Theravāda Vinayapiṭaka
Parivāra
10. Collection Of Stanzas
“Arranging the robe over one shoulder,
stretching forth the joined palms in salutation,
Hoping for what, for what purpose are you come here?”“The ‘layings-down’ in the two Disciplines
that come up for recitation on Observance days,
How many are these rules of training?
In how many towns laid down?”“Fortunate for you is the emergence, judiciously do you inquire,
I will tell you truly (so that you may be) skilled herein.The ‘layings-down’ in the two Disciplines
that come up for recitation on Observance days—
They are three hundred and fifty laid down in seven towns.”“In which seven towns were they laid down?
Please (give) me the answer to that.
Listening to what is said, I will follow it
so that it may be for our welfare.”“The layings down were only in
Vesālī, Rājagaha and Sāvatthī, at Āḷavī
And Kosambī, and among the Sakyans
and among the Bhaggas.”“How many were laid down in Vesālī?
How many made in Rājagaha?
At Sāvatthī how many were there?
How many likewise at Āḷavī?How many were laid down at Kosambī?
How many spoken among the Sakyans?
How many laid down among the Bhaggas?
Tell that to me who have asked.”“Ten were laid down in Vesālī,
twenty-one made in Rājagaha,
Two hundred and ninety-four
were all made in Sāvatthī,Six were laid down in Āḷavī,
eight made in Kosambī,
Eight spoken among the Sakyans,
three laid down among the Bhaggas.Listen to those laid down in Vesālī as they really are:
Intercourse, (human) being, further, extra, and black,Fact, out-of-turn meal, cleansing the teeth, naked ascetic,
And reviling among the nuns: these ten were made in Vesālī.Listen to those laid down in Rājagaha as they really are:
Taking what has not been given,
and two in Rājagaha on an unfounded charge,And two on schisms also, inner robe, silver, yarn,
and on making look down,
Almsfood procured, group-meal, at a wrong time,
and calling on,bathing, under twenty.Having given away a robe, giving directions:
these were made in Rājagaha.
Mountain-top, walking,
likewise by showing favouritism—twenty-one.Listen to those laid down in Sāvatthī as they really are:
Four Defeats, Formal Meetings of the Order come to sixteen.And there are the two Undetermined, twenty-four Forfeitures,
And a hundred and fifty-six minor matters were pronounced,Ten blameworthys, seventy-two Trainings:
Two hundred and ninety-four were all made in Sāvatthī.Listen to those laid down in Āḷavī as they really are:
Hut, silk, sleeping-place, and on digging, “You go devatā”
And they sprinkled water that contained life:
these six were made in Āḷavī.Listen to those laid down in Kosambī as they really are:
Large vihāra, difficult to speak to, evasion, door, and spirits,
Disrespect, regarding a rule, and the eighth is on a milk drink. /
Listen to those laid down among the Sakyans as they really are:
Sheep’s wool, bowl, and exhortation, and medicine also,Needle, forest-gone—these six at Kapilavatthu.
In water for cleansing, exhortation
were pronounced among the nuns.Listen to those laid down among the Bhaggas as they really are:
Kindling a fire to warm themselves,
(soiled) with food, with lumps of boiled rice.Four Defeats, Formal Meetings of the Order come to seven,
Eight Forfeitures, thirty-two minor matters,Two blameworthys, three Trainings—fifty-six—
Were laid down in six towns
by the Buddha, the Kinsman of the Sun.Two hundred and ninety-four were all made
in Sāvatthī by the glorious Gotama.”
“What we asked you has been explained to us,
each (question) answered (as asked and) not otherwise.
I ask you another question.
Please do you tell me: serious and slight too,
With a remainder, without a remainder,
very bad and not very bad,
and those up to the third time,Shared, not shared, and by which decidings are fallings away stopped?
Explain all these too, indeed we listen to your speech.”“Those serious ones are thirty-one, eight here without remainder,
Those that are serious are very bad,
(among) those that are very bad is falling away from moral habit.Defeat, Formal Meeting of the Order
is called falling away from moral habit.Grave, Expiation, to be Confessed, wrong-doing,
Wrong speech, and whoever reviles another desiring laughter:
stopped is this that is falling away from right behaviour.Preferring false view, they choose by means of wrong rules,
Weak in wisdom, wrapped in confusion,
they misrepresent the Supreme Buddha:
stopped is this that is falling away from right view.”
If for the sake of livelihood, for the reason of livelihood one of evil wishes, overcome by desire, claims a non-existent state of further-men which is not fact, there is an offence involving Defeat. If for the sake of livelihood, for the reason of livelihood one speaks saying, “Whatever monk lives in your vihāra is an arahant”; if for the sake of livelihood, for the reason of livelihood a monk, having asked for sumptuous foods for himself, eats them; if for the sake of livelihood, for the reason of livelihood a nun, having asked for sumptuous foods for herself, eats them; if for the sake of livelihood, for the reason of livelihood one who is not ill, having asked for curry or conjey for himself, eats it—this that is a falling away from right livelihood is stopped.
“Eleven ‘up to the third time’—
listen to these as they really are:
An imitator of one who is suspended,
eight ‘up to the third time’,
Ariṭṭha, and Caṇḍakālī—
these are those ‘up to the third time’.
How many cuttings down? How many breakings up? How many tearings off? How many “not for another” Expiations? How many agreements of the monks? How many proper duties? How many “at mosts”? How many “knowing(ly)” were laid down by the Buddha, the Kinsman of the Sun?
Six cuttings down, one breaking up, one tearing off, four “not for another” Expiations, four agreements of the monks, seven “proper duties”, fourteen “at most”, sixteen “knowing(ly)” were laid down by the Buddha, the Kinsman of the Sun.
Two hundred and twenty
rules of training for monks
come up for recitation on Observance days;
three hundred and four
rules of training for nuns
come up for recitation on Observance days.
Forty-six are not shared by monks with nuns.
A hundred and thirty are not shared by nuns with monks.So one hundred and seventy-six are not shared between the two,
A hundred and seventy-four are for equal training in by the two.
Two hundred and twenty
rules of training for monks
come up for recitation on Observance days:
listen to these as they really are:The four Defeats,
the Formal Meetings which come to thirteen,
there are the two Undetermined,
exactly thirty Forfeitures,
and ninety-two minor matters,
four Confessions,
seventy-five Trainings.And these are the two hundred and twenty
rules of training for monks
that come up for recitation on Observance days.Three hundred and four
rules of training for nuns
come up for recitation on Observance days:
listen to these as they really are:The eight Defeats,
the Formal Meetings which come to seventeen,
exactly thirty Forfeitures,
and one hundred and sixty-six called merely minor matters,
eight Confessions,
seventy-five Trainings.And these are the three hundred and four
rules of training for nuns
that come up for recitation on Observance days.“Forty-six are not shared by monks with nuns”:
listen to these as they really are:Six Formal Meetings
with the two Undetermined are eight;
twelve Forfeitures—
with these there are twenty;
twenty-two minor matters,
four Confessions.And these are the forty-six
that are not shared by monks with nuns.“A hundred and thirty
are not shared by nuns with monks”:
listen to these as they really are:Four Defeats,
ten are to be escaped from by means of the Order,
twelve Forfeitures,
and ninety-six minor matters,
eight Confessions.And these are the hundred and thirty
that are not shared by nuns with monks.“So one hundred and seventy-six
are not shared between the two”:
listen to these as they really are:Four Defeats,
the Formal Meetings come to sixteen,
there are the two Undetermined,
twenty-four Forfeitures,
and the minor matters are said to be a hundred and eighteen,
the twelve Confessions.And these are the hundred and seventy-six
that are not shared between the two.“A hundred and seventy-four
are for equal training in by the two”:
listen to these as they really are:Four Defeats,
the Formal Meetings which come to seven
eighteen Forfeitures,
an equal seventy minor matters,
seventy-five Trainings.And these are the hundred and seventy-four
that are for equal training in by the two.Precisely eight Defeats which,
difficult to remedy,
resemble an uprooted palm-tree:
That man is like a withered leaf,
a flat stone,
a decapitated head,
Like a palm-tree cut off at the crown—
these have no further growth.Twenty-three Formal Meetings of the Order,
two Undetermineds,
forty-two Forfeitures,
a hundred and eighty Expiations,
twelve Confessions,
seventy-five Trainings
are stopped by three decidings.In the presence of,
as on the acknowledgement of,
and by a covering over (as) with grass.Two Observances,
two Invitations,
four (formal) acts,
were taught by the Conqueror.Just five recitals,
four are not different,
and the classes of offence are seven.
The four legal questions
are settled by seven decidings:
by two, by four, by three,
“obligation” is settled by one. /
Listen to that which is called Defeat as it really is:
Fallen away, fallen short of, and fallen down,
destroyed by the true rules,
For such a one there is no communion:
it is so called because of that.
Listen to that which is called Formal Meeting as it really is:
Only the Order imposes probation,
sends back to the beginning,
inflicts mānatta, rehabilitates:
it is so called because of that.
Listen to that which is called Undetermined as it really is:
Undetermined, not determined—
the rule is undecided,
The occasion is (to be dealt with) by one of three (rules)—
it is called Undetermined.
Listen to that which is called a grave offence as it really is:
Whoever confesses instigation to another,
and whoever accepts that—
The transgression is not equal for him:
it is so called because of that.
Listen to that which is called Forfeiture as it really is:
In the midst of an Order,
in the midst of a group, just to a single one—
When forfeiting he confesses:
it is so called because of that.
Listen to that which is called Expiation as it really is:
He throws off a skilled rule,
offends against the ariyan Way
Because of confusion of his mind:
it is so called because of that.
Listen to that which is called Confession as it really is:
A monk, not being a relation,
whatever is food that,
obtained with difficulty,
Having taken it for himself, he might eat:
it is called blameworthy.Eating among those invited,
a nun there directs from partiality,
Not being refused, if he should eat of it:
it is called blameworthy.Going to a family which has faith,
little wealth, is poor,
Not being ill, if he should eat there:
it is called blameworthy.Whoever, if living in a forest that is dangerous, frightening
Should eat there unannounced:
it is called blameworthy.A nun, not being a relation, whatever is cherished by others:
Ghee, oil, honey, molasses, fish, meat, then milk, curds—
a nun, asking for these for herself,
has fallen into a blameworthy (matter)
in the Dispensation of the Well-farer.
Listen to that which is called Wrong-doing as it really is:
That which is fallen short of,
and failing and stumbling is wrong-doing—The man who should do that evil
whether in public or in private—
They declare to be a wrong-doing:
it is so called because of that.
Listen to that which is called Wrong Speech as it really is:
The sentence, wrongly spoken,
wrongly uttered, and that is impure,
And that the learned blame:
it is so called because of that.
Listen to that which is called Training as it really is:
Following the straight way
of the training of one under training,This (right) conduct is the beginning,
and control by restraint of the mouth.
There is no training like this:
it is so called because of that.It rains hard on a covered thing,
it rains not hard on an open thing,
So open up the covered thing:
thus it will not rain hard on that.A forest is the bourn of deer,
the sky the bourn of birds,
Non-being is the bourn of mental states,
nibbāna the bourn of an arahant.
Concluded is the Collection of Stanzas
Its Summary
Laid down in seven towns, and also the four fallings away,
Shared, not shared by monks and nuns:
This Collection of Stanzas is for furthering the Dispensation.