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Viskh replied: 20
"Bhikkhus who have spent the rainy seasons in various places will come, Lord, to Svatthi to visit the Blessed[Pg 97] One. And on coming to the Blessed One they will ask, saying: 'Such and such a bhikkhu, Lord, has died. What, now, is his destiny?' Then will the Blessed One explain that he has attained the fruits of conversion; that he has attained arahatship or has entered Nirvna, as the case may be. 21
"And I, going up to them, will ask, 'Was that brother, Sirs, one of those who had formerly been at Svatthi?' If they reply to me, 'He has formerly been at Svatthi,' then shall I arrive at the conclusion, 'For a certainty did that brother enjoy either the robes for the rainy season, or the food for the incoming bhikkhus, or the food for the outgoing bhikkhus, or the food for the sick, or the food for those that wait upon the sick, or the medicine for the sick, or the constant supply of rice-milk.' 22
"Then will gladness spring up within me; thus gladdened, joy will come to me; and so rejoicing all my mind will be at peace. Being thus at peace I shall experience a blissful feeling of content; and in that bliss my heart will be at rest. That will be to me an exercise of my moral sense, an exercise of my moral powers, an exercise of the seven kinds of wisdom! This, Lord, was the advantage I had in view for myself in asking those eight boons of the Blessed One." 23
The Blessed One said: "It is well, it is well, Viskh. Thou hast done well in asking these eight boons of the Tathgata with such advantages in view. Charity bestowed upon those who are worthy of it is like good seed sown on a good soil that yields an abundance of fruits. But alms given to those who are yet under the tyrannical yoke of the passions are like seed deposited in a bad soil. The passions of the receiver of the alms choke, as it were, the growth of merits." 24
And the Blessed One gave thanks to Viskh in these verses: 25
[Pg 98]
"O noble woman of an upright life,
Disciple of the Blessed One, thou givest
Unstintedly in purity of heart.26
"Thou spreadest joy, assuagest pain,
And verily thy gift will be a blessing
As well to many others as to thee."27
When Seniya Bimbisra, the king of Magadha, was advanced in years, he retired from the world and led a religious life. He observed that there were Brahmanical sects in Rjagaha keeping sacred certain days, and the people went to their meeting-houses and listened to their sermons. 1
Concerning the need of keeping regular days for retirement from worldly labors and religious instruction, the king went to the Blessed One and said: "The Parivrjaka, who belong to the Titthiya school, prosper and gain adherents because they keep the eighth day and also the fourteenth or fifteenth day of each half-month. Would it not be advisable for the reverend brethren of the Sangha also to assemble on days duly appointed for that purpose?" 2
And the Blessed One commanded the bhikkhus to assemble on the eighth day and also on the fourteenth or fifteenth day of each half-month, and to devote these days to religious exercises. 3
A bhikkhu duly appointed should address the congregation and expound the Dharma. He should exhort the people to walk in the eightfold path of righteousness; he should[Pg 99] comfort them in the vicissitudes of life and gladden them with the bliss of the fruit of good deeds. Thus the brethren should keep the Uposatha. 4
Now the bhikkhus, in obedience to the rule laid down by the Blessed One, assembled in the vihra on the day appointed, and the people went to hear the Dharma, but they were greatly disappointed, for the bhikkhus remained silent and delivered no discourse. 5
When the Blessed One heard of it, he ordered the bhikkhus to recite the Ptimokkha, which is a ceremony of disburdening the conscience; and he commanded them to make confession of their trespasses so as to receive the absolution of the order. 6
A fault, if there be one, should be confessed by the bhikkhu who remembers it and desires to be cleansed. For a fault, when confessed, shall be light on him. 7
And the Blessed One said: "The Ptimokkha must be recited in this way: 8
"Let a competent and venerable bhikkhu make the following proclamation to the Sangha: 'May the Sangha hear me! To-day is Uposatha, the eighth, or the fourteenth or fifteenth day of the half-month. If the Sangha is ready, let the Sangha hold the Uposatha service and recite the Ptimokkha. I will recite the Ptimokkha.' 9
"And the bhikkhus shall reply: 'We hear it well and we concentrate well our minds on it, all of us.' 10
"Then the officiating bhikkhu shall continue: 'Let him who has committed an offence, confess it; if there be no offence, let all remain silent; from your being silent I shall understand that the reverend brethren are free from offences. 11
'As a single person who has been asked a question answers it, so also, if before an assembly like this a question is solemnly proclaimed three times, an answer is expected: if a bhikkhu, after a threefold proclamation, does[Pg 100] not confess an existing offence which he remembers, he commits an intentional falsehood. 12
'Now, reverend brethren, an intentional falsehood has been declared an impediment by the Blessed One. Therefore, if an offence has been committed by a bhikkhu who remembers it and desires to become pure, the offence should be confessed by the bhikkhu, and when it has been confessed, it is treated duly.'" 13
While the Blessed One dwelt at Kosamb, a certain bhikkhu was accused of having committed an offence, and, as he refused to acknowledge it, the brotherhood pronounced against him the sentence of expulsion. 1
Now, that bhikkhu was erudite. He knew the Dharma, had studied the rules of the order, and was wise, learned, intelligent, modest, conscientious, and ready to submit himself to discipline. And he went to his companions and friends among the bhikkhus, saying: "This is no offence, friends; this is no reason for a sentence of expulsion. I am not guilty. The verdict is unconstitutional and invalid. Therefore I consider myself still as a member of the order. May the venerable brethren assist me in maintaining my right." 2
Those who sided with the expelled brother went to the bhikkhus who had pronounced the sentence, saying: "This is no offence"; while the bhikkhus who had pronounced the sentence replied: "This is an offence." 3
