' Things go pretty well with us, Lord ; we get
1 This story recurs in the (rataka Commentary II, 449.
I J 6 MAHAVAGGA. I, 31, 5.
enough, Lord, to support our life, and we have made our journey, Lord, with not too great fatigue/
The Tathagatas sometimes ask about what they
know ; sometimes they do not ask about what they
know. They understand the right time when to
ask, and they understand the right time when not
to ask. The Tathagatas put questions full of sense,
not void of sense ; to what is void of sense the bridge
is pulled down for the Tathagatas. For two pur-
poses the blessed Buddhas put questions to the
Bhikkhus, when they intend to preach the doctrine
or when they intend to institute a rule of conduct to
their disciples.
5. And the Blessed One said to the venerable
Upananda Vangantaputta : ' How many years have
you completed, O Bhikkhu, since your upasam-
pada?'
' Two years, Lord/
'And how many years has this Bhikkhu com- pleted ?'
' One year, Lord/
i In what relation does this Bhikkhu stand to you ?'
' He is my saddhiviharika, Lord/
Then the blessed Buddha rebuked him : ' This
is improper, O foolish one, unbecoming, unsuitable,
unworthy of a Samara, unallowable, and to be
avoided. How can you, O foolish one, who ought
to receive exhortation and instruction from others,
think yourself fit for administering exhortation and
instruction to another Bhikkhu ? Too quickly, O
foolish one, have you abandoned yourself to the
ambition of collecting followers. This will not do
(&c, as in chap. 30. 3). Let no one, O Bhikkhus,
confer the upasampada ordination who has not
J, 31, 8. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. I 77
completed ten years. He who does, is guilty of a
dukka/a offence. I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that
only he who has completed ten years, or more than
ten years, may confer the upasampada ordination/
6. At that time ignorant, unlearned Bhikkhus
(who said), 'We have completed ten years (since
our upasampada), we have completed ten years,'
conferred the upasampada ordination; (thus) igno-
rant upa^^ayas were found and clever saddhi-
viharikas; unlearned upa^Myas were found
and learned saddhiviharikas; upa^Myas were
found who had small knowledge, and saddhivi-
harikas who had great knowledge; foolish upa^-
^ayas were found and wise saddhiviharikas.
And a certain Bhikkhu who had formerly belonged to
a Titthiya school, when his upa^Mya remonstrated
with him (on certain offences) according to the
Dhamma, brought his upa^Mya (by reasoning) to
silence and went back to that same Titthiya school1.
7. The moderate Bhikkhus were annoyed, mur-
mured, and became angry : i How can those ignorant,
unlearned Bhikkhus confer the upasampada ordi-
nation (saying), "We have completed ten years, we
have completed ten years ?" (Thus) ignorant upa^-
^Myas are found and clever saddhiviharikas
(&c, down to:), foolish upa^Myas are found and
wise saddhiviharikas/
These Bhikkhus told, &c.
' Is it true, O Bhikkhus, &c. ?'
* It is true, Lord/
8. Then the blessed Buddha rebuked those Bhik- khus : ' How can these foolish persons, O Bhikkhus,
1 See the conclusion of this in chapter 38. [13] N
I78 MAHAVAGGA. I, 32, 1.
confer the upasampada ordination (saying), "We
have, &c ?" (Thus) ignorant upa^Myas are found,
&c. This will not do, O Bhikkhus, for converting
the unconverted and for augmenting the number
of the converted/
Having rebuked those Bhikkhus and delivered
a religious discourse, he thus addressed the Bhik-
khus : ' Let no ignorant, unlearned Bhikkhu, O
Bhikkhus, confer the upasampada ordination. If
he does, he is guilty of a dukka/a offence. I pre-
scribe, O Bhikkhus, that only a learned, competent
Bhikkhu who has completed ten years, or more than
ten years, may confer the upasampada ordination.'
1. At that time some Bhikkhus whose upa^-
^Myas were gone away, or had returned to the
world, or had died, or were gone over to a (schismatic)
faction1, as they had no a/£ariyas and received no
exhortation and instruction, went on their rounds
for alms wearing improper under and upper gar-
ments (&c, as in chap. 25. 1-6, down to:), he thus
addressed the Bhikkhus : ' I prescribe, O Bhikkhus,
(that young Bhikkhus choose) an aiariya2.
1 Buddhaghosa can scarcely be right in explaining pakkha- sa^kanta by titthiyapakkhasawkanta.
2 A^ariya as well as upa^Mya means ' teacher,' or 'pre- ceptor.' It is very difficult or rather impossible to draw a sharp line of distinction between a^ariya and upa^Mya. The duties of an a/£ariya towards his antev&sika, and of an antevasika towards his a^ariya, as indicated in chaps. 32, 33 (rr^ullavag^a VIII, 13, 14), are exactly the same as those of an up &ggh ay a
I, 32, 1. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. I 79
* The &/£ariya, O Bhikkhus, ought to consider the
antevasika (i.e. disciple) as a son; the anteva-
sika ought to consider the a^ariya as a father.
Thus these two, united" by mutual reverence, con-
fidence, and communion of life, will progress, advance,
and reach a high stage in this doctrine and discipline.
i I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that you live (the first)
ten years in dependence (on an a^ariya) ; he who
has completed his tenth year may give a nissaya1
himself.
towards his saddhiviharika and vice versa (chaps. 25, 26=K\x\- lavagga VIII, 11, 12). The position of an upa^Mya, however, was considered as the more important of the two; at the upa- sampada service the upa^g-Mya had a more prominent part than the a^ariya, as we may infer from chaps. 28, 29, and from the explanations on the 65th pa^ittiya rule which are given in the Sutta Vibhahga. There it is said that, if the upasampada ordination had been conferred, against the rule, on a person that has not yet attained his twentieth year, the upa^^aya has made himself guilty of a pa^ittiya offence, the a/£ariya and the other present Bhikkhus only of a dukka/a offence. We may add that the succession of Vinaya teachers from Upali down to Mahinda, which is given in the Dipava^zsa (BhaVzavaras IV and V), is a suc- cession of upa^Myas and saddhiviharikas (see IV, 36, 42, 43, &c), not of a/£ariyas and antevasikas; the duty of instruct- ing the young Bhikkhus in the holy doctrines and ordinances seems, therefore, to belong to the upa^Mya rather than to the a^ariya; compare also Dipavawsa VII, 26. So among the Brahma^as, on the contrary, the a^arya is estimated higher than the upadhyaya; see Manu 11,145; Y&gwavalkya I, 35. Com- pare also chap. 36. 1 (end of the paragraph), and Buddhaghosa's explanation of that passage.
1 Nissaya (i.e. dependence) is the relation between a^ariya and antevasika. The antevasika lives ' nissaya' with regard to the a/£ariya, i.e. dependent on him; the a/£ariya gives his nis- saya to the antevasika, i.e. he receives him into his protection and care. At chap. 36. 1, 'nissaya' is said also of the relation between upa^Mya and saddhiviharika.
l8o MAHAVAGGA. 1,32,2.
2. ' And let (the antevasika), O Bhikkhus,
choose his aiariya in this way: Let him adjust
his upper robe so as to cover one shoulder, salute
the feet (of the a/£ariya), sit down squatting, raise
his joined hands, and say : " Venerable Sir, be my
aiariya, I will live in dependence on you, Sir."'
(This formula is repeated thrice.)
'(If the other answers) : " Well" (&c, as in chap.
3. 'The antevasika, O Bhikkhus, ought to
observe a strict conduct towards his aiariya' (&c, as in chap. 25. 8-24).
End of the duties towards an a^ariya.
'The aiariya, O Bhikkhus, ought to observe a
strict conduct towards his antevasika ' (&c, as in
chap. 26).
End of the duties towards an antevasika.
End of the sixth Bha/zavara.
At that time the antevasikas did not observe
a proper conduct towards their a^ariyas (&c, as
in chap. 27. 1-8).
I, 36, 1. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. l8l
1,2. At that time ignorant, unlearned Bhikkhus
(who said), 'We have completed ten years (since our
upasampada), we have completed ten years/ gave
a nissaya (i.e. they received young Bhikkhus as
their antevasikas) ; (thus) ignorant a/£ariyas were
found and clever antevasikas; unlearned a/£ariy as
were found and learned antevasikas; &/£ariyas
were found who had small knowledge, and ante-
vasikas who had great knowledge; foolish a^ari-
yas were found and wise antevasikas. The
moderate Bhikkhus were annoyed (&c, as in chap.
3i.7,8).
' Let no ignorant, unlearned Bhikkhu, O Bhikkhus,
give a nissaya. If he does, he is guilty of a duk-
ka/a offence. I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that only
a learned, competent Bhikkhu who has completed
ten years, or more than ten years, may give a
nissaya/
1. At that time the Bhikkhus whose a/£ariyas
and upa^-^dyas were gone away, or had returned
to the world, or had died, or were gone over to a
(schismatic) faction, were not acquainted with (the
rules about) the cessation of their nissayas1.
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' There are five cases of cessation of a nissaya, O Bhikkhus, between (saddhiviharika and)upa^-
1 That is, ' did not know how to decide whether their nissaya was destroyed, or not/
l82 MAHAVAGGA. 1,36,2.
^aya: When the upa^^aya is gone away, or he
has returned to the world, or has died, or is gone
over to a (schismatic) faction ; the fifth case is that
of order (given by the upa^Mya to the saddhivi-
harika1). These, O Bhikkhus, are the five cases of
the cessation of a nissaya between (saddhiviha-
rika and) upa^Mya.
* There are six cases of cessation of a nissaya,
O Bhikkhus, between (antevasika and) a/^ariya:
When the a^ariya is gone away, &c. ; the fifth case
is that of order (given by the a^ariya to the ante-
vasika); or (sixthly) when the a^ariya and the
upa^Mya have come together at the same place2.
These, O Bhikkhus, are the six cases of cessation of
a nissaya between (antevasika and) a/£ariya.
2. 'In five cases, O Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu should
not confer the upasampada ordination, nor give
a nissaya, nor ordain a novice3: When he does not
possess full perfection in what belongs to moral
practices ; or does not possess full perfection in what
belongs to self-concentration ; or does not possess
full perfection in what belongs to wisdom ; or does
1 This refers, according to Buddhaghosa, to the pawamana (turning away of the saddhiviharika); see chap. 27. 2.
2 Buddhaghosa: 'Coming together maybe understood either by seeing or by hearing. If a saddhiviharika who lives in depend- ence (nissaya) on his a^ariya sees his upa^Mya paying homage to a sacred shrine in the same Vihara, or going on his rounds in the same village, cessation of the nissaya (towards the a^ariya) is the consequence. If he hears the voice of his upag-- £-^aya, who preaches the Dhamma or gladdens (lay-people by reli- gious discourse), in the Vihara or in the interior of a house, and if he recognises that it is his upa^Mya's voice, cessation of the nissaya (towards the a/£ariya) is the consequence/
3 About the ordination of novices, see chap. 54. 3.
I, 36, 8. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. I 83
not possess full perfection in what belongs to eman-
cipation ; or does not possess full perfection in what
belongs to knowledge and insight into emancipation.
In these five cases, O Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu should
not confer the upasampada ordination, nor give
a nissaya, nor ordain a novice.
3. ' In five cases, O Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu may
confer the upasampada ordination, give a nissaya,
and ordain a novice : When he possesses full per-
fection in what belongs to moral practices, &c. In
these five cases, O Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu may, &c.
4. 'And also in other five cases, O Bhikkhus, a
Bhikkhu should not confer, &c. : When he does not
possess for himself full perfection in what belongs to
moral practices, and is not able to help others to full
perfection in what belongs to moral practices; or
does not possess for himself full perfection in what
belongs to self-concentration, and is not able to help
others to full perfection in what belongs to self-con-
centration, &c.
5. 'In five cases, O Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu may
confer, &c. : When he possesses for himself full per-
fection in what belongs to moral practices, and is
able to help others to full perfection, &c.
6. 'And also in other five cases, O Bhikkhus, a
Bhikkhu should not confer, &c. : When he is unbe-
lieving, shameless, fearless of sinning, indolent, for-
getful. In these five cases, &c.
7. 'In five cases, O Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu may
confer, &c. : When he is believing, modest, fearful of
sinning, strenuous, of ready memory. In these five
cases, &c.
8. 'And also in other five cases, O Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu should not confer, &c. : When as regards
184 MAHAVAGGA. 1,36,9.
moral practices he is guilty of moral transgressions ;
or when as regards the rules of conduct1 he is guilty
of transgressions in his conduct ; or when as regards
belief he is guilty of heresy ; or when he is unlearned ;
or when he is foolish. In these five cases, &c.
9. 'In five cases, O Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu may
confer, &c. : When as regards moral practices he is
not guilty of moral transgressions, &c; when he
is learned; and when he is wise. In these five
cases, &c.
10. 'And also in other five cases, O Bhikkhus, a
Bhikkhu should not confer, &c: When he is not
able to nurse or to get nursed an antevasika or a
saddhiviharika when he is sick, to appease him or
to cause him to be appeased when discontent with
religious life has sprung up within him, to dispel or
to cause to be dispelled according to the Dhamma
doubts of conscience which have arisen in his mind ;
when he does not know what is an offence ; or does
not know how to atone for an offence. In these five
cases, &c.
11. ' In five cases, O Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu may
confer, &c. : When he is able (&c, down to:); when
he knows what is an offence ; and knows how to
atone for an offence. In these five cases, &c.
12. 'And also in other five cases, O Bhikkhus, a
Bhikkhu should not confer, &c: When he is not
able to train an antevasika or a saddhiviharika
in the precepts of proper conduct2, to educate him