Bu Pc 44. Instructing a lay person to memorize the Teaching
Pāli / Sanskrit:Padasodhamma
A monk who teaches an unordained person to learn the word of the Buddha by heart must confess the offense.
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Theravāda Collection on Monastic Law The Great Analysis
The chapter on offenses entailing confession The subchapter on lying 4. Instructing a householder to memorize the Teaching
Origin story
At one time when the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery, the monks from the group of six were instructing lay followers to memorize the Teaching. Those lay followers became disrespectful, undeferential, and rude toward the monks.
The monks of few desires complained and criticized them, “How can the monks from the group of six instruct lay followers to memorize the Teaching?”
After rebuking those monks in many ways, they told the Buddha. Soon afterwards he had the Sangha gathered and questioned the monks: “Is it true, monks, that you do this?”
“It’s true, sir.”
The Buddha rebuked them … “Foolish men, how can you do this?” This will affect people’s confidence …” … “And, monks, this training rule should be recited like this:
Final ruling
‘If a monk instructs a person who is not fully ordained to memorize the Teaching, he commits an offense entailing confession.’”
Definitions
A: whoever … Monk: … The monk who has been given the full ordination by a unanimous Sangha through a legal procedure consisting of one motion and three announcements that is irreversible and fit to stand—this sort of monk is meant in this case.
A person who is not fully ordained: anyone except a fully ordained monk or a fully ordained nun. To memorize: a line, the next line, the next syllable, the next phrase. A line: they start together and finish together.
The next line: one of them starts, but they finish together. The next syllable: when ‘Rūpaṁ aniccaṁ’ is being said, he prompts him, saying, ‘rū’. The next phrase: when ‘Rūpaṁ aniccaṁ,’ is being said, the other says, ‘Vedanā aniccā.’ And whatever line there is, whatever next line, whatever next syllable, whatever next phrase— this is all called “to memorize”.
The Teaching: what has been spoken by the Buddha, what has been spoken by disciples, what has been spoken by sages, what has been spoken by gods, what is connected with what is beneficial, what is connected with the Teaching. Instructs: if he instructs by the line, then for every line he commits an offense entailing confession. If he instructs by the syllable, then for every syllable he commits an offense entailing confession.
Permutations
If the person is not fully ordained, and the monk does not perceive them as such, and he instructs them to memorize the Teaching, he commits an offense entailing confession. If the person is not fully ordained, but the monk is unsure of it, and he instructs them to memorize the Teaching, he commits an offense entailing confession. If the person is not fully ordained, but the monk perceives them as such, and he instructs them to memorize the Teaching, he commits an offense entailing confession.
If the person is fully ordained, but the monk does not perceive them as such, he commits an offense of wrong conduct. If the person is fully ordained, but the monk is unsure of it, he commits an offense of wrong conduct. If the person is fully ordained, and the monk perceives them as such, there is no offense.
Non-offenses
There is no offense: if the recitation is done together; if they practice together; if he prompts one who is speaking a mostly familiar text; if he prompts one who is reciting; if he is insane; if he is the first offender.
The training rule on instructing a householder to memorize the Teaching, the fourth, is finished.
The “…” is an abbreviation carried over from the Pāli original itself, called peyyāla. The early canon was memorized and recited, so passages repeated verbatim from a preceding discourse were commonly contracted to an elision mark rather than written out in full. Venerable Thích Minh Châu's translation preserves this convention. Some texts therefore look short — but that is the canonical form, not missing content or a truncated translation. The elided passages can be read in full in the preceding discourses of the same chapter.
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