Majority

^{Kd.14.9.1 BD.5.111} Now at that time monks were striving, quarrelling, disputing in the midst of an Order, they were wounding one another with the weapons of the tongue; they were unable to settle that legal question. They told this matter to the Lord. He said: “I allow you monks, to settle this kind of legal question by the decision of the majority.’^[1] A monk possessed of five qualities should be agreed upon as distributor of (voting) tickets^[2]; one who would not follow a wrong course through favouritism, who would not follow a wrong course through hatred … through stupidity … through fear, who would know what is taken and what is not.^[3] And thus, monks, should he be agreed upon: First a monk should be asked. Having asked him, the Order should be informed by an experienced, competent monk, saying: ‘Honoured sirs, let the Order listen to me. If it seems right to the Order, the Order should agree upon the monk So-and-so as distributor of (voting) tickets. This is the motion. Honoured sirs, let the Order listen to me. The Order is agreeing upon the monk So-and-so as distributor of (voting) tickets. If the agreement upon the monk So-and-so as distributor of (voting) tickets is pleasing to the venerable ones, they should be silent; he to whom it is hot pleasing should speak. The monk So-and-so is agreed upon by the Order as distributor of (voting) tickets. It is pleasing to the Order; therefore it is silent. Thus do I understand this.’ ^Vin.2.85

^Kd.14.10.1 “Monks, there are ten distributions of (voting) tickets that are not legally valid, ten that are legally valid. What are the ten distributions of (voting) tickets that are not legally valid? When the legal question is only trifling, and when it has not gone its course,^[4] and when it is not remembered or caused to be remembered,^[5] and when he knows that those who profess non-dhamma are more (in number), when he even thinks that those who profess non-dhamma may be more (in number), if ^BD.5.112 he knows that the Order will be divided, if he even thinks that the Order may be divided, if they take (the tickets) not by rule,^[6] if they take them in an incomplete assembly, and if they take them not according to their views.^[7] These ten distributions of (voting) tickets are not legally valid.

^Kd.14.10.2 “What are the ten distributions of (voting) tickets that are legally valid? When the legal question is not merely trifling, and when it has gone its course, and when it is remembered arid caused to be remembered, and when he knows that those who profess dhamma are more (in number), when he even thinks that those who profess dhamma may be more (in number), when he knows that the Order will not be divided, when he even thinks that the Order will not be divided, when they take (the tickets) by rule, when they take them in a complete assembly, and when they take them according to their views. These ten distributions of (voting) tickets are legally valid.”