鼻奈耶

The Buddha was in the Jeta Grove, the Garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the country of Śrāvastī.

At that time the World-Honored One had not yet laid down the precept against eating after midday.

At dusk, the venerable Kāḷudāyī put on his robe, took his bowl, and entered the city of Śrāvastī to beg for food. At that time the clouds were dense, the sky was gloomy and pitch dark, thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed with dazzling brightness. There was a pregnant woman who had gone outside to fetch water. The venerable Kāḷudāyī came to the gate, intending to enter to beg for food, and the woman suddenly caught sight of Kāḷudāyī in the flash of lightning. Terrified beyond measure, she screamed at the top of her voice:

"A piśāca demon!"

Kāḷudāyī replied:

"I am a śramaṇa, not a demon."

The woman said:

"You, śramaṇa! I did not kill your father or harm your mother, so why have you harmed my unborn child?"

The woman then went and told the bhikṣu who practiced the twelve dharmas. The bhikṣu of the twelve dharmas came and reported to the World-Honored One. The World-Honored One said:

"Whatever bhikṣu eats after midday commits an offense of expiation."

At that time the venerable Bhaddāli, hearing that the World-Honored One had laid down the precept against eating after midday, said:

"Of the two meals, the evening meal is the most delicious, yet the śramaṇa Gautama has cut away that very meal."

Hearing this, the bhikṣus came and reported to the World-Honored One. The World-Honored One said:

"In days of old he too was greedy for flavor; it is not only now. Listen, all of you, as I tell it:

"Long ago, countless kalpas in the past, at the kalpa of the world's destruction, heaven and earth dissolved. Afterward the earth had a layer of grease, exceedingly delicious and sweet, like a lump of rock sugar. There was a deva, Ābhāsvara, who descended to that earth and, using his finger, tasted the delicious sweet grease upon the ground. A liking arose in his mind, and he returned up to heaven, told the other devas, and led the devas down to taste the earth's grease. By the third day their bodies had grown heavy and could no longer fly. The earth's grease gradually sank away, and the earth produced a salty substance. Later, of itself, ordinary rice appeared. They then ate that rice. At that time this person was greedy for flavor, and today again he is greedy for flavor."

The Buddha was in the Jeta Grove, the Garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the country of Śrāvastī.

The venerable Pilindavatsa had a disease of the eyes. The brahmin elders brought him butter, oil, honey, black sugar, rock sugar, and various fresh foods. The disciples would regularly keep the food overnight and eat it. The bhikṣu of the twelve dharmas then came and reported to the World-Honored One. The World-Honored One established the precept:

"Whatever bhikṣu who is not ill keeps food overnight to eat it commits an offense of expiation."

The Buddha was in the Jeta Grove, the Garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the country of Śrāvastī.

The group of six bhikṣus used water and food that had not been formally offered and received. Seeing this, the bhikṣu of the twelve dharmas came and reported to the World-Honored One. The World-Honored One said:

"Whatever bhikṣu puts into his mouth medicine and food that has not been formally offered and received—except for water and a tooth-stick—commits an offense of expiation."

The Buddha was in the Jeta Grove, the Garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the country of Śrāvastī.

The group of six bhikṣus, entering a village and seeing curds, milk, butter, meat, fish, fermented foods, and the like, would of their own accord go in and ask for them. Seeing this, the elders said to one another:

"Why do these sons of the Śākya beg for so much fish and fermented food?"

They then came and informed the bhikṣu of the twelve dharmas. The bhikṣu of the twelve dharmas came and reported to the World-Honored One. The World-Honored One assembled the Saṅgha in harmony, complete with the ten merits, and laid down the precept for the śramaṇas:

"Whatever bhikṣu knows that a village has butter, milk, curds, fish, meat, fermented food, and the like—if he is not ill yet goes and asks for them, he commits a pātayantika offense."

The Buddha was in the Jeta Grove, the Garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the country of Śrāvastī.

At that time there were two bhikṣus living in the deep mountains, at the frontier of the country of Kosala. They had never yet seen the Buddha and constantly longed to be able to meet the Buddha.

The two of them consulted together and set out on the road to meet the World-Honored One. At that time it was the end of spring, the weather was very hot, and the shimmering heat-haze looked like water. The sun had reached its zenith; in the midst of a desolate wilderness there was not the slightest bit of water, and their bodies were parched with thirst. The two of them searched everywhere for water but found only one small pool, where the water was scarce and the creatures many.

One bhikṣu said to the other bhikṣu:

"Let us drink this water with creatures in it, so as to have the strength to cross this desolate wilderness and to behold the Tathāgata."

The other bhikṣu replied:

"Having received the precepts of the World-Honored One, how could I violate them?"

At that time one drank and the other did not drink.

The one who did not drink passed away and was reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, wearing a crown made of a hundred kinds of jewels. He came to the World-Honored One, bowed his head to the ground, and stood to one side. The World-Honored One expounded the Dharma, and that one immediately realized the truth.

Afterward the one who had drunk the water arrived. Seeing that bhikṣu come, the World-Honored One removed his upper robe, revealed his body of pure gold, and said:

"You are a fool, for you came only to behold this body of the four elements, which is a vessel filled with foul stench. Whoever sees the Dharma sees my body."

The World-Honored One said:

"Whatever bhikṣu knows that water has creatures in it yet takes it and drinks commits an offense of expiation."

The Buddha was in the Jeta Grove, the Garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the country of Śrāvastī.

There was an elder who invited the Buddha and the Saṅgha. The group of six bhikṣus came first to the kitchen and rested there. Seeing this, the elders said to one another:

"These śramaṇas, sons of the Śākya, have come here first and are hindering the cooking of the food."

Hearing this, the bhikṣu of the twelve dharmas reported to the World-Honored One. The World-Honored One said:

"Whatever bhikṣu goes too early to a house that has invited the Saṅgha and sits or lies down, or plays with the children, commits an offense of expiation."

The Buddha was in the Jeta Grove, the Garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the country of Śrāvastī.

There was an elder who invited the Saṅgha. The elder had gone out and was not at home, and only the elder's wife was preparing the food in the back.

At that time the venerable Kāḷudāyī came early and sat in the elder's house. Seeing this, the elders said to one another:

"Why is this bhikṣu, son of the Śākya, sitting together with a woman in one place?"

The bhikṣu of the twelve dharmas came and reported to the World-Honored One. The World-Honored One said:

"Whatever bhikṣu goes first to a house that has invited the Saṅgha and sits together with a woman in one place commits an offense of expiation."

The Buddha was in the Jeta Grove, the Garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the country of Śrāvastī, together with five hundred bhikṣus.

At that time, in the village of Verañjā there was a brahmin named Agnidatta, very rich in money and goods, abundant in fields and gardens. He came to Śrāvastī, stayed at the house of an elder, and said to that elder:

"Is there here any śramaṇa or brahmin, wise and full of understanding, a teacher who guides his followers? If there is such a person, then I wish to come regularly to bow down to him and to inquire after him, so that my mind may be opened."

The elder replied:

"Here there is the śramaṇa Gautama, of the Śākya clan, who left the household life to study the Way, shaved off his hair and beard, wears the three Dharma robes, and has now realized the fruit of supreme bodhi. If you wish to go and meet him, now is the time. Go there and inquire after him."

The brahmin asked:

"Where is Gautama? I wish to go and inquire after him."

The elder replied:

"The World-Honored One is in the country of Śrāvastī, in the Jeta Grove, the Garden of Anāthapiṇḍika. If you wish to go, then go."

Early in the morning the brahmin Agnidatta went out of the city of Śrāvastī and came to the monastery of the Jeta Grove.

At that time the World-Honored One was expounding the Dharma to countless hundreds of thousands of people. Seeing the World-Honored One, dignified beyond compare, with all his faculties complete and his body the color of pure gold, the brahmin Agnidatta came to the place of the Buddha, greeted him with folded hands, and sat to one side.

The World-Honored One spoke all manner of subtle and wondrous Dharma. Having finished speaking the Dharma, the World-Honored One stood silent. The brahmin said to the World-Honored One:

"I ask that the śramaṇa Gautama and the Saṅgha accept my invitation for the ninety days of the rains retreat."

At that time the World-Honored One, recalling a karmic recompense of the past that could not be avoided, silently accepted the brahmin's invitation. The brahmin then rose, joined his palms, and took his leave.

When he had returned from Śrāvastī to Verañjā, he prepared all manner of food for the four months of the rains.

When the rains season arrived, he instructed the gatekeeper:

"During these four months I shall remain inside here and do not wish to go out. Do not let anyone in. Even if there are matters of suffering or joy, of good or ill fortune, do not come in to report them to me."

The gatekeeper then assented to the order.

When the rains season arrived, the World-Honored One assembled the Saṅgha in harmony. The World-Honored One said:

"You must gather up your robes and bowls, for we are to go to the village of Verañjā."

The five hundred bhikṣus then put on their robes, took their bowls, and followed the World-Honored One to Verañjā.

At that time there was no monastery in Verañjā. To the north there was Mount Mahāśirīṣa. The mountain cave was vast and broad, the trees and grasses lush, with all kinds of flowers and all kinds of birds. At that time the World-Honored One and the Saṅgha lodged for the night on that mountain.

At that time the people of Verañjā were all brahmins, the people were famine-stricken, and alms were hard to obtain. That very night the World-Honored One assembled the Saṅgha and said to the bhikṣus:

"Bhikṣus, you should know that this Verañjā is all brahmins, the people are famine-stricken, and alms are hard to obtain. Whatever bhikṣu wishes to spend the rains retreat here may remain; whoever does not wish to may go wherever he pleases."

Śāriputra then ascended to the summit of Mount Amohā, received the offerings of the wife of Śakra Devānām Indra, Sumeru-asura, and ate the food of the heavenly realm for four months.

The World-Honored One, together with four hundred and ninety-nine bhikṣus, spent the rains retreat in Verañjā.

The brahmin elders who believed in the Buddha offered four meals, five meals, or six meals, and then stopped. The bhikṣus could obtain nothing from begging.

The venerable Maudgalyāyana said to the Buddha:

"The reason it is called Jambudvīpa is that the jambu fruit is countless thousands of leagues away to the east. Let me go and fetch the jambu fruit and bring it back for the bhikṣus to eat. Not far from that place there is a grove of harītakī and āmalaka, or else I could go to Uttarakuru and fetch the rice that grows of itself, or go to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three and fetch the heavenly ambrosia for the bhikṣus to eat, or take the rich grease of the earth—turning it up with the left hand and taking the earth's grease with the right hand—for the bhikṣus to eat."

The World-Honored One said to Maudgalyāyana:

"I know that you have spiritual powers, but the karmic recompense of the past lives of the bhikṣus has come due—where would you put it?"

The World-Honored One did not accept that proposal.

In Verañjā there was much soft grass and water. There was a horse trader who pastured his horses there. Seeing that the bhikṣus could obtain nothing from begging, he said to the bhikṣus:

"Here grain and rice are costly, and alms are hard to obtain. I have no cooked food, no parched rice flour, and no dried rice—only barley. If you have need of it, I will offer it."

The bhikṣus replied:

"The World-Honored One has not yet permitted us to eat the barley meant for horses."

They came and reported to the World-Honored One. The World-Honored One said:

"Although you know it is barley meant for horses, you may, according to the occasion, soak it in water until it sprouts, and then it may be taken and eaten."

At that time the herd of horses numbered five hundred, and the Saṅgha lacked one person of being a full five hundred. Each horse ate one peck of barley a day, and the horse-keeper ate two pecks a day. The horse trader then divided it equally so that each person and horse received half a peck a day, and he offered it to the Buddha and the Saṅgha.

Ānanda took the World-Honored One's portion and his own portion into Verañjā to have someone cook it. Meeting a woman, Ānanda praised the merits of the Buddha:

"The World-Honored One possesses morality, concentration, and wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation. He has the thirty-two marks of a great being and the eighty graceful features adorning his body. Light surrounds his body within a range of seven feet (counting also the light surrounding his two hands—and for two Buddhas it would exceed seven feet).

His body is the color of pure gold, and one never tires of gazing upon it. He shaved off his hair and beard, put on the kāṣāya robe, left the household life to study the Way, and attained the fruit of supreme, perfect, complete enlightenment. He rescues sentient beings from peril and distress, delivers those not yet delivered, liberates those not yet liberated, and helps those who have not yet entered Nirvāṇa to enter Nirvāṇa, with no more birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, or affliction.

Had he not left the household life to study the Way, he would have become a Wheel-Turning King possessing the seven treasures: the precious wheel, the precious elephant, the precious horse, the precious jewel, the precious jade-woman, the precious householder, and the precious minister who commands the troops. He would have had a thousand sons, strong and mighty, ruling over the four quarters without needing to use sword or staff.

I and you all would be his subjects. Today he has accepted an invitation and has come to spend the rains retreat in Verañjā. Could you, sister, take this barley and make parched rice flour for me?"

The woman replied:

"My household has many urgent matters. The work I have to do I cannot even finish myself, so how could I help another?"

Not far from there was a woman who heard Ānanda praising the merits of the Buddha as truly extraordinary, and she thought to herself: "Is there really such a person in the world?" She then said to Ānanda:

"Bring the barley here and I will make rice flour for you. From now on, let the Buddha, Ānanda, and the others who practice the holy life simply bring barley, and I will make rice flour to help."

The woman then ground the barley and handed it to Ānanda.

Ānanda took the flour to where the Buddha was, offered water to wash his hands and feet, then handed the flour to the Buddha. The Buddha then ate that flour. Seeing the Buddha eat the flour, Ānanda was saddened and shed tears, thinking: "The Buddha is the son of a king and has always eaten fine food, never poor food. Today he is eating barley flour—how can he keep up his strength?"

Knowing that thought, the World-Honored One said to Ānanda:

"Can you eat this flour?"

He replied:

"I can."

The World-Honored One then gave a handful to Ānanda to eat. Ānanda found that it had a flavor like the heavenly ambrosia. Ānanda thought again: "The World-Honored One, eating this food, surely keeps up his strength."

When the World-Honored One had finished eating, Ānanda washed the bowl, poured water, and then said to the Buddha:

"Just now I asked a woman to make the flour, but she would not do it. There was another woman who, without being asked, took it upon herself to do it. May the World-Honored One explain the meaning of this matter."

The World-Honored One said:

"The one who would not do it—had she done it, she would have become the chief consort of a Wheel-Turning Sage King. The one who, without being asked, did it will gain great merit. Although she does no further meritorious deed, she has already planted the cause of supreme, perfect enlightenment."

Before long, everyone heard the news that the Buddha and the Saṅgha had to eat barley. There was the deva-māra Pāpīyas, who transformed himself into a member of the Saṅgha, carrying a bag filled with dried rice, rock sugar, and bearing in his hands nine hundred cakes, and went to a crossroads. The elders asked those bhikṣus:

"Where have you come from?"

The bhikṣus replied:

"We have come from Verañjā."

They asked:

"Are the Buddha and the bhikṣu-Saṅgha not in want?"

The false bhikṣus replied:

"Food and drink are abundant—we cannot eat it all. We are carrying the leftover portion to Śrāvastī."

At that time the sixteen great countries all heard the news that the Buddha and the Saṅgha, during the three months of the rains residence in Verañjā, had eaten nothing but barley. The elders and brahmins brought goods worth a koṭi of cash to welcome the World-Honored One and the Saṅgha.

When seven days remained until the end of the rains, the Buddha, though he knew, still asked Ānanda:

"How many days remain until the rains retreat is over?"

Ānanda said to the Buddha:

"There are seven days left."

The Buddha said to Ānanda:

"Take two bhikṣus into the village of Verañjā and say to the brahmin Agnidatta: 'The Buddha accepted your invitation for ninety days; now the term is over, and he must go and travel for the teaching among the people.'"

The bhikṣus said to the Buddha:

"Agnidatta had no intention of offering the Buddha even a single meal, so why must we go and take leave of him?"

The World-Honored One replied:

"Although he did not set out a meal to entertain us, since he is the one who issued the invitation, we must go and take leave of him."

Obeying the Buddha's instruction, Ānanda led two bhikṣus into Verañjā, stood at the gate of Agnidatta's house, and said to the gatekeeper:

"Go in and tell your master: Ānanda is outside and wishes to come in to see him."

At that time Agnidatta was in the front courtyard washing his hair, dressed in white and seated on a rope bed. The gatekeeper then reported as above. The elder replied:

"Invite him in."

Ānanda then entered, slowly came to a seat, and was silent for a while. The brahmin asked:

"Master, what matter brings you here?"

Ānanda replied:

"The World-Honored One says that he has accepted your invitation for ninety days, and now he is about to set out to travel for the teaching among the people."

The brahmin asked:

"Master Ānanda, has Gautama spent the rains retreat here?"

Ānanda replied:

"You invited him before—have you forgotten?"

The brahmin asked:

"During the ninety days, what did you have to eat?"

Ānanda replied:

"It was extremely dire. The World-Honored One and the Saṅgha ate the barley meant for horses for three months."

The brahmin remembered that he had invited the Buddha and the Saṅgha, had prepared the seats, and had ordered the gatekeeper not to let anyone in. The brahmin Agnidatta thought again: "In the four quarters, far and near, all have heard the news that I committed this evil deed: that Agnidatta invited the Buddha and the Saṅgha yet never made any offering."

He asked Ānanda again:

"Can the śramaṇa Gautama be detained so that I may repent?"

Ānanda replied:

"He cannot be detained."

Hearing this, Agnidatta was grieved and anguished and collapsed to the ground. The members of his household then sprinkled water on his face, and only then was he able to sit up.

The household said to Agnidatta:

"Do not grieve. We will go with you to repent before the śramaṇa Gautama. If the Buddha will not consent to stay, then have someone carry these foods and drinks along behind him, and whatever he is in want of, offer it to him."

At that time Ānanda, together with the brahmin and the members of his household, came to the brahmin's house to repent. Seeing them come, the World-Honored One thought: "If I do not stay, this man will vomit blood from his mouth."

Out of compassion, the World-Honored One stayed seven more days. The elder then had all the food and drink prepared for the four months carried in, piling it up in heaps until it overflowed.

Hearing that in sixty days' time the World-Honored One would travel for the teaching everywhere, the people of Vṛji all prepared offerings to entertain the Tathāgata.

At that time the World-Honored One was mending his robe in Verañjā.

On the day the robe had been mended, he put on his robe, took his bowl, and went to the country of Vṛji. Agnidatta also had the food and drink carried along behind the Tathāgata, so that whatever the Tathāgata might lack he could immediately supply in full.

Knowing where the Tathāgata was about to halt, he would go there first, make preparations, and say:

"Today and tomorrow I have invited the Buddha."

Hearing that Agnidatta was carrying food and drink along behind the Tathāgata, the people of Vṛji thought: "This will surely hinder our making offerings to the Buddha." They then gathered together to find a way to restrict the brahmin from cooking rice to offer to the Buddha, or to have him cook less, or to make only honey-water. They said to one another:

"Do not let that brahmin make rice to offer to the Buddha."

Whoever saw Agnidatta would scold him, saying:

"You evil brahmin! You fed the Buddha and the Saṅgha barley for ninety days, and now you carry food along behind the Buddha, hindering others' offerings."

The brahmin was grieved and stood to one side to see what dish the people's offerings might lack, so that he could supply the rest in full, and he saw that only bean porridge was missing. He then took sesame seeds, perilla, beans, ground āmalaka and bibhītaka, wild betel leaf, and ginger to cook the porridge and offer it to the World-Honored One.

The World-Honored One said:

"Distribute it to the Saṅgha."

The Saṅgha would not accept it, because the World-Honored One had not yet permitted them to eat this kind of porridge. The brahmin then came and reported to the World-Honored One:

"The bhikṣus will not accept the porridge."

The World-Honored One said to the bhikṣus:

"From now on, whether ill or not ill, you may regularly eat this porridge, for it has five benefits: it removes hunger and thirst, it prevents one from being struck by wind, it wards off cold-induced fevers, it makes the digestive tract function smoothly, and it prevents the various illnesses caused by food."

Agnidatta thought again: "All manner of food was prepared for the four months of the rains, which I have carried here, yet I have still not been able to offer it to the Buddha and the Saṅgha. I shall do as in the dharma of sacrifice to the spirits: spread the food on the ground for the bhikṣus to step across. In that way they will have received it from me."

The World-Honored One said:

"That is not something to be stepped across with the feet. It is something to be eaten with the mouth."

The World-Honored One then expounded the Dharma to the brahmin. Having heard the Dharma, the brahmin returned home.

At that time the World-Honored One put on his robe, took his bowl, and returned to the country of Śrāvastī. There was a heterodox brahmacārin, fat and corpulent in body, who followed behind the World-Honored One.

There was a brahmin devoted to the Way who came and asked that brahmacārin:

"Have you received any food and drink here?"

He replied:

"I have received some."

He asked again:

"From whom did you obtain it?"

He replied:

"I obtained it from the bald-headed elder."

The brahmin said:

"Go at once. You have spoken vile words. You have grown fat and stout thanks to the śramaṇa Gautama, yet you revile him. If he hears of it, the śramaṇa Gautama will lay down a precept that food and drink may not be given to heterodox practitioners."

The bhikṣus came and reported to the World-Honored One. The World-Honored One said:

"That heterodox practitioner has long been accustomed to perverse ways. If he were poisoned, he would report to the authorities that he had been poisoned by the śramaṇa Gautama."

At that time the World-Honored One had not yet laid down a precept for the śramaṇas, and he went straight on to the country of Śrāvastī. An elder in the country of Śrāvastī made butter cakes and one hundred fluffy cakes and offered them to the Buddha and the Saṅgha.

It is the regular rule of the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, that when they have not yet eaten their fill they do not rise, but wait until they have eaten to satiety. If a donor's offering is insufficient, then by the Buddha's power all are made fully satisfied.

There were two brahmin women who came to ask the venerable Ānanda for a few cakes. The venerable one gave two to one of them and one cake to the other.

The one who received a single cake asked the other:

"How many did you get?"

She replied:

"I got two."

The other asked in return:

"And how many did you get?"

She replied:

"I got one. Since you have one extra, share some with me."

She replied:

"Each has her own portion; I will not share."

The other one said:

"Surely Ānanda is your husband."

The two of them quarreled with one another very loudly. The World-Honored One, though he knew, still asked Ānanda: "Why are those two quarreling?"

Ānanda reported the above matter in full to the World-Honored One. The World-Honored One said:

"Whatever bhikṣu personally gives cakes to a brahmin and to a brahmin's wife commits an offense of expiation."

Food is of five kinds:

The first is food from roots and tubers. Root foods are: lotus root, mustard greens, and hīpāda (a small root that is sweet).

The second is food from stems, such as: sugarcane, śuka-grain, and the various stalks of plants that can be eaten.

The third is food from leaves: the various leaves that can be eaten.

The fourth is food from flowers, such as: the bāva flower and the lāli.

The fifth is food from fruits, such as: grapes, oranges, kumquats, and the like.

There are also five kinds of food: corn, broken rice, green barley, oval beans, and ordinary rice.

While eating these kinds of food, if a brahmin comes to ask for some, one must say that it is not one's own food.

If anyone asks for water, say that it is not one's own water.

If anyone asks for fruit, say that it is not one's own fruit.

One must not give anything at all, unless it be to one's father and mother, or to a sick person.

The Buddha was in the Jeta Grove, the Garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the country of Śrāvastī.

King Prasenajit and Ajātaśatru were constantly at war with one another, leading their troops to fight. The group of six bhikṣus said to one another that they would go together to watch the troops and horses, and they went at once to watch.

Seeing this, the elders said to one another: "These śramaṇas, sons of the Śākya, left the household life to study the Way, yet they go to watch the troops and horses," and they reported the matter to the Buddha. The World-Honored One said:

"Whatever bhikṣu, when the troops and horses are about to go into battle, goes to watch them, commits an offense of expiation."

VINAYA

End of Scroll Eight