Vinaya Texts
Translated from the Pāli by
T. W. Rhys Davids
and
Hermann Oldenberg
Oxford, the Clarendon Press
[1881]
The Second Part of Volume XVII and Volume XX of The Sacred Books of the East
This work is in the Public Domain.
Reformatted from the Internet Sacred Text Archive version scanned and formatted by Christopher M. Weimer
Kulla Vagga
Second Khandhaka
Probation and Penance
1.
1.1 Now at that time the Blessed Buddha was staying at Sāvatthi, in the Getavana, Anāthapindika's Grove. And at that time Bhikkhus who had been placed on probation[1] used to accept reverence and service and salutation and respect from regular Bhikkhus; and to allow them to provide a seat, or a sleeping-place, or water for the feet, or a foot-stool, or a foot-towel for them; and to carry their bowl or their robe, and to shampoo them[2].
[385] Those Bhikkhus who were moderate were annoyed, murmured, and became indignant, saying, 'How can Bhikkhus who have been placed on probation accept reverence (&c., as above, down to) shampoo them?'
And those Bhikkhus told this thing to the Blessed One.
Then the Blessed One on that occasion, and in that connection, convened a meeting of the Bhikkhusamgha, and asked the Bhikkhus: 'Is it true, O Bhikkhus, as they say, that Bhikkhus who have been placed on probation accept reverence (&c., as before, down to) shampoo them?'
'It is true, Lord.'
The Blessed Buddha rebuked them, saying, 'How can those Bhikkhus (&c., as before, down to) shampoo them? This will not conduce, O Bhikkhus (&c., as usual, down to)[3] turning back of those who have been converted.'
And when he had rebuked them, and had delivered a religious discourse, he addressed the Bhikkhus, saying, 'A Bhikkhu who has been placed on probation ought not to accept reverence (&c., as before, down to) shampoo them. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty of a dukkata offence. I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, to those Bhikkhus who have been placed on probation to do [all the courtesies, duties, and services mentioned above[4]] for one another, according to their seniority. I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, five things (as permissible) to Bhikkhus who have been placed on probation, [386] according to their seniority; (that is to say), the Uposatha ceremony, the Pavāranā ceremony, the share in robes for the rainy season, in things dedicated to the Saṅgha[5], and in food.
1.2 'Therefore, O Bhikkhus, do I make known to you a rule of conduct for Bhikkhus who have been placed on probation, according to which they ought to conduct themselves aright. And herein this is the right conduct. He ought not to confer the Upasampadā (&c., as above, in I, 1, 5, down to the end)[6].
A Bhikkhu who has been placed on probation ought not, O Bhikkhus, to walk in front of, or to sit down in front of, a regular Bhikkhu. Whichever belonging to that company of Bhikkhus shall be the worst seat[7], or the worst sleeping-place, or the worst room[8], that shall be given to that Bhikkhu, and there- [387] with shall he content himself. A Bhikkhu who has been placed under probation ought not, O Bhikkhus, to visit the families who support a regular Bhikkhu (by officiating, in order to do so, as the companion who precedes or follows that regular Bhikkhu)--he ought riot to devote himself to a forest life--he ought not to devote himself to living on alms personally received[9]--he ought not to cause an alms to be brought out to him with the object of escaping an extension of his probationary term[10], thinking, "Let them not recognise me" (as one who has been placed under probation)[11].
'A Bhikkhu who has been placed on probation ought, O Bhikkhus, to announce the fact of his having been so placed when he arrives at a residence as an incoming Bhikkhu--he ought to announce the fact to an incoming Bhikkhu--he ought to announce the fact at an Uposatha meeting--he ought to announce the fact at a Pavāranā meeting--and, if he be sick, he ought to announce the fact at such meetings by means of a messenger[12].
[388] 1.3 'A Bhikkhu who has been placed on probation ought not, O Bhikkhus, to go away from a residence in which Bhikkhus are living to a residence in which no Bhikkhus are living, unless with a regular Bhikkhu, or in time of danger. A Bhikkhu who has been placed on probation ought not, O Bhikkhus, to go away from a residence in which Bhikkhus are living to a place which is not a residence[13] and where no Bhikkhus are living, unless with a regular Bhikkhu, or in time of danger. A Bhikkhu (&c., as before) ought not to go away from a residence in which Bhikkhus are living, either to a residence or to a place which is not a residence, and where Bhikkhus are not living, unless (&c., as before)[14]. . . . from a place which is not a residence, but where Bhikkhus are living, to a place which is a residence, but where Bhikkhus are not living . . . . from a place which is not a residence, but where Bhikkhus are living, to a place which is not a residence and where Bhikkhus are not living . . . . from a place which is no residence, but where Bhikkhus are living, either to a place which is not a residence or to a residence where no Bhikkhus are living . . . . from a place which is either a residence or not a residence, to a place which is a residence, but where no Bhikkhus are living . . . . from a place which is either a residence or no residence, but where Bhikkhus are living, to a place [389] which is not a residence and where no Bhikkhus are living . . . . from a place which is either a residence or not a residence, but where Bhikkhus are living, to a place which is either a residence or not a residence, but where no Bhikkhus are living, unless with a regular Bhikkhu or in time of danger.
'A Bhikkhu who has been placed on probation ought not, O Bhikkhus, to go away from a residence where Bhikkhus are living to a residence where Bhikkhus are living, but where there may be Bhikkhus of different communities from his own (unless, &c., as before). [The same changes as in the last series are here rung upon this inhibition, down to] . . . . from a place which is either a residence or not a residence, but where Bhikkhus. are living, to a place which is either a residence or not a residence, and where Bhikkhus are living, but where there may be Bhikkhus of different communities from his own (unless, &c., as before).
'A Bhikkhu who has been placed on probation ought to go, O Bhikkhus, from a residence where Bhikkhus are living to a residence where Bhikkhus are living, and where there are Bhikkhus of the same community (with himself), if he knows, "This very day I can go there." [Here follow the same permutations and combinations as in the last two series.]
1.4 'A Bhikkhu who has been placed on probation ought not, O Bhikkhus, to dwell with a regular Bhikkhu in a residence under one and the same roof--nor in a place which is not a residence under one and the same roof--nor in a place which is either a residence or not a residence under one and the same roof. On seeing a regular Bhikkhu he [390] ought to rise from his seat[15]; and he ought to offer his seat to a regular Bhikkhu. He ought not to sit down on one and the same seat with a regular Bhikkhu; when a regular Bhikkhu is seated on a low seat he ought not to sit down on a high seat[16]; when a regular Bhikkhu is seated on the ground he ought not to sit down on a seat[17]; he ought not to walk up and down on the same kaṅkama[18] with a regular Bhikkhu; when a regular Bhikkhu is walking up and down on a low kaṅkama he ought not to walk up and down on a higher kaṅkama; when a regular Bhikkhu is walking up and down on the ground he ought not to walk up and down on a (properly prepared) kaṅkama.
A Bhikkhu who has been placed on probation ought not, O Bhikkhus, to dwell (&c., all the other acts mentioned in the last paragraph being here repeated down to the end) with a Bhikkhu senior to himself who has been placed on probation . . . . with a Bhikkhu who has been thrown back to the commencement of his term of probation . . . . with a Bhikkhu who has rendered himself liable to the Mānatta discipline[19] . . . . with a Bhikkhu undergoing the Mānatta discipline . . . . with a Bhikkhu who is in a position to receive rehabilitation'.
If a meeting of four Bhikkhus, of whom one is [391] a probationer, should place a Bhikkhu on probation, or throw him back to the beginning of his probationary= course, or subject him to the Mānatta discipline--or if a meeting of twenty Bhikkhus, of whom one is a probationer, should rehabilitate a Bhikkhu, that, O Bhikkhus, is an invalid act, and need not be obeyed[20]:
Here end the ninety-four duties encumbent on a probationer.
2.
2.1 Now the venerable Upāli went up to the place where the Blessed One was; and on arriving there, he saluted the Blessed One, and took his seat on one side. And when he was so seated the venerable Upāli said to the Blessed One: 'Now in what case, Lord, can there be an interruption of the probationary period of a Bhikkhu who has been placed on probation[21]?'
There are three ways of interruption of the probationary period, O Upāli, of a Bhikkhu who has been placed on probation; (that is to say), by [392] dwelling together[22], by dwelling alone[23], and by not announcing[24].
'These are the three ways of interruption to the probationary period, O Upāli, of a Bhikkhu who has been placed under probation.'
3.[25]
3.1 Now at that time, since there was a great company of the Bhikkhus gathered together at Sāvatthi, those Bhikkhus who had been placed on probation did not know how to carry out their probation correctly.
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
'I prescribe to you, O Bhikkhus, to carry out your probation correctly. Now thus, O Bhikkhus, ought you to postpone[26] the probation. The Bhikkhu who has been placed on probation is to go up to a single Bhikkhu, and arranging his robe on one shoulder, and squatting down on his heels, and stretching forth his hands with the palms together, he is to say: "I postpone my probation." Then the probation is postponed. Or he is to say: "I postpone [393] the duties (i.e. of a probationer)." Then also the probation is postponed.'
3.2 Now at that time the Bhikkhus who were at Sāvatthi went away hither and thither, and the Bhikkhus who had been placed on probation were not able to carry out their probation correctly[27].
They told this thing to the Blessed One.
'I prescribe to you, O Bhikkhus, to take upon yourselves again the probation (which had been postponed). Now thus, O Bhikkhus, ought you to take it upon yourselves again. The Bhikkhu who has been placed under probation is to go up to a single Bhikkhu, and arranging his robe on one shoulder, and squatting down on his heels, and stretching forth his hands with the palms together, he is to say: "I take my probation again upon myself." Then the probation is resumed. Or he is to say: "I take the duties (i.e. of a probationer) upon myself again." Then also is the probation resumed.'
Here end the duties encumbent on a probationer.
4.
4.1 Now at that time Bhikkhus, who had rendered themselves liable to be thrown back to the commencement (of their probationary course)[28], used to [394] accept reverence [&c., as before in chapter 1, reading throughout 'Bhikkhus liable to be thrown back to the beginning of their probationary course' for 'Bhikkhus who had been placed on probation[29];' and omitting in chapter 2 the announcements referred to there in our note].
5.
5.1 [In this chapter the same rules are laid down, word for word, as in the last, reading throughout for 'Bhikkhus liable to be thrown back to the beginning of their probationary course,' 'Bhikkhus liable to be subjected to the Mānatta discipline[30].']
6.
6.1 [In this chapter the same rules for the Mānatta, or Penance, are laid down word for word as those in chapter 1, §§ 1, 2, 3, and 4, for the probation, reading throughout 'Bhikkhus who are going through the Mānatta discipline' for 'Bhikkhus who have been placed under probation.' There are, however, one or two minor points of difference, which are as follows:
1. At the end of the announcements (chapter 1, [395] § 2) there is inserted the injunction, 'He ought to announce the fact every day.'
2. In the passages about going from one residence to another (chapter 1, § 3) read 'unless with the Saṅgha' instead of 'unless with a regular Bhikkhu.'][31]
7.
7.1 Now the venerable Upāli went up to the place where the Blessed One was; and on arriving there, he saluted the Blessed One, and took his seat on one side. And when he was so seated the venerable Upāli said to the Blessed One: 'Now in what case, Lord, can there be an interruption of the Mānatta discipline[32] of a Bhikkhu who is undergoing that discipline?'
There are four ways of interruption of the Mānatta discipline, O Upāli, of a Bhikkhu who is undergoing that discipline; (that is to say), by dwelling together[33], by dwelling alone[33], by not announcing[33], and by living with less than four other Bhikkhus[34]. These are the four ways (&c., as before, down to) undergoing that discipline.'
8.
8.1 [396] [In this chapter the means of postponing and resuming the Mānatta penance are laid down, word for word, as in chapter 3, reading 'Bhikkhus who are undergoing the Mānatta discipline' for 'Bhikkhus who have been placed on probation.]
9.
9.1 [This chapter is word for word the same as chapter 1, reading 'Bhikkhus who have rendered themselves capable of receiving rehabilitation' for 'Bhikkhus who have been placed on probation.]
Here ends the Second Khandhaka, called the Khandhaka on Probationers, &c.
[1] There are four principal kinds of probation; the first of which was required when the follower of another of the reforming sects was received into the Buddhist Order, and is described in Mahāvagga I, 38. The other three, which follow on the commission of a Samghādisesa offence, are more particularly described below in the third Khandhaka. The Pāli names of these four are respectively apatikkhanna-parivāsa, patikkhanna-parivāsa, suddhanta-parivāsa, and samodhāna-parivāsa.
No conclusion should be drawn against this statement from the passage above at I, 9, 1; though Seyyasaka's conduct, as there described, would not have rendered him liable to any one of these four principal probationary proceedings. For he is said to have been guilty of many offences (āpatti-bahulo). The accompanying enumeration must be taken, not as a description of those offences, but as additional to them. And the probation imposed upon him must have been for concealing one or more of the many offences not particularly specified.
[2] All these expressions recur above, I, 27, 1.
[3] See I, 1, 2, down to the end.
[4] That is, in the lists recurring in the previous paragraphs, and given in full at I, 27, 1.
[5] Onoganam, which the Samanta Pāsādikā explains by 'visagganam: Compare the use of onogesi at Dîpavamsa XIII, 29. The etymology of the word is unknown to us.
[6] The Samanta Pāsādikā has here the following note on savakaniyam, which should be compared with the shorter note on the same word given above, I, it, 5: Na savakaniyam kātabban ti palibodhatthāya pakkosanatthāya vā savakaniyam na kātabbam. Palibodhatthāya hi karonto, aham āyasmantam imasmim vatthusmim savakaniyam karomi, imamhā āvāsā ekapadam pi mā pakkami yāva na tam adhikaranam vûpasantam hotîti; evam karoti. Pakkosanatthāya karonto, aham te savakaniyam karomi, ehi mayā saddhim vinaya-dharānam sammukhibhāvam gakkhāmā ti: evam karoti.
[7] Buddhaghosa says here, Âsanapariyanto bhattaggādîsu samgha-navak-āsanam vukkati, svassa dātabbo. Pariyanta is used here in the same sense as in the 22nd Nissaggiya.
[8] Vihārā, In later times this word is no doubt always, or almost always, used to designate the whole of a building in which several or many Bhikkhus resided. In the older literature it always, or almost always, denotes the dwelling-place, the private apartment, of a single Bhikkhu.
[9] That is, to refrain from salāka-bhatta, &c.
[10] The Samanta Pāsādikā says, Tappakkayā ’ti nihatabhatto hutvā vihāren’ eva nisiditvā bhuñganto vattiyo ganayissāmi gakkhato me bhikkhû disvā anārokentassa rattikkhedo (cap. 2) siyā ’ti iminā kāranena pindapāto na niharāpetabbo.
[11] Mā mam gānimsû ’ti mā mam ekabhikkhu pi gānātû ’ti ka iminā agghāsayena vihāre sāmanerehi pakāpetvā bhuñgitum labbhati. Gāmam pindāya pavisitabbam eva. Gilānassa pana navakammam ākariyupagghāyakikkādipasu (sic) tassa vā vihāre yeva akkhitum vattati. Sake pi gāme anekasatā bhikkhû vikaranti na sakkā hoti āroketum gāmakāvāsam gantvā sabhāgatthāne vasitum vattati.
[12] This paragraph, it will be seen, is omitted in three out of the four following cases, which are otherwise similar in every respect, as regards the right conduct which is laid down for them, to the present case of the Bhikkhus who have been placed on probation.
[13] The Samanta Pāsādikā says, (Abhikkhuko āvāso) na hi tattha vuttharattiyo gananupikā honti. pakatattena pana saddhim vattati. Anāvāso nāma ketiyagharam bodhigharam sammañganiattako dāruattako pāniyamālo vakkakuti dvārakotthako ’ti evamādi.
[14] In the text read āvāso vā anāvāso vā.
[15] This recurs in Khandhaka I, chapter 27.
[16] Compare the 69th Sekhiya.
[17] Compare the 68th Sekhiya.
[18] A narrow space of open ground, levelled and cleared of jungle, for the purpose of being used to walk up and down upon when meditating. See our note on Mahayana V, 1, 14.
[19] On these disciplines and on rehabilitation, see the following Khandhaka.
[20] Compare Mahāvagga IX, 4, I.
[21] Literally, 'breaking of the nights.' The time of probation was reckoned, not by days, but by nights; and in either of the three cases which follow the reckoning was interrupted, and had to begin afresh.
[22] Buddhaghosa explains this to mean when the probationer has done any of the things forbidden in II, 1, 4.
[23] That is, when the probationer has done any of the things forbidden in II, 1, 3.
[24] That is, when the probationer has omitted to make any of the announcements prescribed at the end of II, 1, 2.
[25] This chapter is repeated below, chap. 8, in reference to Bhikkhus undergoing the Mānatta discipline.
[26] That is, if it should be impossible during the time immediately succeeding the imposition of probation to fulfil all the thereto necessary duties, then a Bhikkhu might postpone the fulfilment to some more convenient season.
[27] The Samanta Pāsādikā here says, Evam vattam samādiyitvā parivutta-parivāsassa mānattam ganhato puna vatta-samādāna-kikkam n’ atthi samādinna-vatto yeva hi esa. Tasmāssa khārattam mānattam dātabbam, kinna-mānatto abbhetabbo, evam anāpattiko hutvā suddhante patitthito tisso sikkhā pûretvā dukkhass’ antam karissatîti.
[28] This is fully explained in the next Khandhaka.
[29] In the text alter the words 'Instead of samghena parivāso dinno hoti read samghena mûlāya patikassanāraho kato hoti' into 'Instead of parivāsikā bhikkhû read mûlāya patikassanārahā bhikkhû.'
[30] This is fully explained in the next Khandhaka.
[31] It will be seen, therefore, that there is very little, one might almost say no practical, difference between the Parivāsa, which we have rendered 'probation,' and the Mānatta, which we have usually left untranslated, and sometimes rendered 'penance.' Neither the one nor the other are at present enforced anywhere among the Buddhists.
[32] See chapter 2, note 1.
[33] See the notes above on chapter 2.
[34] The Samanta Pāsādikā says, ûne gane ti kattāro vā atirekā vā.
