Lzh Mg Bu Vb Sk 63Off the Path

– MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

– CLARIFICATION OF THE BEGINNING PORTION OF THE TRAINING RULES FOR THE COMMUNITY:

– CLARIFICATION OF THE REMAINING PORTION OF THE TRAINING RULES FOR THE COMMUNITY.

63. "One must train: One must not stand off the path and teach the Dharma to those standing in the middle of the path, unless they are ill."

Ill: the Blessed One declares there is no offense.

Off the path: the bhikkhu stands off the path.

In the middle of the path: the listener stands in the middle of the path.

Teaching the Dharma: as stated above, one must not stand off the path and teach the Dharma to one who is not ill and is standing in the middle of the path; unless that person is ill, in which case there is no offense.

If a bhikkhu goes to a king or a landowner on behalf of a Stūpa or the Saṅgha and that person says, "Bhikkhu, please teach me the Dharma," one must not tell that person to step off to the side of the path, for fear of arousing suspicion in their mind. If a lay attendant is nearby, one should think of oneself as teaching the Dharma to the lay attendant; even if the king hears, there is no offense.

If a bhikkhu is traveling along a dangerous and frightening stretch of road and the escort says, "Venerable One, please stand off the path while I stand in the middle of the road; if bandits appear, I will resist them. Please teach me the Dharma," then even though that person stands in the middle of the road, teaching the Dharma is without offense.

If one does not restrain the sense faculties and, while standing off the path, teaches the Dharma to a person who is not ill and who stands in the middle of the path, one thereby disregards the training rule that must be practiced. Except in the case of mental derangement, there is no offense. Therefore it is said:

"One must train: One must not stand off the path and teach the Dharma to those standing in the middle of the path, unless they are ill."

When the Buddha was residing in the city of Śrāvastī — as elaborated above — at that time King Prasenajit wished to travel to the lake in the eastern park for recreation, and so he issued an order to his attendants:

— Tomorrow, I and the consorts and ladies-in-waiting will go on an excursion to the eastern park. You are to sweep it clean and arrange the furnishings and bedding with care.

At that time, the group of six bhikkhus heard of this and went ahead to that garden, where they spat phlegm and saliva upon the tender grass, then wrapped various impurities in leaves and set them afloat on the lake. The consorts and ladies-in-waiting, who had been confined to the palace for a long time and had long been looking forward to an outing, were, when finally allowed to accompany the king, no different from prisoners released from jail.

Upon arriving in the garden and seeing the soft, tender grass, they all rushed forward, calling out their claims from a distance: "This spot is mine! This spot is mine!" — and sat down upon the patches of spittle, soiling their garments. Because of this, they ran to the lake to wash their hands and rinse their robes, and there they saw the wrapped leaves floating on the surface of the water.

They imagined: "Perhaps some young men, having heard that we were coming for an outing, wrapped fragrant perfumes as gifts for us."

Then they crowded together, saying, "This one is mine! This one is mine!" and snatched up the leaf packets, causing the impurities to burst out and splatter upon their garments.

Then they said to one another, "How strange, how strange! We thought they were fragrant perfumes, but who would have thought they were impurities!" And they reported to the king: "It is truly extraordinary! Your Majesty previously ordered the garden to be swept clean, yet now it is as filthy as this!"

The king then asked the garden keeper, "Who has made this garden so dirty?"

The garden keeper reported: "Yesterday the group of six bhikkhus spent considerable time in this garden; it may be that they made this mess."

The bhikkhus then brought this matter and reported it to the Blessed One. The Buddha thereupon ordered the group of six bhikkhus to be summoned. When they had come, the Buddha questioned them fully regarding the events described above:

— Did this thing truly happen as reported?

— It did happen thus, Blessed One.

— Why did you defecate, urinate, and expectorate upon fresh grass and in the water? From this time forward, one must not defecate, urinate, or expectorate upon fresh grass or in the water.

The Buddha then commanded all the bhikkhus to assemble, and for ten beneficial reasons he laid down the precept for the bhikkhus — which all must hear, even those who have already heard it:

Vietnamese translation: Thích Phước Sơn. MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

Chinese translation: THE TRIPIṬAKA MASTER BUDDHABHADRA OF INDIA

TOGETHER WITH ŚRAMAṆA FAXIAN, TRANSLATED DURING THE EASTERN JIN DYNASTY

DOCTRINAL VERIFICATION: THÍCH ĐỖNG MINH