Part 8

Yasodharā had three times requested of the Buddha that she might be admitted to the Sangha, but her wish had not been granted. Now Pajāpatī, the foster-mother of the Blessed One, in the company of Yasodharā, and many other women, went to the Tathāgata entreating him earnestly to let them take the vows and be ordained as disciples. 1

And the Blessed One, foreseeing the danger that lurked in admitting women to the Sangha, protested that while the good religion ought surely to last a thousand years it would, when women joined it, likely decay after five hundred years; but observing the zeal of Pajāpatī and Yasodharā for leading a religious life he could no longer resist and assented to have them admitted as his disciples. 2

Then the venerable Ānanda addressed the Blessed One thus: 3

"Are women competent, Venerable Lord, if they retire from household life to the homeless state, under the doctrine and discipline announced by the Tathāgata, to attain to the fruit of conversion, to attain to a release from a wearisome repetition of rebirths, to attain to saintship?" 4

And the Blessed One declared: "Women are competent, Ānanda, if they retire from household life to the homeless state, under the doctrine and discipline announced by the Tathāgata, to attain to the fruit of conversion, to attain to a release from a wearisome repetition of rebirths, to attain to saintship. 5

"Consider, Ānanda, how great a benefactress Pajāpatī has been. She is the sister of the mother of the Blessed One, and as foster-mother and nurse, reared the Blessed One after the death of his mother. So, Ānanda, women may retire from household life to the homeless state, under the doctrine and discipline announced by the Tathāgata." 6

Pajāpatī was the first woman to become a disciple of the Buddha and to receive the ordination as a bhikkhunī. 7

XXXIII.

THE BHIKKHUS' CONDUCT TOWARD WOMEN.

The bhikkhus came to the Blessed One and asked him: 1

"O Tathāgata, our Lord and Master, what conduct toward women dost thou prescribe to the samanas who have left the world?" 2

And the Blessed One said: 3

"Guard against looking on a woman. 4

"If ye see a woman, let it be as though ye saw her not, and have no conversation with her. 5

"If, after all, ye must speak with her, let it be with a pure heart, and think to yourself, 'I as a samana will live in this sinful world as the spotless leaf of the lotus, unsoiled by the mud in which it grows.' 6

"If the woman be old, regard her as your mother, if young, as your sister, if very young, as your child. 7

"The samana who looks on a woman as a woman, or touches her as a woman, has broken his vow and is no longer a disciple of the Tathāgata. 8

"The power of lust is great with men, and is to be feared withal; take then the bow of earnest perseverance, and the sharp arrow-points of wisdom. 9

"Cover your heads with the helmet of right thought, and fight with fixed resolve against the five desires. 10

"Lust beclouds a man's heart, when it is confused with woman's beauty, and the mind is dazed. 11

"Better far with red-hot irons bore out both your eyes, than encourage in yourself sensual thoughts, or look upon a woman's form with lustful desires. 12

"Better fall into the fierce tiger's mouth, or under the sharp knife of the executioner, than dwell with a woman and excite in yourself lustful thoughts. 13

"A woman of the world is anxious to exhibit her form and shape, whether walking, standing, sitting, or sleeping. Even when represented as a picture, she desires to captivate with the charms of her beauty, and thus to rob men of their steadfast heart. 14

"How then ought ye to guard yourselves? 15

"By regarding her tears and her smiles as enemies, her stooping form, her hanging arms, and her disentangled hair as toils designed to entrap man's heart. 16

"Therefore, I say, restrain the heart, give it no unbridled license." 17

XXXIV.

VISĀKHĀ.

Visākhā, a wealthy woman in Sāvatthi who had many children and grandchildren, had given to the order the Pubbārāma or Eastern Garden, and was the first in Northern Kosala to become a matron of the lay sisters. 1

When the Blessed One stayed at Sāvatthi, Visākhā went up to the place where the Blessed One was, and tendered him an invitation to take his meal at her house, which the Blessed One accepted. 2

And a heavy rain fell during the night and the next morning; and the bhikkhus doffed their robes to keep them dry and let the rain fall upon their bodies. 3

When on the next day the Blessed One had finished his meal, she took her seat at his side and spoke thus: "Eight are the boons, Lord, which I beg of the Blessed One." 4

Said the Blessed One: "The Tathāgatas, O Visākhā, grant no boons until they know what they are." 5

Visākhā replied: "Befitting, Lord, and unobjectionable are the boons I ask." 6

Having received permission to make known her requests, Visākhā said: "I desire, Lord, through all my life long to bestow robes for the rainy season on the Sangha, and food for incoming bhikkhus, and food for outgoing bhikkhus, and food for the sick, and food for those who wait upon the sick, and medicine for the sick, and a constant supply of rice-milk for the Sangha, and bathing robes for the bhikkhunīs, the sisters." 7

Said the Buddha: "But what circumstance is it, O Visākhā, that thou hast in view in asking these eight boons of the Tathāgata?" 8

And Visākhā replied: 9

"I gave command, Lord, to my maid-servant, saying, 'Go, and announce to the brotherhood that the meal is ready.' And the maid went, but when she came to the vihāra, she observed that the bhikkhus had doffed their robes while it was raining, and she thought: 'These are not bhikkhus, but naked ascetics letting the rain fall on them.' So she returned to me and reported accordingly, and I had to send her a second time. Impure, Lord, is nakedness, and revolting. It was this circumstance, Lord, that I had in view in desiring to provide the Sangha my life long with special garments for use in the rainy season. 10

"As to my second wish, Lord, an incoming bhikkhu, not being able to take the direct roads, and not knowing the places where food can be procured, comes on his way tired out by seeking for alms. It was this circumstance, Lord, that I had in view in desiring to provide the Sangha my life long with food for incoming bhikkhus. 11

"Thirdly, Lord, an outgoing bhikkhu, while seeking about for alms, may be left behind, or may arrive too late at the place whither he desires to go, and will set out on the road in weariness. 12

"Fourthly, Lord, if a sick bhikkhu does not obtain suitable food, his sickness may increase upon him, and he may die. 13

"Fifthly, Lord, a bhikkhu who is waiting upon the sick will lose his opportunity of going out to seek food for himself. 14

"Sixthly, Lord, if a sick bhikkhu does not obtain suitable medicines, his sickness may increase upon him, and he may die. 15

"Seventhly, Lord, I have heard that the Blessed One has praised rice-milk, because it gives readiness of mind, dispels hunger and thirst; it is wholesome for the healthy as nourishment, and for the sick as a medicine. Therefore I desire to provide the Sangha my life long with a constant supply of rice-milk. 16

"Finally, Lord, the bhikkhunīs are in the habit of bathing in the river Achiravatī with the courtesans, at the same landing-place, and naked. And the courtesans, Lord, ridicule the bhikkhunīs, saying, 'What is the good, ladies, of your maintaining chastity when you are young? When you are old, maintain chastity then; thus will you obtain both worldly pleasure and religious consolation.' Impure, Lord, is nakedness for a woman, disgusting, and revolting. 17

"These are the circumstances, Lord, that I had in view." 18

The Blessed One said: "But what was the advantage you had in view for yourself, O Visākhā, in asking the eight boons of the Tathāgatha?" 19

Visākhā replied: 20

"Bhikkhus who have spent the rainy seasons in various places will come, Lord, to Sāvatthi to visit the Blessed One. And on coming to the Blessed One they will ask, saying: 'Such and such a bhikkhu, Lord, has died. What, now, is his destiny?' Then will the Blessed One explain that he has attained the fruits of conversion; that he has attained arahatship or has entered Nirvāna, as the case may be. 21

"And I, going up to them, will ask, 'Was that brother, Sirs, one of those who had formerly been at Sāvatthi?' If they reply to me, 'He has formerly been at Sāvatthi,' then shall I arrive at the conclusion, 'For a certainty did that brother enjoy either the robes for the rainy season, or the food for the incoming bhikkhus, or the food for the outgoing bhikkhus, or the food for the sick, or the food for those that wait upon the sick, or the medicine for the sick, or the constant supply of rice-milk.' 22

"Then will gladness spring up within me; thus gladdened, joy will come to me; and so rejoicing all my mind will be at peace. Being thus at peace I shall experience a blissful feeling of content; and in that bliss my heart will be at rest. That will be to me an exercise of my moral sense, an exercise of my moral powers, an exercise of the seven kinds of wisdom! This, Lord, was the advantage I had in view for myself in asking those eight boons of the Blessed One." 23

The Blessed One said: "It is well, it is well, Visākhā. Thou hast done well in asking these eight boons of the Tathāgata with such advantages in view. Charity bestowed upon those who are worthy of it is like good seed sown on a good soil that yields an abundance of fruits. But alms given to those who are yet under the tyrannical yoke of the passions are like seed deposited in a bad soil. The passions of the receiver of the alms choke, as it were, the growth of merits." 24

And the Blessed One gave thanks to Visākhā in these verses: 25

"O noble woman of an upright life, Disciple of the Blessed One, thou givest Unstintedly in purity of heart. 26

"Thou spreadest joy, assuagest pain, And verily thy gift will be a blessing As well to many others as to thee." 27

XXXV.

THE UPOSATHA AND PĀTIMOKKHA.

When Seniya Bimbisāra, the king of Magadha, was advanced in years, he retired from the world and led a religious life. He observed that there were Brahmanical sects in Rājagaha keeping sacred certain days, and the people went to their meeting-houses and listened to their sermons. 1

Concerning the need of keeping regular days for retirement from worldly labors and religious instruction, the king went to the Blessed One and said: "The Parivrājaka, who belong to the Titthiya school, prosper and gain adherents because they keep the eighth day and also the fourteenth or fifteenth day of each half-month. Would it not be advisable for the reverend brethren of the Sangha also to assemble on days duly appointed for that purpose?" 2

And the Blessed One commanded the bhikkhus to assemble on the eighth day and also on the fourteenth or fifteenth day of each half-month, and to devote these days to religious exercises. 3

A bhikkhu duly appointed should address the congregation and expound the Dharma. He should exhort the people to walk in the eightfold path of righteousness; he should comfort them in the vicissitudes of life and gladden them with the bliss of the fruit of good deeds. Thus the brethren should keep the Uposatha. 4

Now the bhikkhus, in obedience to the rule laid down by the Blessed One, assembled in the vihāra on the day appointed, and the people went to hear the Dharma, but they were greatly disappointed, for the bhikkhus remained silent and delivered no discourse. 5

When the Blessed One heard of it, he ordered the bhikkhus to recite the Pātimokkha, which is a ceremony of disburdening the conscience; and he commanded them to make confession of their trespasses so as to receive the absolution of the order. 6

A fault, if there be one, should be confessed by the bhikkhu who remembers it and desires to be cleansed. For a fault, when confessed, shall be light on him. 7

And the Blessed One said: "The Pātimokkha must be recited in this way: 8

"Let a competent and venerable bhikkhu make the following proclamation to the Sangha: 'May the Sangha hear me! To-day is Uposatha, the eighth, or the fourteenth or fifteenth day of the half-month. If the Sangha is ready, let the Sangha hold the Uposatha service and recite the Pātimokkha. I will recite the Pātimokkha.' 9

"And the bhikkhus shall reply: 'We hear it well and we concentrate well our minds on it, all of us.' 10

"Then the officiating bhikkhu shall continue: 'Let him who has committed an offence, confess it; if there be no offence, let all remain silent; from your being silent I shall understand that the reverend brethren are free from offences. 11

'As a single person who has been asked a question answers it, so also, if before an assembly like this a question is solemnly proclaimed three times, an answer is expected: if a bhikkhu, after a threefold proclamation, does not confess an existing offence which he remembers, he commits an intentional falsehood. 12

'Now, reverend brethren, an intentional falsehood has been declared an impediment by the Blessed One. Therefore, if an offence has been committed by a bhikkhu who remembers it and desires to become pure, the offence should be confessed by the bhikkhu, and when it has been confessed, it is treated duly.'" 13

XXXVI.

THE SCHISM.

While the Blessed One dwelt at Kosambī, a certain bhikkhu was accused of having committed an offence, and, as he refused to acknowledge it, the brotherhood pronounced against him the sentence of expulsion. 1

Now, that bhikkhu was erudite. He knew the Dharma, had studied the rules of the order, and was wise, learned, intelligent, modest, conscientious, and ready to submit himself to discipline. And he went to his companions and friends among the bhikkhus, saying: "This is no offence, friends; this is no reason for a sentence of expulsion. I am not guilty. The verdict is unconstitutional and invalid. Therefore I consider myself still as a member of the order. May the venerable brethren assist me in maintaining my right." 2

Those who sided with the expelled brother went to the bhikkhus who had pronounced the sentence, saying: "This is no offence"; while the bhikkhus who had pronounced the sentence replied: "This is an offence." 3

Thus altercations and quarrels arose, and the Sangha was divided into two parties, reviling and slandering each other. 4

And all these happenings were reported to the Blessed One. 5

Then the Blessed One went to the place where the bhikkhus were who had pronounced the sentence of expulsion, and said to them: "Do not think, O bhikkhus, that you are to pronounce expulsion against a bhikkhu, whatever be the facts of the case, simply by saying: 'It occurs to us that it is so, and therefore we are pleased to proceed thus against our brother.' Let those bhikkhus who frivolously pronounce a sentence against a brother who knows the Dharma and the rules of the order, who is learned, wise, intelligent, modest, conscientious, and ready to submit himself to discipline, stand in awe of causing divisions. They must not pronounce a sentence of expulsion against a brother merely because he refuses to see his offence." 6

Then the Blessed One rose and went to the brethren who sided with the expelled brother and said to them: "Do not think, O bhikkhus, that if you have given offence you need not atone for it, thinking: 'We are without offence.' When a bhikkhu has committed an offence, which he considers no offence while the brotherhood consider him guilty, he should think: 'These brethren know the Dharma and the rules of the order; they are learned, wise, intelligent, modest, conscientious, and ready to submit themselves to discipline; it is impossible that they should on my account act with selfishness or in malice or in delusion or in fear.' Let him stand in awe of causing divisions, and rather acknowledge his offence on the authority of his brethren." 7

Both parties continued to keep Uposatha and perform official acts independently of one another; and when their doings were related to the Blessed One, he ruled that the keeping of Uposatha and the performance of official acts were lawful, unobjectionable, and valid for both parties. For he said: "The bhikkhus who side with the expelled brother form a different communion from those who pronounced the sentence. There are venerable brethren in both parties. As they do not agree, let them keep Uposatha and perform official acts separately." 8

And the Blessed One reprimanded the quarrelsome bhikkhus saying to them: 9

"Loud is the voice which worldlings make; but how can they be blamed when divisions arise also in the Sangha? Hatred is not appeased in those who think: 'He has reviled me, he has wronged me, he has injured me.' 10

"For not by hatred is hatred appeased. Hatred is appeased by not-hatred. This is an eternal law. 11

"There are some who do not know the need of self-restraint; if they are quarrelsome we may excuse their behavior. But those who know better, should learn to live in concord. 12

"If a man finds a wise friend who lives righteously and is constant in his character, he may live with him, overcoming all dangers, happy and mindful. 13

"But if he finds not a friend who lives righteously and is constant in his character, let him rather walk alone, like a king who leaves his empire and the cares of government behind him to lead a life of retirement like a lonely elephant in the forest. 14

"With fools there is no companionship. Rather than to live with men who are selfish, vain, quarrelsome, and obstinate let a man walk alone." 15

And the Blessed One thought to himself: "It is no easy task to instruct these headstrong and infatuate fools." And he rose from his seat and went away. 16

XXXVII.

THE RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF CONCORD.

Whilst the dispute between the parties was not yet settled, the Blessed One left Kosambī, and wandering from place to place he came at last to Sāvatthi. 1

And in the absence of the Blessed One the quarrels grew worse, so that the Jay devotees of Kosambī became annoyed and they said: "These quarrelsome monks are a great nuisance and will bring upon us misfortunes. Worried by their altercations the Blessed One is gone, and has selected another abode for his residence. Let us, therefore, neither salute the bhikkhus nor support them. They are not worthy of wearing yellow robes, and must either propitiate the Blessed One, or return to the world." 2

And the bhikkhus of Kosambī, when no longer honored and no longer supported by the lay devotees, began to repent and said: "Let us go to the Blessed One and let him settle the question of our disagreement." 3

And both parties went to Savatthi to the Blessed One. And the venerable Sāriputta, having heard of their arrival, addressed the Blessed One and said: "These contentious, disputatious, and quarrelsome bhikkhus of Kosambī, the authors of dissensions, have come to Sāvatthi. How am I to behave, O Lord, toward those bhikkhus." 4

"Do not reprove them, Sāriputta," said the Blessed One, "for harsh words do not serve as a remedy and are pleasant to no one. Assign separate dwelling-places to each party and treat them with impartial justice. Listen with patience to both parties. He alone who weighs both sides is called a muni. When both parties have presented their case, let the Sangha come to an agreement and declare the re-establishment of concord." 5

And Pājapatī, the matron, asked the Blessed One for advice, and the Blessed One said: "Let both parties enjoy the gifts of lay members, be they robes or food, as they may need, and let no one receive any noticeable preference over any other." 6

And the venerable Upāli, having approached the Blessed One, asked concerning the re-establishment of peace in the Sangha: "Would it be right, O Lord," said he, "that the Sangha, to avoid further disputations, should declare the restoration of concord without inquiring into the matter of the quarrel?" 7

And the Blessed One said: 8

"If the Sangha declares the re-establishment of concord without having inquired into the matter, the declaration is neither right nor lawful. 9

"There are two ways of re-establishing concord; one is in the letter, and the other one is in the spirit and in the letter. 10

"If the Sangha declares the re-establishment of concord without having inquired into the matter, the peace is concluded in the letter only. But if the Sangha, having inquired into the matter and having gone to the bottom of it, decides to declare the re-establishment of concord, the peace is concluded in the spirit and also in the letter. 11

"The concord re-established in the spirit and in the letter is alone right and lawful." 12