Lzh Mg Bu Vb Pc 66Playing

– MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

– PĀCITTIYA RULES

– CLARIFICATION OF THE EIGHTH SECTION OF THE 92 SINGLE EXPIATION RULES.

66. RULE: PLAYING IN WATER.

When the Buddha was dwelling in the city of Sāvatthī, he was being offered many gifts by gods and humans. At that time, in the city of Sāvatthī there were two sisters; one of them was pregnant and had not yet given birth, yet out of faith she went forth to practice the religious life. The bhikkhunīs, upon seeing the condition of her belly, drove her away, and then brought the matter before the Blessed One.

The Buddha taught that being pregnant when one goes forth involves no offense. Thereafter, that bhikkhunī gave birth to a baby boy, and he was given the name Kumāra Kassapa. When he reached the age of eight, he went forth and practiced the religious life, and attained arahatship.

Then he and a group of sixteen bhikkhus, each carrying a bathing basin, went down to the Aciravatī River to bathe. They lay face down, lay face up, swam back and forth, played about, splashed water, and bathed in a frolicking manner. At that time, King Pasenadi was standing on a tower looking out in all four directions, and upon seeing this his disbelief grew, for at that time the king had not yet placed faith in the Buddha's teaching.

He said to his queen Mallikā: "Look at the field of merit that you, my dear, so reverently serve." Because the queen had deep and unshaken faith, she did not turn her head to look, and replied: "Your Majesty, perhaps they went forth while still young and have only recently received full ordination, so they are not yet well versed in the Vinaya; or perhaps the Blessed One has not yet laid down that rule, and that is why it is so." The king then said to the queen: "Just as when the head of a household speaks, his family follows; when a preceptor or teacher speaks, the disciples follow; when the ascetic Gotama speaks, his disciples all reply: 'Just so, Blessed One;

just so, Fortunate One.' Yet when I speak to you, you do not turn to look." At that moment, the Venerable Kumāra Kassapa was absorbed in the highest level of the fourth Jhāna, and through the divine ear heard the king's words.

He then said to his fellow bhikkhus: "Elders, the king has given rise to a mind of disbelief, and Queen Mallikā's mind is uneasy. Let us now cause them to give rise to a mind of joy." Thereupon all agreed, saying: "Excellent," and each filled his basin full of water, placed it before himself, sat cross-legged, and flew through the air in formation, passing above the king's palace. At that time, Queen Mallikā was sitting in the open air, and seeing their shadows cast down upon her, she looked up and saw them seated cross-legged in orderly succession, each with a bathing basin placed before him, traveling through the air like a formation of wild geese in flight.

Her mind was filled with great joy, and she said to the king: "Your Majesty, look — such is the virtue of the field of merit that your humble servant venerates." Upon seeing this, the king's mind was filled with great joy, and he said: "Excellent! I have gained great good fortune. May the Blessed One and the bhikkhus dwell throughout their lives in my kingdom, so as to be the finest field of merit."

The bhikkhus, having previously heard the king's reproach, brought that matter before the Blessed One. The Buddha then ordered the sixteen bhikkhus to be summoned. When they had come, the Buddha questioned them fully about the matter:

—Did this actually happen?

—It did indeed, Blessed One.

—I now censure you. On account of this affair I must lay down a rule for the bhikkhus.

The Buddha then issued an order for all the bhikkhus dwelling in Sāvatthī to assemble, and for the sake of ten benefits he laid down a rule for the bhikkhus — one which, even if already heard, must be heard again:

—If a bhikkhu plays in water, he commits a Pācittiya offense.

Explanation

Bhikkhu: As explained above.

Water: There are ten kinds.

Playing: If one jumps, wades, swims back and forth, dives under, surfaces, fans the water, splashes water, or pours water, one commits a Pācittiya offense.

Pācittiya: As explained above.

—Jumping: If one jumps into the water out of play, one commits a Pācittiya offense. However, if one is walking along the bank and falls into the water, or is on a boat that strikes a tree or rock on the bank and one falls into the water, there is no offense. This is called jumping.

—Wading: If one wades in the water out of play, one commits a Pācittiya offense. However, if one must wade through water while traveling, or is pulling some object across a river, or there is business of the Sangha or a stūpa on the other bank and one must regularly cross back and forth to attend to it, or if one wades in order to learn to swim, there is no offense.

—Swimming back and forth: If one swims back and forth in the water out of play, one commits a Pācittiya offense. However, if one has forgotten something on the other bank and must swim across to retrieve it, there is no offense.

—Diving under: If one dives under the water out of play, one commits a Pācittiya offense. However, if a bowl, pot, cup, needle case, or other object has fallen into the water and one must dive to retrieve it, there is no offense. Or if one must submerge oneself while bathing, there is no offense.

—Surfacing: If one goes under the water and then surfaces out of play, one commits a Pācittiya offense. However, if one is retrieving an object, there is no offense.

—Fanning the water: If one fans the water out of play, one commits a Pācittiya offense. However, if the water at the surface is hot and one wishes to obtain cool water, so one fans the surface water aside in order to draw water from below, there is no offense.

—Splashing water: If one splashes water out of play, one commits a Pācittiya offense. However, if there are mosquito larvae on the surface of the water and one splashes the water to make them sink down so as to draw water free of creatures, there is no offense.

—Pouring water: If one scoops water from a river and pours it onto the bank out of play, one commits a Dukkhaṭa offense. Or if one pours water from the bank down into the river, one also commits a Dukkhaṭa offense. However, if one scoops water from a river and pours it back into the river, one commits a Pācittiya offense.

If one scoops water from the ground and pours it onto the ground, one commits a Dukkhaṭa offense. If a bhikkhu is afflicted by a wind ailment and has been bled at the head and falls into a stupor, or is ill with a fever and falls into a stupor, so that cold water must be poured over his head, there is no offense. If a sāmaṇera defaces the food of a bhikkhu with scribbling, and fearing that laypeople will give rise to disbelief, the attendant monk pours water over it to wash it away, there is no offense.

This is called pouring water.

If while bathing the preceptor or teacher one draws with water on their backs, one commits a Dukkhaṭa offense.

If one draws characters on bowls, pots, or cups used for holding a bhikkhu's food out of play, one commits a Dukkhaṭa offense.

If while washing one's feet one draws on a tree, a water jar, or a storage vessel with water, each instance of drawing constitutes one Dukkhaṭa offense.

If one flicks one's finger in the water to make a sound, one commits a Dukkhaṭa offense.

If one scoops up water and flings it into the air and then catches it with one's hand, one commits a Dukkhaṭa offense. Therefore it is said (as above).

Vietnamese translation: Thích Phước Sơn. MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

Chinese translation: TRIPIṬAKA MASTER BUDDHABHADRA OF INDIA

TOGETHER WITH ŚRAMAṆA FAXIAN, TRANSLATED DURING THE EASTERN JIN DYNASTY

DOCTRINAL VERIFICATION: THÍCH ĐỖNG MINH