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
Seventh Khandhaka
Dissensions in the Order
1[1]
1.1 Now at that time the Blessed One was staying at Anupiyā[2]. Anupiyā is a town belonging to the Mallas[3]. Now at that time the most distinguished of the young men of the Sākya clan had renounced the world in imitation of the Blessed One.
Now there were two brothers, Mahānāma the Sākyan, and Anuruddha the Sākyan. Anuruddha the Sākyan was delicately nurtured; and he had three storeyed residences, one for the cold season, one for the hot season, and one for the season of the rains[4]. During the four months spent in the [225] residence for the season of the rains, he was waited upon by women performing music[5], and came not down from the upper storey of his residence.
Then Mahānāma the Sākyan thought: 'Now the most distinguished of the young men of the Sākya clan have already renounced the world in imitation of the Blessed One, but from our own family no one has gone forth from the household life into the houseless state. Let therefore either I, or Anuruddha, renounce the world.' And he went to Anuruddha the Sākyan, and said [so to him, adding], 'Either therefore do you go forth, or I will do so.'
'I am delicate. It is impossible for me to go forth from the household life into the houseless state. Do you do so.'
1.2 'But come now, O beloved Anuruddha, I will tell you what is incident to the household life. First, you have to get your fields ploughed. When that is done, you have to get them sown. When that is done, you have to get the water led down over them. When that is done, you have to get the water led off again. When that is done, you have to get the weeds pulled up[6]. When that is done, you have to get the crop reaped. When that is done, you have to get the crop carried away. When that is done, you have to get it arranged [226] into bundles. When that is done, you have to get it trodden out[7]. When that is done, you have to get the straw picked out. When that is done, you have to get all the chaff removed. When that is done, you have to get it winnowed. When that is done, you have to get the harvest garnered[8]. When that is done, you have to do just the same the next year, and the same all over again the year after that.
'The work is never over: one sees not the end of one's labours. O! when shall our work be over? When shall we see the end of our labours? When shall we, still possessing and retaining the pleasures of our five senses, yet dwell at rest? Yes! the work, beloved Anuruddha, is never over; no end appears to our labours. Even when our fathers and forefathers had completed their time[9], even then was their work unfinished.'
'Then do you take thought for the household duties. I will go forth from the household life into the houseless state.'
And Anuruddha the Sākyan went to his mother, and said to her: 'I want, mother, to go forth from the household life into the houseless state. Grant me thy permission to do so.'
And when he had thus spoken, his mother replied [227] to Anuruddha the Sākyan, and said: 'You two, O beloved Anuruddha, are my two only sons, near and dear to me, in whom I find no evil. Through death I shall some day, against my will, be separated from you; but how can I be willing, whilst you are still alive, that you should go forth from the household life into the houseless state?'
[And a second time Anuruddha the Sākyan made the same request, and received the same reply. And a third time Anuruddha the Sākyan made the same request to his mother.]
1.3 Now at that time Bhaddiya the Sākya Rāga held rule over the Sākyas; and he was a friend of Anuruddha the Sākyan's. And the mother of Anuruddha the Sākyan, thinking that that being so, the Rāga would not be able to renounce the world, said to her son: 'If, beloved Anuruddha, Bhaddiya the Sākyan Rāga will renounce the world, thou also mayest go forth into the houseless state.'
Then Anuruddha the Sākyan went to Bhaddiya the Sākyan Raga, and said to him: 'My renunciation of the world, dear friend, is being obstructed by thee.'
'Then let that obstruction, dear friend, be removed. Even with thee will I[10]--renounce thou the world according to thy wish.'
'Come, dear friend, let us both renounce the world together!'
[228] 'I am not capable, dear friend, of giving up the household life. Whatsoever else you can ask of me, that I will do[11]. Do you go forth (alone).'
'My mother, dear friend, has told me that if thou dost so, I may. And thou hast even now declared "If thy renunciation be obstructed by me, then let that obstruction be removed. Even with thee will I--renounce thou the world, according to thy wish." Come, then, dear friend, let us both renounce the world.'
Now at that time men were speakers of truth, and keepers of their word which they had pledged. And Bhaddiya the Sākya Rāga said to Anuruddha the Sākyan: 'Wait, my friend, for seven years. At the end of seven years we will renounce the world together.'
'Seven years are too long, dear friend. I am not able to wait for seven years.'
[And the same offer was made successively of six years and so on down to one year, of seven months and so on down to one month, and even of a fortnight, and still there was ever the same reply. At last the Rāga said,]
'Wait, my friend, for seven days, whilst I hand over the kingdom to my sons and my brothers.'
'Seven days is not too long. I will wait thus far' (was the reply).
1.4 So Bhaddiya the Sākya Rāga, and Anuruddha, and Ânanda, and Bhagu, and Kimbila, and Devadatta--just as they had so often previously gone [220] out to the pleasure-ground with fourfold array--even so did they now go out with fourfold array, and Upāli the barber went with them, making seven in all.
And when they had gone some distance, they sent their retinue back, and crossed over into the neighbouring district, and took off their fine things, and wrapped them in their robes, and made a bundle of them, and said to Upāli the barber: 'Do you now, good Upāli, turn back. These things will be sufficient for you to live upon.'
But as he was going back, Upāli the barber thought: 'The Sākyas are fierce. They will think that these young men have been brought by me to destruction, and they will slay me. But since now these young men of the Sākya clan can go forth from the household life into the houseless state, why indeed should not I?' And he let down the bundle (from his back), and hung the bundle on a tree, saying, 'Let whoso finds it, take it, as a gift,' and returned to the place where the young Sākyans were.
And the Sākya youths saw him coming from afar, and on seeing, they said to him: 'What have you come back for, good Upāli?'
Then he told them [what he had thought, and what he had done with the bundle, and why he was returned].
'Thou host done well, good Upāli (was the reply), in that thou didst not return; for the Sākyas are fierce, and might have killed thee.'
And they took Upāli the barber with them to the place where the Blessed One was. And on arriving there, they bowed down before the Blessed One, and [230] took their seats on one side. And so seated they said to the Blessed One: 'We Sākyas, Lord, are haughty. And this Upāli the barber has long been an attendant, Lord, upon us. May the Blessed One admit him to the Order before us, so that we may render him respect and reverence, and bow down with outstretched hands before him (as our senior), and thus shall the Sākya pride be humbled in us Sākyans[12].'
Then the Blessed One received first Upāli the barber, and afterwards those young men of the Sākya clan, into the ranks of the Order. And the venerable Bhaddiya, before that rainy season was over, became master of the Threefold Wisdom[13], and the venerable Anuruddha acquired the Heavenly Vision[14], and the venerable Ânanda realized the effect of having entered upon the Stream[15], and Devadatta attained to that kind of Iddhi which is attainable even by those who have not entered upon the Excellent Way[16].
[231] 1.5 [17]. Now at that time the venerable Bhaddiya, who had retired into the forest to the foot of a tree, into solitude, gave utterance over and over again to this ecstatic exclamation: 'O happiness! O happiness!' And a number of Bhikkhus went up to the place where the Blessed One was, and bowed down before him, and took their seats on one side. And, so seated, they [told the Blessed One of this], and added, 'For a certainty, Lord, the venerable Bhaddiya is not contented as he lives the life of purity; but rather it is when calling to mind the happiness of his former sovranty that he gives vent to this saying.'
Then the Blessed One addressed a certain Bhikkhu; and said: 'Do you go, O Bhikkhu, and in my name call Bhaddiya the Bhikkhu, saying, The Teacher, venerable Bhaddiya, is calling for you."'
'Even so, Lord,' said that Bhikkhu, in assent to the Blessed One. And he went to Bhaddiya, and called him [in those words].
1.6 'Very, well,' said the venerable Bhaddiya, in [232] assent to that Bhikkhu; and he came to the Blessed One, and bowed down before him, and took his seat on one side. And when he was so seated, the Blessed One said to the venerable Bhaddiya:
'Is it true, as they say, that you Bhaddiya, when retired into the forest to the foot of a tree, into solitude, have given utterance over and over again to this ecstatic exclamation, "O happiness! O happiness!" What circumstance was it, O Bhaddiya, that you had in your mind when you acted thus?'
'Formerly, Lord, when I was a king, I had a guard completely provided both within and without my private apartments, both within and without the town, and within the (borders of my) country. Yet though, Lord, I was thus guarded and protected, I was fearful, anxious, distrustful, and alarmed. But now, Lord, even when in the forest, at the foot of a tree, in solitude, I am without fear or anxiety, trustful and not alarmed; I dwell at ease, subdued[18], secure[19], with mind as peaceful as an antelope's[20]. It was when calling this fact to mind, Lord, that I gave utterance over and over again to that cry, "O happiness! O happiness!"'
Then the Blessed One, on hearing that, gave utterance at that time to this song:
[233] 'The man who harbours no harsh thoughts within him,
Who cares not whether things are thus or thus,
His state of joy, freedom from grief or care,
The very gods obtain not to behold!'
2.
2.1 Now when the Blessed One had stayed at Anupiyā as long as he thought fit, he set out on his journey towards Kosambî. And journeying straight on he arrived in due course at Kosambî, and there, at Kosambî, he stayed at the Ghosita Ârāma. Now the following thought occurred to Devadatta when he had retired into solitude, and was plunged in meditation: 'Whom now[21] can I so gain over that, he being well pleased with me, much gain and honour may result to me? And it occurred to him, 'Now this prince Agātasattu is young, and has a lucky future before him. Let me then gain him over; and he being well pleased with me, much gain and honour will result.'
Then Devadatta folded up his sleeping-mat, and set out, fully bowled and robed, for Rāgagaha; and in due course he arrived at Rāgagaha. Then he laid aside his own form, and took upon himself the form of a child clad in a girdle of snakes, and appeared on the lap of prince Agātasattu[22]. Then was [234] prince Agātasattu terrified, and startled, and anxious, and alarmed.
And Devadatta said to prince Agātasattu, 'Are you afraid of me, O prince?'
'Yes, I am. Who are you?'
'I am Devadatta.'
'If you, Sir, are really the worthy Devadatta, be good enough to appear in your own shape.'
Then Devadatta, laying aside the form of the child, appeared there before prince Agātasattu with his inner and outer robes on, and with his bowl in his hand. And prince Agātasattu was well pleased with Devadatta by reason of this marvel of Iddhi, and morning and evening he used to go in five hundred chariots to wait upon him, and food was brought and laid before him in five hundred dishes.
Then there arose in Devadatta's mind, possessed and vanquished by gain and hospitality and fame[23], some such thought as this: 'It is I who ought to lead the Bhikkhu-samgha.' And as the idea rose up within him, (that moment) was Devadatta deprived of that his power of Iddhi.
2.2 Nov at that time a Koliyan, by name Kakudha, who had been (as Bhikkhu) the attendant on Moggallāna, had just died, and had appeared again in a certain spiritual body[24], possessed of a personality as large as two or three of the common rice-fields of a Māgadha village, and yet so constituted[25] that he was [235] not in the way either of himself or of others[26]. And this celestial being, Kakudha, went to the venerable Moggallāna, and bowed down before him, and took his stand on one side. And so standing, he told the venerable Moggallāna [of the thought that had arisen in Devadatta's mind, and of the result thereof]. And when he had told him, he bowed down before the venerable Moggallāna, and keeping him on his right side as he passed him, he vanished away.
And the venerable Moggallāna went to the place where the Blessed One was, and told him [the whole matter][27].
'What then, Moggallāna, have you so penetrated the mind of that celestial being Kakudha, that you know that whatsoever he speaks, that will be accordingly, and not otherwise[28]?'
'I have, Lord.'
'Keep that saying, Moggallāna, secret; keep that saying secret. Even now that foolish man will himself make himself known.
2.3 [29]. 'There are, Moggallāna, these five kinds of teachers now existing in the world. What are the five?
'In the first place, Moggallāna, there is one kind of teacher whose conduct not being pure, he yet [236] gives out that he is a person of pure conduct, one whose conduct is pure, and innocent, and without stain. His disciples know that that is so, but they think, "If we announce the fact to the laity, he will not like it. And how can we conduct ourselves towards him in a way that is displeasing to him? And besides he is honoured with gifts of the requisite clothing, food, lodging, and medicine for the sick. He will sooner or later become known by that which he himself will do." Such a teacher, Moggallāna, do his disciples protect in respect of his own conduct. And being as he is, he expects[30] to be protected by his disciples in respect of his own conduct.
2.4 'Again, Moggallāna,' &c. [as before, putting successively 'mode of livelihood,' 'preaching of the Dhamma,' 'system of exposition,' &c., 'insight arising from knowledge,' 'for 'conduct']. 'These, Moggallāna, are the five kinds of teachers now existing in the world. But I being pure in conduct, mode of livelihood, preaching of the Dhamma, system of exposition, and insight arising from knowledge, give out that I am so, that I am pure, innocent, and without stain in all these things. And neither do my disciples protect me in respect of my own conduct, nor do I expect them to do so.'
2.5 Now when the Blessed One had remained at Kosambî as long as he thought fit, he set out on his journey towards Rāgagaha. And journeying straight on, he arrived in due course at Rāgagaha; and there, at Rāgagaha, he stayed at the Veluvana in the Kalandaka Nivāpa.
[237] And a number of Bhikkhus went to the Blessed One, and bowed down before him, and took their seats on one side., And when so seated, they said to the Blessed One: 'Prince Agātasattu is in the habit of going morning and evening with five hundred carts to wait upon Devadatta, and food is brought and laid before him in five hundred dishes.'
'Envy not, O Bhikkhus, the gain and hospitality and fame of Devadatta. So long, O Bhikkhus, as Agātasattu [so waits upon him and gives him alms] so long may we expect Devadatta not to prosper, but to decline in virtuous qualities[31]. Just, O Bhikkhus, as if you were to burst a gall (bladder)[32] before the nose of a fierce dog, the dog would thereby become so much the fiercer, just so long, O Bhikkhus (&c., as before). To his own hurt, O Bhikkhus, has this gain, hospitality, and fame come to Devadatta, to his own destruction. Just, O Bhikkhus, as a plantain, or a bamboo, or a reed gives fruit to its own hurt and its own destruction[33], just so to his own hurt (&c., as before). Just as a young she-mule conceives to her own hurt and her own destruction[34], just so, O Bhikkhus, to his own hurt has this gain, &c., come to Devadatta.
'Its fruit destroys the plantain-tree; its fruit the bamboo and the reed.
[238] 'Honour destroys the evil man, just as its foal destroys the young she-mule.'
Here endeth the First Portion for Recitation.
3.
3.1 Now at that time the Blessed One was seated preaching the Dhamma, and surrounded by a great multitude, including the king and his retinue. And Devadatta rose from his seat, and arranging his upper robe over one shoulder, stretched out his joined hands to the Blessed One, and said to the Blessed One:
'The Blessed One, Lord, is now grown aged, he is old and stricken in years, he has accomplished a long journey, and his term of life is nearly run[35]. Let the Blessed One now dwell at ease in the enjoyment of happiness reached even in this world. Let the Blessed One give up the Bhikkhu-samgha to me, I will be its leader.'
'Thou hast said enough, Devadatta. Desire not to be the leader of the Bhikkhu-samgha.'
[And a second time Devadatta made the same request, and received the same reply. And a third time Devadatta made the same request.]
'I would not give over the Bhikkhu-samgha, Devadatta, even to Sāriputta and Moggallāna.
[239] How much less, then, to so vile and evil-living a person as you[36].'
Then Devadatta thought: 'Before the king and his retinue the Blessed One denies me, calling me "evil-living," and exalts Sāriputta and Moggallāna.' And, angry and displeased, he bowed down before the Blessed One, and keeping him on his right hand as he passed him, he departed thence.
This was the first time that Devadatta bore malice against the Blessed One.
3.2 And the Blessed One said to the Bhikkhus, 'Let then the Saṅgha, O Bhikkhus, carry out against Devadatta the Act of Proclamation[37] in Rāgagaha, to the effect that whereas the nature of Devadatta used to be of one kind it is now of an-other kind, and that whatsoever he shall do, either bodily or verbally, in that neither shall the Buddha be recognised, nor the Dhamma, nor the Saṅgha, but only Devadatta.
'And thus, O Bhikkhus, shall the Act be carried out. Some discreet and able Bhikkhu (&c., [240] in the same form as in I, I, 4, down to the end of the Kammavākā).'
And the Blessed One said to the venerable Sāriputta, 'Do you then, Sāriputta, proclaim Devadatta throughout Rāgagaha.'
'In former times, Lord, I have sung the praises of Devadatta in Rāgagaha, saying, "Great is the power (Iddhi) of the son of Godhi! Great is the might of the son of Godhi!" How can I now proclaim him throughout Rāgagaha?'
'Was it not truth that you spoke, Sāriputta, when you [so] sang his praises?'
'Yea, Lord!'
'Even so, Sāriputta, do you now, speaking the truth, proclaim Devadatta throughout Rāgagaha.'
'Even so, Lord,' said Sāriputta, in assent to the Blessed One.
3.3 And the Blessed One said to the Bhikkhus:
Let then the Saṅgha appoint Sāriputta to the office of proclaiming Devadatta throughout Rāgagaha to the effect (&c., as before, § 2). And thus, O Bhikkhus, should he be appointed. First, Sāriputta should be asked, &c. (as usual in official appointments[38], down to the end of the Kammavākā).'
Then Sāriputta, being so appointed, entered Rāgagaha with a number of Bhikkhus, and proclaimed Devadatta accordingly. And thereupon those people who were unbelievers, and without devotion or insight, spake thus: 'They are jealous, these Sakyaputtiya Samanas! They are jealous of the gain and hospitality that fall to Devadatta!' But those who were believers, full of devotion, able, and gifted with in- [241] sight, spake thus: This cannot be any ordinary affair[39], in that the Blessed One has had Devadatta proclaimed throughout Rāgagaha!'
3.4 And Devadatta went to Agātasattu the prince, and said to him: 'In former days, prince, people were long-lived, but now their term of life is short. It is quite possible, therefore, that you may complete your time while you are still a prince. So do you, prince, kill your father, and become the Rāga; and I will kill the Blessed One, and become the Buddha.'
And prince Agātasattu thought, 'This worthy Devadatta has great powers and might; he will know (what is right).' And fastening a dagger[40] against his thigh, he entered with violence and at an unusual hour[41], though fearful, anxious, excited, and alarmed, the royal chamber. And when the ministers who were in attendance in the private chamber saw that, they seized him. And when, on searching him, they found the dagger fastened on his thigh, they asked him:
'What were you going to do, O prince?'
'I wanted to kill my father.'
'Who incited you to this?'
'The worthy Devadatta.'
Then some of the ministers advised 'The prince should be slain, and Devadatta, and all the Bhikkhus.' Others of them advised 'The Bhikkhus ought not to be slain, for they have done no wrong; [242] but only the prince and Devadatta.' Others of them again said, 'Neither should the prince be slain, nor Devadatta, nor the Bhikkhus. But the king should be told of this, and we should do as the king shall command.'
3.5 So these ministers, taking the prince with them, went to the Rāga of Magadha, to Seniya Bimbisāra, and told him what had happened.
'What advice, my friends, did the ministers give?'
[When they had told him all (as before) he said]: 'What, my friends, can the Buddha, or the Saṅgha, or the Dhamma have to do with this? Has not the Blessed One had a proclamation already made throughout Rāgagaha concerning Devadatta, to the effect that whereas his nature used to be of one kind, it is now of another; and that whatsoever he shall do, either bodily or verbally, that shall neither the Buddha, nor the Dhamma, nor the Saṅgha be required, but only Devadatta?'
Then those ministers who had advised that the prince and Devadatta and all the Bhikkhus should be slain, them he made incapable (of ever again holding office) And those ministers who had advised that the prince should be slain, and Devadatta, them he degraded to lower offices. But those ministers who had advised that neither should the prince be slain, nor Devadatta, nor the Bhikkhus, but that the king should be informed of it, and his command be followed, them he advanced to high positions.
And the Rāga of Magadha, Seniya Bimbisāra, said to prince Agātasattu: 'Why did you want to kill me, O prince?'
[243] 'I wanted a kingdom, O king!'
'If you then want a kingdom, O prince, let this kingdom be thine!' And he handed over the kingdom to Agātasattu the prince[42]'.
3.6 Then Devadatta went to prince[43] Agātasattu, and said, 'Give such orders, O king, to your men that I may deprive the Samana Gotama of life.' And Agātasattu the prince gave orders to his men: 'Whatsoever the worthy Devadatta tells you, that do!'
Then to one man Devadatta gave command: 'Go, my friend, the Samara Gotama is staying at such and such a place. Kill him, and come back by this path.' Then on that path he placed other two men, telling them, 'Whatever man you see coming alone along this path, kill him, and return by that path.' Then on that path he placed other four men [and so on up to sixteen men].
3.7 And that man took his sword and shield, and hung his bow and quiver at his back, and went to the place where the Blessed One was, and when at some little distance from the Blessed One, being [244] terrified, anxious, excited, and alarmed, he stood stark still and stiff[44].
On the Blessed One seeing him so, he said to the man: 'Come hither, friend, don't be afraid.'
Then that man laid aside his sword and his shield, took off his bow and his quiver, and went up to the Blessed One; and falling at his feet, he said to the Blessed One: 'Transgression, Lord, has overcome me even according to my folly, my stupidity, and my unrighteousness, in that I have come hither with evil and with murderous intent. May the Blessed One accept the confession I make of my sin in its sinfulness, to the end that in future I may restrain myself therefrom!'
'Verily, my friend, transgression has overcome thee [&c., down to] intent. But since you, my friend, look upon your sin as sin, and duly make amends for it, we do accept (your confession of) it. For this, O friend, is progress in the discipline of the Noble One, that he who has seen his sin to be sin makes amends for it as is meet, and becomes able in future to restrain himself therefrom[45].'
Then the Blessed One discoursed to that man in due order, that is to say (&c., as usual in conversions[46], down to) May the Blessed One accept me as a disciple, as one who, from this day forth as long as life endures, has taken his refuge in him.
And the Blessed One said to the man: 'Do not, my friend, leave me by that path. Go by this path.' and so dismissed him by another way.
[245] 3.8 But the two men thought, 'Where now can that man be who was to come alone? He is delaying long.' And as they were going to meet him, they caught sight of the Blessed One sitting at the foot of a certain tree. On seeing him they went up to the place where he was, and saluted him, and took their seats on one side. To them also the Blessed One discoursed, [and they were converted as the other man had been, and he sent them back by another way. And the same thing occurred as to the four, and the eight, and the sixteen men[47].]
3.9 And the one man returned to Devadatta, and said to him: 'I cannot, Lord, deprive the Blessed One of life. Great is the power (Iddhi[48]) and might of the Blessed One.'
'That will do, friend. You need not do so. I will slay the Blessed One myself.'
Now at that time the Blessed One was walking up and down (meditating) in the shade below[49] the mountain called the Vulture's Peak. And Devadatta climbed up the Vulture's Peak, and hurled down a mighty rock with the intention of depriving the Blessed One of life. But two mountain peaks came together and stopped that rock and only a splinter[50] falling from it made the foot of the Blessed One to bleed[51].
[246] Then the Blessed One, looking upwards, said to Devadatta: 'Great, O foolish one, is the demerit you have brought forth for yourself[52], in that with evil and murderous intent you have caused the blood of the Tathāgata to flow.'
And the Blessed One said to the Bhikkhus: 'This is the first time that Devadatta has heaped up (against himself) a Karma which will work out its effect in the immediate future[53], in that with evil and murderous intent he has caused the blood of the Tathāgata to flow.'
3.10 And the Bhikkhus having heard that Devadatta was compassing the death of the Blessed One, walked round and round the Vihāra, making recitation in high and loud tones, for a protection and guard to the Blessed One. On hearing that noise the Blessed One asked the venerable Ânanda what it was. And when Ânanda [told him], the Blessed One said: 'Then, Ânanda, call the Bhikkhus in my [247] name, saying, "The Teacher sends for the venerable ones."'
And he [did so], and they came, and saluted the Blessed One, and took their seats on one side. And when they were so seated, the Blessed One said to the Bhikkhus: 'This, O Bhikkhus, is an impossible thing, and one that cannot occur, that one should deprive a Tathāgata of life by violence. The Tathāgatas, O Bhikkhus, are extinguished (in death) in due and natural course.
'There are, O Bhikkhus, these five kinds, of teachers now living in the world (&c., as in VII, 2, 3, 4, down to the end). And this, O Bhikkhus, is an impossible thing, and one that cannot occur, that a Tathāgata should be slain by any act set on foot by any one besides himself. The Tathāgatas, O Bhikkhus, are extinguished (in death) in due course (of nature). Go, therefore, O Bhikkhus, each one to his Vihāra, for the Tathāgatas require no protection.'
3.11 Now at that time there was at Rāgagaha an elephant named Nālāgiri, fierce, and a manslayer. And Devadatta went into Rāgagaha, and to the elephant stables, and said to the elephant-keepers[54]: 'I, my friends, am a relative of the raga's, and am able to advance a man occupying a low position to a high position, and to order increase of rations or of pay. Therefore, my friends, when the Samana Gotama shall have arrived at this carriage-road[55], then loose the elephant Nālāgiri, and let him go down the road.'
[248] 'Even so, Sir,' said those elephant-keepers in assent to Devadatta.
And when the Blessed One early in the morning had dressed himself, he entered Rāgagaha duly bowled and robed, and with a number of Bhikkhus, for alms; and he entered upon that road. On seeing him the elephant-keepers loosed Nālāgiri, and let it go down the road. And the elephant saw the Blessed One coming from the distance; and as soon as it saw him, it rushed towards the Blessed One with uplifted trunk, and with its tail and ears erect.
When those Bhikkhus saw the elephant Nālāgiri coming in the distance, they said to the Blessed One: 'This elephant, Lord, Nālāgiri, is fierce, and a manslayer, and it has got into this road. Let the Blessed One, Lord, turn back: let the Happy One turn back.'
'Come on, O Bhikkhus. Be not alarmed. There is, O Bhikkhus, no possibility [&c., as in last section, down to the end].'
[And a second and a third time the Bhikkhus made the same appeal, and received the same reply.]
3.12 Then at that time the people climbed up on to the upper storeys of the houses, and on to the balconies, and on to the roofs. And those of them who were unbelievers and without faith or insight, said, 'Truly the countenance of the great Samana is beautiful; but the elephant will do him a hurt[56].' But those who were believers, full of [249] devotion, able, and gifted with insight, said, '’Twill be long e’er the elephant can fight a fight with the elephant (of men)!'
And the Blessed One caused the sense of his love to pervade the elephant Nālāgiri[57]; and the elephant, touched by the sense of his love, put down his trunk, and went up to the place where the Blessed One was, and stood still before him. And the Blessed One, stroking the elephant's forehead with his right hand, addressed him in these stanzas:
'Touch not, O elephant, the elephant of men; for sad, O elephant, is such attack[58],
'For no bliss is there, O elephant, when he is passed from hence, for him who strikes the elephant of men.
'Be not then mad, and neither be thou careless[59], for the careless enter not into a state of bliss,
'Rather do thou thyself so act, that to a state of bliss thou mayest go.'
And Nālāgiri the elephant took up with his trunk the dust from off the feet of the Blessed One, and sprinkled it over its head, and retired, bowing backwards the while it gazed upon the Blessed One.
And Nālāgiri the elephant returned to the elephant stables, and stood in its appointed place, and [250] became once more the tame Nālāgiri. And at that time the people sung these verses:
'They can be tamed by sticks, and goads, and whips,
'But the great Sage has tamed this elephant without a weapon or a stick.'
3.13 The people were angry, murmured, and became indignant, saying, How wicked is this Devadatta, and how wretched[60], in that he can go about to slay the Samana Gotama, who is so mighty and so powerful.' And the gain and honour of Devadatta fell off, while that of the Blessed One increased.
[61]Now at that time, when the gain and honour of Devadatta had fallen off, he went, surrounded by Bhikkhus, to people's houses, appealing for alms[62].
The people were angry, murmured, and became indignant, saying, 'How can the Sakyaputtiya Samanas live on food that they ask for at people's houses? Who is not fond of well-cooked food? Who does not like sweet things?'
The Bhikkhus heard (&c., down to) the Blessed One said to the Bhikkhus 'Therefore do I lay down this rule, O Bhikkhus, for the Bhikkhus that [251] (not more than) three shall enjoy an alms (together) at people's houses--and this for the sake of three reasons; (to wit) for the restraint of the evil-minded, and for the ease of the good[63], lest those who have evil desires should, in reliance upon a particular party (among the Bhikkhus), break up the Saṅgha[64], and (lastly) out of compassion for the laity[65]. (A Bhikkhu) who shall enjoy an alms in parties of more than three, shall be dealt with according to law[66].'
3.14 [67]. Now Devadatta went to the place where Kokālika, and Katamoraka-tissaka, and the son of Khanda-devî and Samudda-datta were, and said to them, 'Come, Sirs, let us stir up a division in the Samana Gotama 's Saṅgha, and in the body of his adherents[68].'
When he had thus spoken, Kokālika said to Devadatta, 'The Samana Gotama, Sir, is mighty and powerful. How can we [do such a thing]?'
'Come, Sirs, let us go to the Samana Gotama, and make the following five demands, saying, [252] "The Blessed One, Lord, has declared in many a figure the advantages of the man who wishes for little, who is easy to satisfy in the matter of support and nourishment, who has eradicated evil from his mind, has quelled his passions, and is full of faith, of reverence, and of the exercise of zeal[69]. The following five things, Lord, conduce to such a condition[07]. It would be good, Lord, if the Bhikkhus should be, their lives long, dwellers in the woods--if whosoever goes to the neighbourhood of a village should thereby commit an offence. It would be good if they should, their lives long, beg for alms--if whosoever should accept an invitation, should thereby commit an offence. It would be good if they should clothe themselves, their lives long, in cast-off rags--if whosoever should accept a gift of robes from a layman[71], should thereby commit an offence. It would be good if they should dwell, their lives long, under the trees[72]--if whosoever should (sleep) under a roof, should thereby commit an offence. It would be good if they should, their lives long, abstain from fish[73]--if whosoever should [253] eat fish, should thereby commit an offence." The Samana Gotama will not grant these things. Then will we gain over the people by means thereof.'
'Yes; it may be possible so to stir up divisions in the Saṅgha, and in the party of the Samana Gotama. For the people believe in rough measures.'
3.15 And Devadatta went to the Blessed One, surrounded by his friends, and made these demands [in the words just set out].
'No, Devadatta. Whosoever wishes to do so, let him dwell in the woods; whosoever wishes to do so, let him dwell in the neighbourhood of a village. Whosoever wishes to do so, let him beg for alms; whosoever wishes to do so, let him accept invitations from the laity. Whosoever wishes to do so, let him dress in rags; whosoever wishes to do so, let him receive gifts of robes from laymen. Sleeping under trees has been allowed by me, Devadatta, for eight months in the year; and the eating of fish that is pure in the three points--to wit, that the eater has not seen, or heard, or suspected that it has been caught for that purpose.'
And Devadatta, pleased and delighted that the Blessed One had refused the five demands, arose from his seat, and keeping him on his right hand as he passed him, departed thence with his friends. And he entered into Rāgagaha, and urged his view upon the people by means thereof, saying, 'Such and such things did we ask, Sirs, of the Samana Gotama. He would not allow them, but we live in accordance with them.'
3.16 Then those of the people who were unbelievers, and without reverence or insight, said. 'These Sakyaputtiya Samanas have eradicated evil [254] from their minds, and have quelled their passions, while on the other hand the Samana Gotama is luxurious, and his mind dwells on abundance[74].' But those of the people who were believers, and full of reverence and insight, were indignant, became vexed, and murmured, saying, 'How can Devadatta go about to stir up division in the Saṅgha of the Blessed One, and in the party that is subject to him.'
The Bhikkhus, hearing them so murmuring, told the matter to the Blessed One.
'Is it true, O Devadatta, as they say, that thou goest about to stir up division in the Saṅgha, and in the body of my adherents?'
'It is true, Lord.'
'(Thou hast gone far) enough, Devadatta. Let not a division in the Saṅgha seem good to thee[75];--grievous is such division. Whosoever, O Devadatta, breaks up the Saṅgha, when it is at peace, he gives birth to a fault (the effect of) which endures for a kalpa[76], and for a kalpa is he boiled in niraya. But whosoever, O Devadatta, makes peace in the Saṅgha, when it has been divided, he gives birth to the highest merit, and for a kalpa is he happy in heaven[77]. Thou hast gone far enough, [255] Devadatta. Let not a division in the Saṅgha, O Devadatta, seem good to thee. Grievous, O Devadatta, is such division.'
3.17 Now the venerable Ânanda, having dressed himself early in the morning, went duly bowled and robed into Rāgagaha for alms. And Devadatta saw the venerable Ânanda proceeding through Rāgagaha for alms. On seeing that he went up to the venerable Ânanda, and said to him: 'At once, from this day forth, friend Ânanda, I intend to perform Uposatha, and to carry out the formal proceedings of the Order, without either the Blessed One or the Bhikkhu-samgha.'
And when the venerable Ânanda had gone through Rāgagaha for alms, and had returned from his rounds, and had finished his meal, he went to the Blessed One, and bowed down before him, and took his seat on one side. And when he was so seated, he told the Blessed One [what Devadatta had said, and added], 'This very day, Lord, Devadatta will break up the Saṅgha.'
Then the Blessed One, when he heard that, gave utterance at that time to this expression of strong emotion:
'Easy is a good act to the good, a good act is hard to the wicked;
'Easy is evil to the evil, but evil is hard for the Noble Ones to do.'
Here ends the Second Portion for Recitation.
4.
4.1 [256] Now Devadatta on that day, which was Uposatha day, arose from his seat, and gave out voting-tickets[78], saying, 'We went, Sirs, to the Samana Gotama and asked for the Five Points, saying--(&c., as above in VII, 3, 14 and 15). These the Samana Gotama will not allow; but we live in accordance therewith. Whosoever of the venerable ones approves of the Five Things, let him take a ticket.'
Now at that time there were five hundred Bhikkhus, Vesāliyans, and belonging to the Vaggian clan[79], who had but recently joined the Order, and were ignorant of what he had in hand[80]. These took the voting-tickets, believing [the Five Points to be according to] the Dhamma, and the Vinaya, and the teaching of the Master. And Devadatta, having thus created a division in the Saṅgha, went out to the hill Gayā-sîsa, taking those five hundred Bhikkhus with him.
Then Sāriputta and Moggallāna went to the Blessed One, and bowed down before him, and took their seats on one side. And when they were so seated, Sāriputta said to the Blessed One: 'Devadatta, [257] Lord, has gone forth to Gayā-sîsa, taking five hundred Bhikkhus with him.'
'Verily, Sāriputta and Moggallāna, there must be a feeling of kindness towards those young Bhikkhus among you both. Go therefore, both of you, before they have fallen into entire destruction.'
'Even so, Lord,' said Sāriputta and Moggallāna, in assent to the Blessed One. And rising from their seats, they bowed down before him, and keeping him on their right hand as they passed him, they set out for Gayā-sîsa.
Then at that time a certain Bhikkhu, standing not far from the Blessed One, began to weep. And the Blessed One said to him: 'Why, O Bhikkhu, dost thou weep?'
'Those, Lord, who are the Blessed One's chief disciples, Sāriputta and Moggallāna, even they have gone to Devadatta's side, approving the Dhamma of Devadatta.'
That, O Bhikkhu, would be impossible, that Sāriputta and Moggallāna should approve his teaching. They are gone only to gain those Bhikkhus over again[81]:
4.2 Now at that time Devadatta, surrounded by a great number of adherents, was seated, preaching the Dhamma. And when he saw from afar Sāriputta and Moggallāna coming towards him, he said to the Bhikkhus: 'See, O Bhikkhus, how well preached must be my doctrine, in that even the two chief disciples of the Samana Gotama--Sāriputta [258] and Moggallāna--are coming to join me, being pleased with my Dhamma.'
When he had thus spoken Kokālika said to Devadatta: 'O venerable Devadatta, trust not Sāriputta and Moggallāna, for they are inclined towards evil, and under the influence of evil desires.'
'Nay, my friend, let us bid them welcome since they take pleasure in my teaching (Dhamma).'
And Devadatta invited Sāriputta to share his own seat, saying, 'Come, friend Sāriputta. Sit thou here!'
'Nay (there is no need of that),' said Sāriputta; and taking another seat, he sat down on one side. And Devadatta instructed and incited and aroused and gladdened the Bhikkhus far into the night with religious discourse; and then made request to Sāriputta, saying, 'The assembly, friend Sāriputta, is still alert and sleepless. Will you, friend Sāriputta, be so good as to think of some religious discourse to address to the Bhikkhus[82]? My back is tired, and I would stretch myself a little.'
'Even so, friend,' said the venerable Sāriputta, in assent to Devadatta. And Devadatta spread his waist-cloth folded in four on the ground, and lay down on his right side. And in a moment even sleep overcame him who was tired, and had lost his presence of mind and his self-consciousness[83].
4.3 Then the venerable Sāriputta taught and exhorted the Bhikkhus in a religious discourse touching the marvels of preaching, and the venerable [259] Moggallāna taught and exhorted the Bhikkhus in a religious discourse touching the marvels of Iddhi. And whilst they were being so taught and exhorted those Bhikkhus obtained the pure and spotless Eye of the Truth[84]--(that is, the knowledge that) whatsoever has a beginning, in that is inherent also the necessity of dissolution. Then the venerable Sāriputta addressed the Bhikkhus, and said: 'Let us go, my friends, to the Blessed One's side. Whosoever approves of his doctrine (Dhamma), let him come.'
And Sāriputta and Moggallāna went back to the Veluvana, taking those five hundred Bhikkhus with them. But Kokālika awoke Devadatta, and said: 'Arise, friend Devadatta! Your Bhikkhus have been led away by Sāriputta and Moggallāna. Did I not tell you, Devadatta, not to trust Sāriputta and Moggallāna, in that they were inclined towards evil, and were under the influence of evil desires?'
Then hot blood came forth from Devadatta's mouth[85].
4.4 But Sāriputta and Moggallāna went to the place where the Blessed One was, and bowed down before him, and took their seats on one side. And when they were so seated, Sāriputta said to the Blessed One:
'It were well, Lord, that Bhikkhus who have turned aside to schism should be received afresh into the higher grade of the Order.'
'Nay, Sāriputta, let not the reordination of schismatical [260] Bhikkhus seem good to thee. But rather cause such Bhikkhus to confess that they have committed a thullakkaya offence. And how, Sāriputta, did Devadatta treat you?'
'When Devadatta, Lord, had instructed and aroused and incited and gladdened the Bhikkhus far into the night with religious discourse, he then 'made request to me, saying, "The assembly, friend Sāriputta, is still alert and sleepless. Will you, friend Sāriputta, think of some religious discourse to address to the Bhikkhus? My back is tired, and I would stretch myself a little." This, Lord, was the way in which Devadatta behaved to me.'
4.5 Then the Blessed One addressed the Bhikkhus, and said: 'Once upon a time, O Bhikkhus, there was a great pond in a forest region. Some elephants dwelt beside it; and they, plunging into the pond, plucked with their trunks the edible stalks of the lotus plants, washed them till they were quite clean[86], masticated them[87] without any dirt, and so eat them up. And that produced in them both beauty and strength, and by reason thereof they neither went down into death, nor into any sorrow like unto death. Now among those great elephants, O Bhikkhus, there were young elephant calves, who also, in imitation of those others, plunged into that pond, and plucked with their trunks the edible stalks of the lotus plants; but they did not wash them till they were clean, but masticated them, dirt and all, and so eat them up. And that produced in them [261] neither beauty nor strength; and by reason thereof they went down into death, and into sorrows like unto death. Just so, O Bhikkhus, will Devadatta die who, poor creature, is emulating me.
'Like the elephant calf who eateth mud in imitation, of the great beast[88]
That shakes the earth, and eats the lotus plant, and watches through the night among the waters[89]--
So will he, poor creature, die that emulateth me.'
4.6 'A Bhikkhu who is possessed of eight qualifications is worthy, O Bhikkhus, to do the work of an emissary. And what are the eight? The Bhikkhu, O Bhikkhus, must be able to hear and to make others listen, able to learn, able to bear in mind, able to discern and to make others discern, skilful to deal with friends and foes, and no maker of quarrels. These are the eight qualifications of which when a Bhikkhu is possessed, he is worthy, O Bhikkhus, to do the work of an emissary.
'Sāriputta, O Bhikkhus, being possessed of eight qualifications, is worthy to do the work of an emissary. What are the eight (&c., as in last paragraph)?
'He who on entering a company that is violent of speech,
[262] Fears not, forgoes no word, disguises not his message,
Is unambiguous in what he says, and being questioned angers not,
Of such is surely the Bhikkhu worthy to go on a mission[90].'
4.7 'Devadatta, O Bhikkhus, being overcome, his mind being taken up by eight evil conditions[91], is irretrievably (doomed to) remain for a Kalpa in states of suffering and woe[92]. And what are the eight? He is overcome, his mind is taken up by gain, by want of gain, by fame, by want of fame, by honour, by want of honour, by his having wicked desires, and by his having wicked friends. These, O Bhikkhus, are the eight evil conditions by which Devadatta being overcome, and his mind being taken up, he is irretrievably(doomed to) remain for a Kalpa in states of suffering and woe.
'It would be well, O Bhikkhus, that Bhikkhus should continue in complete ascendancy over any gain or loss, any fame or the reverse, any honour or [263] dishonour, any evil longing or evil friendship, that may accrue to them. And for what reason[93]? For as much, O Bhikkhus, that bad influences (āsavas) arise, full of vexation and distress[94], to one who is not continuing in complete ascendancy over each of these eight things, but to one, who is so continuing, such influences arise not. This is the reason, O Bhikkhus, why it would be well (&c., as before). Let us then, O Bhikkhus, continue in complete ascendancy over any gain or loss, any fame or the reverse, any honour or dishonour, any evil longing or evil friendship, that may accrue to us. And thus, O Bhikkhus, should you train yourselves.
There are three evil conditions, O Bhikkhus, by which Devadatta being overcome, and his mind being taken up, he is irretrievably doomed to remain for a Kalpa in states of suffering and woe. And what are the three? His having wicked desires, and his having wicked friends, and his having come to a stop on his way (to Nirvāna or Arahatship) because he had already attained to some lesser thing[95]. These are the three (&c., as before).'
[264] "Verily! let no wicked desire whatever arise within you!
Know rather from this what is the outcome thereof.
Known was he as wise, reputed to be trained;
Aglow with glory did Devadatta stand' (thus have I heard).
He gave himself to vanity, to attacking[96] the Tathāgata:
He fell into the Avîki hell, guarded fourfold and terrible[97].
The injurer of the good, of the man who does no wrong,
Him sin pervades, the man of cruel heart, and void of love.
Though one should think the ocean to befoul with but one poison pot,
Yet could he not befoul it, for awful[98] is the sea, and great;
Just so though one should injure the Tathāgata by words,--
[265] That perfect one, that peaceful heart,--against him the words would not avail.
Let the wise Bhikkhu make a friend of, and resort to him
By following whose way he will come to the end of griefs!"
5.
5.1 Now the venerable Upāli went up to the Blessed One, and bowed down before him, and took his seat on one side. And when he was so seated, the venerable Upāli said to the Blessed One: 'The expressions, Lord, "disunion in the Saṅgha," and "schism in the Saṅgha," are used[99]. How much, Lord, goes to make disunion and not schism in the Saṅgha, and how much goes to make both disunion and schism in the Saṅgha?'
'If one is on one side, Upāli, and two on the other side, and a fourth makes a formal proposition, and gives them voting-tickets, saying, "This is according to the Dhamma, and according to the Vinaya, and according to the teaching of the Master. Take this (ticket) and give your sanction to this (opinion)"--then this, Upāli, is disunion in the Saṅgha, and not schism.
If, Upāli, two are on one side, and other two are on the other side, and a fifth . . . . (and so on up to) and an eighth tell them something (&c., as before)--then this, Upāli, is disunion in the Saṅgha, and not schism.
'If, Upāli, four are on one side, and other four [266] are on the other side, and a ninth tell them (&c., as before)--then this, Upāli, is both disunion in the Saṅgha, and it is schism[100].
(A separation) of nine, Upāli, or of more than nine, is both disunion in the Saṅgha, and it is schism.
'A Bhikkhunî, Upāli, cannot make (one of the requisite number to cause) a schism, though she may help to produce a schism--nor a woman novice, nor a Sāmanera, male or female, nor a layman, nor a laywoman. It is only a Bhikkhu who is in full possession of all his privileges, and belongs to the same communion, and is domiciled in the same district[101] who can make (one of the number requisite to form) a schism.'
5.2 'There is the expression, Lord, "schism in the Saṅgha." How much, Lord, does it require to constitute a schism in the Saṅgha?'
'They put forth[102], Upāli, what is not Dhamma as Dhamma (1), or what is Dhamma as not Dhamma (2), or what is not Vinaya as Vinaya (3), or what is Vinaya as not Vinaya (4), or what has not been taught and spoken by the Tathāgata as taught and spoken by him (5), or what has been taught and spoken by the Tathāgata as not taught [267] and spoken by him (6), or what has not been practised by the Tathāgata as practised by him (7), or what has been practised by the Tathāgata as not practised by him (8), or what has not been ordained by the Tathāgata as ordained by him (9), or what has been ordained by the Tathāgata as not ordained by him (10), or what is no offence as an offence (11), or what is an offence as no offence (12), or what is a slight offence to be a grievous offence (13), or what is a grievous offence to be a slight offence (14), or what is (a rule regarding) an offence to which there is an atonement as without atonement (15), or what is (a rule regarding) an offence to which there is no atonement as admitting of atonement (16), or what is a grave offence as not .a grave offence (17), or what is not a grave offence as a grave offence (18). In these Eighteen Points they hinder and mislead (their followers)[103], and perform independently Uposatha, and Pavāranā, and (official) acts of the Saṅgha. So much, Upāli, does it require to constitute a schism in the Saṅgha.'
5.3 'There is the expression, Lord, "concord in the Saṅgha." What, Lord, does it require to constitute concord in the Saṅgha?'
'They put forth, Upāli, what is not Dhamma as not Dhamma (and so on through the Eighteen Points down to the end).
[104]5.4 'To what (result of Karma), Lord, does that [268] man give rise who brings about a schism in the Saṅgha when it is in concord?'
'He gives rise, Upāli, to a fault (the result of which) endures for a Kalpa, and for a Kalpa is he boiled in Niraya.'
"He who breaks up the Saṅgha is (doomed) to remain for a Kalpa in states of suffering and woe[105].
He who delights in party (strife), and adheres not to the Dhamma, is cut off from Arahatship:
Having broken up the Saṅgha when it was at peace he is boiled for a Kalpa in Niraya."
'To what (result of Karma), Lord, does that man give rise who brings about reconciliation in the Saṅgha when it has been split up?'
'He gives rise, Upāli, to the highest merit, and for a Kalpa is he happy in heaven.
"Blessed is concord in the Saṅgha, and the support of those who are at peace!
He who delights in peace, adhering to the Dhamma, is not cut off from Arahatship:
On reconciling the Saṅgha, when it was at strife, he is happy for a Kalpa in heaven."'
5.5 'Can it be, Lord, that one who breaks up the Saṅgha is irretrievably (doomed) to remain for a Kalpa in states of suffering and woe?'
'Yes, Upāli, that can be.'
'Can it be, Lord, that one who breaks up the Saṅgha is not doomed to be reborn in states either of suffering or of woe; that he is not doomed to remain so in such states for a Kalpa; and that he (his position) is not irretrievable?'
'Yes, Upāli, that can be.'
[269] 'Who then, Lord, [comes under the first head?]'
'In case, Upāli, a Bhikkhu gives out what is not Dhamma as Dhamma, directing his opinion and his approval and his pleasure and his intention[106] (to what he says and does); and in belief that the doctrine (he propounds) is against the Dhamma, and that the schism resulting therefrom would be against the Dhamma[107]; and makes publication thereof[108], giving out tickets, and saying, "Take this (voting-ticket): approve this (opinion)[109]. This is Dhamma; this is Vinaya; this is the teaching of the Master,"--a man, Upāli, who thus divides the Saṅgha, is irretrievably doomed to remain for a Kalpa in states of suffering and woe.'
[The above paragraph is then repeated in full, reading successively for 'in belief that the doctrine (he propounds) is against the Dhamma, and the schism resulting therefrom would be against the Dhamma,' each of the following clauses:--
(b) . . . in belief that the doctrine is against the Dhamma, but that the schism resulting therefrom would be in accordance with the Dhamma . . .
[270] . . . in belief that the doctrine is against the Dhamma, but in uncertainty whether the schism resulting therefrom would be against the Dhamma or not . . .
(d) . . . in belief that the doctrine is in accordance with the Dhamma, but that the schism resulting therefrom would be against the Dhamma . . .
(e) . . . in belief that the doctrine is in accordance with the Dhamma, but in uncertainty whether the schism resulting therefrom would be against the Dhamma or not . . .
(f) . . . in uncertainty whether the doctrine is against the Dhamma or not, but in the belief that the schism resulting therefrom would be against the Dhamma . . .
(g) . . . in uncertainty whether the doctrine is against the Dhamma or not, and in the belief that the schism resulting therefrom would be against the Dhamma . . .
(h) . . . in uncertainty whether the doctrine would be against the Dhamma, and in uncertainty whether the schism resulting therefrom would be against the Dhamma or not . . .]
[The whole paragraph is then again repeated, reading successively for 'gives out that which is not Dhamma as Dhamma' each of the Eighteen Points given in full in VII, 5, 2.]
5.6 'Who then, Lord, is one who breaks up the Saṅgha, and yet is not doomed to be reborn in states either of suffering or of woe; is not doomed to remain in such states for a Kalpa; and is not so doomed that his position is irretrievable?'
'In case, Upāli, a Bhikkhu gives out what is not Dhamma as Dhamma [and so on successively [271] through the whole Eighteen Points] without directing his opinion and his approval and his pleasure and his intention thereto, and in the belief that the doctrine he propounds is in accordance with the Dhamma, and that the schism resulting therefrom would be so too[110].'
Here ends the Third Portion for Recitation.
Here ends the Seventh Khandhaka, on Divisions in the Saṅgha.
[1] With the whole of the following story compare the, in many respects, fuller account given by the commentator on the Dhammapada (Fausböll, pp. 139 and following).
[2] This was the spot where Gotama spent the first week after his renunciation of the world, before he went on to Rāgagaha (Rh. D.'s 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' I, 87). Professor Fausböll there (Gātaka I, 65) reads Anûpiyam, but all his MSS. have the ŭ short. It is noteworthy that in our text the locative is formed as if the word were feminine, though the neuter form is used for the nominative.
[3] The more usual mode of adding this description in similar passages at the commencement of all the Suttas would lead us to expect here Mallānam nigame.
[4] Compare Mahāvagga I, 7, I, where the same thing is said of Yasa.
[5] Nippurisehi turiyehi. That Childers's rendering, 'without men, without people,' is inadequate is clear from the context at the passage which he quotes from Gātaka I, 53.
[6] Niddāpeti. Buddhaghosa says, 'Pull up the weeds' (tināni). The word occurs also at Gātaka I, 215, where there is a similar list of farming operations, which, though smaller, contains one or two items not given here.
[7] Maddāpeti. There is mention of threshing (prati-han) already in the Vedas. See the passages collected by Zimmer, 'Altindisches Leben,' p. 238. But treading out is even still a very common, if not the more usual, process throughout India and Ceylon.
[8] Atiharāpeti. See Milinda Pañha, p. 66. The simple verb occurs also in a similar connection in the Bhikkhunî-vibhaṅga in the introductory story to Pākittiya VII.
[9] That is, had died.
[10] Aham tayā. Buddhaghosa explains that the Rāga is beginning to say that he will go with his friend. But a desire for the glory of sovereignty comes over his heart, and he leaves the sentence unfinished. (The Pāli is given in the notes on the text, p. 323.)
[11] Tyāham. See Dr. Morris's remarks on this elision in his introduction to the Kariyā Pitaka (Pāli Text Society, 1882), where he makes it equal to tad aham. This seems to us open to question, at least in this passage, where it may possibly stand for te aham.
[12] This reputation of the Sākya family for pride is referred to in Gātaka I, 88, 89.
[13] Tisso viggā, see Rh. D.'s remarks at pp. 161, 162 of 'Buddhist Suttas from the Pāli' (S.B.E., vol. xi). They are probably here the three viggas referred to in the Sutta-vibhaṅga, Pārāgika I, 1, 6-8, as the second of those is the Heavenly Vision, here mentioned in the next clause.
[14] Dibbakakkhu, a full description of the details of which will be found in the stock paragraph translated by Rh. D. in 'Buddhist Suttas from the Pāli' (S.B.E., vol. xi, pp. 216-218).
[15] Sotāpattiphala; that is, he became free from the delusion of self (sakkāyaditthi), from doubt (vikikikkhā), and from dependence upon ceremonies or works (sîlabbata-pārāmāsa). See Rh. D.'s manual, 'Buddhism,' pp. 108-110.
[16] Pothugganikā iddhi. What this may be is unknown to us. A fourfold Iddhi is described in detail in the stock passage translated by Rh. D. in 'Buddhist Suttas from the Pāli,' S.B.E., vol. xi, p. 214, and the fourfold Iddhi of the ideal king in the similar passage, loc. cit., pp. 259-261. The Iddhi here referred to may be the former of these two, though that list does not include the power ascribed to Devadatta in the next chapter. At Gātaka I, 140, the expression of our text here is replaced by ghāna, though the account there is otherwise the same.
It is worthy of notice that Devadatta, though a Bhikkhu, is not honoured with the standing epithet, 'venerable,' always used of the other members of the Order, even when they are represented to have been of bad character.
[17] The following incident, with a summary of the preceding sections, forms the introductory story to the 10th Gātaka (Rh. D.'s 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' i. pp. 190-193). The legend may have first arisen as an explanation of the name Bhaddiya, which means 'the fortunate one.'
[18] Pannalomo. See our note 2 on Kullavagga I, 6, 1 (above, vol. ii, p. 339).
[19] Paradavutto. This is the reading of the Sinhalese MS., and is the correct one. See Oldenberg's note at p. 363 of the edition of the text. Our translation is conjectural.
[20] Migabhûtena ketasā. The meaning of miga in this phrase is not certain; and the figure may be drawn from the careless mind of any animal in its natural state. We have not noticed the idiom elsewhere; but compare the converse figure, bhantamiga-sappatibhāgo sāsane anabhirato, at Gātaka I, 303, 6.
[21] In the text, for kin nu read kam nu.
[22] This taking upon oneself another shape is not one of the powers of Iddhi included in the first list referred to at note 5, p. 230.
[23] Compare Mahāvagga V, 1, 22, on this expression. Also below, § 5.
[24] Aññataram manomayam kāyam upapanno. Perhaps 'in a mode of existence in which his body was changeable at will.' (See Childers, sub voce manomayo.)
[25] Attabhāvo. See IX, 1, 3.
[26] Vyābādheti. He could occupy the same space as other beings without incommoding them. The word occurs in the same sense in the passage quoted from Buddhaghosa in Rh. D.'s note 1 on the Mahā-parinibbāna Sutta V, 10, but originally occurring in the Aṅguttara Nikāya.
[27] The last paragraph is here repeated in the text.
[28] On the use here of ketasā keto parikka, compare Mahā-parinibbāna Sutta I, 16, 17.
[29] The following two sections are repeated below, VII, 3, 10, to all the Bhikkhus.
[30] Pakkāsimsati. Perhaps this word here means 'he requires, needs.'
[31] This phrase runs in the same mould as the one so constantly repeated at the commencement of the Mahā-parinibbāna Sutta (I, §§ 4-11).
[32] Pittam bhindeyyum. Literally, 'should break a gall.'
[33] These three plants die after producing fruit.
[34] Because she would die if she did. On assatarî, compare above, VI, 4, 3, and our note there.
[35] This string of epithets recurs in Pārāgika I, 1, 2, of old and venerable Brāhmans.
[36] In the text read khavassa khelāpakassa. On the first word, compare V, 2, 8. For the second the Dhammapada commentator (Fausböll, p. 143) reads, as does the Sinhalese MS. in our passage, khelāsika. Buddhaghosa, explaining it, says, 'In this passage (we should recollect) that those who obtain the requisites (of a Bhikkhu) by an evil mode of life are said by the Noble Ones to be like unto spittle. The Blessed One calls him khelāpaka (to ex-press that) he eats, (that is, 'gains a living) in sin like that.' (For the Pāli, see the edition of the text, p. 323, where the comma after khelasadisā should be before it.)
[37] Pakāsaniya-kammam. This is not one of the regular official acts of the Saṅgha, as described in Kullavagga I, and is only mentioned in this passage. It is not referred to by the Dhammapada commentator.
[38] See, for instance, I, 22, 2.
[39] Na orakam bhavissati. See Mahāvagga I, 9, 1, and Kullavagga VI, 4, 10, and our note on the latter passage.
[40] Potthanikam. This word has already occurred at Mahāvagga VI, 23, 3.
[41] Divādivassa. See the use of this word at Gātaka II, 1.
[42] The early literature already mentions that Agātasattu eventually killed his father. (See, for instance, Sāmañña-phala Sutta, p. 154.) Bigandet I, 261 (3rd edition) adds that the mode adopted was by starving him to death in prison.
[43] The Buddhist writers being so especially careful in their ac-curate use of titles, it is particularly noteworthy that Agātasattu is here called prince (kumāra) and not king (rāga). It is almost impossible to avoid the conclusion that this paragraph stood originally in some other connection; and that the events it describes must then have been supposed to have taken place before Agātasattu actually became king. That the Dhammapada commentator says here (Fausböll, p. 143) tasmim (that is. Agātasattu) ragge patitthite, is no evidence the other way; for that account is either taken from this, or depends ultimately upon it.
[44] Patthaddha; that is, prastabdha. See Sutta-vibhaṅga, Pārāgika I, 10, 17, 21.
[45] This confession and acceptance are in a standing form, which occurs, for instance, at Mahāvagga IX, 1, g; Kullavagga V, 20, 5.
[46] See, for instance, Kullavagga VI, 4, 5.
[47] The last two paragraphs of § 7 are repeated in full in the text in each case.
[48] The Iddhi here must be the power of religious persuasion.
[49] Pakkhāyāyam. See Mahāvagga V, 1, 5, and Mahā-parinibbāna Sutta II, 31 (p. 22 of the text).
[50] Papatikā. In the text, by a misprint, this and the preceding word have been joined together.
[51] Pāde ruhiram uppādesi, where ruhira is equal to lohita. [246] It is so used at Gātaka II, 275, in the Milinda Pañha in the account of the present incident in the Dhammapada commentary (p. 144). In Mahāvagga I, 67, where it is said that one who has shed (a Buddha's) blood cannot be received into the Order, the expression is lohitam uppādeti: and in numerous passages elsewhere it is added that such a lohituppādako becomes ipso facto discharged from one or other of the duties and privileges of a member of the Order, just as if he had thrown off the robes.
[52] Pasûtam. By a misprint the text has pasutam. Compare the end of § 16 below.
[53] Ânantarika-kammam. That is, that will work out its effect, (not in the next birth, as is the case of all other Karma,) but immediately, in the present life. There are five such deeds (see Childers, sub voce pañk°, and Milinda Pañha, p. 25). The Bodisats, according to Gātaka I, 45 (verse 256), are free from such sins.
[54] Hatthi-bhande. See the note on Mahāvagga VI, 37, 2.
[55] Rakkham; that is, rathyām. Compare Gātaka I, 346, and the Old Commentary on the Bhikkhunî-vibhaṅga, Pākittiya VII.
[56] The setting of this paragraph is parallel to § 3 above in this chapter; the speech of the unbelievers is the same as that of the Gatilas at Mahāvagga I, 15, 4.
[57] Mettena kittena phari; literally, 'he suffused him with loving heart.' Compare Rh. D.'s 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' i. p.112.
[58] In nāgamāsado the m is inserted for euphony. See the instances given by Kuhn, 'Beiträge zur Pāli-grammatik,' p. 63. Many others might be added; siva-m-añgase, Gātaka. vol. i, verse 27; samana-m-akala, Childers sub voce, &c. Compare the curious use of āsādeti at Kullavagga I, 27.
[59] A play on the words is here lost in English (mā mado mā ka pamādo).
[60] Alakkhiko ti ettha na lakkhetîti alakkhiko na gānātîti attho. Apākata-kammam karomîti na gānātîti na lakkhitabbo ti alakkhano passitabbo ti attho (B.). We venture to differ from both of these explanations, and to follow rather the derivation of the word, and the meaning of the corresponding Sanskrit term alakshmîka.
[61] From here down to the 'decision' is identical with the introductory story in the Sutta-vibhaṅga to the 32nd Pākittiya,--a rule the previous existence of which is implied in the decision given here.
[62] Viññāpeti is continually used in the Sutta-vibhaṅga in this sense, and even occurs already in the Pātimokkha, Pākittiya 39.
[63] This whole phrase recurs in Sutta-vibhaṅga, Pārāgika I, 5, 11, and in the Aṅguttara Nikāya II, 17, 2. In the latter passage Dr. Morris reads dummaññûnam; see his note at pp. 127, 128. But the Sanskrit Buddhist vocabulary Vyutpatti (teste Böhtlingk-Roth, s.v. maṅku) authorises the use of dummaṅku.
[64] So the Aṅguttara, loc. cit., has, in the same connection, gihînam anukampāya pāpikkhānam pakkhupakkhedāya.
[65] See last note. The idea is here, of course, lest any particular layman should be burdened by providing for many Bhikkhus.
[66] That is, under the 32nd Pākittiya, on which rule the Sutta-vibhaṅga explains the phrase gana-bhogana.
[67] Sections 14, 15, and the greater part of 16 recur, word for word, as the introductory story to the 10th Samghādisesa.
[68] In kakka-bhedam the first word no doubt connotes 'kingdom, lordship,' as in dhamma-kakka, kakkavatti, &c.
[69] This is part of the standing 'religious discourse' so often ascribed to the Buddha in the Vinaya texts, and given at full in the Kullavagga I, 1-3.
[70] It was on precisely the same reasoning that a certain Bhikkhu in Mahāvagga VIII, 28, 1, endeavoured to get the Buddha to convert to the rejection of all clothing.
[71] It At Mahāvagga VIII, 1, 35, it is laid down that a Bhikkhu may either dress in cast-off rags, or accept robes from a layman, according as he likes.
[72] It This dwelling under trees is expressly forbidden, as regards the season of the rains, in Mahāvagga III, 12, 5.
[73] It The rule of the Order is merely that no one may knowingly eat fish which he has seen or heard or suspected to have been caught for that purpose. See Mahāvagga VI, 31, 14.
[74] It Bāhulliko bāhullāya keteti. Both these expressions occur above in Mahāvagga VI, 15, 9, 10, and elsewhere (see, for instance, the introductory stories to Gātaka, Nos. 6 and 32) as the standing expression for the opposite of the state of mind in which a good Bhikkhu ought to live.
[75] It Mā te rukki samghabhedo. For the connotation of this phrase, compare below, VII, 4, 4.
[76] It Kappatthikam kibbisam. At Gātaka I, 172, 213, 215, Prof. Fausböll reads kappa kappatthiya. In saying that the fault itself (kibbisam) is to endure for a kalpa, the meaning of course is that its effects on the Karma will endure so long.
[77] It Either the text has here preserved (as in other cases elsewhere) [255] the fragments of earlier verses, or the poetical forms of the verses below at VII, 5, 4, have crept into the prose here, where we should otherwise expect sagge and niraye.
[78] It may be noticed that Devadatta here takes upon himself the office of a salāka-gāhāpako without having been appointed to it in the manner required by the rule laid down in Kullavagga IV, 9 and 10. On the process to be followed when voting with tickets, see IV, 4, 26.
[79] It So it is the Vaggians from Vesālî who are represented, below XII, 1, 1, to have put forward those Ten Points which gave rise to the Council and the schism at Vesālî a hundred years after the Buddha's death.
[80] It Apakataññuno.
[81] Bhikkhu-saññattiyā. The phrase occurs above at IV, 14, 26, and below XII, 2, 8, and corresponds to the expression ganam saññāpeti (above, VII, 3, 14), used of Devadatta's trying to gain the people over to his views.
[82] Patibhātu tam bhikkhûnam dhammî kathā. See our note above on Mahāvagga V, 13, 9.
[83] Compare Mahāvagga VIII, 16 = Sutta-vibhaṅga, Samghādisesa I, 2, 1.
[84] This expression is the standing one in conversions; see, for instance, Mahāvagga I, 7, 6; Kullavagga VI, 4, 5, VII, 3, 6.
[85] The later legends preserved in Spence Hardy and Bigandet say that Devadatta died on the spot.
[86] The last three lines have occurred word for word in Mahāvagga VI, 20, 2.
[87] Samkhāditvā. Compare the use of this word at Gātaka I, 507.
[88] Mahā-varāha. At Abhidhāna-ppadîpikā, verse 1115, varāha is said to mean 'elephant' as well as 'boar;' and so here Buddhaghosa says Mahā-varāhassa mahā-nāgassa. As this explanation possibly rests only on such passages as the present, we have chosen an ambiguous rendering.
[89] Nadîsu gaggato ti. Ettha so kira hatthi-nāgo sāyanhasamayam tam nadî-nāmakam pokkharanim ogāhetvā kilanto sabbarattim vîtināmesi gālikam karoti. Tena vuttam nadisu gaggato ti (B.).
[90] On these lines compare some similar expressions at Mahāvagga X, 6, 3.
[91] Asaddhamma. It is very difficult to find a proper rendering for this expression. Dhamma here means, no doubt, 'quality,' 'condition' (as it does in the title of the Sanskrit work Saddharma-pundarîka, unhappily rendered by Burnouf, 'Lotus de la bonne loi'). But the details of the various particulars suggest rather the rendering 'surrounding occurrences' or 'matters,' for they are objective, external, and not (or only incidentally and secondarily) subjective, internal.
[92] Âpāyiko nerayiko. 'Liable to re-birth in apāya and in niraya: Of these the former includes the latter, and also the states of being an animal, a disembodied ghost (peta), or an asura. Hell, though a convenient, is a misleading translation of the latter of the two words, for the reasons given by Rh. D. on Mahā-parinibbāna Sutta I, 23. All the expressions used here recur below at VII, 5, 4.
[93] Kim (read kam) atthavasam patikka. So also above, Mahāvagga VIII, 15, 7; Kullavagga VII, 1, 6, and in the Mahā-parinibbāna Sutta V, 28, and Dhammapada, verse 289. The whole of the previous sentence is here repeated in the text.
[94] Vighāta-parilāhā. This is a standing epithet of the Âsavas, recurring, for instance, many times in the Sabbāsava Sutta, §§ 18-37 (Rh. D.'s 'Buddhist Suttas,' pp. 302 and following). The word 'influence,' here chosen as a rendering for āsava, is suggested by Dr. Morris as being similar, both in its derivation and in the history of its meaning, to the Pāli one. The principal objection against it is that it has never acquired the bad connotation of āsava, and requires, therefore, to be supplemented by some epithet.
[95] Oramattakena visesādhigamena antarā vosānam āpādi. On this phrase, which recurs in full in the Mahā-parinibbāna [264] Sutta, I, 7, see Buddhaghosa's note there, quoted by Rh. D., 'Buddhist Suttas,' p. 7. The 'lesser thing' here referred to is doubtless the pothugganikā iddhi mentioned above in § 4:
[96] Anukinno āsagganam. On the former of these two words the passages at Dîpavamsa I, 18, and Gātaka I, 20 (verse 126), and below, VII, 5, 2 = Mahāvagga X, 5, 4, may be referred to. The latter seems to bear the same relation to āsādana, 'attack,' as vikubbana does to vikarana. Buddhaghosa's notes (text. p. 325) presuppose different. readings of both words.
[97] 'Guarded fourfold' is katudvāram, that is, 'having gates and the ramparts (through which they pass) on all four sides.' On the general sentiment of these stanzas, and especially of this line, compare the Kokāliya Sutta in the Sutta Nipāta (III, 10).
[98] Bhasmā is explained by Buddhaghosa as equal to bhayānako.
[99] Saṅgha-rāgi and samgha-bhedo. See Mahāvagga X. 1, 6, where other expressions, not here referred to, are also used.
[100] That is, stated shortly, it requires the breaking up of a body of at the least nine Bhikkhus to make a schism.
[101] Pakatatto samāna-samvāsako samāna-sîmāya thito. On the two last of these expressions, see our notes on Mahāvagga IX, 4, 8. The first is there wrongly rendered, and should be translated as it is here; see the frequent passages in which the word occurs (eg. Kullavagga I, 5, 1; I, 6, 1; I, 27, 1; II, 1, &c., where we have rendered it shortly 'a regular Bhikkhu').
[102] The first ten of the following list recur word for word in the Aṅguttara Nikāya I, 11, 1-20 (Adhammādi-vagga), and the whole eighteen above in the Mahāvagga X, 5, 4, 5.
[103] Both the exact Pāli form and the interpretation of these terms are uncertain. Buddhaghosa's notes will be found at p. 325 of H.O.'s edition of the text, and most probably we should there read parisam in both cases.
[104] On the whole of the following section, compare above, VII, 3, 16, where much of the phraseology recurs.
[105] On this line see our note above on VII; 4, 7.
[106] Vinidhāya ditthim, vinidhāya khantim, vinidhāya rukim, vinidhāya bhāvam. These expressions all recur in the Sutta-vibhaṅga, Pākittiya I, 2, 2 and following sections, where the question at issue is whether an erroneous statement is, or is not, a conscious lie. The meaning of the whole is clear, though each of the words is used in a rather uncommon sense. On khanti, compare ditthe sute khantim akubbamāno (of the Arahat) at Sutta Nipāta IV, 13, 3, and the standing use of the verb khamati, at the end of the Kammavākās.
[107] Bhede adhamma-ditthi; literally, 'in the schism (there will be) doctrine that is against the Dhamma.'
[108] Anussāveti, which is here equivalent to the technical 'publication' required in the English law of libel and slander.
[109] See the note above on VII, 4, 1.
[110] The sum of the last two sections seems to come to this, that practically such a schism as would have the awful effects set out above in § 4 would be impossible in Buddhism. For not only is a formal putting forward and voting on the false doctrine essential to schism as distinct from mere disagreement, but the offending Bhikkhu must also be quite aware that the doctrine so put forth is wrong, or at least doubtful, and also that the schism resulting from his action will be, or will probably be, disastrous to the Dhamma. In other words, the schism must be brought about by deliberately putting forward a doctrine known to be false, or at least doubtful, or with the express intention or hope of thereby injuring the cause of the Dhamma (that is, of the Truth).
