Thus the venerable Sariputta conferred the pab- ba^a ordination on young Rahula.
4. Then the Sakka Suddhodana 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
Sakka Suddhodana said to the Blessed One : ' Lord,
1 ask one boon of the Blessed One/ (The Buddha
replied) : ' The perfect Ones, Gotama, are above
granting boons (before they know what they are1)/
(Suddhodana said) : ' Lord, it is a proper and unob-
jectionable demand/ * Speak, Gotama/
5. ' Lord, when the Blessed One gave up the
1 Granting a boon (vara) is a constant phrase used of princes when making an open promise to give to any one whatever they should ask. See, for instance, the (rataka Story, No. 9, where the person to whom the boon was given laid it by for a convenient season ; and then asked the king to make her son heir-apparent, in violation of all ancient law and custom.
2 I O MAHAVAGGA. I, 55.
world, it was a great pain to me ; so it was when
Nanda1 did the same ; my pain was excessive when
Rahula too did so. The love for a son, Lord, cuts
into the skin ; having cut into the skin, it cuts into
the hide ; having cut into the hide, it cuts into the
flesh, .... the ligaments, .... the bones ; having
cut into the bones, it reaches the marrow and dwells
in the marrow. Pray, Lord, let their reverences not
confer the pabba^i ordination on a son without
his father's and mothers permission/
Then the Blessed One taught the Sakka Suddho- dana (&c, see chap. 39. 7).
1 Let no son, O Bhikkhus, receive the pabba^a
ordination without his fathers and mothers per-
mission. He who confers the pabba^a ordination
(on a son without that permission), is guilty of a
dukka/a offence/
Then the Blessed One, after having resided at
Kapilavatthu as long as he thought fit, went forth
to Savatthi. Wandering from place to place he
came to Savatthi. There the Blessed One dwelt
at Savatthi, in the £etavana, the Ar&ma of And-
thapi/^ika.
At that time a family who devoted themselves to
the (especial) service of the venerable Sariputta sent
a boy to the venerable Sariputta (with this message) :
1 Nanda was a son of Mahapa^apati, a half-brother of the Buddha. See the story of his conversion in Rh. D.'s Buddhist Birth Stories, p. 128 (later and fuller accounts can be seen in Hardy, Manual, p. 204 seq. ; Beal, Romantic Legend, p. 369 seq.)
I, 56. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. 2 I I
' Might the Thera confer the pabba^a ordination
on this boy/ Now the venerable Sariputta thought:
' The Blessed One has established the rule1 that
no one may ordain two novices, and I have already
one novice, Rahula. Now what am I to do ?'
He told the thing to the Blessed One.
' I allow, O Bhikkhus, a learned, competent
Bhikkhu to ordain two novices, or to ordain as
many novices as he is able to administer exhorta-
tion and instruction to/
Now the novices thought : ' How many precepts2
are there for us, and in what (precepts) are we to
exercise ourselves ?'
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
* I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, ten precepts for the
novices, and the exercise of the novices in these
(ten precepts), viz. abstinence from destroying life ;
abstinence from stealing; abstinence from impu-
rity; abstinence from lying; abstinence from
arrack and strong drink and intoxicating
liquors, which cause indifference (to religion);
abstinence from eating at forbidden times;
abstinence from dancing, singing, music, and
seeing spectacles; abstinence from garlands,
scents, unguents, ornaments, and finery ; absti-
nence from (the use of) high or broad beds;
abstinence from accepting gold or silver. I pre-
1 See chap. 52.
2 Sikkhapadani, literally, ' Paths of Training/ Compare chap. 60.
2 I 2 MAHAVAGGA. I, 57, 1.
scribe, O Bhikkhus, these ten precepts for the
novices, and the exercise of the novices in these
(ten precepts)/
1. At that time novices did not show reverence
and confidence towards the Bhikkhus, and did not
live in harmony with them. The Bhikkhus were
annoyed, murmured, and became angry : ' How can
the novices not show reverence and confidence
towards the Bhikkhus, and not live in harmony
with them ? '
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that you inflict punish-
ment upon a novice in five cases : When he is
intent on the Bhikkhus' receiving no alms ; when he
is intent on the Bhikkhus' meeting with misfortune ;
when he is intent on the Bhikkhus' finding no resi-
dence ; when he abuses and reviles the Bhikkhus ;
when he causes divisions between Bhikkhus and
Bhikkhus. I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that in these
five cases you inflict punishment upon a novice/
2. Now the Bhikkhus thought : ' What punish- ment are we to inflict ?'
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that you forbid them (certain places, for instance, their own residences)/
At that time Bhikkhus forbad novices the whole
Sa/^gharama. The novices, who were not admitted
to the Sa^gharama, went away, or returned to the
world, or went over to Titthiya schools.
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
I, 58. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. 2 I 3
' Let them not, O Bhikkhus, forbid (novices) the
whole Sa^gharama. He who does so, commits
a dukka/a offence. I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that
(the Bhikkhus) forbid (a novice) the place where he
lives or which he uses to frequent/
3. At that time Bhikkhus forbad the novices the
use of (certain kinds of) food that is taken with the
mouth. People, when they prepared rice-milk to
drink or meals for the Sa^gha, said to the novices :
' Come, reverend Sirs, drink rice-milk ; come, reve-
rend Sirs, take food/ The novices replied : ' It is
impossible, friends; the Bhikkhus have issued a fore-
warning (against us)/ The people were annoyed,
murmured, and became angry, thinking : ' How can
their reverences forbid novices the use of all food
that is taken with the mouth ? '
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
1 Let them not, O Bhikkhus, forbid (novices) food
that is taken with the mouth. He who does so,
commits a dukka^a offence/
End of the section about punishment (of novices).
At that time the jOabbaggiya1 Bhikkhus laid
a ban upon novices without the consent of the
upa^Myas (of those novices). The upa^Myas
1 Here first appear the iT^abbaggiya Bhikkhus (the company of the ' six Bhikkhus \ with their attendants), the constant and indefati- gable evil-doers throughout the whole Vinaya-Pi/aka. Buddhaghosa (on ^ullavagga I, 1) says that Paw^/uka and Lohitaka belonged to this company, and also Assa^i and Punabbasu are mentioned as -Oabbaggiyas (see Childers s. v. ^^abbaggiyo).
214 MAHAVAGGA. 1,59.
searched after them, thinking : ' How is it that our
novices have disappeared ?' The Bhikkhus said :
* The A^abbaggiya Bhikkhus, friends, have laid a ban
upon them/ The upa^Myas were annoyed, &c:
' How can the jOabbaggiya Bhikkhus lay a ban
upon our novices without having obtained our
consent ? '
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
1 Let no one, O Bhikkhus, lay a ban (upon novices)
without consent of the upa^Myas. He who does,
commits a dukka/a offence/
At that time the jOabbaggiya Bhikkhus drew the
novices of senior Bhikkhus over (to themselves).
The Theras, who were obliged to get themselves
teeth-cleansers and water to rinse their mouths with,
became tired.
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' Let no one, O Bhikkhus, draw the followers of
another Bhikkhu over to himself. He who does,
commits a dukka/a offence/
At that time a novice, Kanaka by name, who
was a follower of the venerable Upananda Sakya-
putta, had sexual intercourse with a Bhikkhuni,
Kanaka by name. The Bhikkhus were annoyed,
&c: ' How can a novice abandon himself to such
conduct ? '
I, 61. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. 21 5
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that you expel a novice
(from the fraternity) in the following ten cases :
When he destroys life ; when he commits theft ;
when he commits impurity; when he is a liar; when
he drinks strong drinks ; when he speaks against
the Buddha ; when he speaks against the Dhamma ;
when he speaks against the Sawgha ; when he holds
false doctrines ; when he has sexual intercourse with
Bhikkhunis1. In these ten cases I prescribe, O
Bhikkhus, that you expel the novice (from the
fraternity)/
At that time, &c.2
' Let a eunuch, O Bhikkhus, who has not received
the upasampad& ordination, not receive it; if he
has received it, let him be expelled (from the fra-
ternity)/
1 The case of the novice's committing sexual intercourse with a Bhikkhuni can have found its place here only by a negligence of the redactor, as it is comprised already in the third of the ten cases (the novice's committing impurity). Buddhaghosa (who of course never admits anything like an inadvertence of the holy Theras by whom the Vinaya is compiled) says that the third case and the tenth are distinguished here, because a person that has simply committed an impurity may receive the ordination, if he is willing to refrain himself in future; whilst a bhikkhunidusaka cannot be ordained in any case (see chap. 67).
2 Tena kho pana samayena awwataro pa/zdako bhikkhusu pab- ba^ito hoti, so dahare dahare bhikkhu upasawkamitva evaw vadeti : etha maw dyasmanto dusetha 'ti. Bhikkhu apasadenti : nassa pawdaka, vinassa pa/^aka, ko tay& attho 'ti. So bhikkhuhi apasadito mahante mahante moligalle (Buddhaghosa : thulasarire) sama^ere upasawkamitva evaw vadeti : etha maw avuso dusetha
2l6 MAHAVAGGA. I, 62, T.
i. At that time there was a certain person of an
old family, whose kinsmen had died away ; he was
delicately nurtured. Now this person of an old
family, whose kinsmen had died away, thought :
* I am delicately nurtured ; I am not able to acquire
new riches or to augment the riches which I possess.
What shall I do in order that I may live a life of
ease and without pain ? '
Then this person of an old family, whose kinsmen had died away, gave himself the following answer :
* There are the Sakyaputtiya Samaras, who keep
commodious precepts and live a commodious life ;
they have good meals and lie down on beds pro-
tected from wind. What if I were to procure myself
an alms-bowl and robes on my own account, and
were to have my hair and beard cut off, to put on
yellow robes, to go to the Arama, and to live there
with the Bhikkhus.'
2. Then that person of an old family, whose
kinsmen had died away, procured himself an alms-
bowl and robes on his own account, had his hair and
beard cut off, put on yellow robes, went to the
Arama, and respectfully saluted the Bhikkhus. The
'ti. Sama;zeril apas&denti: nassa pa^aka, vinassa pa^daka, ko taya attho ;ti. So sama^erehi apasadito hatthibha^de assabharade upasa^kamitva evazra vadeti : etha mara avuso dusetM 'ti. Hatthi- bhanda assabhawda dusesu/rc . Te u^Myanti khiyanti vipa^enti : pa«</aM ime samara Sakyaputtiya, ye pi imesa/# na pawdaka4 te pi pa«dake dusenti, evaw ime sabbeva abrahma^arino 'ti. Assosuw kho bhikkhu hatthibha^anazrc assabha«</anaw U£g-Myantana#z khi- yantanaw vipa^entanaw. Atha kho te bhikkhu bhagavato etam atthaw dro^esuw.
I, 63, 1. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. 21 7
Bhikkhus said to him : * How many years, friend, have elapsed since your upasampada ??
' What does that mean, friends, " years elapsed since the upasampada?"'
' And who is your upa^Mya, friend ?'
1 What does that word upa^^ayamean,friends?'
The Bhikkhus said to the venerable Upali : ' Pray, friend Up&li, examine this ascetic.'
3. Then that person of an old family, whose
kinsmen had died away, when being examined by
the venerable Upali, told him the whole matter.
The venerable Upali told this thing to the Bhikkhus ;
the Bhikkhus told this thing to the Blessed One.
' Let a person, O Bhikkhus, who has furtively
attached himself to the Sa^gha, if he has not re-
ceived the upasampada ordination, not receive it ;
if he has received it, let him be expelled (from the
fraternity).
' Let a person, O Bhikkhus, who has gone over to the Titthiyas' (&c, as in chap. 61).
1. At that time there was a serpent who was
aggrieved at, ashamed of, and conceived aversion
for his having been born as a serpent. Now this
serpent thought : ' What am I to do in order to
become released from being a serpent, and quickly
to obtain human nature ?' Then this serpent gave
himself the following answer : i These Sakyaputtiya
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