Mahavagga, Khandaka 1, Chapter 49

1. At that time there was in Rājagaha a company of seventeen boys, friends of each other; young Upāli^[1] was first among them. Now Upāli's father and mother thought: 'How will Upāli after our death live a life of ease and without pain?' Then Upāli's father and mother said to themselves: 'If Upāli could learn writing, he would after our death live a life of ease and without pain.' But then Upāli's father and mother thought again: 'If Upāli learns writing, his fingers will become sore. But if Upāli could learn arithmetic, he would after our death live a life of ease and without pain.'

2. But then Upāli's father and mother thought again: 'If Upāli learns arithmetic, his breast will become diseased^[2]. But if Upāli could learn money-changing^[3], he would after our death live a life of ease and comfort, and without pain.' But then Upāli's father and mother said to themselves: 'If Upāli learns money-changing, his eyes will suffer. Now here are the Sakyaputtiya Samaṇas, who keep commodious precepts and live a commodious life; they have good meals and lie down on beds protected from the wind. If Upāli could be ordained with the Sakyaputtiya Samaṇas, he would after our death live a life of ease and without pain.'

3. Now young Upāli heard his father and mother talking thus. Then young Upāli went to the other boys; having approached them, he said to those boys: 'Come, Sirs, let us get ordained with the Sakyaputtiya Samaṇas.' (They replied): 'If you will get ordained, Sir, we will be ordained also.' Then those boys went each to his father and mother and said to them: 'Give me your consent for leaving the world and going forth into the houseless state.' Then the parents of those boys, who thought, 'It is a good thing what all these boys are wishing so unanimously for, gave their consent. They went to the Bhikkhus and asked them for the pabbajjā ordination. The Bhikkhus conferred the pabbajjā and upasampadā ordinations on them.

4. In the night, at dawn, they rose and began to cry: 'Give us rice-milk, give us soft food, give us hard food!' The Bhikkhus said: 'Wait, friends, till day-time. If there is rice-milk, you shall drink; if there is food, soft or hard, you shall eat; if there is no rice-milk and no food, soft or hard, you must go out for alms, and then you will eat.'

But those Bhikkhus, when they were thus spoken to by the other Bhikkhus, threw their bedding about and made it wet, calling out: 'Give us rice-milk, give us soft food, give us hard food!'

5. Then the Blessed One, having arisen in the night, at dawn, heard the noise which those boys made; hearing it he said to the venerable Ānanda: 'Now, Ānanda, what noise of boys is that?'

Then the venerable Ānanda told the thing to the Blessed One.

“Is it true, O Bhikkhus, that the Bhikkhus knowingly confer the upasampadā ordination on persons under twenty years of age?”

“It is true, Lord.”

Then the Blessed One rebuked those Bhikkhus: 'How can those foolish persons, O Bhikkhus, knowingly confer the upasampadā ordination on persons under twenty years of age?

6. 'A person under twenty years, O Bhikkhus, cannot endure coldness and heat, hunger and thirst, vexation by gadflies and gnats, by storms and sun-heat, and by reptiles; (he cannot endure) abusive, offensive language; he is not able to bear bodily pains which are severe, sharp, grievous, disagreeable, unpleasant, and destructive to life; whilst a person that has twenty years of age, O Bhikkhus, can endure coldness, &c. This will not do, O Bhikkhus, for converting the unconverted and for augmenting the number of the converted.'

Having rebuked those Bhikkhus and delivered a religious discourse, he thus addressed the Bhikkhus: 'Let no one, O Bhikkhus, knowingly confer the upasampadā ordination on a person under twenty years of age. He who does, is to be treated according to the law^[4].'

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

This Upāli is different from the famous Upāli who belonged to the chief disciples of Buddha; the latter came not from Rājagaha, but from the Sakya country.

[2]:

Buddhaghosa: 'He who learns arithmetic, must think much; therefore his breast will become diseased.'

[3]:

We prefer this translation of rūpa to translating it by 'painting,' on account of Buddhaghosa's note: 'He who learns the rūpa-sutta must turn over and over many kārṣāpaṇas and look at them.'

[4]:

The law alluded to is the 65th pācittiya rule. Generally in the Khandhakas, which presuppose, as we have stated in our preface, the existence of the Pātimokkha, direct repetition of the rules laid down there has been avoided. If, nevertheless, in the Khandhakas a transgression alluded to in the Pātimokkha had to be mentioned again, then in most cases the Khandhakas, instead of directly indicating the penance incurred thereby, use of the guilty Bhikkhu the expression, 'yathādhammo kāretabbo,' i.e. 'he is to be treated according to the law.' See H. O.'s Introduction to his edition of the Mahāvagga, p. xx note.