1 This Upali is different from the famous Upali who belonged to the chief disciples of Buddha ; the latter came not from Ra^a- gaha, but from the Sakya country.
2 Buddhaghosa : ' He who learns arithmetic, must think much ; therefore his breast will become diseased.'
3 We prefer this translation of rupa to translating it by l paint- ing/ on account of Buddhaghosa's note : ' He who learns the rupa-sutta must turn over and over many karshapa/zas and look at them.'
202 MAHAVAGGA. I, 49, 3.
Sakyaputtiya Samaras, he would after our death live a life of ease and without pain/
3. Now young Upali heard his father and mother
talking thus. Then young Upali went to the other
boys ; having approached them, he said to those
boys : ' Come, Sirs, let us get ordained with the
Sakyaputtiya Samaras/ (They replied) : 'If you
will get ordained, Sir, we will be ordained also/
Then those boys went each to his father and mother
and said to them : f Give me your consent for leaving
the world and going forth into the houseless state/
Then the parents of those boys, who thought, Tt is a
good thing what all these boys are wishing so unani-
mously for/ gave their consent. They went to the
Bhikkhus and asked them for the pabba^^a ordi-
nation. The Bhikkhus conferred the pabba^a
and upasampada ordinations on them.
4. In the night, at dawn, they rose and began to
cry : ' Give us rice-milk, give us soft food, give us
hard food ! ' The Bhikkhus said : ' Wait, friends, till
day-time. If there is rice-milk, you shall drink ; if
there is food, soft or hard, you shall eat ; if there
is no rice-milk and no food, soft or hard, you must
go out for alms, and then you will eat/
But those Bhikkhus, when they were thus spoken
to by the other Bhikkhus, threw their bedding about
and made it wet, calling out : 'Give us rice-milk, give
us soft food, give us hard food!'
5. Then the Blessed One, having arisen in the
night, at dawn, heard the noise which those boys
made ; hearing it he said to the venerable Ananda :
v Now, Ananda, what noise of boys is that ?'
Then the venerable Ananda told the thing to the Blessed One.
I, 49, 6. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. 203
' Is it true, O Bhikkhus, that the Bhikkhus know-
ingly confer the upasampada ordination on persons
under twenty years of age ?'
' It is true, Lord/
Then the Blessed One rebuked those Bhikkhus :
v How can those foolish persons, O Bhikkhus, know-
ingly confer the upasampada ordination on persons
under twenty years of age ?
6. 'A person under twenty years, O Bhikkhus,
cannot endure coldness and heat, hunger and thirst,
vexation by gadflies and gnats, by storms and sun-
heat, and by reptiles ; (he cannot endure) abusive,
offensive language ; he is not able to bear bodily
pains which are severe, sharp, grievous, disagreeable,
unpleasant, and destructive to life ; whilst a person
that has twenty years of age, O Bhikkhus, can en-
dure coldness, &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 Bhikkhus :
' Let no one, O Bhikkhus, knowingly confer the
upasampada ordination on a person under twenty
years of age. He who does, is to be treated accord-
ing to the law1/
1 The law alluded to is the 65th pa^ittiya rule. Generally in the Khandhakas, which presuppose, as we have stated in our pre- face, the existence of the Patimokkha, direct repetition of the rules laid down there has been avoided. If, nevertheless, in the Khan- dhakas a transgression alluded to in the Patimokkha had to be men- tioned again, then in most cases the Khandhakas, instead of directly indicating the penance incurred thereby, use of the guilty Bhikkhu the expression, 'yathadhammo karetabbo/ i.e. ' he is to be treated according to the law/ See H. O/s Introduction to his edition of the Mahavagga, p. xx note.
204 MAHAVAGGA. I, 50.
At that time a certain family had died of pesti-
lence1; only a father and his son were left; they
received the pabba^A ordination with the Bhikkhus
and went together on their rounds for alms. Now
that boy, when food was given to his father, ran up
to him and said : ' Give some to me too, father ;
give some to me too, father/
People were annoyed, &c. : ' These Sakyaputtiya
Samaras live an impure life ; this boy is a Bhik-
khunfs son.'
Some Bhikkhus heard, &c.
They told this thing to the Blessed One, &c.
* Let no one, O Bhikkhus, confer the pabba^a
ordination on a boy under fifteen years of age. He
who does, is guilty of a dukka/a offence/
At that time a believing, pious family, who de-
voted themselves to the (especial) service of the
venerable Ananda, had died of pestilence. Only
two boys were left; these, when seeing Bhikkhus,
ran up to them according to their old custom, but
the Bhikkhus turned them away. When they were
turned away by the Bhikkhus, they cried. Now
the venerable Ananda thought : ' The Blessed One
has forbidden us to confer the pabba^a ordination
1 Buddhaghosa explains ahivatakaroga by maribyadhi, and says : ' When this plague befalls a house, men and beasts in that house die; but he who breaks through wall or roof, or is " roga, madigato (?)," may be saved/
I, 53, i. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. 205
on a boy under fifteen years of age, and these boys
are under fifteen years of age. What can be done in
order that these boys may not perish ?' And the vene-
rable Ananda told this thing to the Blessed One.
i Are these boys able, Ananda, to scare crows ?'
' They are, Lord/
In consequence of that and on this occasioivthe
Blessed One, after having delivered a religious dis-
course, thus addressed the Bhikkhus : ' I allow you,
O Bhikkhus, to confer the pabba^a ordination on
crow-keeper boys even under fifteen years of age/
At that time the venerable Upananda, of the
Sakya tribe, had two novices, Kanaka and Ma-
haka; these committed sodomy with each other.
The Bhikkhus were annoyed, &c. : * How can
novices abandon themselves to such bad conduct ?'
They told this thing to the Blessed One, &c.
' Let no one, O Bhikkhus, ordain two novices. He who does, is guilty of a dukka^a offence1.'
1. At that time the Blessed One dwelt at Ra^agaha
during the rainy season, and remained at the same
place during winter and summer. The people were
annoyed, &c. : s The (four) regions are2 .... and
1 This seems very unpractical : and the rule is accordingly prac- tically abrogated again by chapter 55.
2 We must leave ' ahundarika ' untranslated ; Buddhaghosa says nothing about this obscure word.
206 MAHAVAGGA. I, 53, 2.
covered by darkness to the Sakyaputtiya Samaras ;
they cannot discern the (four) regions/ Some Bhik-
khus heard, &c.
2. Then the Blessed One said to the venerable
Ananda : ' Go, Ananda, take a key and tell the
Bhikkhus in every cell : " Friends, the Blessed One
wishes to go forth to Dakkhmagiri. Let any one
of the venerable brethren who thinks fit, come to
him." '
The venerable Ananda accepted this order of the
Blessed One (by saying), 'Yes, Lord,' took a key,
and said to the Bhikkhus in every cell : ' Friends,
the Blessed One/ &c.
3. The Bhikkhus replied : * Friend Ananda, the
Blessed One has prescribed1 that Bhikkhus are to
live (the first) ten years in dependence (on their
a^ariyas and upaj^^ayas), and that he who has
completed his tenth year, may give a nissaya him-
self. Now if we go there, we shall be obliged to
take a nissaya there; then we shall stay there for
a short time, then we must go back again and take
a new nissaya. If our a^ariyas and upa^-
gh&ydiS go, we will go also; if our a/£ariyas and
upa^Myas do not go, we will not go either.
Otherwise our light-mindedness, friend Ananda, will
become manifest/
4. Thus the Blessed One went forth to Dakkhi-
n&giri followed only by a few Bhikkhus. And the
Blessed One, after having dwelt at Dakkhmagiri as
long as he thought fit, went back to Rafagaha again.
Then the Blessed One said to the venerable Ananda : 'How is it, Ananda, that the perfect
1 See chap. 32. 1.
I, 54, i. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. 207
One has gone forth to Dakkhi/zagiri with so few Bhikkhus?'
Then the venerable Ananda told the thing to the Blessed One.
In consequence of that and on this occasion the
Blessed One, after having delivered a religious dis-
course, thus addressed the Bhikkhus : ' I prescribe,
O Bhikkhus, that a learned, competent Bhikkhu lives
five years in dependence (on his a/£ariya and upa^-
^aya), an unlearned one all his life.
5. ' In five cases, O Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu should
not live without a nissaya (i.e. independent of
a^ariya and upa^Mya): when he does not pos-
sess full perfection in what belongs to moral prac-
tices (&c, as in chap. 36. 2). In these five cases,
O Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu should not live without a
nissaya.
4 In five cases, O Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu may live
without a nissaya: when he possesses full perfection
in what belongs to moral practices (&c, as in chap. 36.
3). In these five cases, O Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu may
live without a nissaya.
6-13. 'And also in other five cases, &C.1'
End of the eighth Bha^avara, which is called the Abhayuvara Bha^avara2.
1. Then the Blessed One, after having resided at Ra^agaha as long as he thought fit, went forth to
1 Supply these pentads and hexads, respectively, from chaps. 36. 6, 7; 8, 9; 14, 15; 16, 17; 37. 1, 2; 5, 6; 7, 8; 13, 14.
2 Abhayuvara means, * secure from anything/ This refers to the expression used in chap. 42, § 2.
208 MAHAVAGGA. I, 54, 2.
Kapilavatthu. Wandering from place to place he
came to Kapilavatthu. There the Blessed One
dwelt in the Sakka country, near Kapilavatthu, in
the Nigrodharama (Banyan Grove).
And in the forenoon the Blessed One, having
put on his under-robes, took his alms-bowl and with
his ^ivara on went to the residence of the Sakka
Suddhodana (his father). Having gone there, he
sat down on a seat laid out for him.
Then the princess, who was the mother of Rahula1,
said to young Rahula : ' This is your father, Rahula ;
go and ask him for your inheritance/
2. Then young Rahula went to the place where
the Blessed One was ; having approached him, he
stationed himself before the Blessed One (and said) :
i Your shadow, Samara, is a place of bliss/
Then the Blessed One rose from his seat and
went away, and young Rahula followed the Blessed
One from behind and said : ' Give me my inherit-
ance, Samara ; give me my inheritance, Samara/
Then the Blessed One said to the venerable
Sariputta: 'Well, Sariputta, confer the pabba^a
ordination on young Rahula/
(Sariputta replied) : ' How shall I confer, Lord, the pabba^i ordination on young Rahula?'
3. In consequence of that and on this occasion the
Blessed One, after having delivered a religious dis-
course, thus addressed the Bhikkhus : ' I prescribe,
1 The Buddha's former wife. This is, as far as we know, the only passage in the Pali Pi/akas which mentions this lady, and it deserves notice that her name is not mentioned. Probably this name was unknown to the Buddhists in early times, and thus we may best account for the difference of the simply invented names given to this lady by later writers. Compare Rh. D., Buddhism, p. 50 seq.
I, 54, 5. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. 209
0 Bhikkhus, the pabbaj^a ordination of novices by the threefold declaration of taking refuge.
* And you ought, O Bhikkhus, to confer the pab-
h&gga. ordination (on a novice) in this way: Let him
first have his hair and beard cut off ; let him put on
yellow robes, adjust his upper robe so as to cover
one shoulder, salute the feet of the Bhikkhus (with his
head), and sit down squatting ; then let him raise his
joined hands and tell him to say: " I take my refuge
in the Buddha, I take my refuge in the Dhamma, I
take my refuge in the Sa^gha. And for the second
time, &c. And for the third time, &c."
* I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, the pabba^a ordi-
nation of novices by this threefold declaration of
taking refuge/