Vinaya (3): The Cullavagga
by T. W. Rhys Davids | 1881 | 137,074 words
The Cullavagga (part of the Vinaya collection) includes accounts of the First and Second Buddhist Councils as well as the establishment of the community of Buddhist nuns. The Cullavagga also elaborates on the etiquette and duties of Bhikkhus....
Cullavagga, Khandaka 6, Chapter 2
1. And the people heard, saying, 'Vihāras have been allowed by the Blessed One.' And they built Vihāras zealously. Those Vihāras had no doors[1], and snakes, scorpions, and centipedes got in. They told this matter to the Blessed One.
'I allow, O Bhikkhus, a door[2].'
They made holes in the wall, and tied the door on with string or with creepers, These were eaten by mice and white ants; and when the things by which the doors had been tied on had been eaten away, the doors fell.
They told this matter to the Blessed One.
'I allow, O Bhikkhus, door-posts and lintel, hollow like a mortar, for the door to revolve in, and projections to the door for it to revolve on.'
The doors would not come to.
'I allow, O Bhikkhus, a hole to pass a string through with which to pull the door to, and a string for that purpose.'
The doors could not be made fast[3].
'I allow, O Bhikkhus, rings on the door for the bolt to work along in, blocks of wood fixed to the edge of the door-post and containing a cavity for the bolt to go into, a pin to secure the bolt by, and a bolt.'
Now at that time the Bhikkhus were not able to open the door.
They told this matter to the Blessed One.
'I allow, O Bhikkhus, key-holes, and keys of three kinds—bronze keys, and keys of hard wood, and keys of horn.'
When anybody unlocked them[4], and entered, the Vihāras became unprotected.
They told this matter to the Blessed One.
'I allow, O Bhikkhus, a yantaka, and a pin to it[5].'
2. Now at that time the Vihāras were thatched; and in the cold season they were cold, and in the hot season hot.
They told this matter to the Blessed One.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to cover them (with skins)[6], and to plaster them within and without.'
Now at that time the Vihāras had no windows, and they were bad for the eyes, and had a disagreeable odour.
They told this matter to the Blessed One.
'I allow, O Bhikkhus, windows of three kinds—windows made with railings[7], windows made with network[8], and windows made with slips of wood[9].' Squirrels and bats[10] entered through the opening for the window.
'I allow, O Bhikkhus, window-blinds (or curtains)[11].'
The squirrels and bats still got in through the interstices between the blind (and the wall).
'I allow, O Bhikkhus, shutters, and rolls or bags (to fill up interstices with)[12].
3. Now at that time the Bhikkhus slept on the floor, and both their limbs and their robes became dirty.
They told this matter to the Blessed One.
'I allow, O Bhikkhus, mats made of grass.'
The mats were eaten by mice and white ants.
'I allow, O Bhikkhus, a solid bench or divan (built up against the wall of a room, or under the verandah against the outside wall of the house)[13]. On the solid bench their limbs ached.
'I allow, O Bhikkhus, bedsteads made of laths of split bamboo[14].'
Now at that time a bier-like masāraka[15] bedstead—a masāraka chair—a bier-like bundikābaddha[16] bedstead—a bundikābaddha chair—a bier-like kulīra-pādaka[17] bedstead—a kulīra-pādaka chair—a bier-like āhacca-pādaka[18] bedstead—an āhacca-pādaka chair—had come into the possession of the Saṃgha. They told this matter (in each case) to the Blessed One.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, (each of these things).'
4. Now at that time a rectangular chair[19]—an arm-chair[20]—a sofa[21]—a sofa with arms to it[22]—a state chair[23]—a cushioned chair[24]—a chair raised on a pedestal[25]—a chair with many legs[26]—a board (to recline on)[27]—a cane-bottomed chair[28]—a straw-bottomed chair—had come into the possession of the Saṃgha.
They told this matter (in each case) to the Blessed One.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, (each of these things).'
5. Now at that time the Chabbaggiya Bhikkhus slept on lofty beds.
People coming on a visit to the Vihāra, when they saw them, murmured, &c., saying, 'Like those who still live in the pleasure of the world.'
They told this matter to the Blessed One.
'You are not, O Bhikkhus, to sleep on lofty beds. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty of a dukkaṭa[29].'
Now at that time a certain Bhikkhu, when sleeping on a low couch, was bitten by a snake[30].
They told this matter to the Blessed One.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, supports to your bedsteads[31].'
Now at that time the Chabbaggiya Bhikkhus used lofty supports to their bedsteads, and rocked themselves with these bedstead supports, backwards and forwards[32].
'You are not, O Bhikkhus, to use lofty supports to your bedsteads. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty of a dukkaṭa. I allow you such supports up to eight inches in length.'
6. Now at that time a quantity of string had come into the possession of the Saṃgha.
They told this matter to the Blessed One.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to weave (a texture of string across) the bedstead.'
Much string was taken up by (passing it round) the sides of the bedstead.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to pierce the sides of the bedstead, and thus to weave the string across and across[33].'
A cloth had come into their possession.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to use it as a carpet[34].'
A mattress stuffed with cotton[35] had come into their possession.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to comb out the cotton, and make the cotton up into pillows[36] if it be of any of these three kinds—cotton produced on trees, cotton produced on creepers, cotton produced from Poṭaki-grass.'
Now at that time the Chabbaggiya Bhikkhus made use of pillows half the size of a man's body.
People who came on a visit to the Vihāras murmured, &c., on seeing this, saying, 'Like those who still enjoy the pleasures of the world.' They told this matter to the Blessed One.
'You are not, O Bhikkhus, to make use of pillows half the size of a man's body. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty of a dukkaṭa. I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to have pillows the size of a man's head.'
7. Now at that time there was a festival on a high place[37] at Rājagaha. The people provided for the use of high officials bolsters stuffed with wool, or cotton cloth, or bark, or grass, or leaves. When the festival had been held they tore open the covers of skin and carried them off. And the Bhikkhus saw much wool, and cotton cloth, and bark, and grass, and leaves thrown away on the spot where the festival had been held; and on seeing this, they told the matter to the Blessed One.
'I allow, O Bhikkhus, bolsters[38] of five kinds—those stuffed with wool, or cotton cloth, or bark, or grass, or talipot leaves.'
Now at that time a bed coverlet had come into the possession of the Saṃgha.
They told this matter to the Blessed One.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to cover a bolster with it.'
Now at that time the Bhikkhus folded up bed bolsters on to chairs[39], and chair bolsters on to bedsteads, and the bolsters came to pieces.
They told this matter to the Blessed One.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, chairs and bedsteads covered (with upholstered cushions to fit them).' They covered the bedsteads and chairs without putting a cloth beneath them[40], and the stuffing came out from below.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, first to spread out a cloth under the bedsteads or chairs, and then to upholster them.'
They tore off the coverings[41], and took them away.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to bespatter (the coverings with dye)[42].'
They still took them away.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to use coverings coloured in patches[43].'
They still took them away.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to colour the coverings in patches only the size of a man's hand[44].'
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Kavāṭa. This is the special word for door. Dvāra often roughly translated door, is not really 'door,' but 'door-' or 'gate-way,' with special reference to the aperture and not to that by which the aperture could be closed. The latter word is also different from 'door,' in that it is never used for the entrance into an inner chamber. It is always the outer entrance (and the entrance at the front as distinguished from the entrance at the back) of a house, or one of the principal entrances to a walled town or village. See, for instance, Pācittiya XIX; Cullavagga VIII, 5, 1, VIII, 8, 1; Jātaka I, 63, 114, 346, 361, II, 63, 140.
[2]:
On this and the following details, compare V, 14, 3, and the notes there.
[3]:
Thakīyanti: literally, 'covered, or stopped, up.' The same word is used at Cullavagga VIII, 1, 5, of closing up the lattices mentioned in the next section (VI, 2, 2).
[4]:
Ugghāṭetvā, an expression used in VIII, 1, 1 of undoing the bolt (ghaṭikā) just referred to.
[5]:
Yantakaṃ sūcikaṃ, which is the only expression here used which has not already occurred above at V, 14, 3. Buddhaghosa says, Yantaka-sūcikan ti ettha yaṃ yaṃ jānāti taṃ taṃ yantakaṃ. Tassa vivara-sūcikaṃ kuñcikaṃ kātuṃ vaṭṭati.
[6]:
See the note at V, 14, 3.
[7]:
Vedikā-vātapānaṃ nāma cetiye vedikā-sadisaṃ (B.). See our note on vedikā above, V, 14, 2. These windows or lattices are mentioned in Cullavagga VIII, 1, 5; Mahāvagga I, 25, 18.
[8]:
Jāla-vātapānaṃ nāma jālaka-baddhaṃ (B.). Jālam, literally 'net,' is given as a word for 'window' at Abhidhānappadipikā, verse 216. The expression probably corresponds to our 'lattice,' and does not mean that an actual net was used. Compare the Anglo-Indian 'jalousie.'
[9]:
Salāka-vātapānaṃ nāma thambhaka-vātapānaṃ (B.). Possibly this means with slips of wood arranged horizontally as in our venetian blinds.
[10]:
Vagguliyo. This habit of the bat and its harmlessness are referred to in Milinda Paṇha, p. 404. Compare the Sanskrit valgulī.
[11]:
Cakkalikan ti. Ettha colaka-pāda-puñchanaṃ bandhituṃ anujānāmī ti attho (B.). The word cakkali occurs below, VI, 19, probably in the sense here meant.
[12]:
Vātapāna-bhisī ti vātapāna-pamāṇena bhisiṃ katvā bandhituṃ anujānāmī ti attho (B.). Probably like the sand-bags used in England to keep out draughts. On the use of the word in other connections, see our note on Mahāvagga VIII, 13, 1, and the Old Commentary on Pācittiya XIV (where five kinds are named) with the Kankhā-vitaraṇī on the last passage quoted by Minayeff, p. 86.
[13]:
Miḍhim. See the note on V, 9, 4. Native huts in Ceylon always have such solid benches (of brick or mud covered with plaster) built up against the wall under the verandah: and they are commonly used as sleeping-places for the unmarried males in the house. Waskaḍuwa Subhūti has this in his mind in the explanation he gives in English of vedikā (Abhidhāna-ppadīpikā, verse 222), though he applies it to the wrong word.
[14]:
Bidala-mañcakaṃ nāma vetta-mañcaṃ, veḷu-vilīvāhi vā vītaṃ (B.). The word occurs in the Jātaka Commentary I, 9, lines 26, 34. Compare the Sanskrit bidala and vidala.
[15]:
Masārako, on which Buddhaghosa says nothing here; but on the Old Commentary to the 14th Pācittiya, where all the four words in this paragraph also occur, he has the following note (see Minayeff, p. 68): Masārako ti mañca-pāde vijjhitvā tattha aṭaniyo pavesetvā kato--just the opposite therefore of āhacca-pādako below. On aṭani, compare our note to the 87th Pācittiya. The four names recur, of chairs only, in the Old Commentary on the 87th and 88th Pācittiyas.
[16]:
Buddhaghosa, loc. cit., says, Bundikābaddho ti aṭanīhi mañca-pāde ḍaṃsāpetvā pallaṅka-saṃkhepema kato. The first word, bundika, may mean a small bolt.
[17]:
Kulīra-pādako ti assa-menḍādīnaṃ pāda-sadisehi pādakehi kato: yo vā pana koci vaṅka-pādako ayaṃ kulīra-pādako (B. loc. cit.). A bedstead or chair with curved or carved legs, especially when carved to represent animals' feet. Kulīra is a crab.
[18]:
Āhacca-pādako ti. Ayaṃ pana āhacca-pādako nāma mañco aṅge vijjhitvā kato hotīti evaṃ parato pāliyaṃ yeva vutto. Tasmā aṭaniyo vijjhitvā tattha pāda-sikhaṃ pavesetvā upari āṇim datvā kata-mañco āhacca-pādako ti veditabbo (B. loc. cit.). This is in agreement with the Old Commentary on the 18th Pācittiya in which this word already occurs. Compare āhacca in the Āyāranga Sūya II, 1, 1, 2, II, 1, 10, 6.
[19]:
Āsandiko. Buddhaghosa says, Āsandako (sic) ti caturassapiṭhaṃ vuccati. An āsandi (cushioned chair) is forbidden at Mahāvagga V, 10, 4.
[20]:
Uccakaṃ pi āsandikan ti vacanato ekato-bhagena dīghapīṭham eva hi aṭṭhaṅgula-pādakaṃ vaṭṭati (B.).
[21]:
Sattaṅgo nāma tisu disāsu apassayaṃ katvā mañco (B.). On apassayaṃ, compare note 9.
[22]:
Uccako pi sattaṅgo. Compare note 2.
[23]:
Bhadda-pīṭhan ti vetta-mayaṃ pīthaṃ vuccati (B.). We follow Böhtlingk-Roth sub voce bhadra-pīṭha.
[24]:
Pīṭhikā ti pilotika-baddhaṃ pīthaṃ eva (B.). Childers says 'bench, stool.' Compare Sanskrit pīṭhaka (in the addenda to the Petersburg Dictionary).
[25]:
Eḷaka-pādaka-pīṭhaṃ nāma daru-paṭṭikāya upari pāde ṭhapetvā bhojana-phalakaṃ viya kata-pīṭhaṃ vuccati (B.).
[26]:
Āmaḷaka-vaṇṭika-pīṭhaṃ nāma āmaḷakākārena yojitaṃ bahu-pāda-pīṭhaṃ (B.). Compare tālavaṇṭa at V, 22, 2, and tāla-vaṇṭaka at V, 29, 4.
[27]:
Phalakaṃ. Compare apassena-phalakaṃ at Mahāvagga I, 25, 12, and below, Cullavagga VI, 20, 2.
[28]:
Kocchaṃ nāma vākamayaṃ vā usīramayaṃ vā muñjamayaṃ vā babbagamayaṃ vā anto saṃveṭhetvā baddhaṃ hoti, says the Old Commentary on the 14th Pācittiya. Buddhaghosa gives here the same explanation, omitting vāka.
[29]:
Compare the 8th Cūla Sīla (Rh. D.'s 'Buddhist Suttas,' p. 191).
[30]:
Compare Cullavagga V, 6.
[31]:
Mañca-paṭipādakaṃ mentioned in Mahāvagga I, 25, 16.
[32]:
Pavedhenti. The reading is doubtful, but the suggestion at p. 321 of the text must be withdrawn.
[33]:
Aṭṭhapadakaṃ vetuṃ. Buddhaghosa says nothing, either here or at Mahāvagga VIII, 21, where the word also occurs. Aṭṭhapada-ṭṭhāpana at Jātaka II, 5, 14, is a mode of dressing the hair, probably in broad plaits crossing each other so as to resemble the squares of a chessboard.
[34]:
Or 'rug.' Cilimikā ti nāma parikammakatāya bhūmiyā chavi-saṃrakkhanatthāya attharaṇaṃ vuccati (B.). It is probably the same word as, or connected with, cimilikā, used by Buddhaghosa in note 5 on Mahāvagga VII, 1, 5, and explained by him (in Minayeff, p. 87, line 5) as tāla-paṇṇādīhi katā. Both words are possibly diminutives of cola, and it is not improbable that the reading should be cilimikā in both cases, as Buddhaghosa so spells the word again in his note below on VI, 2, 7.
[35]:
Tūlika. This is undoubtedly what is meant to be forbidden in § 5 of the Majjhima Sīla, although Grimblot, 'Sept Suttas Palis,' p. 9, reads kulikaṃ. See Mahāvagga V, 10, 4.
[36]:
Compare IV, 4, 4, VIII, 1, 3, where such pillows are mentioned among the ordinary belongings of a Vihāra. The present rule is repeated below in VI, 14.
[37]:
Giragga-samajjo. See our note above on V, 2, 6.
[38]:
Bhisi. See the note on this word at Mahāvagga VIII, 13, I.
[39]:
Buddhaghosa says here mañca-bhisiṃ pīṭhe saṃharantī ti mañca-pīṭhe attharanti attharanatthāya harantī ti yujjati (B.), On this use of saṃharati compare above, V, 11, 7.
[40]:
Ullokaṃ akaritvā hetthā cilimikaṃ adatvā (B.). The word occurs again at Mahāvagga I, 25, 15 = Cullavagga VIII, 1, 3, where cobwebs are to be removed with a cloth (ullokā!).
[41]:
Chaviṃ; but perhaps not necessarily of leather. See the commencement of this section.
[42]:
So that the coverings would be useless for other purposes. The Pāli word is posituṃ, which Buddhaghosa explains thus--hesitun ti (so the Berlin MS.) rajanena vā haliddhāya vā upari pusitāni dātuṃ. The word is evidently connected not with the root push, but with the roots pṛṣ and prush, 'to be, spatter;' and is the same as phositun at Mahāvagga VI, 14, 5, which is probably the better reading of the two.
[43]:
Bhatti-kammaṃ. The meaning is doubtful, because the reading is uncertain. Buddhaghosa says, Bhitti-kamman ti (sic) bhisi-chaviyā upari bhitti-kammaṃ. The word is probably analogous in formation to our English 'patchwork,' though the 'patches' are not of pieces of different coloured stuffs, but of bits of different colour spread over the same stuff, and whatever its meaning, it is probably the same word as bhati-kamma at V, 9, 2.
[44]:
Again both reading and interpretation are open to question. Hattha-bhittin ti pañcaṅgula-bhittiṃ is all that Buddhaghosa says; and we have followed in our translation the reading of the Sinhalese MS. (see p. 321 of the edition of the text), which brings the word into connection with the preceding phrase.