1. And the Blessed One, having dwelt at Pârileyyaka as long as he thought fit, went forth to Sâvatthi. Wandering from place to place he came to Sâvatthi. There the Blessed One dwelt at Sâvatthi, in the Getavana, the garden of Anâtha-pindika. And the lay-devotees of Kosambî thought: 'These venerable Bhikkhus of Kosambî have brought much misfortune to us; worried 1 by them the Blessed One is gone. Well, let us neither salute the venerable Bhikkhus of Kosambî, nor rise from our seats before them, nor raise our hands before them, nor perform the proper duties towards them, nor honour and esteem and revere and sup-port them, nor give them food when they come on their walks for alms; thus, when they are not honoured, esteemed, revered, supported, and hospitably received by us, they will go away, or return to the world, or propitiate the Blessed One.'
2. Thus the lay-devotees of Kosambî did not salute any more the Bhikkhus of Kosambî, nor did they rise from their seats before. them (&c., down to:) nor gave them food when they came on their walks for alms.
Then the Bhikkhus of Kosambî, when they were no more honoured (&c., down to:) and hospitably
5. 'And there are eighteen things, Sâriputta, by which you may conclude that a Bhikkhu is right according to the Dhamma. In case, Sâriputta, a Bhikkhu declares what is not Dhamma to be not
7. And Mahâpagâpati Gotamî heard: 'Those litigious, contentious, quarrelsome, disputatious Bhikkhus of Kosambî, the constant raisers of questions before the Samgha, are coming to Sâvatthi.' And Mahâpagâpati Gotamî went to the place where the Blessed One was; having approached him and respectfully saluted the Blessed One, she stationed herself near him. Standing near him Mahâpagâpati Gotamî said to the Blessed One: 'Lord, those litigious, contentious (&c., down to:) are coming to Sâvatthi. How am I to behave, Lord, towards those Bhikkhus?'
'Well, Gotamî, hear the Dhamma on both sides. When you have heard the Dhamma on both sides,
8. And Anâtha-pindika the householder heard (&c., as in 3, down to:). 'How am I to behave, Lord, towards those Bhikkhus?'
'Well, householder, bestow gifts on both sides; having bestowed gifts on both sides, hear the Dhamma on both sides. When you have heard the Dhamma on both sides, then accept the opinion and the belief and the doctrine and the cause of those Bhikkhus who are right according to the Dhamma.'
9. And Visâkhâ Migâramâtâ heard, &c. 2
10. And the Bhikkhus of Kosambî in due course came to Sâvatthi. And the venerable Sâriputta went to the place where the Blessed One was; having approached him and respectfully saluted the Blessed One, he sat down near him. Sitting near him the venerable Sâriputta said to the Blessed One: 'Lord, those litigious, contentious, quarrelsome, disputatious Bhikkhus of Kosambî, the constant raisers of questions before the Samgha, have arrived at Sâvatthi. How are we, Lord, to arrange the dwelling-places of those Bhikkhus?'
'Well, Sâriputta, assign separate dwelling-places to them.'
'Material gifts, Sâriputta, must be distributed among all in equal parts.'
11. And that Bhikkhu against whom expulsion had been pronounced, pondering over both Dhamma and Vinaya, came to the following conclusion: 'This is an offence; this is not no offence. I am an offender; I am not offenceless. I am expelled; I am not un-expelled. The sentence by which I have been expelled is lawful, unobjectionable, and valid.' Then that expelled Bhikkhu went to the expelled Bhikkhu's partisans; having approached them, he said to the partisans of the expelled Bhikkhu: 'This is an offence, friends; this is not no offence, &c. Come now, my venerable brethren, and restore me.'
12. Then the partisans of that expelled Bhikkhu took with them the expelled Bhikkhu, and went to the place where the Blessed One was; having approached him and respectfully saluted the Blessed One, they sat down near him. Sitting near him those Bhikkhus said to the Blessed One: 'Lord, this Bhikkhu, against whom expulsion has been pronounced, says, "This is an offence, friends (&c.,
This is an offence, O Bhikkhus; this is not no offence. This Bhikkhu is an offender; this Bhikkhu is not offenceless. This Bhikkhu is expelled; he is not unexpelled; the sentence by which he has been expelled is lawful, unobjectionable, and valid. But since this Bhikkhu, O Bhikkhus, having committed an offence, and having been sentenced to expulsion, sees (his offence), restore now that Bhikkhu, O Bhikkhus.' 13. And the partisans of that expelled Bhikkhu, having restored that expelled Bhikkhu, went to the Bhikkhus who had sentenced him to expulsion; having approached them, they said to the Bhikkhus who had pronounced that sentence: 'As regards that matter, friends, which gave origin to altercations among the Samgha, to contentions, discord, quarrels, divisions among the Samgha, to disunion among the Samgha, to separations among the Samgha, to schisms among the Samgha,--that Bhikkhu (who was concerned in that matter), having committed an offence, and having been sentenced to expulsion, has seen (his offence) and has been restored. Come, friends, let us declare now the re-establishment of concord among the Samgha in order to bring that matter to an end.' Then the Bhikkhus who had pronounced that sentence of expulsion, went to the place where the Blessed One was; having approached him and respectfully saluted the Blessed One, they sat down near him; sitting near him those Bhikkhus said to the Blessed One: 'Lord, those partisans of the expelled Bhikkhu have said to us: "As regards
14. 'Since this Bhikkhu, O Bhikkhus, having committed an offence, and having been sentenced to expulsion, has seen (his offence) and has been re-stored, let the Samgha, O Bhikkhus, declare the re-establishment of concord in order to bring that matter to an end. And this declaration is to be performed in this way: Let all brethren assemble together, both the sick and the healthy; no one is allowed to send his declaration of khanda 1 (and to stay away). When you have assembled, let a learned, competent Bhikkhu proclaim the following ñatti before the Samgha: "Let the Samgha, reverend Sirs, hear me. As regards that matter which gave origin to altercations among the Samgha, to contentions, discord, quarrels, divisions among the Samgha, to disunion among the Samgha, to separations among the Samgha, to schisms among the Samgha,--that Bhikkhu (concerned in that matter), having committed an offence, and having been sentenced to expulsion, has seen (his offence) and has been restored. If the Samgha is ready, let the Samgha declare the re-establishment of concord in order to bring that matter to an end. This is the ñatti. Let the Samgha, reverend Sirs, hear me (&c. 2, down to:) the re-establishment of concord, in order to bring that matter to an end, has been declared by the Samgha; the division that existed among the Samgha has been settled; the disunion that existed
mgha hold Uposatha and proclaim the Pâtimokkha.' 314:1 Ubbâlha; see Gâtaka I, 300, and Mahâvagga III, 9, 1. 316:1 Our translation of sâvasesa and anavasesa is entirely conjectural. By the exceptions alluded to here we believe that such clauses must be understood as, for instance, in the sixth Nissaggiya Rule the words: 'Except at the right season;--here the right season means when the Bhikkhu has been robbed of his robe, or when his robe has been destroyed. This is the right season in this connection.' 316:2 The term 'Dutthullâ âpatti' is used also in the ninth Pâkittiya Rule, and the Old Commentary there states that by 'grave offences' those belonging to the Pârâgika and Samghâdisesa classes are understood. 317:1 The name of this Thera is spelt in the MSS. Mahâkotthita and Mahâkotthita. In the Northern Buddhist works he is called Mahâkaushthilya. In the Lalita Vistara (p. 1, ed. Calc.) Kaundilya is a misprint. 318:1 See Kullavagga X, 1, 4, and the 59th Pâkittiya Rule in the Bhikkhunî-pâtimokkha. 318:2 As in § 8. Instead of 'Well, householder,' read 'Well, Visâkhâ.' 319:1 Such as food, robes, &c. 321:1 See II, 23. 321:2 Here follows the repetition of the ñatti and the other solemn formulas belonging to a ñattidutiya kamma in the usual way.
Footnotes
