4. Now the Bhikkhus thought : ' At what time ought we to count the Bhikkhus?'
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that you count (the
Bhikkhus) on the day of Uposatha, either by way
of (counting the single) troops (of which the as-
sembly is composed)1, or that you take (each of
you) a ticket (and count those tickets)/
At that time Bhikkhus who did not know that it was Uposatha day, went for alms to a distant village.
1 This appears to be the meaning of gawamaggena ga^etuw ; Buddhaghosa has no note on this passage.
2 70 MAHAVAGGA. II, 20, i.
They came back when the Patimokkha was being recited, or when it just had been recited.
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that you proclaim: " To- day is Uposatha." '
Now the Bhikkhus thought: 'Who is to pro- claim so?'
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that the Thera is to proclaim (the day of Uposatha) in due time/
At that time a certain Thera did not think of it in due time.
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
* I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to proclaim it also at meal time.'
(The Thera) did not think of it at meal time either.
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' I allow, O Bhikkhus, to proclaim it whenever (the Thera) thinks of it/
i. At that time the Uposatha hall in a certain
residence was full of sweepings. The Bhikkhus
who arrived there were annoyed, murmured, and
became angry: 'How can the Bhikkhus neglect to
sweep the Uposatha hall?'
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
* I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that you sweep the Uposatha hall/
2. Now the Bhikkhus thought: 'Well, who is to sweep the Uposatha hall?'
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
II, 20, 5- UPOSATHA CEREMONY, AND PATIMOKKHA. 2jl
' I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that the Thera is to order a young Bhikkhu (to sweep the Uposatha hall)/
The young Bhikkhus, having received that order from the Thera, did not sweep it.
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' He who has been ordered by the Thera, ought
not to forbear to sweep it, unless he be sick. He who
does not sweep it, commits a dukka/a offence/
3. At that time there were no seats prepared in
the Uposatha hall. The Bhikkhus sat down on the
ground. Their bodies and their robes became full
of dust.
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that you prepare seats in the Uposatha hall/
'He who does not prepare (seats), commits a duk- ka/a offence/
4. At that time there was no lamp in the Upo-
satha hall. The Bhikkhus in the darkness trod upon
(each other s) bodies and robes.
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that you light a lamp in the Uposatha hall/
' He who does not light (the lamp), commits a dukka/a offence/
5. At that time the resident Bhikkhus in a certain
residence did not provide drink (i.e. water), nor did
they provide food. The incoming Bhikkhus were
annoyed, murmured, and became angry: 'How can
the resident Bhikkhus neglect to provide for drink
and to provide for food ?'
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
272 MAHAVAGGA. II, 21, 1.
' I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that you provide drink and food/
' He who does not provide for it, commits a duk- ka/a offence/
1. At that time many ignorant, unlearned Bhik-
khus who travelled to the (four) quarters (of the
world) did not ask leave of their i/^ariyas and
upa^Myas (when going away).
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
' In case, O Bhikkhus, there are many ignorant,
unlearned Bhikkhus who travel to the (four) quarters
without asking leave of their a^ariyas and upa^-
^Myas ; such Bhikkhus ought to be asked by
their diariyas and upa^^ayas: " Where will
you go ? with whom will you go?" If those ignorant,
unlearned Bhikkhus name other ignorant, unlearned
Bhikkhus, their a/^ariyas and upa^Myas ought
not to allow them (to go) ; if they allow them, they
commit a dukka/a offence. If those ignorant, un-
learned Bhikkhus go without the permission of their
a/£ariyas and upa^^ayas, they commit a duk-
ka/a offence.
2. * Incase, O Bhikkhus, there dwell in a certain
residence many ignorant, unlearned Bhikkhus who
neither know Uposatha, nor the Uposatha service,
nor the Patimokkha, nor the recital of the Pati-
mokkha : now there arrives (at that place) another
Bhikkhu who is erudite, who has studied the
agamas (i. e. the collections of Suttas), who knows
Ii, 21, 3- Uposatha Ceremony, and Patimokkha. 273
3. ' In case, O Bhikkhus, there dwell in a certain
residence on the day of Uposatha many ignorant,
unlearned Bhikkhus who neither know Uposatha
. . . nor the recital of the Patimokkha ; let those
Bhikkhus, O Bhikkhus, instantly send one Bhikkhu
to the neighbouring residence (of Bhikkhus, saying),
" Go, friend, and come back when you have learnt
the Patimokkha abridged or in its full extent." If
they succeed in this way, well and good. If they
do not succeed, those Bhikkhus, O Bhikkhus, ought
all to go to a residence where they (the Bhikkhus
there) know Uposatha or the Uposatha service or
the Patimokkha or the recital of the Patimokkha.
1 Enumerations of terms indicating the different cases that come under a Vinaya rule or a dogmatical proposition are called matika ; for instance, in discussing the first para^ika rule the Vibhanga gives the following matikapadani : tisso itthiyo manussitthi ama- nussitthi tira/££Mnagatitthi, tayo ubhatovya^anaka manussubha- tovyawg-anako amanussubh. tira/££Mnagatubh., &c. Most of the works belonging to the Abhidhamma Pi/aka are based on and opened by such matika lists.
2 Or * scrupulous/ in good sense.
3 See I, 25, 12, with our note.
274 MAHAVAGGA. II, 21, 4.
If they do not go, they commit a dukka/a offence.
4. ' In case, O Bhikkhus, many ignorant, un-
learned Bhikkhus keep vassa1 in a certain resi-
dence who neither know, &c.2 If they succeed in
this way, well and good. If they do not succeed,
they ought to send away one Bhikkhu for seven
days' time (saying), " Go, friend, and come back
when you have learnt the Patimokkha abridged or
in its full extent." If they succeed in this way, well
and good. If they do not succeed, those Bhikkhus,
O Bhikkhus, ought not to keep vassa in that resi-
dence. If they do, they commit a dukka/a offence/
1. Then the Blessed One thus addressed the
Bhikkhus : ' Assemble, O Bhikkhus, the Sa^gha
will hold Uposatha/ When he had spoken thus,
a certain Bhikkhu said to the Blessed One : ' There
is a sick Bhikkhu, Lord, who is not present/
* I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that a sick Bhikkhu is
to declare (lit. to give) his parisuddhi 3. And let it
be declared, O Bhikkhus, in this way : Let that sick
Bhikkhu go to one Bhikkhu, adjust his upper robe
so as to cover one shoulder, sit down squatting,
raise his joined hands, and say : " I declare my
parisuddhi, take my parisuddhi, proclaim my
parisuddhi (before the fraternity)." Whether he
1 See III, 1 seq. 2 See § 3.
3 Parisuddhi, literally, means purity. He declares that he is pure from the offences specified in the Patimokkha, and charges another Bhikkhu with proclaiming his declaration before the assembled chapter.
Ii, 22, 3- Uposatha Ceremony, and Patimokkha. 275
express this by gesture (lit. by his body), or by
word, or by gesture and word, the parisuddhi has
been declared. If he does not express this by ges-
ture, &c, the parisuddhi has not been declared.
2. ' If (the sick Bhikkhu) succeeds in doing so,
well and good. If he does not succeed, let them
take that sick Bhikkhu, O Bhikkhus, on his bed or
his chair to the assembly, and (then) let them hold
Uposatha. If, O Bhikkhus, the Bhikkhus who are
nursing the sick, think : " If we move this sick
person from his place, the sickness will increase, or
he will die," let them not move the sick, O Bhik-
khus, from his place ; let the Sa^gha go there and
hold there Uposatha. But in no case are they to
hold Uposatha with an incomplete congregation.
If (a Bhikkhu) does so, he commits a dukka/a
offence.
3. ' If he who has been charged with the pari-
suddhi, O Bhikkhus, leaves the place at once1,
after the parisuddhi has been entrusted (to him),
the pctrisuddhi ought to be declared to another.
If he who has been charged with the parisuddhi,
O Bhikkhus, after the parisuddhi has been en-
trusted to him, returns to the world 2 at once 1 ; or
dies; or; admits that he is a sama^era; or that he
has abandoned the precepts3; or that he has become
1 Literally, on the spot, i. e. without setting out on his way to the assembly.
2 We have no doubt that this is the correct translation of vib- bhamati (see I, 39, 5). The difference between vibbhamati (he returns to the world) and sikkhaw pa£>£akkhati(he abandons the precepts) seems to be that the former is an informal, and the latter a formal, renunciation of the Order.
3 The precepts are abandoned (sikkha pa£/£akkhata hoti) by declaring that one abandons the Buddha, or the Dhamma, or the
2 76 MAHAVAGGA. II, 22, 4.
guilty of an extreme offence1; or that he is mad;
or that his mind is unhinged ; or that he suffers
(bodily) pain ; or that expulsion has been pro-
nounced against him for his refusal to see an offence
(committed by himself) ; or to atone for such an
offence ; or to renounce a false doctrine ; or that he
is a eunuch ; or that he has furtively attached him-
self (to the Sa^gha) ; or that he is gone over to
the Titthiyas ; or that he is an animal2; or that
he is guilty of matricide; or that he is guilty of
parricide ; or that he has murdered an Arahat ; or
that he has violated a Bhikkhunt ; or that he has
caused a schism among the Sa^gha ; or that he has
shed (a Buddha's) blood ; or that he is a hermaphro-
dite : (in these cases) the parisuddhi ought to be
entrusted to another one.
4. ' If he who has been charged with the pari-
suddhi, O Bhikkhus, after the parisuddhi has
been entrusted to him, and whilst he is on his way
(to the assembly), leaves the place, or returns to the
world, or dies, or admits that he is a sama^era, &c,
or admits that he is a hermaphrodite, the pari-
suddhi has not been conveyed (to the Sa^gha).
If he who has been charged with the parisuddhi,
O Bhikkhus, after the parisuddhi has been en-
trusted to him, having arrived with the fraternity,
leaves the place, or dies, &c, the parisuddhi has
Saztfgha, or the Vinaya, &c. By such a declaration a Bhikkhu who wishes to return to a layman's life, or to go over to a Titthiya sect, gives up his character as a member of the Buddhist fraternity. The rules about the sikkhapa/££akkhana are given in the Vibhahga, in the explanation of the first para^ika rule (chap. 8, § 2).
1 Most probably antimavatthu refers to the para^ika offences which require excommunication.
2 See the story given in I, 63.
Ii, 23. Uposatha Ceremony, and Patimokkha. 277
been conveyed. If he who has been charged with
the p&risuddhi, O Bhikkhus, after the parisuddhi
has been entrusted to him, though he reaches the
assembly, does not proclaim (the parisuddhi he is
charged with) because he falls asleep, or by careless-
ness, or because he attains (meditation), the pari-
suddhi has been conveyed, and there is no offence
on the part of him who has been charged with the
parisuddhi. If he who has been charged, &c,
intentionally omits to proclaim (the parisuddhi),
the parisuddhi has been conveyed, but he who
has been charged with the parisuddhi is guilty of
a dukka/a offence/
Then the Blessed One thus addressed the Bhik-
khus : ' Assemble, O Bhikkhus, the Sa^gha will per-
form an (official) act/ When he had spoken thus, a
certain Bhikkhu said to the Blessed One : ' There is
a sick Bhikkhu, Lord, who is not present/
' I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that a sick Bhikkhu is
to declare (lit. to give) his consent (to the act to
be performed), &c. 1 I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that
on the day of Uposatha he who declares his pari-
suddhi is to declare his consent (to official acts to
be performed eventually) also, for (both declarations)
are required for the Sa^gha (and for the validity of
its acts).