits a Duṣkṛta offense to be confessed through mental acknowledgment. Therefore it is said (as above).

Vietnamese translation: Thích Phước Sơn. MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

Chinese translation: THE TRIPIṬAKA MASTER BUDDHABHADRA OF INDIA

TOGETHER WITH THE ŚRAMAṆA FAXIAN, TRANSLATED DURING THE EASTERN JIN DYNASTY

DOCTRINAL VERIFICATION: THÍCH ĐỖNG MINH