'All that I possess shall be yours, doctor, and I will be your slave ; pray doctor, cure me/
' I have too many duties, Sir, &c. ; I cannot cure you/
5. Now that man thought : ' Indeed the precepts
which these Sakyaputtiya Samaras keep (&c, down
to :) : then the Bhikkhus will nurse me, and £tvaka
Komarabha/£/£a will cure me. When I have become
free from sickness, then I will return to the world/
Thus that man went to the Bhikkhus and asked them for the pabba^a ordination; the Bhikkhus
I, 39, 7. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. 1 93
conferred on him the pabba^a and upasampada
ordinations ; and the Bhikkhus nursed him, and
£ivaka Komarabha^a cured him. When he had
become free from sickness, he returned to the world.
Now <9ivaka Komarabha^a saw this person that
had returned to the world ; and when he saw him he
asked that person : 'Had you not embraced the
religious life, Sir, among the Bhikkhus?'
' Yes, doctor/
'And why have you adopted such a course, Sir?'
Then that man told £ivaka Komarabha^ia the
whole matter.
6. Then £ivaka Komarabha^a was annoyed,
murmured, and became angry : 'How can the vener-
able brethren confer the pabba^a ordination on a
person affected with the five diseases ?'
And ^Ivaka Kom&rabhai/fo, went to the place
where the Blessed One was ; having approached
him and having respectfully saluted the Blessed One,
he sat down near him. Sitting near him, £ivaka
Komarabha^a said to the Blessed One : ' Pray,
Lord, let their reverences not confer the pabba^a
ordination on persons affected with the five diseases/
7. Then the Blessed One taught, incited, ani-
mated, and gladdened <9ivaka Komarabha^ia by
religious discourse; and £lvaka Komarabha^a,
having been taught .... and gladdened by the
Blessed One by religious discourse, rose from his
seat, respectfully saluted the Blessed One, and pass-
ing round him with his right side towards him, went
away.
In consequence of that and on this occasion the
Blessed One, after having delivered a religious dis-
course, thus addressed the Bhikkhus ; ' Let no one,
[13] o
194 MAHAVAGGA. 1, 40, 1.
O Bhikkhus, who is affected with the five diseases,
receive the pabba^a ordination. He who confers
the pabba^a ordination (on such a person), is
guilty of a dukka^a offence/
1. At that time the border provinces (of the king-
dom) of the Magadha king Seniya Bimbisara were
agitated. Then the Magadha king Seniya Bimbisara
gave order to the officers who were at the head of
the army: 'Well now, go and search through the
border provinces1/ The officers who were at the
head of the army accepted the order of the Maga-
dha king Seniya Bimbisara (by saying), * Yes, Your
Majesty/
2. Now many distinguished warriors thought :
' We who go (to war) and find our delight in fight-
ing, do evil and produce great demerit. Now what
shall we do that we may desist from evil-doing and
may do good ?'
Then these warriors thought : ' These Sakyaput-
tiya Samaras lead indeed a virtuous, tranquil, holy
life ; they speak the truth ; they keep the precepts
of morality, and are endowed with all virtues. If
we could obtain pabba^a with the Sakyaputtiya
Samaras, we should desist from evil-doing and do
good/
Thus these warriors went to the Bhikkhus and
1 On u£/£inatha, compare the use of u^Me^Hmi at Maha- parinibbana Sutta I, 1 (p. 1), which Buddhaghosa rightly explains by u/£/£^indissami. But we think it better to adhere here to the reading u^^inatha, in accordance with the MSS.
I, 40, 4. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. 1 95
asked them for the pabba^a ordination; the
Bhikkhus conferred on them the pabba^a and
upasampada ordinations.
3. The officers at the head of the army asked
the royal soldiers : 'Why, how is it that the war-
riors N. N. and N. N. are nowhere to be seen ?'
'The warriors N. N. and N. N., Lords, have em- braced religious life among the Bhikkhus/
Then the officers at the head of the army were
annoyed, murmured, and became angry : ' How can
the Sakyaputtiya Samaras ordain persons in the
royal service ?'
The officers who were at the head of the army
told the thing to the Magadha king Seniya Bim-
bisara. And the Magadha king Seniya Bimbisara
asked the officers of justice : * Tell me, my good
Sirs, what punishment does he deserve who ordains
a person in the royal service ?'
'The upa^Mya, Your Majesty, should be be-
headed; to him who recites (the kammavaH), the
tongue should be torn out; to those who form the
chapter, half of their ribs should be broken/
4. Then the Magadha king Seniya Bimbisara
went to the place where the Blessed One was;
having approached him and having respectfully
saluted the Blessed One, he sat down near him.
Sitting near him the Magadha king Seniya Bim-
bisara said to the Blessed One : ' Lord, there are
unbelieving kings who are disinclined (to the faith) ;
these might harass the Bhikkhus even on trifling
occasions. Pray, Lord, let their reverences not
confer the pabba^a ordination on persons in
royal service/
Then the Blessed One taught (&c, see chap. 39. 7,
I96 MAHAVAGGA. I, 41.
down to :), thus addressed the Bhikkhus : ' Let no
one, O Bhikkhus, who is in the royal service, re-
ceive the pabba^a ordination. He who confers
the pabba^a ordination (on such a person), is
guilty of a dukka/a offence/
At that time the robber Arigulimala1 had em-
braced religious life among the Bhikkhus. When
the people saw that, they became alarmed and terri-
fied ; they fled away, went elsewhere, turned away
their heads, and shut their doors. The people were
annoyed, murmured, and became angry: 'How can
the Sakyaputtiya Samaras ordain a robber who
openly wears the emblems (of his deeds) ?*
Some Bhikkhus heard those people that were
annoyed, murmured, and had become angry; these
Bhikkhus told the thing to the Blessed One.
The Blessed One thus addressed the Bhikkhus:
1 Let no robber, O Bhikkhus, who wears the emblems
(of his deeds), receive the pabba^a ordination. He
who confers the pabba^a ordination (on such a
person), is guilty of a dukka^a offence/
1 The robber Angulimala (i. e. he who wears a necklace of fingers), whose original name was Ahiwsaka, had received this surname from his habit of cutting off the fingers of his victims and wearing them as a necklace. See Spence Hardy, Manual, p. 249 seq.
I, 42, 2. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. I97
1. At that time the Magadha king Seniya Bim-
bis&ra had issued the following decree : ' No one is
to do any harm to those who are ordained among
the Sakyaputtiya Samaras ; well taught is their doc-
trine ; let them lead a holy life for the sake of the
complete extinction of suffering/
Now at that time a certain person who had com-
mitted robbery was imprisoned in the jail. He
broke out of the jail, ran away, and received the
pabba^a ordination with the Bhikkhus.
2. The people who saw him, said: ' Here is the
robber who has broken out of jail ; come, let us bring
him (before the authorities)/
But some people replied : ' Do not say so, Sirs.
A decree has been issued by the Magadha king
Seniya Bimbisara : ' No one is to do any harm to
those who are ordained, &c/
People were annoyed, murmured, and became
angry, thinking : ' Indeed these Sakyaputtiya Sama-
ras are secure from anything; it is not allowed
to do any harm to them. How can they ordain
a robber who has broken out of jail ?'
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' Let no robber, O Bhikkhus, who has broken out
of jail, receive the pabba^d ordination. He who
confers the pabba^S, ordination (on such a person),
is guilty of a dukka/a offence/
I98 MAHAVAGGA. 1,43.
At that time a certain person who had committed
robbery had run away and had become ordained
with the Bhikkhus. At the royal palace a proclama-
tion was written : l Wherever he is seen, he is to
be killed/
The people who saw him, said : ' Here is the pro-
claimed robber; come, let us kill him' (&c, as in
chap. 42).
' Let no proclaimed robber, O Bhikkhus, receive
the pabba^a ordination. He who confers the
pabba^a ordination (on such a robber), is guilty
of a dukka/a offence.'
At that time a certain person who had been
punished by scourging had been ordained with the
Bhikkhus. People were annoyed, &c. : 'How can
these Sakyaputtiya Samaras ordain a person that
has been punished by scourging ?'
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' Let no one, O Bhikkhus, who has been punished
by scourging, receive the pabba^a ordination. He
who confers the pabba^a ordination (on such a
person), is guilty of a dukka/a offence/
At that time a certain person who had been
punished by branding (&c, as in chap. 44, down to
the end).
1,47- Admission to the Order of Bhikkhus. 1 99
At that time a certain person who was in debt,
ran away and was ordained with the Bhikkhus.
When his creditors saw him, they said : * There is
our debtor ; come, let us lead him (to prison)/ But
some people replied : ' Do not say so, Sirs. A decree
has been issued by the Magadha king Seniya Bim-
bisara : ' No one is to do any harm to those who are
ordained with the Sakyaputtiya Samaras ; well taught
is their doctrine ; let them lead a holy life for the
sake of the complete extinction of suffering/
People were annoyed, murmured, and became
angry : ' Indeed these Sakyaputtiya Samaras are
secure from anything; it is not allowed to do any-
thing to them. How can they ordain a debtor ?'
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' Let no debtor, O Bhikkhus, receive the pabba^a
ordination. He who confers the pabba^a ordina-
tion (on a debtor), is guilty of a dukka/a offence/
At that time a slave ran away and was ordained
with the Bhikkhus. When his masters saw him, they
said : ' There is our slave ; come, let us lead him
away (back to our house)/ (&c, as in chap. 46).
' Let no slave, O Bhikkhus, receive the pabba^a
ordination. He who confers the pabba^a ordina-
tion (on a slave), is guilty of a dukka/a offence/
200 MAHAVAGGA.
i. At that time a certain smith1 who was bald-
headed, having had a quarrel with his father and
mother, had gone to the Ardma and received pab-
hdigga. with the Bhikkhus. Now the father and
mother of that bald-headed smith, searching after
that bald-headed smith, came to the Arama and
asked the Bhikkhus : * Pray, reverend Sirs, have you
seen such and such a boy ?'
The Bhikkhus, who did not know him, said : ' We
do not know him;' having not seen him, they said :
i We have not seen him/
2. Now the father and mother of that bald-headed
smith, searching after that bald-headed smith, found
him ordained with the Bhikkhus ; they were annoyed,
&c. : ' These Sakyaputtiya Samaras are shameless,
wicked, and liars. They knew him and said : " We
do not know him;'' they had seen him and said:
" We have not seen him." This boy has been or-
dained with the Bhikkhus/
Now some Bhikkhus heard the father and mother
of that bald-headed smith, who were annoyed, &c.
Those Bhikkhus told the thing to the Blessed One.
' I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that the Sa^ghas per-
mission is asked for having (the new coming Bhik-
khus) shaved/
1 Buddhaghosa explains kammarabha/z<fu by tulataramuw- </ako (read tuladharam.) suvaw/zakaraputto. At Dhammapada, v. 239, kammara is said of a silversmith. There was probably no distinction in these early times between gold, silver, copper, and iron smiths; the same man being an artificer in all kinds of metal.
1,49, 2- Admission to the Order of Bhikkhus. 201
1. At that time there was in Rafagaha a company
of seventeen boys, friends of each other ; young
Up&li1 was first among them. Now Upali's father
and mother thought : 'How will Upali after our
death live a life of ease and without pain ?' Then
Upali s father and mother said to themselves : ' If
Upali could learn writing, he would after our death
live a life of ease and without pain/ But then Upali's
father and mother thought again : ' If Upali learns
writing, his fingers will become sore. But if Upali
could learn arithmetic, he would after our death live
a life of ease and without pain/
2. But then Upali's father and mother thought
again : 'If Upali learns arithmetic, his breast will
become diseased2. But if Upali could learn money-
changing3, he would after our death live a life of
ease and comfort, and without pain/ But then
Upali's father and mother said to themselves : ' If
Upali learns money-changing, his eyes will suffer.
Now here are the Sakyaputtiya Samaras, who keep
commodious precepts and live a commodious life ;
they have good meals and lie down on beds protected
from the wind. If Upali could be ordained with the